Students may now check out (with their MOCS card) a flash drive for use in the library and to take home with them if needed. The circulating period is 3 days and like other circulating technology there are overdue and lost item fees attached if an item is not returned on time. We currently have 10 flash drives (plans are to have a dozen or more) attached to bright yellow UTC Lupton Library lanyards. We have limited them to two brands–ScanDisk and Kingston Data Traveler–and 1gb or 2gb. A barcode appears on each flash drive to allow scanned check-out at circ. These items will circulate just like any other circulating library technology (cameras, Kindles, video recorders) in that the patron may bring them in and out of the building as desired while the item is checked out.
We have previously had “loaners” that we let students use within the building but over time these have not be returned. There has been some desire expressed by students to be able to take a document home while they were working on it, so it made sense to formalize this lending to an actual circulation check out and extend the loan period at the same time. If you are assisting a student who would be helped by this technology, please inform them of the option and direct them to the circulation desk.