Information Wants To Be Mobile

The latest development in the Helsinki City Library's iGS (Information Gas Station) is the librarian-staffed "barrel iGS," which in the past year has been placed everywhere from train stations to conferences. Other mobile iGS units are larger and include space for librarians and patrons to collaborate. Maija Berndtson, Helskinki's library director, told LJthat the iGS, by allowing direct access to information, is changing ways of thinking about reference. The original iGS was funded by a 2000 Access to Learning grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Helsinki library was the first to win the annual $1 million award. For information on the library, see www.lib.hel.fi.