COLUMBUS - People just passing through town or those living in the county have been taking advantage of the Internet services at Columbus Public Library.
The public access computer lab has been operating for several years and sees a steady stream of users during library hours, said Children's Librarian Brad Hruska. For a charge of 50 cents, the Internet can be accessed for 15 minutes.
The users are of various ages and professions, Hruska. There are the regulars who come in often and some first-time users.
One of those who has used the Internet service for the last two or three years is Roger Lescelius of Columbus.
Lescelius was visiting the library Saturday afternoon and sat in front of one of the 10 computers in the lab. Before plunking his quarters into the machine, Lescelius said he uses the Internet to find information on science and also uses it to look up sites of various groups of which he belongs. On this day, he was accessing the World Wide Web to find the telephone number of the Holdrege Chamber of Commerce.
The reason he comes to the library is he doesn't have Internet access at his home. He said he never wanted to have Internet at home because “there is a lot of junk on there” and he didn't want his children accessing those sites.
The library's Internet is filtered, Hruska said, so if someone was researching a subject, such as breast cancer, you can be assured that an inappropriate site won't come up.
A more recent addition to the library has wireless Internet capabilities. Those with lap tops may come in and get a hour of service time by asking for a user name and password. Hruska said the wireless service has been popular, especially among travelers or those visiting Columbus.
Several people were using their lap tops in the library Saturday. Among them were Warren and Betty Levings of Denham Springs, La. The couple was traveling through Columbus on their way to a wedding in Colorado. They said they were checking their e-mail and looking for campgrounds in the area.
The library also offers several electronic databases that can be accessed using the library's computers or a home computer. There are links on the library's Web site (www.columbuslibrary.com) for those databases. Among those databases are ReferenceUSA, which offers addresses and telephone numbers, car and truck repair manuals, and Price It!, which is a pricing guide for antiques and collectibles. Those databases can be accessed using your library card number.
A person also can receive a password at the library to get on the free online site called NebraskAccess. That site offers access to magazines, journals and newspapers, and has other business information available on it. It is funded through the Nebraska Library Commission.
On most days Hruska said the use of the 10 computers in the lab is so popular there is usually a waiting list. Along with paying for Internet access, there is also a 10 cent charge to print materials. But those fees aren't a turn off for most people.
“Not a lot of people complain that they have to pay for it, just occasionally,” Hruska said.
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