How do you maintain your public computers?
Librarians want to know.
Librarians want to know.
This month at the FLA conference in St. Pete Beach, FL, Sherry Millington, the Director of Suwannee River Regional Library, took part in the MaintainIT presentation, "Leading the Way: Stories from the Front Lines of Public Computing." As part of her talk, she spoke about 
techniques her library uses to save money and to keep aging technology out of the landfill. This is no easy task: Suwannee River Regional Library serves a rural community, and Sherry admitted that implementing green technology practices can be a difficult proposition.
Sherry took a moment to share a bit of her presentation with me,
"I specifically spoke to the disposal of old/discarded equipment (not an easy task if you live in a rural area that doesn't have any recycling centers and/or your local government doesn't have a plan in place). I also had a handout on cleaning PC keyboards without having to buy expensive commercial products. And there was a discussion and some pointers or where to look to purchase slightly used PC systems for very little money (thus saving them from the "trash"and your library a bunch of money) and ideas on how to approach other agencies or businesses in your area for donations of their slightly used equipment. I'm sure there is a wealth of information from other libraries on how they are helping to keep us clean and green."
I'm sure there is, too. What are you doing at your library? Tell us!
Recently, TechSoup started a new initiative, called GreenTech. We're covering a lot of bases with this exciting new program (like a comprehensive FAQ on "What should you do with your old computer?" or how to reduce your computer's energy consumption in minutes) and much of what we're doing is in the early stages, so getting input on what we're offering now, and what we can offer in the future, is key to our success in meeting your needs. For example, the Refurbished Computer Initiative is currently available to non-profits only. Would your library be interested in such a program? If so, please get in touch with us. The more we hear what you need, or where your interests are focused, the better we can shape GreenTech to fit your needs.
Get in touch or leave a comment!
Technorati Tags: FLA 2008 GreenTech recycle reuse Sherry Millington Suwannee River Regional Library techsoup 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Tell us about your daily routine maintaining public computers, or a moment when you were particularly proud. Don't forget that what might be "that's nothing" to you may be an "aha!" to someone else!
Visit TechSoup to find donated and discounted software and technology products for your library.
