Postcards From The Edge Case: When One Size Doesn't Fit All

Edge Cases Find Lesser-Used Functions Useful

Stymied by the Removal of a DVD-RW Drive

Sometimes removing things demonstrates how useful they were to edge cases. Another consequence of the computer upgrades is that the DVD-RW drives present on the older computers were removed and replaced with DVD-ROM drives. For the grand majority of library workers, they wouldn't need any reason to write CDs or DVDs, so it makes sense to remove them. Until you get to the Youth Services Librarians, that is, who have programs like Story Time that generally require a customized list of songs set up in a particular order so that there are smooth transitions between all of the activities and rhymes going on and not awkward two-minute interludes of dead air while a librarian desperately scrambles to get the next CD in with a minimum of delay. By removing the ability to burn CDs, one of the important functions of an entire cohort was compromised. But no other cohort would normally use that particular function. Now, Youth Services Librarians are resourceful, and found ways to achieve their goals without rewritable drives, thanks to CD players that came with the ability to read digital music off of flash drives and other technological improvements, but a likely cost-saving measure, combined with the security zeal above, had some serious potential impacts on workers being able to do their work.