$60,000 in new computers installed in Tisch over break

The Tisch library spent tens of thousands of dollars over break on new computers in an effort to use library space more efficiently and help reduce student printing volume.

The new computers are part of a technology upgrade scheduled and budgeted for several years ago.

"This upgrade was planned long ago, but the new computers are even better than we had planned on," said head of Library Information Technology Support Christina Kittle. "We knew we were going to upgrade, but these were a bonus."

The upgrade, which cost $60,000, was shared between Tisch's operating budget and the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering, and replaced all of the library's public access computers.

The replaced computers were all fewer than three years old, but the library said that the upgrade was an effort to stay on top of technological changes. "We try to keep up with the technology in the Eaton lab," said Director of Tisch Library Jo-Ann Michalak.

The old computers were used to upgrade non-public areas of the library or were donated to other departments.

The new computers are Dell Sx-270 models. They are equipped with Pentium 4 3.06 Ghz processors and 512 Mb of RAM. "Students will find that these computers are much faster than the old ones," Michalak said.

The computers also feature 17 inch flat-screen monitors and Central Processing Units (CPUs) which are small enough to be mounted on the undersides of the desks, increasing the amount of workspace available for users, according to Michalak.

Students see the new computers as adding convenience but some also see the added expense. "An upgrade is always a good thing, "said sophomore Pranav Kapoor.

But sophomore Talia Goodkin was not as pleased. "It's nice to have new computers but [the replaced computers] really weren't that old. There are a lot of other things that Tufts could be using that money for," Goodkin said.

The new computers are perfect for the libraries uses, Kittle believes. "These computers are great for research," she said. The computers feature temporary storage space, which is emptied every 24 hours. "Students can temporarily save things on the computer, and then decide what it is that they actually want to keep or print and what they don't actually need," Kittle said.

According to Michalak, this could be another way to reduce students' printing costs. "We are always trying to come up with alternatives to 'pay-for-print' for the students," she said.

Another feature of the new computers is easy access to the computers' USB ports, which are found both on the side of the monitor and the front of the mounted CPU. These are meant to facilitate the use of USB keys -- file storage devices that are the size of standard household keys and plug into USB ports. "We're really going to encourage students to start using USB keys to save their research," Michalak said.

"USB keys are small and easy to use, and they fit in every computer -- Mac or PC," Kittle said. "And they store a lot of information -- mine can hold the equivalent of 60 floppy disks on this one key."