[WEB4LIB] RE: The Wireless Future of Library Computing

[Andrew I. Mutch]

In the interest of full debate, I'll point out some of the downsides that
we have run into just with our limited wireless experience:

* Limited range versus wired installation
* Limited bandwidth: This has particularly been a problem with the CD-ROM
applications that we still use in-house. They simply didn't work with
wireless as they demanded more bandwidth than the connection could
provide, even at close range.
* Security considerations
* Need for multiple access points to provide adequate coverage
* Making PCs wireless requires extra network adapter and wireless card

Having said that, I've generally been pleased with how wireless has worked
on the PCs that we are using it on. Also, like Bill mentioned, our
wireless laptop/projector combo allows us to access network resources even
in locations, like our conference room. that are not currently wired. We
will also be looking seriously at incorporating some level of wireless
infrastructure when we do our expansion next year. 

I've found that wireless has worked best with those web-based resources
that don't demand a lot of bandwidth, like online resources and the OPAC.
Before we get too far afield, we might want to keep this focuses on
wireless as it relates to web resources in the library, lest we force Roy
to remind us of the focus of the list.
:)

Andrew Mutch
Library Systems Technician
Waterford Township Public Library
Waterford, MI