Survey of Academic Library Plans for Laptops and Other Mobile Computing

Academic libraries have vastly increased their stock of laptops and other mobile computing devices during the pandemic. Does this represent a fundamental shift in computer use in academic libraries, or merely a temporary shift? This study helps answer this question as well as many others. Such as: What is the stock of laptops maintained by academic libraries? How fast has it grown in recent years? What are the plans for the future? Which brands and capabilities are most favored? What is the stock of tablets and how fast has it grown? What about smartphones, wearable computing and other mobile technology – do they have a role in the library? How much are libraries spending on mobile computing and what are their plans for the future? In addition to the data on numbers and spending on various forms of mobile computing, the report looks at the impact on workstation use and deployment, as well as the terms and conditions for lending out mobile computing to students? How long are the typical lending periods? What is the replacement cycle for laptops? What kind of mobile computing technology is issued to library staff.