WebJunction - Basic Computer Support

Here are some some favorite tools and tips for managing pubic access computers:

The best thing we ever did here concerning technology: we bought Deep Freeze software and installed it on all of our public access (excluding Gates computers) and OPAC machines. It has saved me many headaches. And it is easy to maintain. Before any other staff member asks me to "come a fix the computer", I first ask them to reboot the machine. That takes care of 95% of the problems.

Tonya Boltz
Keokuk (IA) Public Library

Managing the public computers has become easy for us with the Public Access software we get through Web Junction. We setup a computer just the way we want it for public use using the Public Profile and then, using Norton Ghost, we image the drive and copy the image to all other like machines. This reduces time on maintenance for each machine. If you take the time to setup the Public Profile exactly the way you want it and test it until all is right.

(For a description and comparison of the Public Access Computer Security Tool (PAC Tool) and the newer Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit (SCT) see An Overview of the Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit.)

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We have a Computer Committee made up of volunteers from our community that are very tech savvy. We meet once a month at a time that is convenient to the volunteers. There are also three staff members on the committee. Often there is no agenda, then we brainstorm about what could be offered to the public in the future. When there is an agenda it is often about problem-solving. The committee is invaluable with their willingness to help and the knowledge they are willing to share. I am not a tech person so I rely heavily on this committee for advice and help.

We have two people on staff who are very comfortable with computers. They have set up in-house training for those on staff who are not as knowledgeable. For example, we have had training in file management and virus scans; backing up is next on the agenda. Now each staff is responsible for running weekly and monthly scans on their own equipment. It has helped cut down on staff time spent on trouble shooting.

All of our computers are protected with a fire wall and Norton Antivirus Protection. We also run Ad-Aware regularly. Our public access computers are also protected with Deep Freeze.

We have one staff person who runs all the scans for all the computers that do not belong to staff. She keeps and maintains a schedule for this.

All the staff helps the public when needed. Some staff are better at this than others but we are all getting better and better at it.

We have a staff member who has taken several of your on-line classes and has gotten a lot out of them. They were a tremendous help with our tech. plan.

Candy Emlen
Director
Southwest Harbor Public Library
Southwest Harbor, ME

We have two great tools. First and foremost - a terrific staff that follows a terrific policy! We have a Technology Page (the first one was actually my son, from when he was 14 - 17 and has now recently graduated!) who helps to manage this busy area. Our bottom line is to provide fair and secure use to all our service community.

Second, we implemented a self-management system to help with sign-ups and to time patron use (to ensure further fairness), so that patrons will be rotated and given adequate time. Always, policy must be tailored to meet our community's needs, so these are not set in stone but are firmly grounding for all.

Cathay Crosby
Electronic Services Librarian
Cecil County Public Library
Elkton, Maryland

When I first started working at the library in Madisonville, KY, I had a major issue with public access computers, & the availability of them. Not only this, but having a branch library to take care of 'computer-wise' that I could only get to once a month at best, I needed to find a workable solution to keep our computer down time to a minimum (Day 1 had 3 out of our 11 public computers down). Some of the biggest problems were spyware, desktop background changes, & people downloading Yahoo Messenger (that we do not allow on our systems).

After visiting Grayson County Library in KY for a completely unrelated topic (we went to look at their bookmobile that has a satellite internet system on top - we ended up getting one for ours), their director showed me a product called DeepFreeze. This makes any changes to a computer temporary, & upon a reboot, the system returns to its original state. I purchased this for all of our systems, & we have had 100% up time (with the exception of a failing hard drive) on all of our public systems since the install in April 2005.

We have also allowed patrons to use their own floppies, CDs & flash drives on our systems. I personally consider Deepfreeze to be a big contributing factor in the way that our internet usage has skyrocketed in the past year - from around 13000 in 2004-05, to over 18000 in 2005-06, & those figures just keep getting better, just because the computers are working all the time, & not sitting on my desk being worked on!

Terry Caudle
Hopkins County - Madisonville Public Library (KY)

The Garnavillo Public Library is a small library. Our computers are where everyone can see them. We have centurion guard on all of the public use computers which keeps the hard drives from being messed with. We do not use any sophisticated software to manage things. In fact we use the old fashioned method of paper and pencil to sign up for computer use. We find that keeping it simple helps keep things in hand quite well.

Mary Fran Nikolai
Garnavillo Public Library (IA)

At the Contra Costa Library, we have a print and time management that monitors the amount of time a patron spends on a computer. Each patron may have one hour a day. With the system, they can reserve a computer for themselves. Patrons log onto machines with their library card. This way, staff doesn't have to monitor a waiting list, etc.

After a patron logs off a session, the machine does a quick cookie wash and it erases all the things a patron did while on his/her session. The computer is restored to its original state. This protects the patron's privacy and it also helps cut down on viruses, etc.

Becky Borup
Youth Services Librarian
Contra Costa County Library
Pittsburg Library
Pittsburg, CA

I have our computers locked down with a variety of software and hardware. Using Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) on the WinXP machines has been successful in disallowing patron access to particular applications, files, folders and drives. The desktop is also tailored using gpedit and standard user options during setup. A first defense is the boot up: The BIOS is password protected at startup with a user password and a separate password for Setup.

Next is the user log in: a standard user name with a long gibberish password using letters, numbers and symbols. Finally, all public computers, whether they access the Internet or not, have Deep Freeze installed. This software has been the best money we've ever spent.

Additionally, the public Internet computers are controlled by PAMS (Public Access Management System) from 3M. Each user must have an access card to logon. The logon password is unique for each card. Users are limited to one hour of computer time a day and money for printing must on the card. PAMS has reduced the amount of staff time required to monitor and service these computers and, through the print manager, paper waste is almost nil. Because of the pay-as-you-print configuration we have also seen a significant increase in our printing cost recovery; so much so that we are considering purchasing a color laser jet printer during our next budget.

David E. Johnson
Computer Tech Support
Nampa Public Library
Nampa, Idaho

We are using DeepFreeze Enterprise, PCCop, Group Policies and some manual registry edits. DeepFreeze has worked very well at keeping the public PCs in a normal state of operation.

Brandon Williams
Library Technology Coordinator
City of Mesa Library (AZ)

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