Lab Management decided to remove staplers in all of its facilities after years of trying to find a durable stapler that neither jammed nor broke within a few weeks of deployment. Our efforts to find a stapler durable enough to sustain the type of use and abuse in a public computer room environment failed repeatedly. The ongoing purchase of new staplers, the time it took consultants to respond and clear staple jams, and the time it took consultants and hardware support staff to replace and/or fix broken staplers has far exceeded our budgetary limits. Resources to maintain staplers began exceeding those to maintain computers in the room.
Since Lab Management could not guarantee nor could it afford to dedicate resources to ensure that a stapler is in good working order in the room, the staplers were removed. Further research showed that the Bookstore sold staplers at less than $3 each. As such, we recommend that students purchase a stapler that is reliable and can be used outside the computer room.