Many people who are now comfortable using the Internet remember very different experiences before the computer became a staple in the home. When doing research, it meant spending hours at the library. You could either find books or periodicals on the shelves or submit a special request to access special files and records stored under lock and key. If you needed to look up something that the library did not have on hand, then it was possible to ask the librarian to do some research for you. The library has been relying on computers for years before people had their own personal computers.