This week’s column was submitted by Brodie Austin, web services librarian at the Des Plaines Public Library.

 We live in an age of information overload: some embrace it, some fight it, some ignore it, some just take it for granted. But one thing that can’t be denied is that televisions, computers, and smartphones stream information constantly to us wherever we are.

The Engage Des Plaines project, a collaboration between researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Des Plaines Public library, wants to find out what this really means and what it really means for people who live in Des Plaines.

Earlier: Readers with visual impairments benefit from library's assistive technology.

In order to come up with sensible solutions to problems like information glut and overload, we must clearly understand the problem. So, what are the problems that people in Des Plaines are facing?

We got a taste of these during the project's first public forum in December. People spoke about their frustrations over having to search multiple sources for information about events, and transferring information from one source to another. You can read more about this meeting and listen to audio recordings at the Engage Des Plaines website. 

Participants mentioned the very personal nature of looking for information too. Just how personal can looking for information be? Who do you ask first when you need a recommendation for a good restaurant, an enjoyable book, or a fun place to visit? More than likely you call a friend or ask your friends on a social network like Facebook.

Information is also personal because we bring so many individual perspectives when we look. If you are looking for "movies" and I'm looking for "films," are we looking for the same thing? Answers to these kinds of questions can help organizations like the library and the city understand your needs better and create better services. It is also useful in this world of hyper-this and hyper-that to slow down and reflect on these issues.

We invite you to add your voice to the conversation. The Engage Des Plaines project will host two community conversations from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 25 and from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Des Plaines Public Library.

You can learn more about these conversations and the Engage Des Plaines project at www.engagedesplaines.org.

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