EDITOR'S NOTES
Managing Technology and Its Consequences
by Kathy Dempsey
I've been looking forward to this issue theme ever
since we chose it last summer. To me, Managing Computers
for Staff and the Public precisely describes one of
the major concerns of CIL readers. I suspected
that we'd get some great article queries, and I wasn't
disappointed.
What I didn't anticipate, though, was how this theme
would relate to a thread that ran throughout the Computers
in Libraries conference that I attended just 6 weeks
ago. Two or three speakers happened to use the phrase "unintended
consequences" when talking about various technologies.
It's not unusual: Someone creates, builds, or discovers
a product that can be used for one purpose, and, unintentionally,
it ends up being used in a completely different way,
or it ends up creating a whole new solution--or a whole
new problem.
In this issue, you get to vicariously experience
some new and useful tools, and you get to see their
consequences, both intended and unintended. We present
to you tales of three specific software solutions for
managing PCs:
• DiscoverStation allows one full-fledged
PC to serve up to 10 terminals.
• DameWare lets sysadmins control, repair,
and change settings on PCs from miles away.
• PC Reservation helps to smooth out the process
of scheduling patrons' time slots on public access
computers.
And as a bonus, we also have an overview that describes
many different sorts of management tools, starting
on page 24. You can read it all or simply scan it by
category to read about the type of solution that can
ease your computer-management tasks.
I know that every reader out there faces at least
one of the challenges mentioned above; some of you
face all of them. I dedicate this issue to everyone
who works so hard to satisfy people's appetite for
technology @ your library.
Kathy Dempsey, Editor
kdempsey@infotoday.com
 Kathleen L. Dempsey is the Editor
of Computers in Libraries. Her email address
is: kdempsey@infotoday.com |
