Time and Print Management and General News
One of our goals in our Technology Plan is to automate the PAC sign-up process, streamlining and better enforcing time limits of public access computers and collect revenue on print jobs. We were original set on getting SAM - Smart Access Manager - from Comprise.
Unfortunately, we can not use that product because it won't work with our circulation system, so we had to look elsewhere. Another product that's under serious consideration is PC Cop, which is comparable to SAM for features and ease-of-use. I was able to actually try the system out as a Patron on-site at the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library in New Albany, Indiana last Saturday. It was effortless to get on a computer and deposit money for print jobs. The hardware and software seem solid and stable.
However, we are still very leery about adding such a system for two very important reasons: cost and staff time. These systems cost thousands of dollars just for the software alone, and the price goes up from there with options like LED signs for waiting lists, computers for the print management stations, and vending units for accepting cash. Though the patron experience was effortless, there's still the question of the staff side of it; I only spoke to two staff at the library, and they generally liked it and got along with it; but I'm still not 100% sure. Remember that this is not only an involving undertaking, but an expensive one, so choosing a good product is a very important consideration since we'll have to live with said product for several years.
We received two new PACs that will be deployed to AuGres and Whittemore in December or January at the very latest. Also, the Director has just signed the contract for four additional PACs--via a Grant--that will be deployed to four other libraries in the District. These four will supplement existing PACs or replace older PACs.
Also, during December, we will be replacing all our Uninterruptible Power Supplies with new ones through APC's Trade-In Program; which will allow us to ship our old units back in to APC. East Tawas's router, which also serves Administrative Headquarters, will have its own UPS, ensuring that any power failures or brownouts will have less impact on Content Filtering and Public Wifi for the District.
The new units are APC RS 500VA (for the routers) and RS 800VA black (staff or combined main circulation and routers) that have an AVR circuit that will minimize battery use and be able to generate an even cleaner source of electricity for our equipment.
Please note that our printers, PACs and item catalog computers do not use UPS units. The purpose of using an Uninterruptible Power Supply is to prevent data loss from a power failure, and allow staff to gracefully save their work and shutdown.
Another project, which I hope to take into the prototype stage next month or at the beginning of next year, is the VPN/firewall appliances. The purpose of such appliances is to provide secure data linkups between our branch libraries and headquarters, ensuring secure access and better security for our equipment.
The branch units will be based around VIA's mini-ITX form factor and use the C7 processor and flash-based storage, while the headquarters unit will have a more powerful processor and RAM to handle the incoming connections from the branches. The operating system will be Lintrack 2.0, a Linux distribution meant for ISP use. We are looking at a target cost per branch unit of $500, and headquarters of under $1000.
The testing will use the C7-based unit installed at one of the branches, and a modified Pentium 4 PC at headquarters. We hope to use these units to tunnel through traffic for WOL, Samba, DeepFreeze, and printing; allowing more secure system administration.
Unfortunately, we can not use that product because it won't work with our circulation system, so we had to look elsewhere. Another product that's under serious consideration is PC Cop, which is comparable to SAM for features and ease-of-use. I was able to actually try the system out as a Patron on-site at the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library in New Albany, Indiana last Saturday. It was effortless to get on a computer and deposit money for print jobs. The hardware and software seem solid and stable.
However, we are still very leery about adding such a system for two very important reasons: cost and staff time. These systems cost thousands of dollars just for the software alone, and the price goes up from there with options like LED signs for waiting lists, computers for the print management stations, and vending units for accepting cash. Though the patron experience was effortless, there's still the question of the staff side of it; I only spoke to two staff at the library, and they generally liked it and got along with it; but I'm still not 100% sure. Remember that this is not only an involving undertaking, but an expensive one, so choosing a good product is a very important consideration since we'll have to live with said product for several years.
We received two new PACs that will be deployed to AuGres and Whittemore in December or January at the very latest. Also, the Director has just signed the contract for four additional PACs--via a Grant--that will be deployed to four other libraries in the District. These four will supplement existing PACs or replace older PACs.
Also, during December, we will be replacing all our Uninterruptible Power Supplies with new ones through APC's Trade-In Program; which will allow us to ship our old units back in to APC. East Tawas's router, which also serves Administrative Headquarters, will have its own UPS, ensuring that any power failures or brownouts will have less impact on Content Filtering and Public Wifi for the District.
The new units are APC RS 500VA (for the routers) and RS 800VA black (staff or combined main circulation and routers) that have an AVR circuit that will minimize battery use and be able to generate an even cleaner source of electricity for our equipment.
Please note that our printers, PACs and item catalog computers do not use UPS units. The purpose of using an Uninterruptible Power Supply is to prevent data loss from a power failure, and allow staff to gracefully save their work and shutdown.
Another project, which I hope to take into the prototype stage next month or at the beginning of next year, is the VPN/firewall appliances. The purpose of such appliances is to provide secure data linkups between our branch libraries and headquarters, ensuring secure access and better security for our equipment.
The branch units will be based around VIA's mini-ITX form factor and use the C7 processor and flash-based storage, while the headquarters unit will have a more powerful processor and RAM to handle the incoming connections from the branches. The operating system will be Lintrack 2.0, a Linux distribution meant for ISP use. We are looking at a target cost per branch unit of $500, and headquarters of under $1000.
The testing will use the C7-based unit installed at one of the branches, and a modified Pentium 4 PC at headquarters. We hope to use these units to tunnel through traffic for WOL, Samba, DeepFreeze, and printing; allowing more secure system administration.
posted by Technology Coordinator at 12:36 PM
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