LD Resources

© 2001 Gary Sharp
Director of the North Bend Public Library
North Bend, Oregon

Most public libraries today offer computer access for word processing and Internet searching. This computer access usually takes the form of one or more desktop computers in a fixed place in the library. The computers can’t be taken out into the stacks and there are usually people waiting to use them. Users of the library’s desktop computers often feel self-conscious, knowing that others waiting to use them.

Here at the North Bend Public Library we have solved part of the above problem by using 8 AlphaSmart keyboards. When someone needs to do some writing without being connected to the Internet, they can check out an AlphaSmart, take it anywhere in the library and do their work without anyone looking over their shoulder or pressuring them to hurry up.

Our library kicked off our AlphaSmart 2000 program for the public in September, 1999. By publicizing the availability of the AlphaSmarts on local television, in the City of North Bend’s newsletter, and through in-house flyers, we let our community in on the fact that we have alternatives to our computers for taking notes and doing other writing-related work in our library.

How I Discovered AlphaSmart
I bought an AlphaSmart keyboard in 1998 on the advice of my friend Richard Wanderman. When I brought my AlphaSmart into our library, staff and patrons seemed interested. Richard and I talked for the next year about the use of AlphaSmarts in my library and others.

In June 1999, Richard suggested that I ask AlphaSmart, Inc. to help us embark on a year-long experiment to make the AlphaSmart available for public use in our library so we could act as a model for other libraries.

My personal use of the AlphaSmart convinced me that it would find its way into the hands of enthusiastic library patrons. Many of the patrons who have used the AlphaSmart here like it very much, and most of them expressed a desire to own one.

Now that we have had the AlphaSmarts in our library for over a year, I am satisfied that they are an integral component of the technologies (online public catalog with remote access, and computers for word processing, the Internet, and educational games) that we offer the public.

Getting Started: AlphaSmart, Inc. Donation
AlphaSmart, Inc. generously provided the North Bend Public Library with:

* 5 AlphaSmart 2000s
* 3 PC Y Cables and 2 Macintosh cables
* 1 Get Utility CD
* 2 PC Infrared pods
* 1 Mac infrared pod
* 1 serial printer cable
* 1 parallel printer cable

The library bought a “Grand Stand,” plastic music stand, perfect for displaying an AlphaSmart at the public service desk. The library agreed to make the AlphaSmarts available for the public, and to evaluate our experience a year later.

We later received an AlphaSmart 3000 to add to our collection.

Once they arrived, I gave our staff a training session, which took 10 minutes. Prior to that meeting, I connected the AlphaSmart cables to our public access computers (PCs and Macs) and to two staff PC’s in our workroom. Staff quickly adapted to using AlphaSmarts for writing tasks.

Soon we displayed AlphaSmarts at our service desk, hoping to interest the public. By doing regular publicity, we soon had students checking them out. People in general were intrigued by them. We frequently gave short demonstrations, which were enthusiastically received.

Checking Out AlphaSmarts for In-Library Use
Beginning in late 1999, and through the summer of 2000, the library let patrons use the AlphaSmarts anywhere in the library. Use of the AlphaSmart was steady, and patrons liked it.

Checking out an AlphaSmart is easy. Each unit is bar coded, and checked out like a book. Our library uses an Innovative Interfaces circulation system. All the patron has to do is hand us a valid library card. During the first 6 months, we allowed two hours of in-library use, with the time renewable as needed.

What does the Public do with AlphaSmarts?
The AlphaSmart is used in the stacks or at tables for note-taking from books, magazines, and the Internet. Or it can be used for sending documents out into the world via email. Since an AlphaSmart is very lightweight and portable, we’ve had them in use in virtually every public and staff space in our building.

The Get Utility
Using AlphaSmart’s Get Utility software that we installed on most of our public and staff computers, it’s also easy to copy information from a web site or word processor and send it to an AlphaSmart.

Library Staff Use
Staff members enjoy using AlphaSmarts to write lists, book orders, or for sending numbers into a spreadsheet. We’ve used them to continue writing projects during slow periods at the public service desk.

I frequently use one to write reports and press releases. I also take my AlphaSmart around southern Oregon to other libraries, writing up notes or minutes in committee or professional association meetings. Returning to the library, my documents are ready for sending to a desktop word processor for final printing and saving.

Checking AlphaSmarts Out of the Building
Last summer, seeing that AlphaSmart use by patrons had tapered off, I realized that we should see if we could generate more interest by letting patrons take them home.

Our AlphaSmart Checkout program prompted some changes in our procedures. We cataloged all AlphaSmarts, bar coded each one, and gave them a one week checkout period, with a one-time, one-week renewal available upon request.

Because the library uses a collection agency for unreturned items over $100 in value, we had to establish an age limit. In Oregon, parents are responsible for the actions of children under the age of 18. Our AlphaSmarts are for people 18 and older.

We found that in practice, due to the age limit, parents didn’t mind coming in to check-out an AlphaSmart for their student son or daughter.

We bought two AlphaSmart carrying cases. Each person checking out an AlphaSmart gets a complete package in the case:

* AlphaSmart keyboard
* Connector cable
* User’s manual
* Cable setup flyer

Before checking the AlphaSmart package out on our online circulation system, we have the patron read and sign a Check out/Check in form. The patron signs to indicate on checkout or return that all contents indicated on the form are in the case. We inspect the case and its contents every time the AlphaSmart is checked out and later returned to the public service desk.

AlphaSmarts have checked out almost every week since we began our checkout program. The patrons are happy users, and are pleased that we let them take them home or to school. Before writing this, I checked and found that two AlphaSmarts were out in circulation. Two were in use by library staff in staff offices.

2 - 4 AlphaSmarts being checked out by patrons and staff each week gives a good idea of the interest in them at our library. During our year-long AlphaSmart Program, AlphaSmarts were checked out or used by staff well over 200 times.

Library Director’s Role
My coordination of this program had three key aspects:

1. Learning about the AlphaSmart myself so I could educate my staff and the public. Without personal experience, it would have been hard for me to lead a program like this. And, because part of our experiment involves our staff, it was and is important for the Director to take part.

2. Training public service staff in the use of the AlphaSmart.

3. Designing and implementing an on-going publicity program. I encouraged the public to try AlphaSmarts through the library, by doing publicity through local news media, our city newsletter, and in the library.

Our children’s librarian also designed an attractive flyer that we posted on our bulletin boards, at the public service desk, and at public access computers.

Examples of the Ways AlphaSmarts Helped Patrons and Library Staff

* A new reporter in our area, a “stringer” for the state’s largest newspaper, The Oregonian, wrote her article on the AlphaSmart, then sent it for publication through e-mail, with the AlphaSmart connected to a library desktop computer with Internet access. She was thrilled to make her deadline, since she had just moved to town and her computer had not arrived. I helped her do this, and saw her article published in The Oregonian the next day.

* The technology librarian for a neighboring public library heard about our program. She borrowed an AlphaSmart, took it to Portland, Oregon to the annual conference of the Oregon Library Association. She found it useful for taking notes during workshops.

* A parent checked out an AlphaSmart, and saw it as a wise choice for his son, a student in junior high school. They intend to buy one for him, instead of a laptop.

* Our city recorder plans to buy an AlphaSmart. She was impressed with it after seeing me use it to take minutes at a meeting.

* A high school student became frantic when she found all of the library’s computers in use by others. This happened on a Sunday afternoon. She had a report due the next morning. I showed her how to use an Alphasmart, and she was elated to finish her report, and get it printed when a desktop became available.

* A library staff member quickly became an AlphaSmart convert. She bought one for her daughter to use at college, and one for her mother. The daughter uses it regularly, especially when her desktop is in the repair shop. Another staff member bought one as a gift for her husband, an avid letter writer.

* Another user liked the AlphaSmart because it’s quiet. Unlike a desktop computer, the AlphaSmart has no fan and is nearly silent.

A Successful Experiment: Portable Keyboards for Library Users
I consider our experiment with the Alphasmart very successful. The AlphaSmart is a convenient tool for writers of any age: library patrons as well as staff.

Most importantly, having AlphaSmarts increases our ability to be of good service and offer good value to library users.