Library Seeks Reaction To Internet Site

Library patrons across the state have until late January to log onto the Internet and view the Idaho State Library’s efforts to get libraries online.

“We’re really interested in seeing what the general response from the public is,” said Anne Abrams, special projects coordinator for the State Library.

Until the end of the month, thousands of magazine articles from dozens of different libraries will be available on the Internet while library officials try to convince legislators that patrons should have access to the same library materials.

To that end, the library has proposed a statewide magazine database and a Web site that connects all the state’s libraries.

The magazine database, which includes articles from up to 1,500 magazines, would cost the state about $465,000 a year, or 39 cents per library patron. Indexes from up to 1,500 more magazines are also included in the database.

If legislators approve the database, the number of magazines available to Idaho’s average library patron will increase by the hundreds, Abrams said. Idaho’s publicly funded libraries, including school libraries, carry an average of 33 subscriptions, she said.