[WEB4LIB] Re: E-mail in libraries

[Andrew J. Mutch]

Before a flame war ensues....

In defense of Dan and others restricting access to e-mail, chat, etc. on
their workstations, they are not operating in a public library, which may
be the only Internet access point in a community.  They are operating in
institutional settings where students, as Dan pointed out, have a variety
of locations from which they can merrily chat, e-mail, etc. without
restriction.  However, I imagine that the workstations that Dan and others
are having problems with probably are the only workstations where students
can access a number of specialized resources and since their library
exists to provide access to those resources, not general access, I think
what they are doing is reasonable.

In general, I agree with those who don't believe in restricting resources
but before critizing others, please understand the environment others are
working in before applying your own standards to them.

Andrew Mutch
Electronic Services Support
Northville District Library
Northville, MI