Andy Dawson wrote:
>Assuming that the library provides computer facilities to support the
>students' studies, then they are for academic use, and non-academic use
>can legitimately be barred
Depends on the definition of academic use. I have a friend who has just
started university and through Facebook she already knew the people in her
halls, the people on her course and people she'd likely to be involved with
before she'd even started packing.
If used effectively Facebook can be great, just as the Internet at large it
all depends on the user. Coordinating a project via Facebook is good,
spending an hour zombie biting or Poking your friends isn't.
Depends on the ideas of the institution as well. 13 years ago when I
started university I typed out the course handbooks for the modules and put
them on my personal website so that when people left them at home they
could just look at the webpage instead. I was told to take them down, but
now it'd be unthinkable not to have that sort of information available to
staff and students. Things change, it's just a matter which places change
first and lead the rest of us.
Kevin
Kevin Symonds
Librarian
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
15 Chaucer Road
Cambridge
CB2 7EF
Tel: 01223 355294 ext 110
Fax: 01223 359062
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