Email and other things

[Richard A. Edwards]

> Why should the library be in the phone service business? 
> Where does it all end?  
> Is the library to be responsible for addressing all social issues?  
> And if so, what resources will become available to fund these endeavors?
> And what should we do, if a patron whats to watch the World Series?  
> Should we provide a large screen tv with snacks and loungers chairs for 
> all?  Or what about sound systems for home or in the library?   
> You talk about recreational reading.  How about recreational equipment.  
> Ski? Skates? 
> Lin Light
 [above edited - Rich]

Perhaps the question really is a broader one about our services in 
general, which vary of course from library to library. 

I doubt any of us would go to our funding resources to ask for money to 
put in a skating rink for recreation. 

On the other hand my library has a typewriter room with half a dozen old
electric typewriters which are available free for public use. They are a
pain to maintain sometimes, but since we have them, we make them
available. We don't check to see if they're writing personal letters or 
reports. 

We also have a Television Room with a VCR hookup and cable. It is in use 
almost a third of our open hours. Again, we don't monitor it to see if 
they're watching education videos from our reserve collection or porn 
videos they bring in with them.

We also have an audio system in our Sound and Image Library. Again open 
to the public and we don't monitor what they're listening too, our 
library of 10,000 LPs or a personal CD.

So, we have sixteen public catalog stations which are web browsers (we're 
using Innovative's WebPAC). And we don't monitor whether they're checking 
our catalog or looking at porn sites or sending email.

We do have conflicts. Sometimes more than one person wants the resources,
be it a typewriter, TV, or computer. Usually we try to encourage patience,
inform them of the most open times, and do our best to make our resources
as available and open as possible, and sometimes that means asking people
writing email if they will give up a machine so someone can search the
catalog. More often we take that patron to our computer on the Reference 
Desk and help them with their immediate question, show them how to use 
the catalog, and send them off with a few things to start with until a 
machine becomes open.

I think that's how we get the most bang for our buck. Not to mention the 
public good will which is a very valuable thing, worth the small costs of 
opening our already existing resources further.

joyfully,

Rich Edwards
Director
Instructional Technology Project
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, WA 98505
edwardsr at elwha.evergreen.edu