Re: User documentation vs Official Docs

On Thu, 19 Jul 2018 21:02:16 -0400, Melvin Davidson
<melvin6925(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:

>As universities DO NOT ALLOW software to be installed on shared computers,
>and this is the case especially in a library, it implies the user has
>their own computer.

Many (most?) universities do allow students to install and run
software locally under their own accounts. Of course, that doesn't
help a visitor using a lab or library computer.

>As libraries allow users/citizens to request books be purchased at no
>cost to the user/citizen, the argument that someone cannot afford a book
>is now a moot point.

Libraries can't afford to purchase everything anyone might want.

However, libraries lend to one another as well as to their patrons.
You always can ask your library to borrow the book from some other
library that does have it. Most libraries belong to one or more
inter-library lending networks.

[Of course, there is no telling how long it will take to get a book
that way - you may wait months for something that's hard to find, or
if you happen to be far from a decent sized city.]

Another nice thing: often when the book needs to be ordered from
another library, you can keep it checked out longer than if it came
from the local collection.

E.g., my local library allows (most) books to be checked out for up to
2 weeks. Specially ordered books, however, can be checked out for up
to 5 weeks. These times may not be typical, but wherever I have been,
the libraries have allowed for keeping specially ordered books longer.

YMMV,
George