Hello... i was reading some of the old blog's from the last few months and i think that the one about the sticky keyboards is a must to do. These keyboards are sometimes sticky but also dirty... same with the mice. the bottom of the mice need to be cleaned. i know some of these mice are optical mice (laser light kinda), and some are the old ball-mice. the ball-mice need more attention than the optical mice, but i recently went into the library... and i looked at over 10 mice, and they were all dirty, not just a little either. it just takes a few seconds to turn over a mouse and wipe it off with a cloth (wrag) once a week. the keyboards are harder... but i recommend getting a warm, lightly soaped, very very lightly damped wrag and just run them over the keyboards when running then over the mice... keyboards have a rubbery-type of insert in them above the keys... if you have never seen the inside of a keyboard, you should check it out. anyways, it doesnt' take long to do that, and maybe bring a can of air for all of the stuff that gets inside of the keyboard... lots of hair, dirt, food, etc is inside of them... now, if a key is sticking as in staying in place, pop that key out with anything.. i use the end of my fingernail clippers to pop it out when i spill soda or something on my keyboard... toss that/those key(s) into a warm bowl of soapy water, and get q-tips and clean around that/those key(s)... where they key is missing. i have spilled at least 15 drinks on my keyboard... it still works after 6 years. now... for space in the library, i think VCU is running out of space... i recommend that the computers on the first floor are put in a harder to walk through space like the basement so that you can put more computers in that space.. i have seen some mornings where there are over 20 students wandering around & looking for a computer... and even more on final's week. i know computers are expensive... i build my own. I am out of state, and i do not really see where my 15k+ a year of tuition goes...i am paying ~4x the tuition of an in-state student... what does VCU do with that extra cash?
From: Scott

Jimmy Ghaphery of our Library Information Systems department replies..

Scott,

Glad that you have read through the blog and have taken the time to join the conversation. I am sure your cleaning tips will be of use to many. We clean the computers on a regular schedule, but will see what we can do about increasing the frequency with which this is done.

In terms of extra computers, you are correct that we are running out of space. The following blog entry details the current situation in Cabell Library:
http://blog.vcu.edu/libsuggest/archives/000736.html

During the Spring semester we have increased the number of computers on the 1st floor by more than 10% thanks to the Student Technology Fee, which is our only source of funds for the public workstations. The costs of deploying more computers include the original purchase, wiring for network connectivity, sufficient electrical supply, and then ongoing maintenance (including cleaning!). We also must factor in the general aesthetics of the first floor and the merits of changing the current open and accessible design.