controlling patron internet access time

[Lori A. Schwabenbauer, Camden County Library]

We at Camden County Library, NJ, have 5 PCs at our main library and 2 at each
of 3 branches solely for searching the Internet.  At Main we require signups up
to 1 day ahead for all 5; users may sign up for one-half to one full hour per
day.  At each branch, 1 PC is signup while the other is free-use.  Users must
show up by 10 minutes after the signup time, or they forfeit that half-hour
block.  If nobody has reserved the next block of time, users may stay at the
workstation until someone else shows up.  We have our Periodicals desk (closest
to where the PCs are located) take the signups at Main, and the main desk at
each branch does their signups.  

So far it's worked well, in fact at Main it's working better now that all 5 
require signups -- before, we had 2 free-use, and we got complaints about some
people hogging them all day.  

We've just opened a computer lab at Main with 12 PCs which can access not just
the Internet, but online databases, MS Office, MS Publisher, etc. and we're
requiring people to sign up for one hour up to one day ahead -- as with our
regular Internet access PCs, we'll take walk-ins if computers are available,
but we still sign them up so we can keep statistics.

In a recent survey we did at the 5 original Internet PCs, our customers were
almost unanimously in favor of the signup system.

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Lori A. Schwabenbauer               609-772-1636 x3336
Supervisor, Automation Services     fax 609-772-6105 
Camden County Library               lori at camden.lib.nj.us  
203 Laurel Road                     http://www.cyberenet.net/~ccl/
Voorhees, NJ  08043  USA            Opinions/ideas/gripes are mine.
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