Barbarians at the gates: a half-century of unaffiliated users in academic libraries

Authentication and Access: Accommodating Public Users in an Academic World

“…"Barbarians at the Gates: A Half-Century of Unaffiliated Users in Academic Libraries," a literature review on the topic of visitors in academic libraries, included a summary of trends in attitude and practice toward visiting users since the 1950s. 34 The article concluded with a warning: "The shift from printed to electronic formats . .…”

Circulation Policies for External Users: A Comparative Study of Public Urban Research Institutions

“…These included surveys of libraries in North Carolina (Best-Nichols, 1993), Louisiana (Hayes & Mendelsohn, 1998), New York (Judd & Scheele, 1984), Virginia (McCulley & Ream, 1988), Texas (Paul, 1985), Georgia (Russell, et al, 1989), Ohio (Schneider, 2001), and Florida (Shires, 2006). Courtney (2001) provided a comprehensive overview of the library literature that addressed academic policies toward external users from the late 1950s to the late 1990s. Courtney (2003) also conducted a survey of 814 academic libraries in the United States on physical access, borrowing privileges, and computer use.…”

“…Serving external users has been a contentious issue. Courtney (2001) reported that "the arguments for and against opening academic libraries to the use of the public are generally made by librarians who find themselves caught between a professional instinct to [end of p. 111] provide access to all and the realities of budgets, space, and the needs of their own clientele" (p. 473). Historically, the main concern has been that by providing services to external users, services available to the primary clientele may be diminished.…”

Nonaffiliated Users in Academic Libraries: Using W.D. Ross’s Ethical Pluralism to Make Sense of the Tough Questions

“…Nonaffiliated users' demands on academic libraries have increased dramatically as a result of the ready availability of computing and the Internet. 5 In 2003, Nancy Courtney surveyed 814 libraries and concluded that, along with building access and borrowing privileges, "academic libraries have also been generous in allowing computer use by unaffiliated users," citing that 95 percent of academic libraries allowed computer access for library resources; 79.8 percent allowed Web surfing; 57.6 percent allowed checking e-mail; 31.8 percent allowed word processing; and 25.6 percent permitted use of other software applications. 6 Providing computer access for nonaffiliated users can be problematic for two reasons: first, it can divert limited computer resources away from students, faculty, and staff, especially during busy periods; and, second, working with nonaffiliated users who are unfamiliar with the library's electronic resources or who have low levels of computer literacy can be quite time consuming, which also poses problems during busy periods in the library.…”