NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/bit/listserv/pacsl/3122

Text File | 1993-01-23 | 9.0 KB | 180 lines

Comments: Gated by [e-mail]
Path: sparky!uunet!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!paladin.american.edu!auvm!UHUPVM1.BITNET!LIBPACS
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Date:         Fri, 22 Jan 1993 11:48:29 CDT
Sender:       Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <[e-mail]>
From:         Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Authorization of users...
Lines: 168

4 Messages, 169 Lines
*------
From: Marty Kesselman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: AUTHORIZATION OF USERS RE: CD-ROM and NETWORKED RESOURCES
San Francisco State's comments were in response to the question I posted
last month.  At that time some of the responses were made to the list
and some were sent directly to me.  At that time, I did not receive any
negative comments to my question and was interested in the variety of
methods being used to screen out non-primary users (even at public
academic institutions!) such as keeping CD disks on reserve, having CD
access in a separate room of the library, password protection, and
elaborate automated ID checking schemes.

The reasons I originally posted the question on PACS-L was that our
primary users (the ones paying the tuition) were quite often unable to
get access to the CD-ROMs because of heavy use from outside users.  We
had already tried signs saying Rutgers users have priority, sign-up
sheets, and general policing, none of which solved our problem.  We were
quite gratified to see that other public academic libraries were in the
same boat and had already taken to restrictive measures.  We also took a
good look at our contracts, most of which were quite clear in
restricting use to primary users.

What we have done is as follows: a large sign by the CD-ROM network
stipulates that Due to Licensing Agreements the CD-ROMs may only be used
by current students, faculty and staff.  In addition letters went out to
surrounding college libraries informing them of our new policy.  We are
also investigating the use of a front-end software package that will
check if a user has a valid barcode (not linked to patron names).  This
barcode validation scheme is already being used on our campus network
for electronic requests for delivery of items among the Rutgers
libraries.

Due to major budget cuts these past years, we know longer call ourselves
a state-supported institution, we now say we're state-assisted and given
limitations of staff and resources, can no longer serve the state of New
Jersey for all of our services such as CD-ROMs.

Thank you to all the libraries that provided us with feedback and helped
us come to the decisions we made.


Marty Kesselman
Head of Reference and Instructional Services
Rutgers University Library of Science and Medicine
P.O. Box 1029
Piscataway, New Jersey 08855

908-932-3850 office
908-932-3208 fax
908-247-5662 home
[e-mail]
*-----
From: Hank Harken <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: AUTHORIZATION OF USERS RE: CD-ROM and NETWORKED RESOURCES
Bill Drew said:

>...a publicly funded institution paid for by the taxpayers of California.
Some background information might be helpful as to why you see a need to
restrict services. {FLAME ON} What gives a public institution the right to
restrict the use of its services? Do you prevent "outsiders" from using your
reference sections? You are only adding to the problem of the information
havenots in this world. {FLAME OFF}<

Bill,

I'm not associated with the institution that was the target of your flame but
I am very confident that the students at that institution are taxpayers also
AND pay tuition. Some places might consider it their responsibility to give
these tax and tuition paying students the first crack at high demand items.
Most localities have public libraries that should make such services
available. I think you'll find that many universities in heavily populated
metropolitan areas are asking how they can best serve their primary population
given limited staff and funding, and the budget cutbacks that many have
experienced.

Personally, I'm all for making facilities avaiable to the general public but
not to the point that the students are penalized. The latter should have
priority over the non-tuition paying public.

- Hank

*------
From:         kendall <KSIMMONS@UKANVM>
Subject:      Re: AUTHORIZATION OF USERS RE: CD-ROM and NETWORKED RESOURCES
Ah, another opportunity for people with strongly held opinions to start a
discussion.

Re: Bill Drew's reaction to San Francisco State's attempts at screening their
users (and, as I've read so much lately, I don't remember whether or not they
were screening users so as to limit them or not, but will accept Bill's
conclusion that they were) - just because SF State is a publicly funded
institution doesn't mean it has to or can be all things to all people.  Indeed,
as it is NOT a public library, but an institution of higher learning, it has
primary and secondary users.  Its primary users are its students, staff and fa
culty.  Its secondary users are everyone else.  If a certain level of informa-
tion cannot be provided to its primary users because of secondary users, then
SF State has a responsibility to both its primary users AND the taxpayers who
are, in part, paying for it to perform those functions necessary to benefit
the primary users to adjust services, access, etc. so as to provide those
services, etc. to the primary users first.  (Wow, what a horrible sentence.)

This limiting of services is done, to a certain extent, at many, many, many
publically funded colleges and universities.  At Kansas it is done by, for
example, not allowing resident borrowers to use our Interlibrary Services...
they have to go to the public library.  Or, we will restrict use of certain
databases or terminals to certain categories of borrowers at certain times
(like limiting use by debate campers).  Otherwise we can't provide service to
our own students, faculty and staff.  We have had times when students from
other schools and colleges come and take up every available space at the
terminals, leaving our primary users out in the cold while these students' own
libraries sit empty.  Heck, we limit our primary users even, like limiting
the number of citations that can be printed from indexes on our LAN.

And why this is done should be fairly obvious...MONEY.  It's a finite
commodity, particularly at public institutions nowadays and, from all I';ve
read, particularly in California.  Sure, it would be great to be all things to
all people, but it can't be done.  And information have-nots have always
existed and always will, and I'm not sure that having information makes you
any more informed than not having information...unless everything you read is
true and you are in a position to make use  of that information...but that's
another topic entirely.

At any rate, it sounds like SF State is attempting to meet its responsibility
to its primary users and to the taxpayers who are paying for it to meet this
responsibility.  Can't fault them for that.  It's not like the information
can't be obtained some other way (like ILS via the public library!)  We never
guaranteed that everyone could get everything they wanted right when they wante
d it, did we?

Kendall Simmons
Univ. Of Kansas
You got it - home of the #1 Jayhawks!
*-------
From:         Loren Mendelsohn <LMENDELS@WAYNEST1>
Subject:      Re: AUTHORIZATION OF USERS RE: CD-ROM and NETWORKED RESOURCES
>>At San Francisco State we are about to try a new system for screening
>>users of our electronic services

Commenting on the above statement, Bill Drew says:

>The above excerpt from an announcement here deeply disturbs me.  I thought San
>Francisco State was a publicly funded institution paid for by the taxpayers of
>California.  Some background information might be helpful as to why you see a
>need to restrict services.
>
>{FLAME ON}  What gives a public institution the right to restrict the use of
>its services?  Do you prevent "outsiders" from using your reference sections?
>You are only adding to the problem of the information havenots in this world.
>{FLAME OFF}

I really think that this is not a matter of whether or not any institution,
public or otherwise, has the right to restrict access to its electronic
services.  I have not been paying particularly close attention to this
discussion, but it seems to me that restricted access is often forced
upon us by virtue of the licensing agreements which we must sign in
order to load many electronic resources.  At Wayne State University,
anyone is free to come in off the street and use our resources, electronic
or otherwise, but we are forbidden by our licensing agreements from
making many of our resources publically available over the Net.  It
would be nice if this weren't the case, but the producers of these
databases are, after all, entitled to a fair return for the labor
the expended to produce the database.

Loren Mendelsohn                  LMENDELS@WAYNEST1 (Bitnet)
Wayne State University            [e-mail] (Internet)
Science and Engineering Library
Detroit, Michigan