Archive for January, 2008

Should our open labs be open to the community?

admin January 29th, 2008

The problems

  1. Students are often waiting to use a computer while non-student community members are tying up our resources
  2. Students are given preference, but when community members are asked to leave to make room for paying students they often become upset
  3. The Campus Police Department is contacted frequently to escort community members out of the labs
  4. There have been numerous instances of community members viewing pornographic material in the open lab making students and children uncomfortable
  5. The labs are a place for academic work and for community members to better themselves.  It is difficult to accomplish this with the non-academic use that is occuring in both of our open labs

Possible solutions

  1. Computers that are filtered are available to the community in the cafeteria in Lynn and in the hallways in Danvers.  We could check for IDs at each open lab and only allow students and faculty into the labs.  Community members would be directed to the computers in the Lynn cafeteria and Danvers hallways.  This solution will also eliminate the free printing we are providing to community members and help alleviate the long lines that students wait in for their printouts.
  2. Eventually we could install scanning systems and scan IDs as students and faculty enter the labs.  This would encourage more people to get their IDs and would make it a quick, clean process for the lab staff.  This would be the ultimate but is at least two years out in the planning and installation and could be a next step to option 1.
  3. Easing up on option 1 a bit we could check for IDs and provided the individual presents an ID (student, driver’s license, etc.) let them in.  Only individuals that do not have an ID would be directed to the Danvers hallways or Lynn cafeteria computers.  This option will present more control and may be enough to alleviate the problems that persist in each lab.  This option may also not be enough and would still allow in the community members that present problems and put our lab staff in harms way.

What are your thoughts?