Poll on College Library Usage

In My Humble Opinion
41

In our case, the library is open. And we do have computers set aside for the public to use for research. You do not have to have any student ID in order to use them.

However, these public computers do not have word processing software installed. They are for research only.

I agree that college libraries should set aside ways for people to do research. But they do not have to set aside places for them to type papers. They never provided typewriters in the past, did they?

You can go on the Internet, find what you need (and access some databases that are only open to students), and print out a hard copy. Take it home and type it up there.

As far as lending, it’s a real problem with logistics. If a student doesn’t return a book, you can put a hold on his account until he does. If someone off-campus doesn’t return a book, all you can do is ask them to return it. If that book is needed for a student or professor, shouldn’t they have priority?

I don’t think many university libraries ever allowed non-students (or non-faculty) to take out books.

42

[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus]
I do think there’s a change in the wind regarding academic libraries, and one that is unfortunate for the public. We all agree that the library is there for the students. The student is User Number One. But actually barring physical access to others, even at a private uni, as at Vanderbilt and some other private unis just seems unlibrary-like.
[/QUOTE]
I completely agree.

I’m at Johns Hopkins, and our library is open to the public, at least in terms of doing research on-site. Anyone over the age of 16 can come in, take books off the shelves, do research on the library workstations, etc. The only requirement for non-affiliates is that you present some identification as you enter, which is photocopied and, i assume, kept on file.

I think the age restriction is reasonable; you don’t want to turn academic libraries into daycare centers, and there really aren’t many books here suitable for kids anyway.

There are quite a few computers in the library, and they all have full access to the online catalog, full access to the library’s database subscriptions (JSTOR, PubMed, WorldCat, Lexis/Nexis, etc., etc.), the MS Office Suite (Word, Powerpoint, Excel), full access to the printers (for a price; printing isn’t free even for students and faculty), and available USB slots for downloading information to a USB key. Borrowing privileges are available to the public for a $200 annual fee.

I definitely think that public university libraries should be open to the general public as long as the level of access provided does not interfere with the university’s primary mission, which is to educate students. I think that certain books could be deemed off-limits to public borrowing (either due to their rarity/value or due to student demand), and i think the length of time and the number of renewals should be lower for the public than for students and faculty.
Anecdote:

I remember, on a research trip to the United States from Australia in 1999, i ran into the private university wall for the first time, and was quite shocked.

I had been doing research in the Harvard University Archives, which are open to the public. One day, i saw a reference in the manuscripts that i wanted to check in a published source, so when the Archive closed i walked around the corner to the Widener Library, which is the main building in the Harvard Library system. I was informed that access was for affiliates only, and that, in order to use the library, i would have to demonstrate to them that the source i wanted to consult was not available in any other Boston-area library. They were unwilling to deviate from this policy despite the fact that i was visiting on a grant-funded research trip from 12,000 miles away, and only had another two days in Boston before my scheduled departure.

43

Never mind.

44

I still use my university’s online databases. I graduated in 2006 but my passwords are still getting me access to the entire database, except those few sites that can be only accessed from on campus. I enjoy having this unlimited access to journals, newspapers and archives, so far I have managed to keep and update my log in info through one massive campus student web overhaul, and my email too!

Somehow I doubt my free unlimited access is an alumni benefit, maybe it is and who knows but I’m not telling!

45

It’s nice to see that USC does offer some accommodation to visitors, with a nice discount for students enrolled elsewhere.

Considering that they are private, it’s quite decent of them.

46

My experience, with the two colleges I have been enrolled in:

The one for undergraduate studies: State university. Public with access (but, unless they pay for it, not checkout privileges) for books. Computers available for research purposes, but printing limited to those with student IDs (machines needed cards for printing). Public able to use photocopy facilities.

The one I’m at now for graduate studies: Private university. Without access card, unable to enter library (much less use it), and access cards highly limited. All other points, therefore, null.

47

Haven’t been there in a while (I used to live across the street! :)) but the SLU library wants a university ID nowadays. All I know about why is that “there was some bad people coming in.” (Security guy when I asked him.) Since SLU is a private school, it’s their affair. I could probably get in, though I can’t imagine being allowed to use a networked computer.
Not that I’ve used them all that much for non-schoolwork, but I’ve never been challenged at the many U libraries I’ve been into. I just don’t check anything out, and in general, librarians seem delighted when someone actually asks them for non-dumbass help, regardless of status re the school.
<<<librarians>>>

48

My old college’s library (in Spain) allows non-students to walk in. If you’re a student, you must deposit your student card at the front desk; if you’re not, your national ID or equivalent form (passport, foreigner’s ID). Students can borrow materials; non-students can’t.

The only computer there is the Librarian’s; it’s in a glassed-off area. Laptops can be carried in, but not used. People are trying to concentrate here, they don’t want to hear clickity-clikity-clak, sorry. Specially not if you’re one of those folks who hammer the enter key.

Computer labs are students-only.

I think these policies make perfect sense, my brothers’ colleges have similar ones.

49

[QUOTE=Tamex]
Library computers are just for searching the card catalog. When I was a student, they didn’t even have Internet access, but I think they do now.
[/QUOTE]

That’s pretty much the case at UCLA as well. Even a student is not supposed to sit down at one of the computers in the catalog area and just do personal stuff or research, other than look things up in the catalog.

But they can borrow notebooks.

50

[QUOTE=Nava]
My old college’s library (in Spain) allows non-students to walk in. If you’re a student, you must deposit your student card at the front desk; if you’re not, your national ID or equivalent form (passport, foreigner’s ID). Students can borrow materials; non-students can’t.

Computer labs are students-only.

I think these policies make perfect sense, my brothers’ colleges have similar ones.
[/QUOTE]

I agree except for the part about borrowing privileges. Assuming that a system is in place to register visitors’ library transactions–i.e. an external cardholder system, it often makes more sense to let them borrow books and go someplace else to read them. From my experience with academic libraries, physical space for studying is usually in shorter supply than books.

To touch on Mongo’s post, academic libraries are the last resort of those interested in the obscure, the specialized, and the arcane. Just some of the weird things I’ve checked out at UCLA over the years:

Transcripts of New Amsterdam court records. My ancestor was fined three guilders for allowing his servant to race a cart up Broadway.

Old Bowery Days, a history of lower Manhattan published in 1930. Another ancestor was discussed here for about a page and a half.

Various books on the early Roman Catholic church, life in late and post-Imperial Rome, the Norse settlements in Greenland.

Various novels by Upton Sinclair, including The Wet Parade, his Prohibition-favoring melodrama about a dedicated young Prohibition agent, and his alcoholic relatives. BTW I was the first person to circulate this book in over ten years. It had date-due stamps going back to 1933.

Not to be able to access this collection, to me, would be like not having the Straight Dope.

If I had to move to Cambridge, MA, for whatever reason, and not be granted any access to Harvard’s collection, I would die a little inside.

51

[QUOTE=The Them]
I could probably get in, though I can’t imagine being allowed to use a networked computer.
[/QUOTE]

I don’t understand–why would you be able to get in, assuming you’re not a student?

52

At Auburn University/Montgomery, where I attended undergrad, the entire library is open to public use and community users can purchase a $25 user card (with a credit card on file) that allows them to check out up to 3 books at a time. However, all computers other than catalog computers require student username/passwords, which I understand causes a lot of squabbling.

53

[QUOTE=RealityChuck]
They never provided typewriters in the past, did they?
[/quote]

Actually, Wilson Library at the University of Minnesota did provide coin-op typewriters. (Each one was in its own little tiny soundproof room so that the noise didn’t disturb other patrons.) They were still there in the 1990’s when I worked there. They may still be there today.

There’s the OP’s solution–coin-op computers with MS Word!

54

[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus]
I don’t understand–why would you be able to get in, assuming you’re not a student?
[/QUOTE]
My university’s library is open to the public. Anyone can enter and browse, although if you are not student at the university, you can’t borrow. It’s quite a popular study location for the local high school students. It’s the same for the libraries at other universities in Australia that I’ve visited.

55

[QUOTE=Hello Again]
I’m sure circulation is an issue. If you don’t return a book or pay an outstanding fine to your university’s library, they withhold your diploma (ie, you don’t graduate). What’s to stop a regular citizen from not returning a hard-to-find out-of-print resource, or selling it on eBay for that matter? Nothing but civic duty, basically.
[/QUOTE]

Well, for one thing, if the external user in question is an alumnus/a, then they can STILL withhold your transcripts, which you may need decades later on applying to another university, or even to verify that you earned your degree for a job. And former graduate or not, in any event they can and do go after you like any other creditor. In the event of nonpayment you can have your privileges revoked, which doesn’t replace the book, although they will keep trying to get their money.

56

I can tell you that in Pennsylvania a library can have the Constable come and get you just as your getting out of the shower to go to work. He will however let you wipe the shaving cream off your face and throw on some jeans before he puts your ass in the car to take care of this overdue book problem.

You have to either pay for the book or return it and pay the overdue fees. Plus you pay him his costs. That’s how they make a living. He offered to take me to an ATM or in front of the Justice of the Peace.

I lived in a tough area of Lancaster and the neighbors all knew who the Constable was. I went way up in their eyes when he hauled me out and I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was for library fines.

My boss however was less impressed.