...in several media, though computer geekiness isn't my strong suit...

Computers have not only made my job easier, but it's also made our clients' access to our services much greater without our having to be open 24/7. We also have a larger number of computer-supported products to offer to people to attract their membership and financial backing.

The biggest problem computers have created for library users is when they fail. The server linking the dozen and a half public libraries in our county together failed at the beginning of the summer. It took a week and a half to recover the data for a stupid reason: the manufacturers updated the public service modules without updating the data backup system for them, so after the server was repaired, the data was there to reload, but not readable. arrrrrgh What you are reading is being typed by the only catalog of materials for children and youth for our building's collection during that week and a half. Wetware is more random, but it shows up for work.

The second biggest problem is universal access. What I said about greater access only applies to the people who have computers of their own. Those people can use library databases and databases the library subscribes to on behalf of the clients any old time. They can even bring their laptops to the parking lot and use our wifi whenever they want, by design. The people who really need to use word processing etc. and have internet access to information the most are the ones who don't have access to the necessary hardware when the library (and its free public computers) is closed. Catch-22.

Knowledge is power. I wish we could make the access equal. We can, and do, but only when we're open.