by Kendall F. Wiggin, State Librarian

Several years ago I lamented to a colleague that I wished that I had been a librarian during the 1960s. From a distance, it looked to me like that had been a pretty exciting time for libraries. But on my return from the Midwinter meeting of the American Library Association (ALA) in Washington, D.C. this past February, I realized that my outlook has changed. I've decided that this is a great time to be a librarian.

The Midwinter meeting was extremely upbeat and did much to bolster my new outlook. Of course it helped that I arrived in Washington just days after Governor Shaheen proposed to increase the State Library budget for the first time in more than six years. The number of exhibitors at Midwinter has grown over the past several years and this year many of the major exhibitors had a wonderful new look as well as a great array of new products. While I didn't see any breakthrough technologies, I did see many maturing uses of the Internet and other resource sharing technologies. I remember when Bibliofile was first introduced at Midwinter a number of years ago. The company had a simple exhibit with lots of shinning discs. Now it seems like everyone hands out samples on CDs as though they were candy (and assuming we all have CD drives on our PCs) and Bibliofile is hawked by professional dancers.

Then there was the ALA Presi- dent's Program, The Road We Must Take: Paving the Way for Children on the Information Superhighway. This program included 10 year old Vincent Dawkins from Baltimore, Maryland who proudly waved his library card; an address by Commissioner Susan Ness of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); a keynote address by Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley; and a video appearance by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Even though they were preaching to the choir, they took the time to be there on a Sunday afternoon and each in his or her own way has demonstrated real support for libraries. The first speaker of the program, Vincent Dawkins, who hopes one day to become a computer engineer or an executive supervisor at a computer company, spoke about the Whole New World program at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. "I have very helpful tutors and computers with interesting software. In the Whole New World program I can go anywhere. I can communicate with people all over the world and have discussions with other kids," he explained earnestly.

Secretary Riley, a grandfather who reads to his grandchildren, understands the importance of connecting our libraries and schools to the Internet and training teachers to use that technology. It was very encouraging to hear him say that schools, libraries, and the home are the cornerstones of a child's education. Commissioner Ness spoke of the need to connect libraries to the Internet and she went on to tell what the FCC is doing to bring about a structure of affordable rates. In her closing remarks, Commissioner Ness told the audience "You hold the future of this county in your hands. You have the opportunity to help children of all ages - rich and poor - harness the power of technology to expand their horizons and to give them the tools to advance in a competitive world."

[Her entire speech is available at http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Ness/spsn704.html]

The four hour legislative update session conveyed the progress libraries have made at the national level. Although somewhat daunting, the update on the telecommunications act and its potential for libraries was exciting. No longer were we just talking vaguely about some hoped for inclusion of libraries in the discount rate structure. We are there (or at least at the table). To have officials from various states such as Debra Kriete, Legal Counsel, Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission and key state staff person to the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, and Julia Johnson, Chairman, Florida Public Service Commission and member of the FCC Federal-State Joint Board, talking about the importance of connecting libraries and providing affordable access makes one realize how libraries are being seen and valued.

The legislative update also focused on the new Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Diane Frankel, Director of the new Museums and Libraries Institute - the administrative agency for LSTA - is a breath of fresh air. The library community is very lucky to have her at the helm of our federal library program. She wants the Library Services and Technology Act to work effectively for both the state library agencies and the libraries in the states. As I listened to Mrs. Frankel and thought of my work with our own State Library Advisory Council on the new five-year plan under LSTA, it became clearer in my mind that LSTA can move us in new directions while building on the multitype library activities we have undertaken in the past. Tom Fagan, Director of the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund at the Department of Education spoke to us about the new Technology Grants to Schools. It is his expectation that public libraries will work with school districts in the planning and implementation of these grants.

While at the conference I also found myself having very upbeat discussions with colleagues on the directions libraries are moving in. Exciting stuff. Of course, the 60 degrees temps and the sight of daffodils pushing through the ground may have given me a new outlook as well.

My excitement about being a librarian now, goes deeper than the meeting in Washington and the touch of spring fever I am sure I caught. The Internet and the rapid appearance of the World Wide Web has certainly given me reason to envision a great future for libraries. With the Internet we have a technology that is expanding the capabilities of libraries of all types and sizes and capitalizing on our strengths as librarians. Hardly a week goes by that a librarian somewhere doesn't tell me of some instance in which the Internet helped that librarian to help a patron in a way that the library's print collection would never have done. Or I log onto Webster and see the great potential we have there to provide libraries and citizens with access to valuable information about New Hampshire state government. With the dizzying rate at which Internet technologies are advancing the potential for new library services seems endless. Lately there has been a lot of talk about "push" technologies. Using push technology the library's automated system could automatically send messages via the Internet to a customer's personal computing device (PCD) about new books that have been cataloged and match the customers interest profile which is derived from their searches of the on-line catalog and circulation activity. And that's just one possible application.

There are other optimistic signs out there as well. The President mentioned libraries in both his Inaugural and State of the Union addresses. For the first time in years the President hasn't zeroed libraries out of the federal budget. The FCC and the Congress seem committed to universal service rates for schools, libraries, and hospitals. And at the local level, preliminary reports indicate that, with a few exceptions, library budgets and building programs fared well at Town Meeting.

Perhaps the thing that makes me most glad to be a librarian today is the opportunity to work with so many talented and dedicated people at the State Library and throughout the library community. This fall I began traveling around the state, attending coop meetings and Area Library Forums. It was great to talk with so many of you and to hear about the many services and programs that libraries throughout the state are offering. From that collective experience I came to realize how much library service in our state has truly improved. This is not to say that I didn't hear frustrated and concerned voices. But much of the frustration seems to stem from the increased service demands that librarians are struggling to meet. I'm encouraged that people want more library service - no less.