[Genealib] Unaccompanied Minors

[Robert Sullivan]

> We wish that we could dedicate our computers to history/genealogy research
> only.  We are allowed to hold one computer available for genealogists only.
> Teenagers may come in, but they're required to be quieter in our room than
> in others and if they make more noise than we like, or if they are in other
> ways a problem they're asked to leave.

I should probably mention that we don't have any genealogy-specific
computers; it just happens that the genealogists gravitate to our
catalog and database computers so they won't have to compete with the
regular Internet users.

We allow any .org/.edu/.gov addresses, along with 100-odd others
covering our databases and sites for genealogy, job-hunting, legal
information and tax forms.  (Alas, they still come to us to print off
the forms.)  There aren't any age or time restrictions on these
computers.

We have about a dozen of these scattered in a few clusters around the
central library.  We'd like to add more, but in the current financial
situation we have to content ourselves with moving newer old machines
in (when the new Gates grant PCs arrive) and retiring really old ones.

We have found that by salvaging parts from defunct Gates PCs (2001
vintage) we can beef up the surviving ones to the point where they
are, kind of, serviceable in this limited function.  That's a 1.4GHz
PC with 512MB RAM running Windows 2000 - not that I want to encourage
that sort of thing, but you work with what you've got.

-- 
Bob Sullivan
Schenectady Digital History Archive
<http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/>
Schenectady County (NY) Public Library