[OPLINTECH] Library PAC computer equipment

Wed May 10 11:09:18 EDT 2017

I know this will probably sounds a little, um, botched together, but if I had the problem of kids unplugging it, I’d hot glue the USB to Lightning cable into the brick, and then pick up one of these from any local hardware store:

https://www.amazon.com/MM410G-Weatherproof-Outdoor-Receptacle-Protector/dp/B001JEPX4E/ref=sr_1_8?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1494428831&sr=1-8&keywords=outdoor+outlet+cover

Every hardware store should have them, probably for less than the one linked to, but you get the idea.  You can put a little lock on it to keep the public from unplugging things.

Have a good day.

Joe

Joseph Knueven
Director
Germantown Public Library
51 N. Plum St.
Germantown, OH 45327
937-855-4001
joe at gtownlibrary.net

From: OPLINTECH [mailto:oplintech-bounces at lists.oplin.org] On Behalf Of Chad Neeper via OPLINTECH
Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 10:55 AM
To: OPLINTECH
Subject: Re: [OPLINTECH] Library PAC computer equipment

Karen,

Thanks for all of the details! Your end result is a particularly nice, clean and secure kiosk station.

Some thoughts on your occasional kid/power problems:

This doesn't quite do the trick for you with power bricks, but it might get you thinking. You could lock a short power extension cable to the wall and then plug the power brick into the extension and tuck the brick away inside the base of your kiosk (assuming it has space):
https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Sales-Company-Outlet-Plug/dp/B009KQCJ7C

I wouldn't use this particular extension in this application, but something similar with a straight-out plug instead of a flush plug:
https://www.amazon.com/Ziotek-ZT1212592-Liberator-3-Feet-3-Pack/dp/B000LP9ZDW/ref=sr_1_4?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1494427818&sr=8-4&keywords=PWR-PSLIB-4

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/electrical-ac-dc/545570-how-do-i-prevent-cord-being-unplugged-outlet.html

Chad

______________________________
Chad Neeper
Senior Systems Engineer

Level 9 Networks
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and schools

On Wed, May 10, 2017 at 10:19 AM, Karen Perone via OPLINTECH <oplintech at lists.oplin.org<mailto:oplintech at lists.oplin.org>> wrote:
Since I was the person here to just say, "Make it so," I asked Steve Maze to fill you in on the steps he took to set up the iPad catalog kiosks. I'm also attaching a picture of one of our kiosks. The main costs are in the iPads themselves and the locking stands. We went with iPad Pros because their screens are larger and bought the stands from Maclocks - https://www.maclocks.com/shop-by-product/tablet-floor-stands.html
--Karen

From Steve:
The vast amount of time is spent trying to figure out how to make the iPad more "patron proof".  I've included helpful links.  We did not purchase a device management system so I relied upon Apple's free built-in options Restrictions<https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201304> and Guided Access<https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202612>.  A device management system could probably do a lot of things faster and better for large scale deployments but since we do not install additional apps, it was hard to justify the additional cost.

This setup was new at the time, so the time consuming thing was trying to figure out how to put the iPad into kiosk mode.  The App Store did not have not many kiosk apps and it was difficult finding one that would say it was compatible with our newly released iPad Pros.  Apple buries Guided Access under the General | Accessibility settings and it provides the kiosk functionality that locks patrons into one app (Safari pointing to our catalog) as long as it is enabled.

Using an iPad as a catalog simply involves setting up the Restrictions and enabling Guided Access once you have it configured.  Backup the device so you can use it clone other iPads.  You can use iCloud or iTunes.  I use iTunes on a Mac.  The Mac version of iTunes allows the archiving of backups by right-clicking and selecting archive.  The Windows version of iTunes does not support archiving and it overwrites the previous backup.  You can manually locate, copy and rename the folder to archive it in Windows.  Use the good iTunes backup to restore it to another iPad, rename it and check the settings.  It really is that simple.

This process is very similar to using Clonezilla or some other cloning software.  If a library has an iPad sitting around, they could probably read the above links and have a working OPAC in 15 minutes.  You can implement Restrictions and Guided Access easily onto an existing iPad to test it out.

The iPads were implemented at the end of January 2016.  The iPads are very reliable as long as staff enable Guided Access after turning them on.  If Guided Access is disabled (default) patrons can access anything not locked in the Restrictions.  I think since implementation, I had to re-clone two devices.  Twice, an iPad crashed or somehow got restarted/turned off.  The patron(s) tried to guess our passcode incorrectly ten times and the iPads were disabled and had to be fixed using Recovery mode<https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204306> and a good backup.

The other issue we experience is kids occasionally unplug the power bricks on our units with accessible power bricks.  Unfortunately, we did not have the time or money to drill through 18 inches of concrete to place all our power bricks under the floor.  The only other things we purchased were Tapcons (concrete anchors) so we could finish attaching the stands to our concrete floor (using a hammer drill), microfiber cleaning cloths and one screen protector.  The screen protector was challenging to install and seeing no real advantage, we did not purchase additional screen protectors.

Karen Perone              kperone at rodmanlibrary.com<mailto:kperone at rodmanlibrary.com>

Head of Technology and Technical Services

Rodman Public Library     voice: 330-821-2665 x101<tel:(330)%20821-2665>

215 E. Broadway Street    fax: 330-821-5053<tel:(330)%20821-5053>

Alliance, OH 44601        http://www.rodmanlibrary.com
On 5/8/2017 1:55 PM, Chad Neeper via OPLINTECH wrote:
I've seen similar setups before using iPads as kiosks. It can definitely make quite a nice kiosk setup. Out of curiosity, though and if you don't mind answering, how much would you estimate you spent per unit in both setup time and actual hardware/software dollars? (I haven't done anything with iPads before, so have no reference.)

Chad

______________________________
Chad Neeper
Senior Systems Engineer

Level 9 Networks
740-548-8070<tel:(740)%20548-8070> (voice)
866-214-6607<tel:(866)%20214-6607> (fax)

Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and schools

On Mon, May 8, 2017 at 1:46 PM, Karen Perone via OPLINTECH <oplintech at lists.oplin.org<mailto:oplintech at lists.oplin.org>> wrote:
We went a different route and are using iPads for our WebPACs. We have the software locked down to only allow catalog and library website access, they use wifi to connect to the network, and the kiosk stands prevent them from walking away. It took patrons a little time to get used to them but they are very low maintenance. I imagine you could do the same with lower-priced Android devices.

Karen Perone              kperone at rodmanlibrary.com<mailto:kperone at rodmanlibrary.com>

Head of Technology and Technical Services

Rodman Public Library     voice: 330-821-2665 x101<tel:%28330%29%20821-2665>

215 E. Broadway Street    fax: 330-821-5053<tel:%28330%29%20821-5053>

Alliance, OH 44601        http://www.rodmanlibrary.com
On 5/8/2017 12:03 PM, Fred Miller Jr via OPLINTECH wrote:
Looking for ideas on upgrading PAC computers? We only use them to access information within our catalog and our online calendar and I don’t like the idea of purchasing a whole computer setup and not using the full potential of the computer. We have had thin Clients in the past and I don’t really like them since they have trouble displaying our HTML page that was set up. A small footprint would be great. Thought about going to the Intel NUC’s. Thoughts and ideas welcome.

Thanks,

[Logo Resized]
203 Perry Street Wapakoneta, OH 45895

Fred Miller Jr
IT Service Manager
T: 419-738-1215<tel:%28419%29%20738-1215> | E: fmiller at auglaizelibraries.org<mailto:fmiller at auglaizelibraries.org>

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