RE: Question for 21 September: How to bridge the gap

[Terry Link <link@mail.lib.msu.edu>]

Two ways come to mind. One is to catalog information regardless of
format so that users can do one shop shopping. OCLC through CORC
is already doing this.

Second, is to return to a former service...ask a librarian. EPA
could hire more librarians to act as hotline searchers for email
and phone questions and send the info out either electronically or
in paper to the local public library where folks could travel to
pick it up if they don't have access through the net. This would
have the double advantage of having more people become connected
to their public libraries as an information center. The other major
advantage is that information professionals are more likely to
understand the structure of the information hierarchy and the
techniques to retrieve it than are the general population. You thus
improve time needed to find the relevant info, plus the chances
for finding the most relevant info in increased.

This is not in place of providing unmediated access by the public,
but rather an additional, value-added service.