At the beginning of 2015, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Kingsway Campus Library introduced Mobile Power, a pilot project to improve students’ online presence by having their hand held devices charged while they are on the move. The Library started with one Charging Station and 36 battery units which have since been issued a total of 5693 times over the last six months (from February to July).
According to Library IT, the pilot project was hugely successful with a significant uptake from the student community – none of the units were lost, damaged or stolen.
This free service has now been rolled out to all five Libraries (as from 1 August 2015) with 108 battery units made available. Loan period is the same as for reserved shelf books (2 hours). If not returned in time, a fine – same as for reserved shelf books – will be incurred. If lost a replacement cost will have to be paid. As far as can be established, UJ library is the first in SA to offer such a service to its patrons.
Charging time varies from model and make, e.g. it will take +/- 40 min for an iPhone to be fully charged.
Mobile Power – Electricity wherever you go!