Lamont Begins New Laptop Lending Program

Lamont Library has introduced a new program to loan laptops to students in the library and has installed 24 new roaming network jacks in an effort to keep pace with what officials called a nationwide trend toward increased wireless network access.

Over the summer, the College convened a panel of representatives from the library to study ways to facilitate laptop use.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) decided to implement some of the panel's suggestions in Lamont, partly because recent renovations made installing the network jacks easier. The jacks are currently only available in the third floor reading room.

"Lamont was the right place at the right time," said John B. Howard, librarian for information technology and a panel member.

"Whenever we do renovation projects now we must think about end-user connectivity," he said. "We kept this in mind during the Lamont renovation."

The trend towards wireless computing has gathered momentum in recent years within universities.

The panel studied similar programs at the University of North Carolina and the California Institute of Technology, which, according to Howard, "have been very successful and popular among the students."

Howard and Kriebel said they hope that the program will catch on at Harvard as well.

"This gives students an alternative to studying in the Houses," Howard said.

But some students said they have not heard about the new borrowing procedures.

"It sounds good," said Dorothy A. Fortenberry '02, "I think that I will probably use it this year."

Brittani L. Sonnenberg '03 has her own laptop and anticipates using the FAS jacks in the library to connect to the network.

While the program is currently modest in scope--only four laptops are available for loaning--organizers said they anticipate future expansion

"It is hard to see now whether we will experiences back-ups this year," said Linda Collins, the head of access services in Lamont. "If needed, expansion is definitely a possibility."

Student users are asked to fill out an evaluation of the program after each use. So far, according to Collins, the response has been positive, although one user complained that the maximum loan period of three hours was insufficient.

Library officials' main worry about the program is security, said Jeffrey A Bernhard, Widener Library's manager of operations and information technology services.

To prevent theft, each laptop is painted crimson and is emblazoned with the Harvard University emblem. The laptops are also fitted with a device that will activate the building alarm if anyone attempts to remove them from the library.

Library officials are also worried about the durability of the laptops, Bernhard said But given that they are some of the sturdiest on the market--they weigh over six pounds--Bernhard is optimistic that they will survive the wear and tear they will likely encounter.