Print Metering Software

[Jason Clabaugh]

***If this message is redundant, please excuse it--I am new to the list and
a search of the Archive turned up little on this subject...

Hello Folks -
	We are about to implement a new public-access system  consisting of 30
networked PCs running Windows 95 as the client interface with Windows NT
4.0 serving as our basic networking backbone software.  These machines will
be divided among the four floors of our library with a networked laser
printer serving a maximum of five workstations each (so...we wil have 20
machines on the 1st floor served by 4 LPs, 5 on the 2nd floor with 1 LP,
and so on...).
	What I'm looking for is a program that will run on the network and help us
recover the cost of paper and toner on these machines.  Several of the
databases that will be available on each of our public-access machines are
full-text (including JSTOR), so you can imagine how expensive unlimited
printing could get.  We do not want to discourage students from printing
articles from the databases, but rather want to encourage them to be
judicious in choosing which articles to print (after all, if *I* had to
choose between grabbing a volume of bound periodicals and paying a nickel a
page to copy it and printing the same article for free on a workstation, I
can tell you which one *I* would choose) and help us keep from running
through our entire year's paper budget in a matter of days or weeks.
Further complicating the process is the aspect concerning our CD-ROM
indexes, from which we would like to continue allowing students to print
citations for free, while charging them for full-text retrievals.
	I have investigated potential solutions over the web and have found little
that is of use to us. One solution  would require us to implement a debit
card system--which would be much too expensive for us to implement and
maintain  Another potential solution works with Novell Netware to generate
bills to particular cost centers within an organization--which really won't
work for us, either.  
	Ideally, the winning software solution would require the student to log in
using a student ID number and would charge the copies to his student
account on our soon-to-be-forthcoming BANNER system.  Otherwise, if the
software would simply generate a bill (a la Kinko's) that would be sent
both to the student at the end of his session and to the Circulation
Manager (so that if the bill is not paid, it can be forwarded to Accounts
Receivable and added to the student's Bursar's Bill), I would be satisfied.
	I realize that this may be asking for the sun, but I'm sure that other
libraries are having to deal with the same issues.  I would like to hear
from other organizations as to how they deal with this problem.  	Please
respond to me at jclabaug at xula.edu rather than to the list as a whole.  I
will be happy to summarize all responses (along with the original question)
back to the list later.

Thanks in advance...

Jason


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Jason Clabaugh
Systems Librarian
Xavier University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA 70125
Voice: (504) 485-5290
FAX: (504) 485-7917
jclabaug at xula.edu
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"Sometimes working with computers can be as rewarding
	as trying to nail a poached egg to a tree."
				- Anonymous
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