A university library laptop lending service: an analysis using two student surveys
| Published date | 05 September 2008 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830810903346 |
| Date | 05 September 2008 |
| Pages | 424-439 |
| Author | Ma Lei Hsieh,Hugh Holden |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THEME ARTICLE
A university library laptop
lending service: an analysis using
two student surveys
Ma Lei Hsieh
Moore Library, Rider University, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, USA, and
Hugh Holden
Arrendale Library, Piedmont College, Demorest, Georgia, USA
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to report on a study of an academic library’s wireless laptop lending
service. The authors believed that the unexpectedly low usage level of the Monmouth University
Library’s Laptop Lending Service (LLS) could best be understood by engaging the intended users of
the LLS, that is, the students of Monmouth University, a small university in New Jersey. A formal,
systematic survey would provide substantive data that would help the Library to evaluate this service
and determine how well it meets the needs and expectations of students and answer the question, “Is it
sufficient to provide wireless access?”
Design/methodology/approach – The open source application PHP Surveyor was used to construct
two web-based surveys which were conducted two years apart (2005 and 2007). An invitation to
participate in the survey was emailed to all registered students. Follow-up emails attended both surveys.
Findings – Among other things, it was learned that the fact that a large majority of the students
believe that an LLS is a valuable service may not, in itself, assure a high level of usage. But also, a high
level of personal laptop ownership among students does not necessarily lead to low demand for the
service.
Practical implications – The useful information and ideas that we gained from these surveys could
benefit libraries that are planning to implement laptop services, or wish to assess their existing
services.
Originality/value – Few research studies on library laptop services have focused on the students’
perspective. This study does that, but also, uniquely, made it possible to juxtapose results from
various similar studies of students and a survey of academic librarians.
Keywords Computers, Wireless, Lending services,University libraries
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
According to a previous study, the number of academic libraries that offered laptop
lending services (LLS) became noticeably significant after 1998, but LLS did not
experience phenomenal growth among colleges and university libraries until later,
taking off after 2002 (Holden and Hsieh, 2007, p. 264). In that 2005 survey of academic
librarians, 79 percent of college and university libraries offered laptop lending services
and 86 percent of these libraries offered wireless access (Holden and Hsieh, 2007, pp. 263,
266). These statistics indicate that wireless access and LLS have become common
features in modern academic libraries.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
LHT
26,3
424
Received 1 August 2007
Revised 4 December 2007
Accepted 3 February 2008
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 26 No. 3, 2008
pp. 424-439
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830810903346
Monmouth University (MU) Library believed that laptops would be a welcome
addition to the library’s services. In the spring of 2003, just prior to MU Library’s own
entrance into this service, a survey of MU students was taken and the overwhelming
majority of the responding students expressed eagerness to see such a service (Holden
and Deng, 2005). Five lending laptops were put into circulation in the summer of 2003.
But the MU Librarians were puzzled that the Library’s laptop lending service did not
follow the expected path to popularity even after two years of service.
We thought to discover why this was so by asking the “end-users” themselves. So, a
survey of MU students was conducted in 2005. That survey revealed that the vast
majority of MU students were unaware of the laptop lending service. Most of the
respondents said that the survey itself was their first word about it. And yet, two years
later, the service was still far from being used at capacity. So, another survey of students
was conducted in 2007. The specific goal of this new round of research was to answer
these questions:
(1) Why is the laptop lending service under-used by MU students?
(2) How satisfied are students with the laptop service?
(3) What do MU students use the library laptops for?
(4) Is the laptop lending service still relev ant to our students? Is it sufficient to
provide wireless access alone?
In the effort to find answers to these questions, we carefully examined the responses of
students who participated in our 2007 survey, comparing them to responses to the 2005
student survey, and, at certain points, to the answers provided by Holden and Deng’s
(2005) survey of academic librarians (Holden and Hsieh, 2007). The analysis is also
informed by other, similar research studies.
Background of the Monmouth University Library Laptop Lending Service
MU is a small liberal arts university in center costal New Jersey with an enrollment of
roughly 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Its library’s laptop lending
service started in the summer of 2003. Policies and procedures were modeled on the
policies of several other academic libraries. Five laptop computers were purchased.
In the fall of 2006, eight new laptops were purchased to replace the original five.
The laptops could be used only in the Library. The loan period was two hours with
renewal possible. One librarian managed the service and was the contact person in case
of a problem with any of the laptops or the WLAN. If the particular issue proved
beyond the abilities of this librarian, she would contact the university’s technical
support Help Desk.
Originally, students could not access the library’s wireless network with their own
laptops owing to concerns of network security. But, within about one year, students
were able to connect to the university’s network wirelessly via several “hot spots” on
campus, of which the library was considered one (and the first). Technical support, as
provided by the university’s help desk, was limited to connectivity issues. The
software installed on the original set of five library laptops was a small subset of the
software installed on the Library’s desktops; the Microsoft Office suite was the primary
productivity software. With the new laptops, the complement of software was brought
much closer to what the desktop computers had (87 percent). All the library’s laptops
are set up to print from the two printers in the reference area, but printing from
A university
library laptop
lending service
425
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