By Jennifer K.
A man who had lost his job and had been semi-homeless for several months came to the Newport Public Library to use the public access computers. He had been offered a good steady job, but in order to take it he needed a copy of his birth certificate, which he’d lost when he had lost his home. He did not have good computer skills and was baffled and frustrated by his birth-state’s website. He’d just about given up in despair when the library staff intervened and helped him go through the (very confusing, multi-step) process of applying for a copy of his birth certificate. He couldn’t have done it on his own — who else but public library staff would have helped him?AIR JORDAN