[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] patron registration

[Holly Brennan]

I’m going to campaign for zero “stuff” and just rely on Evergreen retaining the info entered, but this is a good backup option if the signature is deemed necessary and we still go paperless.

Thanks, Bill!

-Holly

From: Open-ils-general [mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Bill Ott
Sent: Friday, May 29, 2015 12:49 PM
To: Evergreen Discussion Group
Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] patron registration

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. ☺

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<mailto: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! ☺

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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