The perennial problem of the use of space has acquired a new dimension in a library with conventional design. As the service expands to meet the demand, location of new workstations is a challenging question. New electrical outlets, furniture and money for this must be provided. In our particular situation, these questions are sometimes difficult to answer because we are local pioneers, being the first library in Zimbabwe to offer a public CD-ROM service. We cannot rely on the experience of others in a similar situation.
Resource management has another dimension.
Once expensive equipment has been acquired some well informed decisions must be taken concerning who should use it, how and when. There is the ever present threat of computer viruses coming in from the increasing number of searchers downloading information instead of printing it. The question of sustainability is never far from our minds. The CD-ROM system in our library has generated a number of investigations which have supplied us and our donors with worthwhile information about the facility and its use. These findings will help in future planning of information provision in a situation where rising costs and devaluation of local currency combine to threaten the capacity of the library to acquire current materials of any kind.