The circulation desk in Middleton Library will soon add 20 Lenovo laptops to the existing collection of 70 MacBooks for students to check out.
The available laptops range from two to four years old, but are often all checked out, said Library Head of Access Services Kelly Blessinger.
“We are hoping that the infusion of 20 new laptops will help alleviate this.” Blessinger said. “We are also discussing implementing new technologies such as electronic wait lists that will notify users when a laptop is available.”
Student circulation desk worker and sociology junior Angelica Nunez said about four people come to check out laptops during the four to five hours she works each day.
“A lot of people check out on Friday so they can return it on Monday and have it for the weekend,” Nunez said.
Anthropology graduate student Ray Siebenkittel said the ability to check out a computer from the library got him through a tough semester when he didn’t have his own laptop.
“I lived off the Middleton Library laptops,” Siebenkittel said. “I would go check it back in and then wait and check another one out immediately.”
A Tiger Card is required for check out, and the laptop must be returned in 72 hours, Blessinger said. Students are liable for any damage to the computers, which are purchased with Student Tech Fee money and owned by Information Technology Services. They are a part of ITS’s Gear2Geaux program, which provides students with electronics free for temporary use through Middleton Library.
Some programs at the University require students to have their own computers. The Manship School of Mass Communication instituted a laptop requirement for all of its students in 2013, and in 2014 the Department of Interior Design redefined rules for its laptop requirements, including the computer’s memory size, according to its website.
The new laptops added will be PCs instead of MacBooks, which may make a difference to students loaning them for the weekend.
“I can see the benefits in both Mac and PC,” Siebenkittel said. “I’ve used both a lot, but I think I do prefer a Mac just because I feel like it’s more user friendly.”
The Student Tech Fee Oversight Committee receives proposals every year from ITS for items like the laptops or cameras available to students, said Student Government President Clay Tufts, a committee member.
Tufts said the committee grades proposals sent to them using a set of criteria and looks at how much the items will be used. The committee then decides whether to allot Student Tech Fee money for the entire proposal.
Every four years, ITS asks for funding to purchase 50 more laptops to add to the circulation or replace inviable laptops. For the years in between, it can request funding for 20 laptops, said John Duplantis, a committee member and administrative analyst at the University Office of Budget and Planning.