Social Work Library Technology

Thanks to the Boston College School of Social Work, the library laptop inventory has increased by 16 new devices: 12 Dells & 4 MACs. The SSW laptops are circulated only to the community of the Boston College School of School of Social Work only. All laptops work in the BC wireless network and they connect to BC Libraries printers. All laptops include a power cord, battery, and sleeve. Laptops have MS Office and Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. See below for more information about specialized software installed on these laptops. If you are taking a laptop off campus, log on while still on campus to authenticate; otherwise you may not be able to access the BC network from off campus.

Why are laptops only available to the Boston College School of Social Work (BCSSW) community? 

Our SSWLIB laptop checkout program is tailored to meet the needs of BCSSW graduate students, faculty and staff who often require specialized resources for research and advanced coursework. This policy helps ensure that these patrons have access to necessary tools during their studies and instruction. The laptops are available on a first-come first-served basis. 

Can undergraduate or faculty members from other schools check out a laptop? 

Currently, SSWLIB laptop checkouts are reserved solely for BCSSW graduate students, faculty and staff. Undergraduates and faculty from other BC academic programs have access to 26 laptops available for circulation to the entire Boston College community. The laptops are available on a first-come first-served basis. Please inquire about other resources or equipment options we have available for general use. 

How long can I keep the laptop? Can I renew the loan? 

SSWLIB Laptops are loaned out for 2 weeks. Due to high demand, laptops are not renewable. 

Is any software pre-installed, or can I download programs? 

Our laptops come with a standard suite of software commonly used by the BCSSW community. 

1. a. RStudio 
2. b. ArcGIS Cloud - visit Digital Scholarship Group (DSG) to assign licenses. DSG is located in O’Neill Library - 2nd Floor. Contact them for ArcGIS online licenses: digitalscholarship@bc.edu. 
3. c. SPSS 
4. d. JASP - https://jasp-stats.org/ - Open Source JASP is a free and open-source program for statistical analysis supported by the University of Amsterdam. It is designed to be easy to use, and familiar to users of SPSS. It offers standard analysis procedures in both their classical and Bayesian form.

Laptops for General Use

The information below is for the general BC community:

The Social Work Library has 16 MacBook Airs, and 10 Dell laptops available for loan to current students, staff, and faculty. All laptops work in the BC wireless network and they connect to BC Libraries printers. All laptops include a power cord, battery, and sleeve. Laptops have MS Office, Adobe Acrobat Reader and SPSS installed.  

Laptops are available for a one-week loan, except for one PC, one MacBook Pro, which has a four-hour loan period. If you are taking a laptop off campus, log on while still on campus to authenticate; otherwise you may not be able to access the BC network from off campus.

Laptops and iPads are not available for renewal. Patrons may come back the next day to loan out another laptop or iPad.  

We also have individual Mac and PC power cords if you forget to bring your own. We supply HDMI adaptors for Macs, which can be used with our two study room Smart TVs. Power Cords and HDMI adaptors are available for 4 hour loan periods.

O'Neill Library has Dell laptops, Apple iPads, power cords, calculators, and other items for loan.  Please see BC Libaries' Technology  for more information.