To substantially reduce the initial investment, this new unit is offered as a peripheral device with four cables to attach the Bookeye scanner, 17” touch screen and USB flash memory port to a customer provided PC. The PC is housed in the KIC cabinet with a locking back door. A higher speed PC and large LCD display for viewing of digitized image is recommended. The KIC maintenance contract covers the Bookeye, touch screen and software while the PC is covered by the institution’s contract with its PC supplier.

While PC labs are an easy place to add digitization capabilities, the only cost-justifiable scanners for PC labs are very low speed, which makes them a very underutilized resource. As Karen Lawson of Ohio State University says, “Those little consumer scanners in PC labs are like buying a fleet of vans that can’t go over 5 miles an hour. While our first KIC unit was purchased by student vote, a demonstration for faculty nearly invoked tears with comments like ‘no more photocopying, cutting and taping to make course curriculum materials.’ Quick and easy use, large scan area, USB flash drive, email and FTP support make KIC a great addition to our access services. With KIC, we now have a hybrid library.”