Rethinking the Public Workstation

M. Kathleen Kern, Editor
Amy Wallace, Guest Columnist

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When I finished reading Amy Wallace’s manuscript, I knew it needed to be the next Accidental Technologist column. Amy’s experience with users’ constantly changing technology needs will resonate with all frontline librarians. Her library’s response is a readily available but often overlooked technology and her advice will be of great use to libraries in their quest to provide access to a variety of computer peripherals, both cutting-edge and legacy. As promised in my first column, I have provided my thoughts on emerging (and retreating) technologies in the sidebar.–Editor.

Open any glossy news magazine and you will find articles on all sorts of exciting technologies that are revolutionizing learning in our universities. The pervasive media coverage leads one to believe that every incoming student has a tablet PC, iPod, PDA, and cell phone that can do everything including cook dinner. Okay, maybe not actually cook dinner, but have it delivered to them from their favorite take-out place. Many of these technologies are portable and will no doubt turn up in libraries sooner than we think. Colby Riggs, in her two part Library Hi Tech News article, details a number of such technologies, including the SanDisk Folding Universal Serial Bus (USB)/SD Card; the Pupillo video camera for video calls; the Cellstik that backs up information stored on cell phones; the TuneBuckle iPod Nano Belt that serves as an iPod case while holding up your pants; the Thanko MP3 Watch that records and plays music; the U3 Smart Drive that stores Windows settings and applications for use on other PCs; and the Eyebud 800 that records images directly to an iPod.¹ Additional items can be found by browsing the latest editions of popular computer magazines. Some examples include the Pure Digital single-use camcorder, the SanDisk Cruzer Crossfire drive with preloaded interactive games, and the Young Micro USB 2.0 Adapter for using old 2½-, 3½-, or 5¼-inch drives.²

The pressure from our users to support these technologies is enormous. Shoham and Roitberg’s study on the uses of public workstations concludes that “from the user’s point of view, learning is not divided into library and non-library uses. For the benefit of the students, libraries should offer them all learning tools under one roof and in one workstation.”³ Academic libraries everywhere are scrambling to meet these demands either by launching new services or finding new ways to support these must-have technologies with existing services. This scrambling, however, is nothing new and not just reserved for academic libraries. Libraries have always had to grapple with implementing new technologies to support user demands. In some cases, decisions to provide support for a new hip technology has paid off, and in other cases libraries invest many dollars and work hours to find out a technology is passé just as it is implemented. Walk into any library and you are likely to see remnants of technologies past, including computer towers with out-of-order zip drives, specialized workstations languishing off in a corner, microform readers, or massive televisions occasionally used to view VHS tapes and DVDs.

Limits of Traditional Public Workstation Planning

Because it seems like libraries are always playing catch-up, it might be a good time for them to revisit how they interface with emerging and legacy technologies in general, instead of considering each individual technology or groups of similar technologies as they come along. To do this requires libraries to rethink the concept of the public workstation. The ideal public workstation has been a one-stop shop that allows all users to accomplish any desired function without waiting. Library Technology Reports notes that “public workstations in the library tend to offer the following features: access to the library catalog, access to Web-based electronic resources, access to CD-ROM-based electronic resources, productivity software, and e-mail and instant messaging.”⁴ To help with planning, the same report also encourages libraries to gather formal or informal statistics on things like the total number of workstations, number of sessions per workstation per time period, sessions per type of user, applications accessed and number of sessions per application, measurements of activity, and pages printed per workstation.⁵ Although the report is four years old, the planning model presented is not much different than ones presented today or even ten years ago.

The typical result of workstation planning–considering cost, function, space, and use–is usually not the ideal one-stop-shop workstation, but rather a plan for several different kinds of workstations with a clear idea of how many of each kind will be installed and in which location. A plan may call for a large number of workstations that provide access to Web-based resources, some computer workstations that provide access to specific electronic resources and applications, some kiosks set up for a specific task, some specialized multimedia stations configured to view and edit, or other workstations that meet site specific needs. Even with all the recent discussions on creating the “information commons,” the end result of workstation planning today does not look that different from five or ten years ago. Church’s article on a newly designed information commons describes a general and registration-express workstation, but also notes that the library has scanner and media workstations located in another section of the library.⁶ Hein’s article on the same topic describes a general workstation as well as kiosks to access the catalog and course reserves, scanning workstation, and CD-ROM computers.⁷ Neither article mentions if the workstation plan considered audio, video, or other single-use workstations. Libraries have not yet been able to achieve the goal of the single workstation that can do everything for everyone.

Unfortunately for libraries, the ideal public workstation is different for every single person. The ideal public workstation of today may also not be the ideal public workstation of tomorrow. As a result, even after hours of planning and implementation, there is still the very real worry that a user will come in and need access to something that was not considered in the plan. Library workstation planning tends to be based on what are considered traditional library functions and the current technologies associated with those functions rather than on how more and new technologies are being woven into these tasks. Workstation planning often focuses on computer functions and overlooks functions that are already served by existing specialized video, audio, or even microform workstations. Current discussions about public computing in libraries focus primarily on the use of thin-client technology or personal laptops and handhelds in a wireless environment.⁸ These forays have not directly addressed the challenge of how libraries can better interface with emerging and legacy technologies; but all is not lost. Other new technologies may provide the missing link in the quest for the single public workstation that does it all.

New Model for Public Workstation Planning

How can libraries plan for a low-cost, multifunctional, space-saving, old- and new- technology-friendly public computer workstation? One answer is to design a more flexible public workstation that can serve as an interface for unknown future technologies just as it has for traditional library resources and applications. The library could then provide access to technologies on an as-needed basis. Users could either bring in desired technologies, or check them out from the circulation desk. One technology that has the potential to take libraries a long way in providing a more flexible workstation is the USB. This technology is poised to have an enormous impact on the delivery of services and resources via the public workstation, yet it is rarely talked about in library literature and continues to be underutilized in libraries.

USB technology has been around since 1995, and is available on many existing library workstations, but often is not accessible. On most existing workstations the USB port is located on the back of the central processing unit (CPU) or hidden under some secret flap. The CPU is then tucked away under a desk or stashed behind a giant monitor. Even if a user can find the USB port on the library workstation, the port might already be taken by some predetermined peripheral, or the port might be locked down so the public cannot use it.

A number of advantages would result for libraries if they made USB ports more accessible to their users and if they made USB technology the central focus of public workstation planning. An article about the “new mobile scholar” mentions two key advantages of USB technology:⁹

The great advantage of the USB is, as the name suggests, its universality. Almost everything can be attached to a computer, even such large and energy-greedy items as printers and scanners are now available in USB format. Another advantage of USB technology is that it permits hot swapping. That is, devices can be connected and disconnected while the PC is turned on.¹⁰

Still other advantages include the support of legacy hardware such as external floppy or zip drives, the capability to connect to wireless devices using Certified Wireless USB, compatibility with many emerging technologies such as the Thanko MP3 Watch or U3 Smart Drive mentioned above, and the ability to connect devices such as headphones and DVD players that libraries traditionally have relegated to non-computer listening and viewing workstations. New products, such as the OverDrive Download Station software, which allows users to download audiobooks and music, are being pitched to libraries that require the use of USB ports.¹¹ Even microform readers are now incorporating USB technology.

All of these capabilities make USB technology a good fit for public computer workstations in libraries. Users would then have the ability to upload or download from a variety of storage devices, connect to personal peripherals, and not have to wait to power up or down to use a device. For example, a user could access information on her U3 Smart Drive (which stores Windows settings and applications for use on other PCs); or could stop by the circulation desk and check out a USB-ready headset and DVD player to view a DVD from the library’s collection, a floppy drive to access a homework assignment or résumé, or a scanner to save an image.

Making It Work: USB Technology and Our Library

My library serves a small public university with approximately 2,200 full-time equivalents (FTE). The library installed thirty PC workstations in fall 2003, each comprised of a small tabletop CPU with CD-ROM player and front access to two USB ports. The following year, the library acquired five Macintosh computers, each equipped with a CD-ROM player and access to three USB ports (two on the side and one in the keyboard). Students and faculty were encouraged to use USB key drives to download and upload information on the public workstations, but the library soon found that some students still did not have their own USB drives, or desired to use other storage formats. The library made six USB key drives, four USB-ready floppy drives, and one USB-ready zip drive available for checkout at the circulation desk. Each device was available for a two-hour period. There were some checkout period exceptions made for the key drives, which some users wished to check out overnight in order to transfer information to their home computer or to make an in-class presentation. So far all equipment has been returned in good working order, which has meant no replacement costs. Damage to an external drive would have little impact since it would not require confusing out-of-order signs or computer downtime.

Analysis of checkout records revealed that the USB-ready zip drive had seven checkouts, the USB key drives had sixty-eight checkouts, and the USB-ready floppy drives had 299 checkouts during the 2005-2006 academic year. Although there were never any waits for, or holds placed on, these items, the usage statistics for these items gives several insights into our users’ public computing needs. Few users are using zip disks, but it still seems worth the $149.99 investment to have a zip drive on hand when needed.¹² There was a bit more demand for the USB key drives, which definitely came in handy for those who did not have one of their own and needed to transport something that could not be e-mailed or saved to another storage device. Most often these situations involved making a presentation in a campus classroom or transporting large files to a home computer or campus lab to complete tasks. The USB floppy drives had the highest circulation, but usage still only amounted to approximately six hundred hours. Again, purchasing four USB-ready floppy drives at $31.95 apiece seems like a relatively inexpensive way to have them available when people need them. Prior to last year these items were checked out by hand, and not via the integrated library system, so no usage statistics were retained. When informally polled, the circulation staff agreed that zip drive use probably was about the same, floppy drive use was probably up, and key drive use probably was down from the previous year.

In addition to these three items, the library also circulates USB-ready audio, video, and image technologies that can be used for class projects. The audio and video recorded on these devices can then be uploaded to library workstations, library-circulated laptops, or other computer labs on campus via the USB port (for editing, addition of text, and background research), and then downloaded to be used in class presentations somewhere else on campus. All of these audio and visual items are extremely popular and usually have users waiting to check them out as soon as they are checked in. Our library currently circulates four Canon Power Shot G2 cameras, ten Canon Power Shot G6 cameras, and ten digital audio recorders for use in language courses. What’s more, this trend does not seem to be restricted to small public universities like our university. At a recent local program, a librarian from a large private university talked about the success her library had circulating equipment needed to create podcasts for course assignments. Last year the large private academic library circulated each piece separately, but is considering circulating all pieces as a kit next year to assist users who do not know which pieces to pick and choose.

The reliance on USB technology for public workstations has been a great success for our library for the following reasons:

1. No need to purchase zip or floppy drives for each public workstation–Students could still use a zip or floppy drive on any workstation by simply checking one out from the circulation desk. As a result, the overall cost and footprint of the workstation was reduced.
2. Ability to purchase relatively inexpensive drives to meet user demands–If damaged, the devices do not require any downtime for the workstation.
3. Easy for library users–Users did not have to search around to plug in drives and other peripherals, since the drives are located front and center on the computer. Users also did not have to power up and down the workstation to use a new device.
4. Enables the use of more than one drive or peripheral at the same time–For example, a user can move a class project file from her USB key drive to another group member’s USB key drive without saving anything to the workstation.
5. Allows libraries to take advantage of emerging technologies. The library can quickly provide access to new technologies without designing a new type of workstation or waiting until the end of a computer replacement cycle.

It is difficult to guess what technologies users will request this year or next, but USB connectivity gives libraries the flexibility to allow users to upload to all types of platforms, or download from a variety of devices, wherever and whenever they are working on a project. The digital audio recorders purchased this year are one example. Using the results from a recent user survey, the library has also identified a demand for USB-ready CD burners and scanners. Each device can be purchased for less than $100 and checked out to give scanning and CD-burning capability to all of the library’s public workstations.

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