[LIBRARYDIR] [EXTERNAL] unaffiliated patron access to technology

[Bagley, Michelle]

Clark's answers are provided below.

Best,
Michelle

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: [EXTERNAL] [LIBRARYDIR] unaffiliated patron access to technology


Hello, everyone.  Our library is concluding a major phase of construction this quarter, and one of the decisions we made to keep operations less chaotic was to change up our computer access to patrons who are neither enrolled at or employed by the college.  At Shoreline, this is about a dozen "regulars" who have been trespassed or otherwise inconvenienced by restrictions placed upon them at the local public library venues.  Prior to this September, at least five of our 25 desktop computers were set aside for these patrons.  We closed the building outright this summer and opened for Fall 2016 in partial readiness, and many of those patrons have not (yet) returned.  Those that have are shall we say demonstrative in their outrage.  Yes, of course, change is hard and all of us are uncomfortable with painting tarps and torn-up carpeting, but I was weary of enrolled students being turned away from the computers their technology fees pay for, as our IT department is to date unwilling to put any time restrictions on guest log-ins.  The students have expressed gratitude many times that more computers are open to them more of the time, amid the cacophony of the work sites.



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?  We do not provide access to computers for unaffiliated patrons. We provide community members (anyone who lives in the service district) with the option to obtain a library card. Community members are logged into our first floor research lab computers by a librarian once the librarian has verified the library card of the person requesting access. Community members have 1-hr access to research lab computers after 4 pm Monday-Friday and from 1-5 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
  2.  Roughly what percentage of computers on-site are open for unaffiliated use?  Roughly 20%. The library houses 100 computers but only the 21 computers in the research lab are available for community member use.
  3.  Do you offer guest access to wi-fi?  No, wifi users must have an access code and a college account.
  4.  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? Not certain. We do allow community members logged into the research lab computers to use databases and other e-resources.
Thanks for your consideration.

It's not all gloom and doom, for the record.  Fewer unaffiliated patrons in the building means I haven't had to break up a fight between their dogs in almost six months.


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