[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] patron registration

[Bill Ott]

Years ago, we started storing a signature electronically, in the unused 
actor.photo_url field.  A hex string is generated by an outside 
application and encoded with a key that's required to decode the data 
back into a graphical representation of the signature. There was some 
overhead in writing the application to dump the data into the EG 
database, and of course the signature pads themselves, but it beats 
storing a mountain of cards.

And yes, we have pulled the signature in a few cases where there was a 
dispute over whether or not someone was who they said they were, or if 
they had ever had a card.


On 05/29/2015 03:25 PM, Holly Brennan wrote:
>
> Agreed. It seems to be more of liability than anything else. I’m 
> beginning to think we’ve been keeping them because it’s what we’ve 
> always done, and we’re library workers! Save everything! J
>
> I received a direct reply from King County who said they don’t keep 
> any either.
>
> -Holly
>
> *From:*Open-ils-general 
> [mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] *On Behalf 
> Of *Elisabeth Keppler
> *Sent:* Friday, May 29, 2015 11:18 AM
> *To:* Evergreen Discussion Group
> *Subject:* Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] patron registration
>
> Forsyth quit holding onto paper registrations several years ago.  We 
> require presentation of photo id and proof of mailing address but we 
> don't require a signature.  Keeping paper is a security concern, 
> anyway, since the forms contain personal data.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Lise
>
> On Fri, May 29, 2015 at 2:57 PM, Holly Brennan 
> <haderhold at ci.homer.ak.us <mailto:haderhold at ci.homer.ak.us>> wrote:
>
> I’ve set up everything needed for online patron registration, but 
> haven’t implemented yet. The stumper is how we deal with hard copies 
> of registrations. We’ve always had a paper app with signature and we 
> file these in an old card catalog.
>
> Do any of you NOT print registrations or keep _any_ hard copies of 
> patron info? Or do you have something simple with just an agreement 
> and signature that doesn’t have to include much about the patron 
> besides name?
>
> I feel we might be holding onto paper for nothing. Reasons given to 
> keep it:
>
> 1)What if something tragic happens to our ILS? We’ll have paper to 
> backup patron info. (My thoughts: If it’s THAT tragic, the whole 
> building has likely been destroyed…. And also, we’re going to manually 
> reenter patron info for each and every person?!)
>
> 2)The patron’s signature is the true agreement. We can use it to hold 
> them responsible for lost items, fines, etc. (I can’t think of a time, 
> ever, that I’ve retrieved a paper app and pointed to a signature in 
> order to convince a patron to do something they agreed to.)
>
> My goal with this is to find a number of you who keep absolutely 
> nothing on paper. (And who don’t even have a super cool digital 
> signature contraption.)
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Holly
>
> Holly Brennan
>
> Library Technology Specialist
>
> Homer Public Library, Alaska
>
> hbrennan at cityofhomer-ak.gov <mailto:hbrennan at cityofhomer-ak.gov>
>
> 907-235-3180 <tel:907-235-3180> (main)
>
> 907-435-3154 <tel:907-435-3154> (direct)
>
>
>
> -- 
>
> Lise Keppler, Technical Services
>
> Forsyth County Public Library
>
> 2851 Fairlawn Dr
>
> Winston Salem NC  27106
>
> 336-703-3048
>

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