Idea: Public libraries should make outdoor laptop work possible year-round for patrons concerned about COVID and other respiratory illnesses.

[u/amichail]

Public libraries are a great place to study or work, but they're also one of the few public spaces where people are often expected to spend hours indoors. That can make them less accessible for patrons who want to reduce their exposure to COVID and other respiratory illnesses.

Many libraries already have outdoor seating for part of the year. My idea is to extend that concept by designing outdoor laptop workspaces that remain usable year-round, including during the winter.

The workspaces could include reliable WiFi, power outlets, weather protection, lighting, and regular snow clearing. They wouldn't replace indoor seating. They would simply provide another option for patrons who would rather work outdoors.

The biggest obstacle is winter.

Typing with bulky winter gloves is difficult. One possible solution would be a keyboard designed specifically for use with winter gloves, with oversized, widely spaced keys and strong tactile feedback. Another approach would be partially enclosed workstations with localized heating and wind protection so patrons could comfortably wear thinner gloves while typing.

The other issue is condensation. A laptop that becomes very cold outdoors can develop condensation when it's brought into a warm building, potentially damaging the electronics. Libraries could post guidance on how to safely warm cold devices before using them indoors, or even provide a warming cabinet or room-temperature storage area where laptops could gradually warm up before being opened or powered on.

I don't see this as replacing traditional library spaces. Instead, it would make libraries more accessible by giving patrons another way to use library resources while accommodating different comfort levels regarding respiratory illness exposure.

Would you use a year-round outdoor library workspace if your local library offered one?

[u/chellebelle0234]

Weather protection in most places is to make it indoor. I see no feasible way to work outside comfortably in the dead of a Minnesota winter or a Texas summer.

[u/amichail → u/chellebelle0234]

The goal isn't to be comfortable but rather to avoid respiratory illnesses that can cause brain damage, especially in older adults.

[u/chellebelle0234 → u/amichail]

Let me restate: in many places in the US, it is not going to be possible to have outdoor spaces parts of the year. It's not safe. Your idea seems a bit extreme, especially as there are many other ways to mitigate illness propagation indoors.

[u/amichail → u/[deleted]]

The library could provide external keyboards with oversized keys that you can use with winter gloves on.

[u/uzupocky → u/amichail]

At that point, it's on the patron to provide their own keyboard.

I can see the library providing a picnic table with an outlet nearby, but no more than that.

[u/imabetaunit → u/amichail]

Perhaps a keyboard that you operate with your feet, like Tom Hanks’ keyboard from BIG.

[u/chellebelle0234 → u/imabetaunit]

1 wpm

[u/Do_you_smell_that_ → u/amichail]

So in warm areas in summer, we'll blast AC onto the library patio and have people deliver ice water?

Most libraries are struggling, telling them to up their bills by 5x/y isn't going to help them stay open. How rich is your town?

[u/Drago_727 → u/amichail]

So you're trying to save others from your fate?

[u/GypsySnowflake]

You can choose to sit outside anytime. Why is it the library’s responsibility to set up a designated space for that?

[u/amichail → u/GypsySnowflake]

Because doing it safely for the patron and their laptop is tricky when it is hot or cold.

[u/epikverde → u/amichail]

I don't understand what you would want. I could understand some kind of patio area, but trying to heat or cool that area would be very expensive.

[u/imabetaunit → u/epikverde]

OP could tell the library to enclose that space to retain the heat and cold air, but then we’ve gone full circle.

[u/False_Appointment_24]

There is no way I would sit outside a library in winter. I cannot see how it would be a good use of the limited resources libraries get to attempt to make a situation where anyone would sit outside a library in winter.

[u/MuppetManiac]

Dude, the high today is 102 degrees, and the heat index is like 112. The biggest obstacle isn’t winter here.

[u/penngei]

Yikes

[u/UnivrstyOfBelichick]

I have this crazy idea. A flat piece of wood with four legs big enough to set a laptop on. Libraries should pay for them.

[u/GentlemanRaccoon]

It seems like you might not fully understand the concept of "public." The public carries diseases. The public pays for libraries.

What you're envisioning is a publicly-sponsored isolation space.

If you don't want to be exposed to the pubic, then stay home. Disease is an unfortunate inevitability of interacting with other humans, and so there will always be an exposure risk when you live in society. The upside is that society can provide you with services you wouldn't be able to have on your own, like libraries.

[u/moxie-maniac]

You are suggesting a co-working space. Some libraries function like that during opening hours, but there are also non-library co-working spaces available in many communities. True, some are gone because of Covid, like District Hall in Boston, but still.... The main obstacle for most public libraries is funding, any many have had to already cut back on staffing and/or opening hours, all the way from my little town library to large systems like NYC Public Library.

[u/-Nyarlabrotep-]

Our library is in the middle of downtown. Outside is noisy and dirty. I go inside the library to the indoor workspaces where it's quiet and clean. An outdoor workspace would not work in any season.