Jeff Gelles: Free Library's E-Gadget Help Desk offers aid

Marivic Wright, a Philippine immigrant, was a return visitor Tuesday to the E-Gadget Help Desk at the Free Library of Philadelphia. She came for assistance in finding another e-book after poring through two on her Samsung Galaxy Note 8 "phablet." Her latest: The 4 Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality.

Calvin Moody of Germantown stopped by to get help with his Android tablet, which wasn't loading new e-mails. "I'm from the old school. Anything about technology is a learning experience," said Moody, a state caseworker who said his e-mail "just stopped working."

Nora E. Fisher, a singer who has suffered memory problems since a car crash in Germany, was another return visitor - happy that the Help Desk had solved her previous problem: keeping track of passwords. This time, though, the issue on her Verizon tablet was a touch more complex.

"My granddaughter is so excited by this machine, and she's put so much stuff on it, that it thinks she's the boss," Fisher told me. "I should be the boss."

Helping people regain hijacked "administrator" status on their own devices is just one of a long list of challenges staffers and volunteers have faced since the Help Desk was launched in 2012 at the Central Library on Logan Square.

From 3 to 6 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday, it offers a public-option version of Apple's Genius Bar - one that works with any device, not just an iPhone or iPad.

Along with the library's nine Hot Spots - part-time computer labs - that offer similar services, plus other one-on-one help, the E-Gadget desk is aimed at bridging the divide that has left so many lagging, especially since the debut of smartphones, tablets, and e-readers. (For a list of Hot Spots, go to http://bit.ly/1GjzGIl.)

The E-Gadget desk relies on a flexible definition of "e-gadget," according to Scott Pinkelman of the city's Office of Innovation and Technology, who was advising visitors Tuesday.

About a third bring in laptops with problems such as viruses or outdated software. The most common requests for portable devices are help with accessing books, Web resources, and e-mail.

"At this point, no one has rolled in yet with a desktop computer," he said. "But people have talked about it."

I stopped by Tuesday because the Help Desk had a special offer for Philly Tech Week - a "privacy checkup," with personalized tips for improving online security. During a week jammed with 150 events, many centered on cutting-edge ideas, entrepreneurial networking, and start-up pitches, it was as low-key as they come.

Pinkelman said about 20 people sought help Tuesday, enough to keep three staffers and two volunteers busy. Their ordinary problems help illustrate how pervasive digital technology has become - and why the city's efforts to bridge the digital divide are so essential.

The Free Library itself is a window onto the revolution. It offers access to more than 120,000 e-book titles in various formats, according to Jamie Wilson, the library's electronic-resources coordinator. That's up from 80,000 less than two years ago.

In fiscal 2014, it lent e-books about 785,000 times - 12 percent of its 6.5 million book loans, but up about 30 percent from a year before, he said. And those loan numbers don't even count the 46,000 titles available for the taking via Project Gutenberg, which offers free downloads of books that are past copyright.

Pinkelman said the E-Gadget desk can help patrons master the various formats in which e-books come - sadly, still not always compatible with every device. But there has been some progress. For example, books offered via the library's OverDrive system can now also be accessed via a Kindle app, he said.

"If that's what you're familiar with, it may be more comfortable," said Pinkelman - though he still recommends the OverDrive app as "a better experience."

And getting people more comfortable with technology is what the E-Gadget desk is all about.