Alex comments:
I am a senior student at NEIU, and I come to this library at least twice a week to do research for my education classes. I am happy with everything the library offers to help students with their research, but none of the computers have Microsoft Word installed in them. Not having a word program is a disadvantage for the students at NEIU because we have to go a different building to start writing our papers. It would be helpful to able to research and write our papers at the same time and location.
Dave Green, Associate University Librarian for Collections and Information Services replies:
Hello, Alex. We are working to resolve this situation this year. The library’s goal is to keep the desktop computers on the 1st floor with the current configuration and add MS Office to other workstations. Most likely, the library will purchase a large number of netbooks with MS Office on them for student use in the library. In addition, we are looking at adding MS Office to some of the desktop computers on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
7 Comments
Why not use Open Office instead? It’s free and the money saved could be used for other things. Why spend school money for a commercial product when an equally suitable free product is available?
This has to be the only University library in the country without Microsoft Word. Really, really ridiculous.
Is NEIU expecting us to turn in handwritten papers to our professors or what? I hope when you say “We are working to resolve this situation this year”, you mean this “SEMESTER.” Not all of the computer labs at NEIU are suitable for the students who are trying to concentrate, do research and write papers. Most of the labs are noisy. We also have to wait 20 minutes for another student to leave after they spent an hour checking myspace/facebook. We need to be able to write our papers at the library because it is the most quiet place in the entire university.
I agree with Robert. You could install OpenOffice right now for no cost. It is compatible with MS Office and works great.
How do you have a library with no word processors?
I thought a word-processing program is a basic for library, especially any university library. Isn’t it?
I am in a situation where I have a reference book and need to write a paper on it. The librarians suggested I go to the B building. That would be all well and good except I have a REFERENCE book that I cannot take out of the library. I think it’s crazy that I have to use Google Docs to write my paper. There was a time when there was a lab with Word that people could come in and do their papers on. I guess that is no longer available. Until the library buys the netbooks what are students like me supposed to do? Oh yeah, use Google Docs. This is ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous that we pay an additional fee in our tuition that goes towards computer useage but there is no Word processing portion on the library computers. Even the horrible Chicago Public Library has a word processing program!