Just walked out of a local library in Springfield and their public PC setup is a horror show

They have about 15 public computers, and every single one had the case side panel off. I'm talking exposed internals, dust bunnies the size of actual bunnies, and cables just hanging out. One machine even had a SATA cable draped over the CPU fan. The librarian said they 'save money' by having a volunteer 'who knows computers' do the maintenance. I saw a can of compressed air from 2018 on the desk. How do places think this is okay for public safety and hardware longevity? Has anyone else had to fix a mess like this after a 'well-meaning' volunteer got their hands on it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_dylan11d ago

I mean, did you ask the librarian what exactly the volunteer's 'maintenance' even involves?

patel.leo11d ago

Exactly, that's the real question. It feels like they use "maintenance" as a catch-all to avoid explaining the actual work. I'd bet it's just busywork they don't want to pay someone for. Makes you wonder what the library budget actually goes toward.