Library new home to 14 new computers

The GCSU library has recently added 14 new computers in the music and media area located on the third floor to avoid students waiting around to access the computers.

The 14 new Dell computers run on the same operating system as the PC’s on the second floor.

Sonny McKenzie, the client technical support specialist, said busy days in the library had some students finding themselves having to wait to use a computer.

“We found that during peak times like midterms and finals, when we have heavy traffic, the computers are full with several people waiting to use them,” McKenzie said. “To kind of counteract that, and to have more computers accessible for students, we did request that we get 14 new computers.”

The computers were purchased using the money from the student technology fee that all students pay each semester.

“(The computers) came from the same location that the 36 public computers came from,” McKenzie said. “We requested those computers from Serve.”

Despite some students at GCSU using their own personal laptops and not using the computers offered in the library, Joe Windish, lead technical specialist for Instructional Support, said that computer lab usage has actually gone up over the past few years.

“One of the things we always watch is computer usage, because we know that students are now bringing more laptops,” Windish said. “You might think that means a decline in lab usage but what we have actually found, and we have been tracking swipes that people swipe for five years, is that lab usage has gone up. I think that that was part of the library trying to monitor, recognize and improve service based on what we learned.”

Nancy Davis Bray, the interim university librarian, said the new computers placed on the third floor have benefited students.

“The public access computers fulfill a need for service on the third floor,” Bray said. “Students have readily adapted to these computers and appreciate the convenience.”

In the near future, the library will be offering wireless printing for students with laptops. It will require students to obtain their printings the same way by entering their code, and then swiping a Bobcat Card.

Along with the 14 new computers on the third floor, the library has 36 computers on the second floor and 14 laptops that students can check out at the circulation desk to use within the library. With even more computers for students to access, the GCSU library has tried to become a more useful resource.

Posted by Lauren Davidson on Mar 5 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry