Implementing a PC Reservation and PaytoPrint System

1
Implementing a PC Reservation and Pay-to-Print
System

• Arlington Public Library
• Arlington, Virginia

2
How APL selected, installed, promoted, and
evaluated a PC reservation and pay-to-print sytem

• Ron Altemus, CyberCenter Coordinator (raltem at
  arlingtonva dot us)
• Jeff Gaines, Information Systems Analyst (jgaine
  at arlingtonva dot us)
• Chang Liu, Central Services Library Manager (cliu
  at arlingtonva dot us)

3
What is a PC reservation and pay-to-print system?

• Time and print management software for public
  computers
• Regulates time allocations
• Requires payment for print jobs

4
APL needed a PC reservation and pay-to-print
system in order to

• Provide equity in PC time allocation
• Reduce staff intervention of the publics PC use
• Eliminate waste of paper and ink cartridges

5
APL an urban library system with Central
Library and 6 branchesNumber of public
computers 100

• APL provides two kinds of public computers
  Gates computers with Internet and a suite of
  Microsoft software Internet stations providing
  only Internet access.

6
Selecting a system

• We invited three vendors (SAM, EnvisionWare, and
  Pharos) to give demonstrations. Both public
  services and IT staff attended the presentations.
  Afterwards, staff were encouraged to provide
  input on the selection of the system.

7
We chose EnvisionWare because

• EW salespeople did an outstanding job
  demonstrating the functions of EW staff felt
  that EW would meet APLs needs.
• EW is a partner with TLC, and TLC provides APLs
  integrated library system.
• Through TLC, APL was able to receive a special
  discount from EW.

8
Implementing EW

• Forming a team
• Jeff In-depth knowledge of library technology
  the go-to person for PC troubleshooting
• Ron Library training guru first-hand knowledge
  of the publics use of computers in libraries
• Chang Member of Library Leadership Team
  extensive experience in public services

9
Implementing EW (continued)

• Completing the EnvisionWare Location
  Policy/Configuration form. This form required
  us to make decisions such as
• Number and locations of print release stations
• Pricing for print jobs
• Method of payment
• Authentication
• Areas with different configurations
• Session/time restrictions
• Guest users
• Future reservations

10
Implementing EW (continued)

• Testing EW
• EW was set up for testing by staff for several
  months, during which time staff came to learn how
  EW worked and asked questions about how EW would
  be implemented at APL. Although the Location
  Policy/Configuration Form dealt with many aspects
  of EW, staffs questions were invaluable in
  making us consider every detail, especially
  exceptions for childrens and YA areas.

11
Implementing EW (continued)

• Finalizing policy decisions
• Session numbers 2 sessions per day per card per
  branch
• Session length 60 minutes on Gates PCs and 30
  minutes on Internet stations 30 minutes for all
  childrens PCs
• Identification needed to log on library card
  number and last name
• Internet Only Cards good for 3 months cannot
  check out books simplified registration
• Childrens and YA computers more staff
  assistance and flexibility in rules
• Print charge 10 cents per page 5 cents for
  printouts from Library and County websites, and
  from databases

12
Implementing EW (continued)

• Publicity
• Talking Points for Staff
• Announcement on website and through brochures
• Printed instructions for the public
• Periodic updates on intranet
• Purchasing coin boxes for EW more expensive than
  expected

13
Implementing EW (continued)

• Onsite installation 3 days of onsite support
  from EW staff
• Going live!
• First at Central for a week, then to the largest
  branch last to the smaller branches. The
  gradual approach allowed us to evaluate the
  progress in each location, fix glitches as they
  appeared, and distribute the workload to a
  manageable level.

14
Evaluation

• Customer response mostly positive the turnover
  rate is up by 30 percent.
• Staff loves it!
• Monthly revenue 2,100 on average system-wide
• 75 reduction in paper and ink cartridge
  consumption
• Minor glitches still exist EW has been
  responsive.
• County policy makes remote reservation impossible
  at this time.

15
What we learned from this experience

• The importance of establishing an effective team
  to spearhead the project.
• We are a nimble team with just the right
  combination of backgrounds and experiences. This
  allows us to be effective and efficient.

16
What we learned from this experience (continued)

• Vendors do not really provide all the support you
  need.
• Internal support is crucial.
• No system is perfect.

17
Resources/Attachments

• Vendor websites
• EnvisionWare
• www.envisionware.com
• Pharos
• www.pharos.com
• SAM (Smart Access Manager)
• www.comprisetechnologies.com
• Talking points for staff
• Instructions for the public
• Both English and Spanish