At this time, the Hamline Law Library does not allow any CD-ROMs to
circulate outside the library. They are kept on closed reserve, and are
checked out by the students. The CDS are only for use within the
library. Also, the students are charged an overdue fine if they are kept
for more than two hours.
Since some of the materials on CD are government documents, we are
not limiting the use of *any* of the CDS to institutional borrowers only.
The general public could also take them out, just as they could any book
on closed reserve, by leaving us a driver's license. This allows us
maximum flexibility in serving both our primary constituents (the students
and faculty), as well as our secondary group (the public).
This is not by any means the only way to handle this problem. As the old
saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat, although my feline
friends object to this saying :-). When I was working at the New York
Public Library this issue came up with CD-ROMS. When Bill Gates
published his book "The road ahead" in 1994, I was the Assistant Branch
Librarian of the Castle Hill branch in the Bronx. The book came with a
CD-ROM that contained materials not in the print version. It was clear to
all of us that we needed to find a solution that would apply to other
books we might get in the future. After studying all of the alternatives, I
instituted a system whereby the book had a sticker saying that it
contained a CD. The CD was kept at the circulation desk, and was bar
coded. I placed a note in the computer (we were using Dynix) so that a
message would appear whenever the book was checked out or
checked in. There would be a beep to get the attention of the person at
the circulation desk, and the note would indicate that the book was to be
accompanied by a CD. This seemed to work pretty well.
I hope that this information will help you formulate CD policies for your
library. Good luck.
Bryan M. Carson, J.D., M.I.L.S.
Reference/Computer Services Librarian
Hamline University Law Library
1536 Hewitt Avenue
St Paul, Minnesota 55104
612-641-2063
bcarson@gw.hamline.edu
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