A View from the Stacks: You don’t have any Internet access?

When I prioritize my list of important things, my top two are always the same: myself and the TV.

So when I found myself at home, sick and splayed out on the couch in my Power Puff Girl pajamas, I saw the silver lining immediately in the form of watching hours of daytime TV.  Between naps, I theorized that I could eat soup, watch Judge Judy, eat some more soup and maybe catch a True Hollywood Story, or maybe even a rerun of Taradise on E! (Judge me all you want, but bad daytime TV can cure a bad cold much faster than any cough suppressant.  And it goes down better.)

After two days of learning about all the new fitness fads out there, of which Yoga Booty was my favorite, my illness had yet to pass and I was beginning to feel a bit guilty for not actually doing anything.  My answer to this was to write some emails to friends I had not spoken with in a while, maybe read some articles dissecting the new Library School rankings and maybe (this was stretch) read up on healthy financial planning.

But I don’t have Internet access at my home.

Let me back up.  As a strong supporter of the TV, I allocate funds to Comcast and not to AOL.  At one time, I had given AOL my money to keep me connected to the outside/not-really-outside world, but in one moment of budget clarity, I chose to scale back.  I knew my decision to forego Internet access was earth shattering when I would casually remark to some people that I could not go online and they would give me a disbelieving look.  I will say, though, that most of these people are Computer Science majors. 

At home while sick, I realized just how important Internet access is to people.  For me, when I go back to school, it will be essential.  Creating my portfolio, sending emails that have “???????” subject lines to my instructors and the ability to research materials from online databases are par for the course in graduate school.  I had taken all this for granted because up until now, I could always rely on my lunch break at work to satisfy my Internet needs. The more I thought about it, the more I began to worry that I may have to give up cable in order to make this work.

But then I remembered that I work in a library.  Libraries have computers.  Libraries have computers with online access.  University libraries also have online electronic resources that only universities have access to.  And it was at this somewhat panicked, still very sick moment that I realized libraries are so much more essential then the credit even I give them.  Truth be told, I even felt reassured about my decision to go back to school after this moment, because I knew that I firmly believed that this whole “shelving books and stamping job” (as some I know call it) is really important.

In the end, I did sign up for basic Internet that week I was home sick.  But it is a free trial, and I will be cancelling it soon enough.

Then I can get back to watching my TV.

Stina McClintock, Library Technician, King County Law Library (Seattle)

Editor's Note: Is there a more worthy cause than getting Stina Internet access at home? I think not. You can send your donations to me: Joe Hodnicki, University of Cincinnati Law Library, PO Box 210142, Cincinnati, OH 45221. Please make your check payable to Stina McClintock.

If we don't receive sufficient funds to keep basic Internet for one year, Stina can use the money for library school.

Or shoes.