How many 'puters should your library have?
Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 08:48AM These sorts of e-mails are always interesting and challenging:
Our [high] school is in the process of redesigning the library and I was hoping you could help us out. As we look at our plans for the new space, we want to make sure we have enough computers. However, through researching this topic, I haven't found an exact answer. Is there an exact answer?
Our population is 1740 and as of now, we will have 125 computers (a mix of laptops and desktops) in the new space. Is this enough? What does best practice say?
I responded:
I don't know that there is a hard and fast rule about how many computers ought to go in a library. It depends a great deal on your school program/philosophy (project-based teaching needs more), other computer resources available (do you have computer laptop carts, other labs, classroom computers), the media center staffing (don't put in more computers than you can supervise), size of your student population, class size, etc. Do you plan to begin a 1:1 laptop program in the near future? Do allow/encourage students to use their personal computing devices?
I believe for schools not in a 1:1 program, a 1:4 ratio of computers to students is now about standard. I am not aware of any national standards that are sufficiently quantitative to refer you to. Have you checked to see if your state has standards for this?
I would strongly recommend having two separate computer "areas" - one dedicated to library research resources/catalog access for general library users, and a second or additional areas for whole class use/instruction. We tend to set these off with windows so the area is a part of the library, but there is noise containment. Might you also need a separate production lab for high-end computing needs like video rendering?
Whatever you decide, make sure it is JOINT decision reached by teachers, administrators and parents (even students), not a recommendation made only by the library staff.
I am not very pleased with my suggestions. Blue Skunk readers, your advice on how many computers should a library contain?
Reader Comments (9)
In addition to Doug's excellent suggestions, I think considering the occupancy rate of the Library as established by the fire marshal is a useful number to factor in. For example, if the fire marshal rates the occupancy of the Library as 100 then you could use that number for a 1:1 number for computers in the Library. Or perhaps 1:2 makes more sense.
Barry
One of the key questions Doug asks is "Do [you] allow/encourage students to use their personal computing devices?". There is no way the high schools in our system (and I suspect many others) can afford to buy enough computers to provide good access for all their students. But our administrators also don't want to allow, much less encourage, students to bring their own.
However, with the growing numbers of portable devices that can connect to the web, schools need to seriously look at formulating a BYO program. That's one of the best ways to affordably expand access for everyone, in the library and elsewhere.
(even students)? C'mon, Mr. Skunk, tear down those parenthesis!
Hi Tim,
One important aspect of the BYO is providing "managed" wireless access. We have both a guest access (port 80 only) and log in access (access to everything within the WAN).
I am not sure what, if anything, we can do about students simply using wireless access they get through their cell phone providers. If their parents provide it...
I am hoping that as portable laptops drop to the cost of graphing calculators, student access will be a moot issue. We can spend our tech dollars on robust infrastructure.
Thanks for the comments,
Doug
Hi Sylvia,
Guilty, as charged.
While we've always had students on our building and planning committees, this still seems to be a radical notion for many. I guess I was in my "soft sell" mode when writing.
Thanks for the poke.
Doug
Y'know... the funny thing is, I hear this all the time. "Well, WE have kids doing tech support... WE have kids on planning committees..." but everyone assumes that they are the only ones and that it's some kind of crazy, radical idea. How does this happen?
Sylvia,
I am guessing folks like us tend to work with the high-end educators. At least I like to think so ;-)
Doug
When opening new facilities in my district, we have used the Simpson's Law Calculator. Created by Dr. Carol Simpson at the University of North Texas School of Information Studies this is an online tool to help librarians calculate the number of computers a library should have. Simpson's Law takes into consideration how many classes the library can hold at one time, the grade levels the library serves, total enrollment, average class size, number of library staff members and what Dr. Simpson calls the "approach to facility design" - exemplary facilities to support a rigorous academic program or a thrifty approach to technology. You can plug in your numbers and get a recommendation. The calculator is online at http://www.school-library.org/csimpson/simpsonform.html.
Thanks, Mary. This looks really useful. Thanks for sharing it.
Doug