[Publib] Computer Reservation Software

[Andrea Berstler]

We use both. We check out the computers - with a bar-coded card, and then
use Cyberstar timer to regulate the amount of time a person spends on the
machine. It would be very unwieldy for a larger library, but we are smaller,
it works for now. 

The plus of this is that my printed reports show exactly how many people use
the computer, and Cyberstar is a very inexpensive program. It costs about $5
per machine. It is simple, bare bones type of program but is was fine for
us. It kept people from "just popping" on a computer without signing it out.


-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org]
On Behalf Of Sara Weissman
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 1:24 PM
To: PubLib 
Subject: RE: [Publib] Computer Reservation Software

Subject: RE: [Publib] Computer Reservation Software
From:    "Maureen Graham" <mgraham at merrimack.lib.nh.us>

Hi Vicky,

I don't have any great recommendations for computer reservation software but
I will offer a word or two of caution for the checking out computer system
you mentioned in your email.

I worked in a library that did just that.  Patrons would "check out a
computer" by presenting their library card and then a computer would be
assigned to the patron.  (Each computer had its own name on a card with a
barcode).  This caused a whole bunch of new problems.  Patrons would come in
and request their favorite computer.  Or if the computer he or she wanted
was not available at the time they checked out a computer once the computer
he or she wanted became available they would come to the desk to switch.
Often people would switch computers without telling us so we would check out
a computer to a patron only to have that patron come back 45 seconds later
to say someone was on the computer you just checked out to them.  Sometimes
we would have 4 or 5 people on computers that were not checked out to them
and it would take several minutes to straighten it all out.

Finally when it came to time limits it became difficult to determine who
came off first when 8 people all checked a computer out at the same time.
Even with register receipts that showed the time the computer was actually
checked out people would still argue that they got on last. Enforcing the
time limit was difficult.  So you can see I am not a big fan of that system
:)

That library has just implemented a PC reservation software system on the
computers and my former co-workers are relieved!  There are some quirks but
it is better then what they (and I) dealt with before.

Good luck!
Maureen Graham
Merrimack Public Library
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