Limiting public web access

[Kurt W. Wagner - Librarian]

In our Electronic Resource Center we have 32 workstations (both PC and
Mac) with WWW access. We have not instituted a limited browsing mode for
one main reason: it would decrease the flexibility of the lab. There are
times when the majority of the users are simply "surfing" while at other
times most folks are doing more focused information-seeking. We hesitate
to implement a policy that might result in a machine being unusable. By
having them all "free" they can fill a variety of roles.

Mitigating this seemingly chaotic policy is another that specifies that
"academic" work takes precidence over "infotainment" or more casual
useage. We leave it purposefully vague. If all workstations are occupied
and someone is waiting to do research (IAC Searchbank 2000 or MUSE in our
case), we ask if someone will give up their recreational surfing or
e-mailing. We've had no trouble with this in a year of operation. Our
patrons seem to cooperate with good humor to the degree that we ourselves
maintain a cheerful, non-domineering attitude.

Kurt


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Kurt W. Wagner                     kurt at frontier.wilpaterson.edu
Reference Librarian/Electronic Resources           (201)595-2285 
William Paterson College of New Jersey             
   http://www.wilpaterson.edu/wpcpages/library/
   http://www.wilpaterson.edu/library/wagner/kurt.htm
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