[Publib] RE: PC management software

[Greg Williams]

We have *just* had Envisionware Print Management ant Reservation Management
installed @ our library, and here's what I know (thus far):

1) We are using Envisionware in conjunction with Microsoft SteadyState.
SteadyState (like DeepFreeze) allows you to configure a PC so that each time
it is restarted, any changes to the hard disk (patron-installed programs,
saved files, browsing history, etc...) are wiped.  We have also configured
Envisionware to make sure that the PC completely restarts between patron
sessions; this does make the machine unavailable for patron use for a couple
of minutes while it restarts, but it's an acceptable trade off.

SteadyState is a free download from Microsoft.  According to the
Envisionware website, they have a product (PC Refresh) which seems to offer
similar functionality, but we have no experience with it.

2) Envisionware does retain some patron usage info (depending on how you
have it set up); for example, we are limiting out patrons to a certain
amount of time per day.  In order to enforce this, Envisionware does keep
track of the patron's library card # (which is what we're choosing to use)
during the day (in a Microsoft Access database), but wipes out the library
card data during the night (keeping the other data for statistics and
reporting).  So, someone looking in this database could figure out that a
certain library card used a certain PC (or PCs) for a certain amount of
time, but nothing like a browsing history is kept.

3) Envisionware's print management software does store patron-submitted
print jobs (so that users/staff can reprint them if anything goes wrong),
but you can also configure how long it's stored (in the user's queue) and
how often it's cleared (from the back end database).  For example, our jobs
are stored in the user's queue for 2 hours, but I think that "behind the
scenes", we could access the job until the next weekly database clearing is
done.

Again, the Envisionware folks just completed our install yesterday, and I'm
sure we're going to be learning a *lot* more over the coming weeks, but
that's what I know (or think I know) right at this moment.  Hope it helps!

--

Greg Williams, MLIS
Audio-Visual Librarian / Webmaster
West Linn Public Library
1595 Burns Street
West Linn, OR  97068
(503) 656-7853, x3018
gwilliams at ci.west-linn.or.us


> How does EnvisionWare handle privacy concerns? In other words, what happens
>  to patron information like browsing history when the patron logs off?
>  
>  Thanks.
>  
>  
>  Michael May
>  Adult Services Librarian
>  Carnegie-Stout Public Library
>  360
>  West 11th Street
>  Dubuque, IA 52001-4697, USA
>  Phone 563-589-4225 ext. 2244