granting access by the public to USB ports

[Phillip Whitford]

Hello,

We have always allowed patrons access to USB ports and it has rarely caused a problem. We disable boot from other devices in the PC BIOS and this prevents them from booting from USB drives, CDs, DVDs, etc.  Then we password protect the BIOS so they can't change the settings.  There is no need to password protect the actual boot up process.  Most of our patrons use USB flash drives for data storage and transport. Occasionally someone connects a camera, phone, or other device.

Phillip B. Whitford
Associate Director for Support Services
Braswell Memorial Library
Rocky Mount, NC
Opinions expressed are my own.

From: John Fitzgibbon [mailto:jfitzgibbon at GALWAYLIBRARY.IE]
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2015 9:20 AM
To: WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: [WEB4LIB] granting access by the public to USB ports

Hi,

At present, we do not give the public access to the USB ports of our public PCs. We are now in the process of drawing up a library development plan which will cover the next five years and we are looking at this policy in the light of recent technological developments. As far as I know, with most e-book readers, it is possible to download  e-books wirelessly; a USB connection is not needed. However, many MP3 players and cameras are not able to connect to a PC or to the Internet wirelessly.

If we grant access to the USB ports of our PCs we would probably have to password protect the boot-up process, otherwise people will be able to boot up the PC from a USB pen. Are there any workarounds for this difficulty?

Is it best for us to leave well enough alone?

I would appreciate any advice.

Regards
John

John Fitzgibbon
Executive Librarian

w: www.galwaylibrary.ie<http://www.galwaylibrary.ie>

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