Dear All,
Thanks to those members of the list who responded to my request for details
of your charges for accessing the Internet.
I was hoping the results would add weight to my proposal for introducing a
charge, however, the majority of libraries that replied provide the service
free. I think this is because access is via NHSnet. As we are paying for an
ISP and the telephone calls I feel that it is resonable to ask our members
to contribute towards our costs. (The Internet is used mainly to access
OVID and as members need an e-mail address to register they must have
access to the Internet elsewhere).
The proposal of a charge of £1.00 for 30 minutes for a maximum of one hour
goes before library committee next week. Full text articles on OVID mean
that members print out loads of pages, so printing costs will have to be
considered.
Results:
1 library - no charge - maximum 30 minutes
1 library - no charge - maximum 1.5 hours
1 library - no charge - no maximum session
1 library - 5p per page for printing - maximum one hour
1 library - with Internet via modem - £1.50 per 30 mins maximum of one hour
I was interested to hear that one library asks their readers to sign a
declaration saying that they are using the Internet for evidence-based
medicine, this may help prevent abuse of the service.
Thanks for your assistance,
Vicki
Vicki Hough
Assistant Librarian
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The Library
Liverpool Medical Institution
114 Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
L3 5SR
Tel. No: 0151 709 9125
Fax No: 0151 707 2810
E-mail address: [log in to unmask]
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