Re: [tlug] Wifi hotspot access in Tokyo

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Raymond Wan writes:

 > Seriously, just because you can do it elsewhere doesn't mean not
 > being able to do it in Japan is a bad thing.  When I went, no,
 > there weren't laptops open but the library was full and people were
 > ... reading books!  I'm sure if no one was reading their books and
 > it was empty, then they would allow laptop users to come.

In other words, a library is like a movie theater, for entertainment
only?  Studying and taking notes, computing examples, crossreferencing
to web resources not allowed?

As you imply, seat space is a critical resource, so the policy is
defensible, but the existence of the need for such a policy is still a
bad thing IMO.

 > For what it's worth, university libraries aren't like that so it
 > isn't true for all libraries in Japan.  At least the one or two
 > public ones I've seen in Japan...

No, they're not, but that's because their mission is supporting study
and research (not to mention the firestorm that would come down if
they told some professor she can't use her laptop in the library :-).