Small library rules for e-mail and chat

[Ken Becker]

You may want to designate a few terminals for email (for the ones writing
home and the ones goofing around), and outlaw email on the rest.

Enforcement would then be the hard part.

Ken Becker
Menlo Park Pub. Lib.


On Fri, 27 Feb 1998, Carol Brown wrote:

> I would like input from what others are doing with similar situations.
> We are a small rural community college where the only open student
> Internet access is in the library.  We presently have 12 Internet
> computers and are having continuing problems with students on e-mail and
> chat taking over all the computers and leaving students with reference
> needs standing around waiting. By not allowing chat, we thought the
> problem was solved, but now the students are using e-mail as chat and
> just sitting waiting for their replies.  Presently we ask that students
> limit themselves to 1/2 hour, but we are still inundated with students
> abusing the system.
> 
> What are other small college libraries doing to alleviate this problem,
> or is anyone even experiencing this?? We hate to totally eliminate
> e-mail, since for many of our students, this is their only communication
> with friends and home and is much less expensive for them than
> telephoning.  I'd appreciate any helpful advice or suggestions.  I wish
> we had a large open computer lab where the students could go, but this
> isn't a feasible option for the near future.
> 
> Carol Brown
> Asst. Library Director
> Southwest Texas Junior College Library
> Uvalde, TX
> carol.brown at swtjc.cc.tx.us
> 
>