[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] patron registration

[Bill Ott]

We use a pretty basic USB unit from Topaz 
(http://www.topazsystems.com).  We send it the entered user information 
for them to review, and if it's accurate, they sign and the staff hit a 
button on a Web form to store it.

A Firefox plugin allows our CGI script to send/receive data to/from the 
signature pad.  If anyone is really interested, I can clean up a copy of 
that script.



On 05/29/2015 04:37 PM, Holly Brennan wrote:
>
> I remember your presentation in Vancouver, Bill. Jealous. Doubly for 
> that RFID setup you have! I was furiously taking notes until you 
> mentioned the price tag. J
>
> If it’s handy, do you have a link to a product page for the signature 
> pad you use?
>
> -Holly
>
> *From:*Open-ils-general 
> [mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] *On Behalf 
> Of *Bill Ott
> *Sent:* Friday, May 29, 2015 11:34 AM
> *To:* open-ils-general at list.georgialibraries.org
> *Subject:* Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] patron registration
>
> 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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