IMAGINE spending the day at a public library doing research and not being able to plug the laptop, which you are typing your essay, article or notes on, into an outlet in order for its dying battery to charge.

Imagine that the issue is not a lack of electrical outlets.  After all, when you look around the room, there are several of them in plain sight near the photocopying machine and study tables.

Imagine that not one outlet has a cover over it to indicate the presence of a no-laptop-charging policy. 

This is what patrons of the Charles A. Halbert Public Library face on a regular basis.

I don’t understand that in 2009

“I think there was a sign close to the entrance, which said something about asking first before you plugged in your laptop,” a 26-year-old student said about her most recent visit to the library. 

It was January and she wanted to study while on break from medical school at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica.  

“I figured asking basically meant I had to get permission or I had to let them know that I was plugging in my laptop.  But, the guy told me that ‘no’ they’re not allowing it still, which is like two years later [since she learnt of the policy]. 

“So it really didn’t make sense to me to stay there and not be able to use my laptop for more than two hours,” which she said is her battery shelf life.

“I was like, ‘Couldn’t there be some sort of nominal fee?’  I just needed to use my laptop.  I just needed it to be plugged in.  I really didn’t care if they told me I needed to pay $20 for the day, anything.  There’s nothing at all to provide some sort of accommodation to be able to use it,” she said.

She said she was aware that the library made computers available for public use.  Plus, she said she could have connected to the Internet via one of the public computers to re-download the study notes she had saved on her laptop.  However, she did not want to tie up a public computer for the entire day, reading her notes.  “I didn’t feel comfortable with that,” she said.

The medical student added, “I don’t understand that in 2009.  Libraries are not only printed data anymore.  Most of the information you find is through the Internet, through software, whatever.  It’s just ridiculous.”

This no-laptop-charging policy at the Charles A. Halbert Public Library is ironic considering that in theory it should be one of the most convenient places in the whole of St. Kitts to study and conduct research, particularly because the building adjoins the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College.

The reporter’s laptop battery would die practically every hour 

SKNVibes got in touch with the medical student through her sister, who was studying at the library on Wednesday, June 3.

An SKNVibes reporter was also there that day poring over newspaper archives and writing a story…on a laptop. 

The reporter’s laptop battery would die practically every hour.

The first time this happened, the reporter was about to charge the battery when a staff member mentioned the policy. 

After some pleading by the reporter, the staff member was kind enough to take the laptop into the kitchen of the public library to charge it. 

If the staff member had plugged the reporter’s laptop into one of the outlets in the main room, that library employee would have gotten “into trouble,” the staffer said.

During the second battery failure, the staffer was not around to help this time.  No other library employee offered to help, so the reporter went home to charge the battery.

When the battery failed a third time back at the library, the reporter had had enough.   

No-laptop-charging policy is a bane to students

The reporter lodged a complaint with a senior library employee, who disclosed that this no-laptop-charging policy is a bane to students of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College.  The senior employee said that students regularly complain.

Although the senior employee was sympathetic, policy remained policy.  So the reporter had to write the rest of the story in a notepad and type it out later at home.

Researching the laptop related policies of public libraries on the Internet, SKNVibes found text such as “If your laptop battery is low, first floor tables near the Technology Center have outlets for recharging” and “You are welcome to plug your laptop into any wall or floor socket.” 

We also found a pro-laptop policy, which had one caveat.  “If your laptop doesn’t have a charged battery, you can use electrical plugs on the outer walls under windows, but DO NOT run cords across walkways.” 

On library websites, there was also the usual caveat that the public library is not responsible for damage to a patron’s computer.

Government keeps touting the benefits of technology in education   

SKNVibes spoke with Osmond Petty, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education about why there is a no-laptop-charging policy in the public library system when the Government keeps touting the benefits of incorporating the use of technology in education.  The Government even went so far as to draft a National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strategic Plan in 2006, which addresses community access points and the education system, among other things.

“I’ll call the library and ask them to stop [enforcing the policy],” said Mr. Petty.  “So you can go back with your laptop because I’m not aware of such a policy,” the Permanent Secretary added.