Louise is looking for “user experience” stories when it comes to offering WiFi in your library. More details and contact information can be found below.
[Web4lib] Wanted: your wireless experiences
By Louise Alcorn
To Web4lib@webjunction.orgGreetings Web4Lib community,
I come bearing a request. I am currently editing/co-authoring a book on wireless in libraries–one of Neal-Schuman’s “How to do it manuals”. Very ‘quick and dirty’ on the basics, planning, maintenance, etc. I was asked to edit and flesh out a manuscript started by someone else, and I have a few things I want to add.
One component I’d like to add to this book is *user experience*. I have always felt that reading about colleagues’ experience, both pro and con, is instructive for professionals tackling new project areas, as we can draw on each others’ strengths, experience and mistakes. We used this approach to useful effect, with enormous help from the Web4Lib community, in another book on library software and I thought it would be even more appropriate here.
**My request: I want to hear from libraries who are currently implementing, or who already have implemented, wireless access for staff and/or patrons. I want your ‘stories’–good, bad and ugly. Issues and/or triumphs with IT staff, vendors, library staff, library boards, faculty committees, etc. I’m looking for all aspects of the process-finding hardware, implementation, policy (!), training staff, marketing the service to your patron base, troubleshooting and maintenance issues.
I’d love to hear from a wide variety of libraries–academic, public, special–and both pro and con experiences with any of the aspects above. I’ve already separately contacted staff at a few libraries I know have wireless, but I wanted to throw this out to the always helpful Web4Lib community, and give you an opportunity to rant or rave about your wireless experience. As always, your names/positions/libraries’ names will be used only as you prefer.
Please respond to me OFF-list, so as not to overwhelm in-boxes.
Many thanks in advance,
Louise Alcorn=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Louise E. Alcorn — Reference Technology Librarian
West Des Moines Public Library
4000 Mills Civic Pkwy
West Des Moines IA 50265
(515) 222-3573 louise.alcorn@wdm-ia.com
http://www.wdm.lib.ia.us
