[Web4lib] Tables to accomodate laptop users

[Dan Lester]

A great many office and library furniture companies have various types
of carrels or workstations that have wire management built in, and in
some cases even the outlets and so forth. Look in your library
equipment catalogs, or stop by your local OfficeMax, OfficeDepot,
Staples, etc.

Of course you still have the problem of legally and safely getting the
power to the carrels. We have some with power to them from floor
outlets and/or channels in the floor. I've worked other places where
they've done it dropping powerpoles from the ceiling. And, if you
don't want to spend a bunch of money on fancy carrels at several
hundred each, drop a power pole near a large study table and have
multiple outlets on it. Then they can plug in and use the existing
tabletop. You can also put a pole in and then have several tables or
other surfaces clustered around it.

You might also check with your campus computer people to see if they
can show you some of their solutions in labs.

Finally, I consider the lack of visual appeal to be the minor issue.
The real one is health and safety. We have students who will run
laptop cords across walkways in the library and in the student union,
and they're told to not do that. Some will then unplug, but plug in
again as soon as you're gone.

I recently told a student who had a cord running to an outlet across a
main passageway at ankle height that he should move it, or being an
old klutz I'd probably trip on it, break my leg, and in the process
pull his laptop to the floor and destroying it. He said "I'm not
worried about the computer" and obviously wasn't worried about me,
either.

dan


Thursday, February 28, 2008, 1:50:38 PM, you wrote:

> A large number of our students use their laptops while in the library
> and therefore plug them into our outlets which makes the library
> visually unappealing and creates safety hazards at the same time.  My
> question is: are there any special type of tables/furniture with built
> in outlets for laptop users in a library?

> I remember reading an article a while ago about Google conference room
> their nifty tables with plugs to accommodate laptop users. Has anyone
> seen those tables or have information on them?

> Please share with me any ideas you have or any projects you have
> implemented to create a workstation for those who want to use their
> laptops and plug them in at same time.

>  

>  

> Thank you very much.

> Salomeh Pourmoghim

> Fresno City College Library

>  

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-- 
The road goes on forever and the party never ends. REK, Jr. 
Dan Lester, Boise, ID