[Web4lib] floppy disk issues

[Louise Alcorn]

Ed, I struggled with this same problem for something like 4 years.
Major, major headache for all concerned.  We have just in the last month
finally changed out all of our machines to non-floppy-enabled machines.
We had replaced ALL (30+) of our floppy drives on our public machines
*twice* by the time we were able to do a deal to get some (slightly
used) streamlined PC's. We've been encouraging our patrons to move to
USB drives for over 2 years, since we heard that the manufacturers are
no longer supporting floppy.  

As I say, our regular patrons have been warned for some time to move to
USB -- including extra warnings in the couple of months leading up to
the install of these new(ish) machines that they wouldn't have floppy
drives.  We did buy a 1/2 dozen USB floppy drives, which we lend out
like we lend out our headphones for in-house use.  So far it's fine,
though we still get very bad diskettes, unreadable on any staff machine
(which are older and have floppy drives) or on the external drives.  

Patrons are always flabbergasted that they can't be read, though
sometimes you get them to admit it's been sitting in a drawer for 10
years, since the last time they had to write a resume.  I also find a
lot of women bringing them in, unprotected, in handbags with magnetic
clasps.  I do my best to retrieve what I can.  If they bring in a USB
drive, I'll dump it on there for them, or email it to them to store
there temporarily.  I also try to explain that the diskette they bought
"just yesterday" may have been sitting in a warehouse for 5 years since
manufacture.  Now if I can just get our Friends group to stop selling
them in the vending machine! 

We never had CD burners, either.  We were so behind on technology for so
long, we basically just leapfrogged right to USB.

I no longer feel (as) bad about saying I'm sorry, but this is a
dead/dying medium, and I promise they'll be much happier with a USB
drive.  (But not one with U3 on it, cuz they can't be read here, but
we've discussed that elsewhere).  

Livin' the USB life,
Louise

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Louise E. Alcorn
Reference Technology Librarian
West Des Moines Public Library
4000 Mills Civic Pkwy
West Des Moines IA 50265
(515) 222-3573      louise.alcorn at wdm-ia.com
http://www.wdmlibrary.org