[WEB4LIB] Everything on library public terminals

[Brian Williams]

On Tue, 4 Jan 2000, Jay Smith wrote:

> We're interested in the experiences and musings of libraries
> which do not restrict computer terminals in this way.  What's
> your experience providing access to all services through all
> terminals? Do internet users hog the terminals?  Do catalog
> users get into fist fights with Internet junkies who call
> the catalog users Luddites?

You might try to make most of your machines open for all use and then
adjust the ratio as you get more experience with how your patrons use
them. I've noticed that different libraries have different experiences
with this.

Our objective would have been to have "everything on everything",
but it hasn't worked out that way. We have the library catalog, our cd's,
and the internet based databases and full text products on one type of
machine, and we have "full internet", everything, on others. That's
distributed about half and half, although the ratio changes from time to
time. We have about 140 machines in our Central location, fewer in the
branches, but still with some kind of differenciation.

Our hope is that when we have more control over how long the machines can
be used, like an hour a day per registered patron, we will always have
machines available for whatever people want to use them for. 



Brian Williams			brianw at multnomah.lib.or.us
Automation Manager	  	5032044627 at mobile.att.net (pager)
Multnomah County Library	 (503) 248-5227 (v) 
801 SW 10th  Portland, OR 97205  (503) 248-5226 (f) 
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