[WEB4LIB] Writeable CD drive on a public machine?

[Samuel Mcdonald]

Misc thoughts...(mostly on the caveat side..which is the wrong way to
approach  things from a public services pov, but that is how I tend to
think..and then find solutions)

1) ...depends if your staff closest to the burner want to support it(for
us they are ref librarians..and would probably not be keen on it)(its the
software, the stutters and failures that will drive you nuts)(much harder
to support than shaking the toner, adding paper and fishing jams off of
roller #3)

2) it changes the 'velocity-of-user-turnover'  now a single pc will be
used much longer than one being used for 8 minutes on the catalog and then
left as the person goes to wander the stacks...also encourages chatting as
you wait for the thing to finish.

3) you might get a queue for the 1 or 2 burners..and then feel pressed to
add more

4) are you prepared to sell blank ones?

5) I think it would be a bit of pain to find say, a 8meg pdf in an
index..and then realize that if you want to take it with you then you have
to move 3 workstations to your left...and have to re-find it.  Thus, need
to add more brurners..(see 1, solves 3, perhaps complicates 2..unless you
designate catalog-class pc's)

6) I am not sure about the life-expectancy of a cd-burner that may have
grungy public cd-s put into it.  certainly a regular cleaning/maintenace
schedule will have to be rigorously kept.


upsides..
1) easier to support large ebooks in pdf and other formats
2) being progressive is good!

napster wouldn't be a problem if it can't be installed..the general
downloading of mp3's would be, but those are hard get off the public web
easily.

- sam

On Mon, 26 Feb 2001, Peter Scott wrote:

> This just came up in discussion. If we have a print-station available,
> allowing users of public machines to print to paper (at 10c per copy), why
> not also have a machine which houses a writeable CD drive in the public
> area?
> 
> Answers please.....
> 
> 
> 

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Samuel J. McDonald                                smcdon at rci.rutgers.edu
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