EDITOR'S NOTES
Feats of Dexterity
by Dick Kaser
The website WordHippo lists hundreds of adjectives for dexterity, and here are a few: deftness, adroitness, agility, expertise, and skill. All of the articles in this issue fit these parameters.
Racine Public Library in Wisconsin, along with the city of Racine, collaborated on an effort to close the digital divide by building a Smart City Wi-Fi backbone, helping those without internet access get online. Librarian Melissa Donaldson and city official William Martin share the details.
It was agility that came into play when two university librarians in the CUNY system had to pivot to online learning and adjust their websites to provide a virtual library presence. Sarah Cohn (CCNY) and Rebecca Hyams (BMCC) relay the experience they shared when New York City became the first pandemic epicenter.
Every act of dexterity depends on good reflexes. Sometimes, it involves a methodical application of skills and applying past lessons learned to new circumstances. In a thoughtful analysis, Gillian (Jill) Ellern (Hunter Library) and Laura Cruz (a professor at Penn State) share their insights about the various things that must be considered when creating a VR lab in a library—installing the equipment is just the tip of the iceberg.
E-resources librarian Sharon Whitfield lends her skill in evidence-based librarianship to the eternal challenge of effectively evaluating digital resources in the collection and deciding what to keep and what to cancel.
Finally, Amy Affelt offers her expertise on evaluating digital resources in an article aimed at teachers and students who are struggling with the challenge of staying safe from fake news.
Please join your fellow librarians for Computers in Libraries Connect 2021, our virtual conference, March 22–25.
Dick Kaser, Executive Editor
kaser@infotoday.com
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