[LIBRARYDIR] unaffiliated patron access to technology

[Jane Blume]

My answers are below.

Jane Blume
Director
Library | Media Services
Bellingham Technical College
3028 Lindbergh Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225
jblume at btc.edu<mailto:jblume at btc.edu>
360.752.8472 - office
360.752.8383 - library

From: LIBRARYDIR [mailto:librarydir-bounces at lists.ctc.edu] On Behalf Of Matz, Chris
Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2016 3:34 PM
To: librarydir at lists.ctc.edu
Subject: [LIBRARYDIR] unaffiliated patron access to technology




These are my problems and mine alone.  My questions, however, are for the group:

  1.  How does your library manage computer use by unaffiliated patrons?  BTC has two computers for public/personal use. Community members are limited to one hour and they can be bumped if a student needs a computer. Staff need to sign the person onto the computer with a special username/password. And, we are lucky, the computers log the community member out after an hour. (They are warned that students bump community members if a computer is needed.) We also have some express computers for password reset, Primo access, etc. Since they are close to the Information Desk, staff notice if someone is there for a long time and chat with them. It helps that our college is in a neighborhood and not centrally located.
Computer members who come in with reference questions or need to use our digital resources online can use a computer for reference/research use. For example, we had a person who wanted to read one of our eBooks that he could only access if he were in the library. We have a different login for both this type of community user and for prospective students who need to fill out forms, etc. for admissions to different programs.

  1.  Roughly what percentage of computers on-site are open for unaffiliated use?  Less than 5%.
  2.  Do you offer guest access to wi-fi?  Community members need to ask for the username and password. The college has had problems with community members that sit in the hallways for hours using informal student study areas (and smell like strong vinegar).
  3.  Understanding that Shoreline has purchased some resources via consortium conditions and has some duty to provide unaffiliated access to keep the discount, does guest wi-fi count toward that standard? I do not know.
Thanks for your consideration.



Chris Matz
Library Director
Shoreline Community College
206.546.4558
cmatz at shoreline.edu<mailto:cmatz at shoreline.edu>
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