[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Open Source Time and Print Management

[David Fiander]

Deanna,

That amazingly low bar can probably be implemented using the normal
network printing system that Linux ships with as its standard system.

On Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 12:17 PM, Deanna  Frazee
<dfrazee at ci.killeen.tx.us> wrote:
> We gave up on coin boxes and just tell the patrons what they owe us as
> they pick up the print jobs.  It's really been easier, and we aren't
> finding that we lose all that much money this way.
>
> In my dream system, a cover page would print out identifying that the
> following pages are from terminal X and have a timestamp.
>
> Deanna Frazee
> Killeen City Library System
> (254) 501-8995
> (254) 501-7704 (fax)
> dfrazee at ci.killeen.tx.us
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org
> [mailto:open-ils-
>> general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Sharon Foster
>> Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 11:12 AM
>> To: Evergreen Discussion Group
>> Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Open Source Time and Print Management
>>
>> I would be thrilled if a print management system simply notified a
>> staff workstation that "station A just printed 12 color pages." I've
>> dealt with coin boxes and they are a bigger headache than some patrons
>> I've met.
>>
>> Sharon M. Foster, JD, MLS
>> Technology Librarian
>> http://firstgentrekkie.blogspot.com/
>> "Have you tried switching it off and on again?"
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 11:43 AM, David Fiander <david at fiander.info>
> wrote:
>> > Time management is tricky. There are probably ways of doing it, but
> it
>> > will be complicated.
>> >
>> > If you are thinking about migrating your public internet PCs away
> from
>> > Windows to Linux, then printing will require some development, but
> not
>> > as much as time management.
>> >
>> > Because the Linux printer subsystem is built from the ground up to
>> > support networked printer servers, the PCs can all be configured to
>> > submit their printer jobs to a central server very easily. It would
>> > only take a little bit of programming to enable associating print
> jobs
>> > with individual library users. The internet terminals would probably
>> > not need to know anything about ILS accounts or anything like that.
> If
>> > the system was built properly, it would probably even be possible to
>> > enable users to print to the public printers from their own laptops
> on
>> > the wireless network.
>> >
>> > The challenging part would be charging. The printer release station
>> > would require some custom software to either handle a printer debit
>> > card system (which is common in academic settings) or adding a
> charge
>> > to the patrons record in the ILS, and then releasing the job to the
>> > printer.
>> >
>