[OPLINTECH] Circulating Laptops

[Mann, James H.]

Matt
GCPL is circulating about 20 laptops.
Some thoughts:
1. Buy cheap, off lease Windows laptops and don't expect more than 18 months out of them before they die or a patron drops one.
2. Create a desktop that is like your public computers so patrons (aka staff) don't get confused
3. Lock them down with SteadyState or Deepfreeze
4. Setup your login so it sees the nearest wireless first
5. Barcode everything....laptop, power supply, mouse
6. Create your loan rules, item types etc for 2 hour loan periods, no renewals, no holds, suppressed from catalog whatever

Our procedure the short version:
1. Staff logs on the laptops and make sure they connect to the wireless
2. Staff launches the PCReservation and LPTOne clients and checks that the laptop is in the queue
3. Patron requests laptop and staff checks it out making sure the patron can checkout items and has a "laptop AUP" note in their file. Our AUP basically says "you break it you buy it" and we do require young adults to actually bring a parent in to sign the AUP. A long time ago the discussion was to make the fine twice the cost of a laptop from the bookstore so students would have no incentive for checking it out and keeping it for the entire quarter.
4. Once the laptop is checked out staff makes a reservation in PCReservation and the patron gets the laptop for a full 2 hours. The laptop patron really gets bonus time but it is simpler and a good battery is going to die in 2 hours anyway.
5. Hopefully staff checks the laptop back in or the patron goes to collection very quickly with a $1500 bill

Issues:
1. It's a fairly complex process for staff and simple things like the wireless being turned off can be baffling...but the laptops often hold their IP for a couple days so it often is simpler.
2. You're never going to get them to fully charge so assume that they will need to be plugged in. There was a blog post recently about a University study where students said they wanted comfortable chairs, good wireless and convenient electric. We offer study tables with outlet strips and hard backed chairs.
3. Assume you will need mice
4. Get a couple extra batteries, hard drives and power supplies or even a spare laptop. You should have a Clonezilla or Ghost image of each model laptop.
5. Find a cheap laptop repair vendor. My rule is that you get one $200 repair and then its trash
6. Accept that Steady State and/or DeepFreeze only work on a restart and a restart requires staff to go through the login process again

I can send you a link to my vendor's latest laptop offerings if you like.

HTH

Have a safe holiday weekend.
________________________________________
From: oplintech-bounces at oplin.org [oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] On Behalf Of Matt Hoffman [mhoffman at heightslibrary.org]
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 11:58 AM
To: oplintech at oplin.org
Subject: [OPLINTECH] Circulating Laptops

Hi!

Just wondering how many of you are circulating laptops at your libraries, what issues you run into with them, and what policies and procedures you have had to institute to deal with them.  Are you using PCs?  Macs?  Any info would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

        Matthew Hoffman, Network Administrator
Cleveland Heights - University Heights Public Library
   (voice) 216-932-3600 ext. 284 (fax) 216-932-0932
mhoffman at heightslibrary.org www.heightslibrary.org