We get lots of comments on the Killam’s CCC board about people using the library workstations for personal FB time. On the other hand, a lot of students do use FB for class work. What’s your take on this? Should Facebook be allowed on our library computers?
Facebook should not be used on Library computers. Students wishing to use facebook at the library should do so on a laptop, or just wait until they are home.
Of course Facebook should be on library computers. It’s a website just like everything else, and it’s far more useful and relevant than most Internet content.
Some people look down on social networking as frivolous, but the fact is that Facebook especially is used for all types of correspondence, including business, class and work related. For many people, Facebook is the foremost source of information, not just about their own social circle but about current, relevant issues.
Those saying Facebook should not be used in the library are both prejudiced to certain types of information gathering as well as wildly uninformed about the far-reaching advantages of social networking.
I am absolutely in favour of blocking social networking sites on library computers. There is nothing that annoys me more than cruising through the commons in search of computer (for academic reasons) only to find that there are none available and the ones being used (not all, but sometimes up to 25%) are by people who are “social-networking”
Amy, I have no pre-judgments about the “information gathering”, as you call it, potential of facebook. I have had a facebook account for four years now and I use it daily, but never for academic purposes. Yes it is useful for contacting people in your class BUT anyone in your class will have a dal.ca email, start a mailing list, use that to contact them.
I have NEVER had a professor use facebook in any sort of manor, nor have I had a job that required I use facebook. As for business, no business that have ever hear of uses facebook for anything (with the exception of marketing their own product). I am a science student and make no claim to understanding the intricate world of business but from what I can tell businesses primarily use EMAIL. You want to get into business, learn to use your dal.ca account.
You claim that facebook is a “foremost source of information” for many people. What information is on facebook that is not anywhere else on the web? Or in the library for that matter. If facebook is where you are gathering your information (ie. research) I pity your ignorance. You want news, go to cbc.ca, you want primary source information, learn to use prowler, or nova.net or one of the other databases available to all dal students.
It is long overdue that the school block facebook, and probably other social networking sites (although I think facebook has pretty much killed the majority of it’s competition). Just because “its a website just like everything else” does not grant it equal right to be used in a library. It is not at all (academically) useful OR relevant and is colossal waste of school resources. Just thinking about the tuition I’ve paid so the school can buy and power computers that end up getting used to “update your status” make my blood boil.
To the library administration PLEASE block facebook, do not put this to a vote, do not hesitate, enough resource has already been wasted by it. I assure, I am not the only one who feels this way.
Is this a trick question? What about Killam on Facebook and Sexton on Facebook? Restricting access to content from the internet is a form of censorship. Facebook should be permitted on library computers but students should also be reminded and encouraged to be considerate of other students when computers are in heavy use.
A lot of students don’t have laptops or personal computers. We pay our library fees to have access to information, networking, and communication. What kind of communication we engage in, as long as it’s not offensive, is really not the business of Dalhousie or its libraries.
Actually, Cameron, the fact that Facebook “is a website like everything else” does grant it equal rights to be used in a library. Some of the foremost principles of libraries are those of open access and freedom of information. Arbitrary censorship of one of the most useful websites available falls beyond any line that might conceivably be drawn.
And Cameron, though you claim not to be prejudiced against certain types of information gatering, your comment betrays exactly the opposite. You claim that because you “have had a facebook account for four years now and…use it daily, but never for academic purposes” everyone else must be doing the same. I really don’t want to live in a world where if students wish to contact one another they must use their “dal.ca email, start a mailing list”. If you want to do that, that’s fine with me. I don’t know you, and I’m not in your class. But guess what: I don’t want to do that, and all that amounts to is a difference of information gathering preferences. I can count on my fingers the number of times I’ve sent an e-mail from my dal account, and no, that’s not because I don’t know how or because I am unfamiliar with proper communication channels. Simply put, I don’t like the dal email, and I have found preferable alternatives.
Of course professors don’t use facebook in any sort of academic “manor”, and of course, business don’t conduct official transactions that way (project groups, on the other hand, do, and extensively). But Cameron, if you have that limited a view of what valid and relevant information is, then I “pity your ignorance,” as you so graciously phrased your own comment.
It doesn’t matter that what’s available on Facebook is also available on the web at large. Except that some of it isn’t. Not really. I don’t want to go scouring for news all over the Internet. I don’t have time for that, and there’s nothing I’m really interested in looking for. BUT. If one of my friends posts an interesting article to her Facebook that my academic and social circle are commenting on, then I am going to click on that article, and then I’m going to talk about it with them. Afterwards, while I’m at it, I might just update any one of the three Facebook pages I personally manage (I won’t say what they are, but all three are both academic and Dal-related) to let my colleagues know about valuable informaton not available on any other website but Facebook.
Cameron, in your comment you equated information with research (“If facebook is where you are gathering your information (ie. research) I pity your ignorance.”), but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Incidentally, I found your insult of my theoretical research abilities, as well as your insinuation that I should learn to use library resources pretty hilarious; I won’t tell you why, but anyone who knows me will get it.
And yeah, if you want to narrow down “relevant” to the tiny umbrella of officially “academic”, then yes, there are a lot of people in the library not doing “academic” things. Facebook may be one of them, but MOST OF THE INTERNET is another. Dal isn’t just about academics, and the library is certainly about much more than that. Communication, access to equipment, use of facilities, and most importantly freedom of information are all part of what your tuition is paying for, Cameron. Some people will use these freedoms to enrich their lives, others to update their status, but it’s not your place (or the library’s) to judge.
Facebook should absolutely NOT be banned from library computers.
People who complain about computers not being available because they’re being occupied by Facebook users should just get to the library earlier, or just not wait until the last second to print out their assignments.
I use Facebook to communicate with classmates. I also use it to kill time when I have an hour or two between classes. I don’t have the luxury of living 10 minutes away.
“Some people will use these freedoms to enrich their lives, others to update their status, but it’s not your place (or the library’s) to judge.”
Actually, it is the library’s place to judge, because you’re not using your own computer or your own internet server, you are using theirs. Paying fees doesn’t translate into ownership or confer absolute and unqualified usage; you are bound by whatever policy the library and the university deem to set.
In other words, you don’t enjoy absolute freedom of access and you need to be cognisant of that. It is not your property, it is the university’s.
For the record, the university already blocks certain websites and applications on certain computers. Other schools have much more stringent access policies that are more in line with this proposal.
“People who complain about computers not being available because they’re being occupied by Facebook users should just get to the library earlier, or just not wait until the last second to print out their assignments.”
That’s an inherently unfair statement. You are perfectly aware that people have varying class times, which might require midday or late-night access. Also, you can’t cast spurious motives about when people choose to print their assignments while also suggesting they mind their own business in regards to people using Facebook to socialize. If you support Facebook to socialize, you must support the opportunity of access for people to print assignments whenever they choose to do so.
Facebook should be allowed on Dalhousie’s Libraries computers. Why? Because it is the duty of the student to use his or her time wisely- not the university, no his or her mom, not the RA, not the TA, nor the library’s administration. We are now adults. One would think that we are now able to make wise decisions on our own: that includes using Facebook on Dalhousie Library computers. I will provide an excellent example to make my point stronger: a student studies diligently for four hours straight and wants to use Facebook to take a break and reward himself or herself, why should he or she not be able to do to this. I mean five minutes out of the 10 080 minutes that are in a week. Is that too much to ask. I make a formal petition that Facebook is allowed on all Dalhousie Libraries.
Facebook should ABSOLUTELY be banned in the library. It is beyond frustrating to walk through the library and be unable to find an available computer for schoolwork because people are looking at their friends’ drunken party pictures on Facebook.
I agree with Jeannine that it is frustrating when computers are in high demand that some students are inconsiderate enough to think that their social networking takes priority over other students’academic needs.However,banning FaceBook will not solve the problem of inconsiderate students.There is a great library technology that Jeannine and all students can use to help find available computers. The LC@ a Glance screen which is set up just at the entrance to the Learning Commons shows computers which are available and not in use. Most students have seen this screen but this program is also linked to the main library web page. Just click on “Available Computers” from any of the public access computers and you can be alerted to any computer in the Learning Commons as soon as it becomes available.I never walk around any more looking for an available computer.I can can check my email on one of the public access computers and bring up the available computers screen and I can usually get a computer in the LC in short order.
Actually, Zach, if you read the mission statement of the CLA, ALA or any library association, freedom of information, and a policy of non-judgment are consistently at the forefront. Setting a policy that would ban Facebook would severely violate this mission. Obviously, websites that would threaten computer security or offend other patrons might conceivably be banned, but no librarian would claim the right to decide what websites are worth their patrons’ time Ownership has nothing to do with it.
And actually, the only websites that are blocked are third party email on the few express machines that we have, and this is partly because they are especially designed for quick use. Therefore, any time you have a paper to print, you will have a place to do it.
of course,Facebook shouldn’t be banned,the library’s right of ownership of the computers doesn’t include monitoring their patrons use so far the use isn’t offensive.this is where the subject of priority and decision making come into play.if some students feel like Facebook is their priority and is the right thing to do on the library computers then they should be allowed as only them will reap the effects after all this is a university and a university is a place for adults.
Cameron,u have had a Facebook account for 4 years and have never used it for academic purposes doesn’t mean others don’t use it for academic purposes,that is why i am glad you pointed out the fact that you are a science student so its most reasonable that arts and commercial students will use Facebook as an information gathering website.for example they research on human character and reactions all the time so wouldn’t you think Facebook would be a good resource for those kind of researches.you also mentioned how you want to use a computer for academic purposes and some students are using it for social networking,well if you really need to do something important or urgent like printings and the rest,you can always use the express workstation computers and if you would be needing the computer for longer than what an express workstation would allow then its best you wait for the next available computer because banning Facebook doesn’t not guarantee you would always find a computer the minute you walk in to the library.and some of these students that make your blood boil by cruising through Facebook or other social networks are actually take a short break from studying or doing academic work,I am very positive you have your own convenient way of take short breaks from studying or whatever academic work and not just your tuition was used in buying these power computers you so much love,students who Facebook in the libraries also pay tuition
Jeannie,you must be ignorant to Facebook because contrary to your believe not everyone has friends who get drunk talk less of having drunken pictures of friends to look at
and yes i agree very much with all of Amy’s points.Facebook should be allowed on library computers because its not nearly as offensive as most of the websites nowadays which are allowed on the library computers
Many moons ago, at the beginning of my first year, I realized that if I allowed myself to use Facebook while at school, I would never get any work done. I made a pact with myself to never type in the offending IP address at school and over the past two years I have obeyed it scrupulously. During my first semester, as midterms approached, I noticed that it was very difficult to find a computer in the learning commons. I also noticed that a lot of people were using Facebook. As a result, in October of last year I posted a comment asking the library to ban it.
As we all know, the library continually refuses to do this, saying that while students may be wasting time on it, the fact remains that many students use it for work and other school-related activities. I in no way deny that this is true, and I understand the difficulty a ban would create for students who do not own a personal computer. In fact, for a while, I even changed my opinion. Even if I couldn’t use it without wasting time, it wasn’t for me to dictate the study habits of other students.
I must say, however, that since I have made my pact to not use it, I have found alternatives that work just as well, namely, email. I don’t feel as though my learning has ever been compromised through my lack of dependence on Facebook, and I have never had a group project that I needed it for. As I said before, presumably many students are using it for schoolwork that falls outside of the boundaries of the scenarios I’ve dreamed up. I would never condone limiting a student’s ability to study.
The problem, as I see it, is that the Learning Commons does not have enough computers to satisfy student demand. Until it does, I fear that a Facebook ban is the only good band-aid solution. I know firsthand that students can generally operate with only email. To satisfy the needs of the few students who do not have access to it in other places, I propose that it be banned only in the library, and not in the various (and often completely empty – I have never been unable to find a free computer in the McCain) computer labs that can be found across campus. That way, the university is still promoting free access to information, while people in the high traffic area of the library can still print out their papers without problems.
Chris also makes a good point that there are hidden costs associated with this. Any business owner will be able to tell you that wasted time becomes cost. Cost gets transferred onto consumers. In the case of universities, the consumers are students. Students who waste time on computers are or who drive the university to purchase more computers are, in effect, making other students pay with their time and with their money.
As in all situations in life, paying the price for freedom sounds really nice. But in reality, freedom is the price we pay for peace. Freedom of information be damned. Compromise is the name of the game here people. Compromise!