Judith MacFadyen 
Digital Technology Services are very pleased to announce that the new LapSafe laptop loan service for students has reached a significant milestone of 1000 loans since the start of Welcome Week (15th September). This is a fantastic uptake for the new service and shows how vital it is to our students that they have easy access to computing facilities.
Digital inclusion for students is a high priority at University of Reading. One way to help bridge the digital divide is to help students who cannot afford essential technology, such as laptops, gain access to them.
Digital parity for all students using LapSafe
LapSafe makes laptops accessible to every student. There is no need to complete a form to be approved, or provide details of financial circumstances. Any student can take out a laptop from the LapSafe lockers.
For example, we have several students who are borrowing laptops every day or nearly every day, which suggests that they rely on the service to be able to complete their studies.
All LapSafe laptops are set up to use Eduroam free Wi-Fi on campus, and each student has a free subscription to Microsoft 365 and curriculum software with AppsAnywhere.
Some facts and figures
Now we’ve got some data we can get an idea of which lockers are being used and when. This will help with future planning and investment.
On October 23rd we had the most laptops borrowed on one day, with 56 being taken out. We have 100 available so this is well within our capacity.
How many are being borrowed, and where from
Two thirds of the laptops are borrowed from the first floor lockers. The remainder are equally split between the second and third floor lockers.
The most frequently used locker is the first one you come to in the Library, perhaps unsurprisingly!
When is the most popular time?
Our most popular days are Monday and Thursday, and the least popular day is Saturday.
Enlarge the graph below to see how many are borrowed each day. Every Saturday there’s an obvious dip.
We’re expecting these figures to increase as word gets round about the loan laptops.
How long are they borrowed for?
The average loan period is just over 4 hours (at 4 hours and 2 minutes). The shortest loan period was for less than 5 minutes.
After 8 hours, the laptop is marked as late (and the battery has probably run out). Only 5% are returned late. The most overdue return was late by nearly 4 days.
Students get reminder emails just before their laptop is due back, and then again once the loan is overdue.
Further information
You can find full instructions (as well as the terms and conditions) on our dedicated webpage.
If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact DTS.