A record number of students checked out laptops at the Henry Madden Library in February almost doubling the previous monthly averages.

According to the library’s computer system, last month 11,033 laptops were checked out at the Laptop Circulation area. On average, students check out 6-7,000 laptops per month.

David Tyckoson, associate dean of library services, said 11,000 in one month was amazing, but was unsure of what accounted for the increase.
“I can’t think of a good reason that it would go up by that much, but it did.”

The Laptop Circulation area has 204 laptops available for students.

“Nobody has hundreds like we do,” Tyckoson said. “We have more than any other campus that I know of. Not just [California State Universities], but anywhere. Most libraries don’t check out as many laptops as we do.”

Tyckoson said the library is set to start a new laptop program by spring break. The library purchased 50 laptops with a Linux operating system. He said library officials are deciding whether the check out duration will be three days, seven days or a month.

“Right now [laptops] go out for four hours and you can’t check them out over night, which is not because we don’t want to, but the campus Microsoft license restricts how it can be used,” Tyckoson said. “Linux is an open source competitor to Microsoft.”

Library student assistant Josh Justin, said they run out of laptops nearly every day. Most students are patient when this happens he said.

“Sometimes there are a small percentage of students that get angry, especially when we are out of them or when something breaks on a printer,” Justin said.

Adriana Salmoran, a fashion merchandising major, said she checks out a laptop about four times a week so she can get work done.

During finals she said she waited for an hour for one.

Tyckoson said the laptop program takes hard work, but is appreciated by students.

“It’s clearly popular if 11,000 of them went out last month,” Tyckoson said.