Re: fees to print?

[Carol Mackey - MTV <cmackey@EGREEN.EGREEN.WEDNET.EDU>]

This is the first time I've heard of charging for copies printed from a
computer program.  While the idea has been suggested to me (especially
when I complain that our usage necessitates a cartridge replacement every
week and a half!), I find it a hard one to start.  As you mention,
students generally have no other way of getting the info (we have
NEWSBANK, SIRS, NEWSBANK Oregonian, Internet, Multimedia Encyclopedia
without hard copy texts).  So...we eat the expense just as we do other
reference copies at the regular old-fashioned copy machine.  They get
four copies free per day of reference materials (or any other materials
which cannot be checked out).

It *IS* expensive, and I grump about it a lot.  However, our students are
beginning to ask questions about how to minimize their printing ("How
does this program allow print of a portion of an article?").  This is our
first year to have a good quantity of CD programs available to us.
Including the students and the teachers in our quandry seems to be
helping.  Getting the message to all students has been a factor in the
message just this month starting to "hit home" (we have a little over
1400 students).

This is my first time to send an "All users" message.  I hope the timing
was appropriate.  Since I've only been on this listserve for a couple of
weeks, I don't know if this issue has been hashed out before.  If it
hasn't I would be interested in others' comments.

Carol Mackey
Mountain View High
Vancouver, WA

On Mon, 5 Dec 1994,
Hilary A. Whitehill wrote:

>         Our high school library presently charges students 10
> cents a page to xerox or to print out from our CDs, and we're
> debating whether to continue this practice.  Aside from _The
> World Book_, which we have in print form, students have no
> other way to
get hard copies of the information.
>         On the other hand, we are reluctant to have kids feel
> as if they can print out pages & pages -- with no limit.  It is
> not free to us, & we're concerned that costs & tying up our 2
> printers could get out of hand.
>         Apologies if this has been dealt with already, but I'd
> appreciate any bright ideas!  Thanks,.
> --
> Hilary Whitehill - hwhitehi@pen.k12.va.us
> Librarian, T.C. Williams High School, Alexandria, Virginia