[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] smartphone apps instead of library card

[Holly Brennan]

We currently allow anyone to use anyone’s card – as long as we can physically scan it, which puts the responsibility on the patron to know where their two (regular and keychain) cards are. If I lose my library card and don’t report it, it’s my fault. But if someone uses my library card number in app form, how am I even supposed to know this happened, since I have both my physical cards? This is how I see it different than a library card, security-wise.

I was at one point equally freaked out about paperless registration, but you all talked me into that one awfully quickly. I’m hoping for the same here! Thanks!

Still curious to hear from anyone who requires some verification in addition to the scan-able barcode. Our 5-digit card numbers are asking to be hijacked.

-Holly

From: Open-ils-general [mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Elisabeth Keppler
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2015 12:39 PM
To: Evergreen Discussion Group
Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] smartphone apps instead of library card

Forsyth has a few customers who use barcode apps on their phones.  As Rogan said, if the scanner can read them, we accept them.  It's not really any different from scanning an actual library card for us since we don't store patron photos anyway.  If somebody presents a card with a name and birthdate that don't seem reasonable for the person who is standing there, we may ask to see some id, but that's the same regardless of how the account number is given to us.

Being a techno-curmudgeon I can count my apps on one hand so I'm not sure about specific ones.  Do they all allow folks to just type in a number or do some of them require that you scan or take a photo of the actual loyalty card?
Lise

On Tue, Oct 27, 2015 at 4:24 PM, Rogan Hamby <rogan.hamby at yclibrary.net<mailto:rogan.hamby at yclibrary.net>> wrote:
My library accepts them so long as the scanner can scan them.  Making staff type in the number would be cumbersome with our lines.

I know that there have been some customizations libraries have done in the past to store signatures and photos but our attitude is, we normally just accept a barcode without much inquiry as to who they are and this isn't much different.


On Tue, Oct 27, 2015 at 4:21 PM, Holly Brennan <haderhold at ci.homer.ak.us<mailto:haderhold at ci.homer.ak.us>> wrote:
Are any Evergreeners accepting smartphone apps that store card barcodes? (CardStar, Keyring, etc) Or I guess I should ask, WHO is doing this?

To keep this Evergreen related, are you using anything in the staff client to verify patrons are who their phone says they are? We don’t like that anyone can type in any card number and have it generate a barcode. There needs to be some identification (photo ID? Ask birthdate?). It just dawned on me that any library with self-checkout must be dealing with this regardless of whether the practice is in the library’s policy.

Curious what you’ve come up with to use, besides asking for an ID, in addition to the barcode app. We’re dreaming of an Evergreen app that includes something like these “loyalty” apps, but specific to our library….

-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)




--

Rogan Hamby, MLS, CCNP, MIA
Managers Headquarters Library and Reference Services,
York County Library System

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
― C.S. Lewis<http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1069006.C_S_Lewis>



--
Lise Keppler, Technical Services
Forsyth County Public Library
2851 Fairlawn Dr
Winston Salem NC  27106
336-703-3048
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