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The state of wireless laptop lending programs A survey of academic libraries

The state of wireless laptop lending programs A survey of academic libraries Purpose – This paper seeks to learn, by way of a survey, what librarians at US colleges and universities were doing and the issues they were encountering as they considered, developed, or maintained wireless laptop computer lending programs (WLLP). Design/methodology/approach – PHPSurveyor was used to construct a web‐based survey of librarians subscribed to any of 19 library‐related listservs. An invitation to participate in the survey was posted to each listserv on the same day. Findings – Student usage of WLLPs ranged from extremely heavy to very light. Difficulties with library WLLPs were variously characterized as minor to stifling. Nevertheless, patterns emerged in the statistics as well as the additional comments given by many librarians. For example, librarians are much more ambivalent than the “experts” on the supposed cost savings generated by “going wireless”. Practical implications – The results of this survey are useful to libraries planning their own WLLPs, providing insights into what to expect and what to account for, including (and beyond) equipment costs. Originality/value – By comparing what was found by the two most relevant earlier studies with these new findings, this study provides a more current picture of WLLPs in academic libraries. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Library Hi Tech Emerald Publishing

The state of wireless laptop lending programs A survey of academic libraries

Library Hi Tech , Volume 25 (2): 16 – Jun 19, 2007

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References (10)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0737-8831
DOI
10.1108/07378830710755018
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – This paper seeks to learn, by way of a survey, what librarians at US colleges and universities were doing and the issues they were encountering as they considered, developed, or maintained wireless laptop computer lending programs (WLLP). Design/methodology/approach – PHPSurveyor was used to construct a web‐based survey of librarians subscribed to any of 19 library‐related listservs. An invitation to participate in the survey was posted to each listserv on the same day. Findings – Student usage of WLLPs ranged from extremely heavy to very light. Difficulties with library WLLPs were variously characterized as minor to stifling. Nevertheless, patterns emerged in the statistics as well as the additional comments given by many librarians. For example, librarians are much more ambivalent than the “experts” on the supposed cost savings generated by “going wireless”. Practical implications – The results of this survey are useful to libraries planning their own WLLPs, providing insights into what to expect and what to account for, including (and beyond) equipment costs. Originality/value – By comparing what was found by the two most relevant earlier studies with these new findings, this study provides a more current picture of WLLPs in academic libraries.

Journal

Library Hi TechEmerald Publishing

Published: Jun 19, 2007

Keywords: Laptops; Wireless; Lending services; Academic libraries; Internet; United States of America

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