Like most of the children in my generation, I didn’t have a personal computer until I was almost 10. It was an Apple II GS and I was so excited because I could play Frogger! Granted, it was in gold on a black screen – no other colors – but it was still a game and it was terribly luxurious.
I can hear some of you laughing at me – those of you who had email as children and those of you that never had a computer growing up at all and may not have encountered a personal one until well into adulthood. Well, this article is for that latter group, the people who don’t have a lot of familiarity with the internet and aren’t sure they should even try.
My vote is try. I have discovered in the past few years that the internet is a marvelous thing. It can keep you connected to family, help you order things that you can’t get around home, and help you find information quickly and relatively easily.
For those of you that haven’t seen the press release yet, Meinders Library is going to have four classes to get people used to the internet. The dates are as follows:
August 18 at 7:00 PM
August 19 at 7:00 PM
August 20 at 10:30 AM
August 21 at 1:30 PM
The class is free and you only need to sign up for one session, since all four sessions will be the same. Of course, if you WANT to attend more than one, you are more than welcome to do so, but the class will fill up at 15 people.
Things that will be covered in the class:
Email: I’m not exactly sure how I got along without email. On a good day, it’s almost instantaneous, and I can send and receive several rounds of messages per day, as opposed to having to wait the two or three days it takes for a letter to get anywhere. I can keep up with my family and I can email an entire list of people at once and only have to type the message one time! In the class, everyone will be able to sign up for a free email account using an internet provider such as gmail, yahoo, or hotmail.
Searching: It is absolutely amazing what you can find on the internet. Not only can get directions printed from your house to anywhere in the United States with just a few clicks of the mouse, but you can find things that are simply not available in this area. For instance, my daughter is allergic to strawberries, but she loves gummy vitamins. I can get them, but they pretty much only come in the mixed berry variety. That wouldn’t be a problem, except for the strawberry allergy. Online, I have found watermelon gummy vitamins and I can order those for her. I can order special diapers for my son and instant coffee (my favorite brand) for myself. I can even make sure my husband has tickets for the Buffalo Bills night practice in Buffalo, NY. And don’t even get me started on Ebay…
It’s not just shopping that the internet is good for, either. Questions can be answered in a huge variety of ways, ranging from what actor stared in that movie, to the diameter of the sun, to the scientific name for the cockroach – you can find the answer to almost any question just by using a Search engine.
Library Catalogue: Did you know that you can search the library catalogue and place holds on line? Not only that, but you can search all of the libraries in Minnesota and have a book sent here, to Pipestone, just for you. We will cover how to do this and everything above in this class.
There are so many other ways to utilize the internet, but we will be starting with the basics. If there is enough interest, we may do an advanced class to cover more things that are available. Also, if the classes fill up, expect another round in the future.
If you would like to sign up for the class, or if you have a book to reserve of renew, give us a call at 507-825-6714. Summer hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday, from 10 AM to 8 PM, and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM. We are not open on Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Our next open Saturday will be September 12th – summer’s almost over!
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