Library Computers
From PPL Comments
- "Ban cell phone use and enforce the policy, or I will enforce it myself. This is a library, not a coffee shop. Ban chat and video games from public computers. Libraries are for knowledge, wisdom and learning, not for babysitting kids or for high school students to play video games. The library is not a place of entertainment."
Prescott Public Library is for knowledge, wisdom and learning, and for coffee, video games and other entertainment. Library computer users are welcome to use their daily time as they see fit. Some use it for email, some to work on resumes and hunt for jobs, some for gaming, and some for homework. Within the guidelines of the library cell phone use policy, cell phones are allowed. We ask cell phone users to be courteous to others, i.e. to set their cell phones to vibrate, keep conversations quiet and brief, and take longer conversations outside. If you believe someone is in violation of library policy, let staff know. If you take matters into your own hands, it is likely you will be found in violation of the library standards of behavior policy and asked to leave.
- "I used to get email telling me when books were waiting for me to pickup and warning me when they were due. When I changed my email address, I let you know. Now I never get email. What’s wrong?"
Sometimes email from the library ends up in a Spam folder. If you find email from sirsi@catalog.yln.info in your Spam folder, click on “Not Spam,” and it probably won’t happen again. It might also help to add sirsi@catalog.yln.info to your Contacts list. For more information, click here. If you still don’t get our email, please ask us to switch you to phone notification.
- “It's a drag to enter my 14-digit library card number and the last 4 digits of my phone number EACH TIME I place a hold. I've used the library catalog several times today, and it is really annoying having to identify myself again and again.”
The interface you use to access the Library Catalog from home is the same interface library patrons use in the library. If it remembered your library card number and phone number, any library patron could see what you have checked out, overdue, etc. And if the catalog didn’t time out after several minutes of inactivity, other library patrons might place or cancel reserves for you.
- “Why do you allow the consumption of food at the computers? It is very disruptive when trying to work when someone next to you is chomping and slurping like feeding time at the zoo, and it is really gross when you sit down at a station and the mouse/keyboard are sticky and/or greasy. I hear soda isn't real good for keyboards either. Thank you for your services.”
Although we have replaced several keyboards worn out as a result of excessive use, to date none have been replaced due to damage from food consumption. As long as patrons stay within the guidelines of the PPL Food and Drink Policy, the computers seem to do just fine. We usually clean keyboards and monitors twice weekly. If you find a computer is greasy or sticky, or if someone is chomping and slurping outside our guidelines, please come to the Ask a Librarian Desk and let us know. We have many backup mice and keyboards.
- “Is it possible to restrict “gaming” from public library computer use? So many times I’ve come to use the computers for research & have to wait while kids are playing computer games. Is this an unreasonable request? Thank you!”
Your request is neither unreasonable nor uncommon. Although the library’s filtering software would make it possible to block gaming sites, just as we don’t tell patrons what they should read, I would rather not get in the business of judging the quality of patrons’ computer use. Are adults using their internet time to send chain letters and jokes to everybody in their address book more important than kids playing games? How about patrons watching DVDs or listening to music? I’m happier giving all patrons the same amount of time and letting them decide how best to use their daily allowance.
FYI the American Library Association thinks “games give kids a chance to practice reading, writing, and computing in the library’s safe environment. Popular video games, the ones that kids really like to play, are immediately engaging and make them work hard to succeed and ‘level up’. While playing these games, kids are constantly developing new strategies, predicting possible outcomes, managing multiple resources, reading and deciphering maps, tracking complex statistics, and adapting to increasingly difficult levels within the game. They learn a range of media literacies beyond basic reading that give them models for navigating our information-rich world.”
- “Suggest you have two or three computers separate from internet computers just for typing and printing documents etc. Then one wouldn’t have to wait in line for typing and printing. Thanks.”
We give all library users equal access to the public computers. Whether surfing the net, gaming, writing a resume or looking at photos of the grandkids, everybody gets the same amount of time.
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