[WEB4LIB] Self-serve prepaid printing for library guests? (ps Google)

[Dan Lester]

Boise State offers free internet access and printing to anyone who
walks in the door.  There is no login to computers.  They're protected
with WinSelect and DeepFreeze.  They have web access only, with chat,
email, and games blocked by a proxy server.  Policy says university
people get first access to computers, but that is almost never an
issue, as we rarely have all computers in use.

There is no charge for printing.  So far we've found that it would
cost dimes to collect nickels for printing.  In addition, no other
campus agencies are charging (computer labs, etc.), so if we charged
we'd just give users further encouragement to avoid the library.

We don't filter porn or other possibly objectionable materials.
However, the addition of signs to all monitors saying "all computer
activity is recorded" seem to have greatly reduced the number of
non-university porn surfers.  The activity is indeed logged in a proxy
server log, but that information has only been used once, in the
prosecution of a guy surfing kiddie porn.

cheers

dan


Monday, May 20, 2002, 11:44:55 AM, you wrote:


RW> -- And friendly folks are there to help in both processes.

RW> Here's my question: how many university libraries make it so easy for random
RW> guests to do these things?  (A staff member told me that public access to
RW> surfing and printing is a commonly-used service.)

RW> What tools do you use to make it happen?




-- 
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler  dan at RiverOfData.com 208-283-7711
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho  83716-7115 USA
www.riverofdata.com  www.gailndan.com  Stop Global Whining!