Starting in Spring, students will be able to check out iPads from Library West.
The library will have 30 iPads available and two backups, said Anne Allen, assistant director of UF Information Technology.
The program is an extension of the netbooks for checkout at Library West. Unlike the netbooks, which have a two-hour circulation time and must stay within the library, the iPads will be allowed out of library doors.
Diane Bruxvoort, the senior associate dean for scholarly resources and research services, said the library hasn’t decided how long students will be able to check out the iPads.
She said the overdue policy has also not been decided yet, but it will be similar to the netbook overdue charge system.
The netbook program has a $10 charge for every hour it is overdue. After 10 hours, it is considered lost, and users must pay a $2,000 replacement fee, according to the library website.
Library West Chair Patrick Reakes said he expects the tablets to get heavy use.
The netbook checkout program is constantly in circulation, Bruxvoort said. She said the netbooks each get checked out about 100 times a day.
For the iPad loaning program, once the iPad is returned, the recharging cart will sweep all personal information off it.
An iPad loaning program was an initiative brought to UF Information Technology by Student Government. The program is funded by the technology fee, which each student has to pay per credit hour.
About $1 million from the total fee goes toward technology grants each year, Allen said.
An advisory committee consisting of students, UF IT representatives and faculty chose which projects to fund.
The iPad program was funded from the leftover money of another project that didn’t use all of its funds. It cost about $25,000, Allen said.
“It’s really good use of that money because it’s going back to something the students use,” Reakes said.
He said iPad rental programs are something other libraries have started to do.
The Thomas Cooper Library at the University of South Carolina loans iPads out to students for three days and employees for five days. They have 20 iPads and as of press time, one was available, according to the university’s library website.
Student Senate President Christina Bonarrigo said this was something UF students wanted.
“I think it’s going to be a huge success on our campus,” she said.
Contact Samantha Shavell at sshavell@alligator.org.
