I just got back from New York City about three hours ago. I spent a week there. I have been to New York several times before... but never when Apple introduced the iphone. First of all, most of my time was spent in Manhattan or on the subway to and from Manhattan. My experiences on the subways show me the same two types of people we have been discussing... the people who are reading books and the people who are playing with their phones/ipods/palms (I am, of course, generalizing... because then there are also people like me who either stare off into the distance or who are people watching). I also realize that many of the "book" people are also computer literate, and just because a person uses his/her phone does not mean that he/she does not read books. I was faced with a very large sample of people, and it made me think about the people I will be serving as a librarian. People are so cool to watch. Seeing a 15 year old girl play with her iphone directly out of the wrapping was exciting. Not only did it make me want one, but the thought of the internet being accessible to her while she was one the subway was so cool (at least when the train was above ground). I know that it is not just the iphone that does this... but the lines of people at the Apple store made me realize how accessible information is. Michael Stephens was also interested in the introduction of this tool...
http://tametheweb.com/2007/07/iphone_at_the_library.html
Here's to the BIG APPLE!
-Amber
1 comment:
Sounds like an exciting trip! There are times when I wish I had access to more technology (and times when I realize how far behind I am). Most of the time, however, I'm grateful for the bit I have. So many of my school's students don't have the bare minimum, not to mention the latest tools. It's an important argument for libraries being available for the community.
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