CAPE GIRARDEAU LIBRARY PROMOTES EXPOSURE TO THE INTERNET

Jim Pledger was one of thousands of library patrons nationwide who traveled the information superhighway Tuesday during Log-on at the Library Day. With just a few strokes of the keys, he had planned a driving route from Cape Girardeau to Bristol, Tenn.

Despite sitting near a display of travel books, including one about traveling America's interstates, Pledger never checked out or opened a book. He knew which roads to travel and how long it would take to drive the route from the computer display.

"Sooner or later I'll get on at home," Pledger said of the Internet. "But I wanted to get a preview today."

The library will offer introductory Internet classes to first-time users today at 10 a.m. Other classes are held Thursday and Saturday. For more information about Internet use, call the library at 334-5279.

Since computers are in demand now, checking out books isn't the only reason people visit libraries anymore, local librarians say.

"We are a dispenser of information, all kinds of information," said Betty Martin, adult services coordinator for the public library.

People seeking obscure information about everything from important dates to place names often call the library reference desk asking questions. Staff members answered 20,000 questions last year, Martin said.

However, most of the 18,000 Cape Girardeau library cardholders still come to check out a book. The average American checks out six books each year from their local library.

In Cape Girardeau, more than a 250,000 items from books and videos to music and magazines were checked out from the library in 1995.

Some of those 250,000 items likely came from the youth services division where patrons can check out puppets, toys and games and books.

Parents with sick children can even request a "Chicken Soup" bag filled with videos and books chosen specifically for their child, said Ann Randolph, youth services coordinator for the library.

Other activities planned for National Libraries Week include a St. Louis Art Museum presentation for teachers Thursday night at 7 p.m., and a job fair for high school students Friday. The fair begins at 3 p.m.