Two new printers have been installed in Olin Hall, giving students a convenient place to print out assignments for classes in the building. The printers are located in the second-floor student lounge and in Olin East’s Asian Studies lounge. During the fall semester, there were no dedicated general-use printers in the building.

According to Director of Institutional and Learning Technology David Sprunger, Olin’s printer deficit began this fall with the expansion of the Computer Science department. The computer lab in Olin, which housed the building’s main student printer, became a Computer Science classroom. The new classroom requires a unique login and password, making it unusable for students not taking classes in the lab.

“We wanted to make sure that students still had the resources they need…since that lab was not longer accessible,” said Division II Chair and Professor of Foreign Languages and Literatures Nicole Simek, who helps coordinate space usage in Olin.

With the classroom change, students that had previously relied on the computer lab printer were forced to seek out alternative options. Division II Administrative Assistant Richele Loney and Administrative Assistant in Humanities and Arts Katina Henderson reported that students frequently visited Olin’s main office in search of a usable printer.

“They were constantly coming into our office saying, what happened to the printer? Where can I print? And we were sending them away to the library,” Loney said.

The Center for Writing and Speaking (Olin E132) and the Language Learning Center (Olin 316) also have printers available to all students. However, they are primarily intended for students involved in those programs, and even so most students and staff were unaware of their availability.

“There were a few times when we actually [printed it] for them, though, because we felt pretty bad about that,” Henderson said.

The new printers, which are connected to the GoPrint system, are part of a larger movement to add more general-use study spaces to Olin.

“Compared to Science [Building], compared to Maxey [Hall], there [were] no real spaces for students to hang around, especially that have computers in them,” Sprunger said.

In addition to the new printers, Olin’s lounges have been redesigned with new furniture, computers and large television screens that connect to student laptops. Sprunger hopes these amenities will attract more students to the space.

“It’s a little early to know how well they’re doing,” Sprunger said. “One of our challenges now really is just letting people know that they exist.”

To raise awareness about the new printers, Sprunger has posted flyers around Olin and they seem to be working. So far, Loney and Henderson have not received any panicked, printer-seeking students in Olin’s main office.

“I’m just really glad to see that people can print. I think that’s really important,” Henderson said.

Sprunger is interested in any and all feedback regarding the new study spaces and printers. Students with questions, comments or suggestions can email [email protected], or speak directly with WCTS staff at the Penrose Library Help Desk or the Technology Services main office in Olin 168.