How libraries are using netbooks

Citation

(2009), "How libraries are using netbooks", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 26 No. 1/2. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2009.23926aaf.001

How libraries are using netbooks

Article Type: Features From: Library Hi Tech News, Volume 26, Issue 1/2.

Introduction

You cannot open a computer magazine these days without seeing an article about netbooks. These smaller, less powerful versions of laptops are starting to be used in libraries. At least one library blog says that "This year's top technology may be netbooks; tiny laptops could soon be as ubiquitous as mobile phones". ( Schnell, 2009) The question is: What can libraries use them for?

Literature review

There are many articles out there about netbooks, but very few about their uses in libraries or education. Most of the education articles are focused on netbooks in K-12 classroom settings. These articles generally highlight their convenient size and affordability. In her article "Small Device, Big Appeal" Schaffhauser (2008) points out that "the computers are small enough to fit on students' desks right alongside their textbooks and papers, yet still equipped with the power to give students access to web-based educational content without leaving their chairs" which makes working with these machines versatile and convenient. There are drawbacks and Trotter, in an article in Education Week (2008), warns that "educators would be disappointed if they were seeking the exact same equivalent of a full laptop or desktop. That's not going to be the case".

The connection with cloud computing is one of the most constant themes in the literature. In "Go Higher with Cloud Computing" Harris (2009) points out that "we seem to be heading back toward a client/server model of computer applications. Only this time the server is a cloud. The cloud, or cloud computing, refers to the use of internet servers to provide applications, storage and processing power to smaller Web-connected computing devices. Small drives in netbooks can use the cloud for extended storage, and portable devices like the iPhone or the new Google-powered Android phones connect to applications on the cloud to duplicate desktop functionalities. In many cases, cloud computing is ideal for small public libraries, though school libraries may face additional challenges in coordinating with technology departments". The cloud computing aspect to netbooks is also discussed in by Hiner in his Tech Sanity Check Blog (2009), "Enterprises will also exploit this trend to gain efficiency and manageability improvements by being able to centralize more applications, and in some cases even migrating to more of a thin client architecture. Corporate users have often resisted this scenario because it took away some of the flexibility they were used to on their PCs. However with netbooks, this type of centralization would actually help speed up and simplify storage and applications for users on their netbooks, and so it's much more likely to be accepted". Griffey (2009) also makes the connection on ALA's TechSource blog "With computing and data moving more and more into the cloud, netbooks make a lot of sense for anyone who is interesting in having a computing device that is light and portable. And in times of economic adversity, being able to purchase and circulate sub-$400 computers when your current crop of laptops is dying sounds like a heck of a deal. Next time you're looking for portable computers or are just getting into circulating laptops, take a look at netbooks and see if they meet your needs".

Our experience

In the fall of 2008, the Auraria Library Systems Department decided to take a look at netbooks and see what could be done with them. After looking at a lot of different types we decided to purchase several ASUS Netbook Eee PC 1000 HAs. Things that we liked about them included that it has the option of the Windows XP operating system which is more familiar to our staff than Linux, it has a webcam and good wireless connectivity. We originally ordered both the 10" and 7" variety but found that the keyboard on the 7" machine was just too small for easy use.

We are going through an organizational change in the library which will encourage librarians and staff to do more outreach on campus, such as increasingly engaging with classes, professors and student organizations outside the library. We were considering purchasing laptops for a large number of employees. Some people didn't want to give up their more powerful desktop models and others thought that laptops were generally too heavy, or didn't like using port replicators or similar devices. A member of the library systems staff suggested that netbooks might be a good option for some people. After looking at the prices, we found that we could generally buy an employee both a desktop and a netbook for the price of a regular laptop. We ended up giving people the choice. Those that chose laptops cited the bigger keyboard, the ability to have one computer for everything, and the larger screen. Employees who chose the netbook/desktop combination liked the size and portability of the netbook. The netbooks users were usually comfortable with cloud computing and used it to avoid transferring documents. In order to make working on the network and updates easier we ended up installing XP Pro so that we could join the netbooks to the network. We removed the XP Home operating system that the netbooks arrived with. That was the only customization we found necessary.

We have just begun our experiment, but the netbook/desktop combination has been more popular than we anticipated. People find they are more likely to take a computer with them to meetings, appointments and conferences if it is small and lightweight. We would like to move to these machines for many other uses such as check out machines for library staff and students, for use during weeding projects, and in our classrooms.

Uses at other libraries

I asked for information regarding how other libraries are using netbooks on a few library technology related listservs. I received a few answers. Jim Morgan from the Indiana University School of Medicine Library reports that they are lending two Dell Mini-9s to medical students to introduce them to that sort of laptop. They also have one in a pool for library faculty to use for conferences and home use. Carol Gyger from Poudre River Public Library District in Colorado says that they are using two eeePc (Asus) netbooks for employees who travel to out of town to give PowerPoint presentations at conferences. Per Phillip Whitford of the Braswell Memorial Library in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, a public library, they are using them as loaner laptops in their young adult and children's departments. They are finding that adults generally prefer a bigger keyboard. It should be noted that they are using 7" Asus eeePcs. They also have a staff member who is using one to take to meetings and for presentations. The most innovative, developed and interesting project came from Rayon Vernon from British Columbia College and Institute Library Services (CILS) in Vancouver, Canada. CILS is a provincially funded library service that provides students at more than 20 post-secondary institutions with course materials in alternate formats. More information about the alternative formats they work with can be found at www.langara.bc.ca/cils/formats.html. They are using the netbooks (Asus eeePCs) to loan to users in order to provide students with accessibility tools, such as Amis DAISY player, which are preloaded onto the netbooks. They find that the price is only slightly higher than a hardware DAISY player and that many users like the additional flexibility of the netbook. A presentation that Ryan did this project can be found at www.neads.ca/conference2008/en/video.php?swf=conf2008_formats_Vernon and the accompanying slides are posted at www.langara.bc.ca/cils/presentations/DIY%20_Pres_Nov08/NEADS2008_slides_RV.htm. There is also a wiki entry about the project at: http://wiki.langara.bc.ca/wiki/index.php/Accessible_laptop_project. In his presentation Vernon (2008) speaks about "raising the floor". In other words, making sure that all students have access to materials, regardless of their individual circumstances and that not only format, but also technology, is important in providing this.

Also I recently attended the Code4Lib 2009 conference in Providence, Rhode Island. While the vast majority of attendees had standard sized laptops, there was a significant presence of netbooks. I questioned several people about their satisfaction with this type of computer and they all were relatively satisfied. Most had Asus eeePcs, but other brands were represented as well. Most people liked the portability and it was easy to notice that they were less trouble to haul around than laptops. Complaints were generally about the keyboard size and the shift key being strangely located on eeePCs - which is rumored to be improved in the newest version. Many, but not all, of the people who had netbooks were women, despite the fact that at least 75 percent of the attendees were men. This could be due to the small keyboard.

Other potential uses in libraries

What is interesting is that when I talk to people about the potential uses for netbooks in libraries they have all sorts of ideas such as weeding, student surveys, specialized set ups, etc., but the biggest uses are really the things that libraries were already using laptops for. The only difference is that these are cheaper, smaller and cloud computing has caught up with them. The price makes uses such as a secondary staff computer, or the ability to purchase more for student checkout or classes possible. The size makes taking them to conferences, meetings, classes, to see professors, etc., easier and more fun. The increased use of networked applications makes the need for larger, more powerful computers unnecessary for many jobs. Because of these basic reasons I think that these smaller laptops will find many uses in libraries. We just need to start to get more creative.

Margaret S. Brown-SicaAssociate Director at the University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA.(Margaret.brown-sica@ucdenver.edu)