By Mark Bialczak

LPL Communications Specialist

Mr. G wants to help holiday shoppers avoid hearing the kind of complaints he gets too often at his Drop In Tech Help table after the presents are delivered.

“Every January people come in and tell me, ‘They got me something I didn’t want,’ “ says Keith Gatling, the Liverpool Public Library’s technology librarian. “I say, ‘I know. They didn’t see me first.’ “

Gatling presents two opportunities for LPL patrons to learn before they shop this year.

The 55+ November meeting will present Mr. G with “Smart (Device) Holiday Shopping” at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26, in the Carman Community Room. Registration is requested on the calendar page at LPL.org.

The same theme will come up at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, in the Sargent Meeting Room. No registration is required for this one.

Gatling says he’ll cover the attributes of digital devices to help gift-givers match the proper gadget with the right people on their lists.

“I’ll go over the different price ranges, and what people want to do with them,” he says. “What you think about before you buy. Maybe you like it, but that doesn’t mean it’s for them. If they don’t use email, for instance, they probably won’t use any device in general. Maybe a gift card to buy a real book would be better.

“If you are the one loading the digital books now for them to read, though, remember you will be their tech support if you buy the wrong thing,” Gatling says.

He’ll go over much at the session to help make the important decision.

“If somebody has an aging desktop, maybe they just want a Chromebook,” he says. “Maybe they don’t want another device they can get viruses on.”