[OPLINTECH] PC Reservation Software

[Peter Klein]

Thank you for your input! You always give great insight into questions 
on here. I'll go ahead and set up a lab to see how things go with it.

Another member here brought up to me that Libki's print management uses 
Google Cloud Print, which will no longer be supported coming December 
next year. We handle printing with Secure Print settings, so thankfully 
print management features don't matter to us either.

Thanks again,
Peter Klein
Technology Manager
Canal Fulton Public Library
330-854-4148

On Wed, Dec 4, 2019 at 14:35, Chad Neeper via OPLINTECH 
<oplintech at lists.oplin.org> wrote:
> 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 <mailto: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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