Wi-fi is the obvious solution for libraries. We've made the entire downtown area of Crestone into a hot spot, not by plan, just by natural growth of cafes and other nodes. The result is lots of people who gather and use their laptops to stay connected.
Fred > Around here (here being Evansville, IN, U.S.), the public libraries all > put a 15-minute cap on your computer usage and also require you to have > a valid library card. The reason is because the libraries don't have > enough computers to support everyone. (Keep in mind that the clients > aren't just people doing research-- this includes people with no > Internet at home trying to pay bills or do online banking). > > I'm not sure how well-funded the public libraries are (it could simply > be that libraries don't have enough/space/ to put more computers), but > the ones around here don't seem to cater well to adults with computer > needs, as it's very difficult to find an open computer with access to > the Internet (several of them are limited to library catalog browsing, > and these are rarely occupied)-- though if you're a kid, they've got a > large section roped off simply for kids to play games online. > > Interestingly enough, my university's library sports several hundred > computers, most of which are occupied all day long. Again, a student ID > is required to use these computers, but the activity on them is > relatively unrestricted (ranging from homework to Farmville). > Additionally, the campus has about ten other labs hosting about 40-50 > computers each, providing students with all the time in the world to > play Farmville. > > I've done a large portion of my editing in the university library in the > past simply because the time restriction on computer usage was absent. > I'd never even consider it at the public library simply because I > wouldn't even have time to check my watchlist. > > Bob > _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
