Friday, August 30, 2002
Page 3
Los Angeles County Law Library Gets New Public Computer Work Stations
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Los Angeles County Law Library has upgraded its public computer work stations and added a print queue system at its main branch downtown, library Director Richard T. Iamele said yesterday.
“We had, for several years, work stations which were slow and needed to be upgraded,” Iamele said. “So we definitely needed it.”
The library replaced the nine public work stations at its main library with 14 newer, faster ones, and improved its word processing station. A printing system was installed to regulate patrons’ print jobs. From those new computers, patrons can access all of the library’s commercial databases, as well as the Internet and Themis, the library’s online catalog.
Ventura Business Systems, the vendor that supplies the library with its public photocopying service, sponsored the workstation upgrades as well. According to Iamele, the company provides the library with photocopiers in exchange for a commission on each photocopy made. They struck a similar deal on the new computers and printing system; for each printout a patron makes using the new system, Ventura Business Systems gets a percentage of the fees the library charges patrons.
Iamele said while he hasn’t been watching patrons use the new workstations himself, usage seems to be up and he hasn’t heard any complaints. “There are more people using them. They’re brand new, they’re quick, they’re fast,” he said. “They’re a pleasure to use when they’re brand new.”
Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company