[OPLINTECH] PC Reservation Software

[Chad Neeper]

I had to smile when I read your post. You're doing the exact same thing
we've been doing for our libraries for a few years now:  Porteus on the
catalog computers, Deep Freeze + Windows on the patron computers (and at a
couple of our libraries DF+Windows+Libki.)

I don't' have any personal experience with PC Reservation, but being a
commercial product, I'd have expected it to be at least a *little* more
robust than Libki! I'm certainly no deep expert in Libki, but it does
appear to strictly focus on reservation and time management, ignoring print
management features and other (generally unnecessary IMO) bells & whistles
that seem to be common to commercial products like Cassie and presumably PC
Res.

I've wrangled a little bit with some of the earlier versions of Cassie, and
definitely have a strong dislike for how it's intrusive to both the staff
computers used to manage it and the patron computers it's installed on.
Using a browser interface to manage libki is definitely a plus, as is how
it operates pretty cleanly on the patron computers. It is FOSS software
with a limited target audience, however, so it's not overly polished like a
for profit commercialized product might be. But it seems to do its job
pretty well. Some linux knowledge for the server-side is useful. On the
patron side, I like Libki because it does its job (time
tracking/management) without trying to take control over any other aspect
of Windows. That leaves me free to manage them the way I'd prefer to manage
them:  centrally via Group Policies. There are some quirks/gotchas here and
there, but with some research and Windows optimization settings, you can
close the loopholes that can potentially allow someone to slip
past Libki's control.

Overall, Libki has been a fairly positive addition at the (admittedly few)
libraries we've implemented it. We haven't made use of the computer
reservation side of it, however. (No need at these libraries....they have
enough computers for all walk-up first come, first served computer use.)

Overall, I'd give Libki a thumbs-up for evaluation, especially if you're
looking to replace a subscription software you're currently using and if
you're technically inclined enough to be your own support for a
FOSS product.

2 cents,
Chad
______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

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

*Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in public libraries*


On Wed, Dec 4, 2019 at 11:10 AM Peter Klein via OPLINTECH <
oplintech at lists.oplin.org> wrote:

> Hi all,
> I'm about a month into my new position and am working on some ways to cut
> costs and improve our setup by utilizing newer software in the library. We
> currently use Porteus Kiosk for catalog computers so that they only have
> access to our catalog via the web browser. It's nice because it eliminates
> the need to install a Deep Freeze equivalent and it works straight out of
> the box. It works great for a catalog kiosk, but when it comes to public
> workstations it's not sufficient, especially since you cannot use
> LibreOffice with it let alone Microsoft Office.
>
> We are currently using Envisionware's PC Reservation software for our
> public workstations. I've been looking into Libki Kiosk Management System
> that seems to include all the same features as PC Reservation and more. It
> uses a web-based interface so that we won't need to include a somewhat
> clunky application to handle reservations on every staff computer, whi ch
> is definitely a plus. Has anyone had experience using Libki or other
> alternatives to Envisionware? What has your experience been with those?
> Peter Klein
> Technology Manager
> Canal Fulton Public Library
> 330-854-4148
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