[Web4lib] Request from Academic Libraries about Charging for Printing

[Riesner, Giles]

We at the Catonsville Campus of the Community College of Baltimore County have
been charging for printing since about 1996 now. Pay Printing came to the Dundalk
and Essex campuses a bit later -- only a few years ago, due to problems at those
campuses with people printing out excess amounts (entire books) and not picking it up.
It also brought the 3 campuses together on the same page with printing in the Libraries.

I've answered your questions below the questions themselves. Please feel free to contact
me directly if you need additional information or to stop by one of the Libraries to see
it in action.

Giles W. Riesner, Jr. | Library Tech Support 
The Community College of Baltimore County | 800 South Rolling Road | Catonsville, MD 21228 USA
Phone: 1-443-840-4245  |  Fax: 1-443-840-4606  |  E-Mail: griesner at ccbcmd.edu 
CCBC. The incredible value of education. 


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Lorraine Martorana
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 2:38 PM
To: web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Web4lib] Request from Academic Libraries about Charging for Printing

Greetings from Cecil College's Cecil County Veterans Memorial Library,

 

I am seeking feedback from locations currently charging for printing in
their library.

 

What system/software do you use?
>> CCBC Currently uses Vendprint. (At the Catonsville Library, we started out with a home-grown
   system using Qview and were forced to change due to network changes. This was an improvement
   over our previous system.) This may be changing in the not too distant future, as there have
   been a number of IT related changes happening at the College. 

How do you manage or control it at your location, installed software
linked to student ID number, use cash, coin, debit card?
>> We have purchased Jamex Coin/Bill/Card units and use only the Coin and Bill functions at
   this point. We MAY move to a hybrid system of some type in the future but will always
   need this capability for community users.
 

Are students limited to a quantity per semester, or per day?
>> No. The only limitations are that the system will accept up to 50 page print job
   at a time. Anything beyond that has to be broken into multiple jobs and submitted or 
   handled through bypass procedures and paid for manually. 
 

What do you charge per page?  How was the cost determined?
>> 10 cents per page.  It was the same as the copiers and at the time the Microfilm
   printer. This made it cost neutral as to source. One of our campuses currently
   allows duplexed printing at 15 cents for double sided prints and we will probably
   expand that as we replace printers. 
 

Why it is a good idea, or why it is not a recommended course of action?
>> ANY kind of control via a release station (paid or unpaid) makes students think more
   about what they print -- more so if they must pay for it.  Before we went that route,
   we (at Catonsville) frequently saw students print pages of their papers every time
   they made a change -- that doesn't happen any more. 
 

Any and all information that you are willing to share with me is greatly
appreciated.  In advance, thank you for your response.

 

Lorraine Martorana

Director of Library Services

Cecil County Veterans Memorial Library

Cecil College

One Seahawk Dr

North East, MD 21901

lmartorana at cecil.edu

 

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