These resources are password protected and available via the web to students and staff on or off campus. The big challenge is helping students understand the difference between these carefully prepared databases and other information on World Wide Web. This challenge is being met by new hands-on short courses for students and for faculty. Computers from the UC users room have been recycled into the library, providing ten badly needed workstations in the reference area. Patrons can request reference assistance, order materials through interlibrary loan, reserve media equipment, and suggest book acquisitions over the web.
Faculty can submit book orders or schedule library instruction sessions via the web.
This past fall the library initiated a pilot project of electronic reserves, called eReserves, where papers, articles, and course materials formerly available only in hard copy at the circulation desk, may now be accessed through the web. This is particularly useful for students who live off campus and for graduate students. Both students and faculty are very positive about the project, so it is being significantly expanded for spring. Web Development Additions to the PLU web pages continue at a rapid rate. At the same time that we want to provide open access, hackers can create widespread chaos, and ordinary users cause accidental damage.