Association of Research Libraries (ARL) survey on the management of public computing
This presentation highlights results of the recent Association of Research Libraries (ARL) survey on the management of public computing, including: demand for and scale of library public computing, staffing & organizational structures, budgeting & upgrades, security, authentication and authorization, policies, assessment and measurements of success.
Notable innovative approaches to library public computing will also be highlighted. This session is presented in a fun, "game show"-like format (with prizes, too). Published by ARL as SPEC Kit 302, "Managing Public Computing", the survey was designed specifically for the data needs of library administrators and IT managers with responsibilities related to public computing.
Sixty-nine (56%) of the 123 ARL member libraries in the US and Canada responded; in general, each institution was asked to describe the following: 1. The scale of the library public computing operation - number of libraries, number of public computers & printers, how many libraries have wireless networks, etc. They were also asked to describe the demand for public computing over a span of five years.
2. Staffing & organizational structure - how many & what kind of staff are involved, which staff are responsible for supporting public computing, what support services they provide, what other library technology responsibilities they have, which staff are the first to be approached by users with technology questions, problems, and support needs, etc.
3. Budgeting & upgrades - have budgets increased, decreased or remained the same over the last five years? How often is equipment upgraded, and are upgrade cycles in place?
4. Security & authentication/authorization - do users log in to use computers and/or the network? Are computers secured using imaging software or other techniques? What kinds of network security are used to combat viruses, file sharing, etc.? Who is responsible for these security measures?
5. Policies & procedures - are there policies in place for public computing? How current are the policies? How are these created and administered? Are there procedures in place for staff to follow when there are such things as requests for new software, theft of hardware, complaints about patron behavior on computers, etc.?
6. Assessment/measurement of success - does the library conduct surveys, focus groups, etc. to determine outcomes of the introduction of new services, hardware, software, etc.? Are usage statistics gathered, and if so how is this done? How are complaints handled? How does the library know if it really is meeting the computing needs of its users, and are users going elsewhere instead? Until the publication of this survey at the end of 2007 the management of public computing in academic libraries had not been systematically evaluated across so many different areas at one time.
Although surveys on specific areas and topics in public computing have appeared over the years, the last ARL survey of such broad scope appeared in 1984, and its focus was primarily staff computing. As librarians involved in the management of public computing in two ARL libraries, the authors realized that this lack of reliable, current data on the management of public computing in other ARL libraries was a major hindrance to understanding best practices going on at other institutions. It is hoped that this survey will help fill these gaps and provide useful data for further research, as well as shed light on many notable innovations that could benefit other institutions.
Michael Cook
Cornell University
Michael Cook has been the Head of Public Computing at Cornell University's Albert R. Mann Library since 2001. In addition he is very involved with the Cornell Library's web presence and its digital preservation efforts in historic literature. He has Master's degrees in Philosophy and Library & Information Science from the University of South Carolina. Michael was the 2007 recipient of the State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Librarianship.
