Internet Librarian International, London 2007 - Internet Access

[Eddie Byrne]

I am attending an Internet-related conference (ILI 2007 of course), yet if I want to access the Internet on my laptop at the conference (and conference hotel) I must pay an extra st£20 (29 euro, $41) per day! In this day and age, I think that is ridiculous, to say the least. Some hotel chains (Jurys Doyle Hotels, with a number of hotels in London, for example) offer complementary access, not to mention the free wifi access in public libraries, and free wifi zones in various cities. My own city (Dublin, Ireland) is considering it! YES, CITY-WIDE FREE INTERNET ACCESS! Last year it was just wonderful that we could get wifi access, weren't we so happy! But not this year. Times are changing fast, businesses, hotels and conference centers included, take note. Complementary, or free, or whatever you wish to call it, Internet access should be a given today. £20 - hah!!!

I have let the venue know my views, maybe you should do the same? What do you say? Am I over re-acting? Should it be whatever the venue wants to do, or should we see beyond that narrow point of view? And agitate accordingly?

[Dave Pattern]

I don't think I've ever stayed in a UK hotel that had free wifi, although I do find it surprising that ILI won't have complementary free wifi for delegates :-(

[Mary Beth Sancomb-Moran]

I don't think you're over-reacting at all!

At Internet Librarian in the US, the vendors generously pay to have wi-fi access in the lobby of the hotel during the conference. However, if you want access IN the rooms where the sessions are being held, the hotel charges something like $300. A DAY. It's completely ridiculous, especially since less expensive hotel chains in the US tend to have free wi-fi throughout.

Insane.

As a result, the coffee shop across the street - which offers free wireless - gets quite a bit of librarian business through the conference.....