Title. Mainly asking for the library side, but PC cafe is also interesting to ask about.

Mainly since Windows 11 is 64-bit only, and it seems Windows 12 is going to subscription based on top of that, neither of which public libraries can afford tossing out computers and paying more in subscription fees than they make with overdue books.

My local library is only open for 2 days a week, due to a lack of funds for hiring more staff in the area. They use older Dell all in ones, and that just makes me think if they don’t have the money for being open 5 days a week, they don’t have the money to buy 4 new computers for the space.

Not even getting into the bigger libraries part of that system or the ones nearby. Some have 8 computers in groups, with 4 stations of groups.

So I was just wondering, if anyone has started or is aware of a Library/Public Computer focused linux-based OS? Perhaps one that allows immutable systems, and the library card system backed most use to enable end user access. Perhaps that’s a config file tucked away somewhere.

And I guess the PC cafe OS is interesting, simply due to the fact that Linux gaming has been making huge strides, and PC cafes are still popular in Japan, Korea, and China.

EDIT: I am not in control or assistance to the library, just looking if there’s a potential solution to libraries like mine. If I could give links to a library computer manager, or if I could give upstream bug reports to people making such software.

    • rvd2k4English
      1·
      1 year ago

      Hi,

      Head of IT for a public library. I don’t want to discourage you, just want to make sure you are aware of a few factors.

      Governance: This one is tricky as each state has its own setup; so I will just talk to the one I live in, Wisconsin. While a small library may appear to be on its own, it could be apart of a system or consortium for resource sharing. For example my team oversees 6 libraries (formally 7), ranging from a main branch to smaller, rural locations. One of these locations use to be open for 3 days a week, 4 hours per day. We didn’t put the best systems there because people mostly browsed email. We did invest in decent WiFi access points (meraki) and a 5gb internet connection, because people brought their laptops and we broadcast WiFi out of the building 24/7/365. The rural locations are not branded as apart of our main library for political reasons (ie the small towns don’t want to think the larger cities are influencing them)

      Funding aid: Network equipment was cheap because we used erate and got an 85% discount. Erate is controversial in libraries because of the filtering requirement. All filters for libraries also double as the same ones for schools and they over filter based on keywords plus act as man in the middle attacks to sniff traffic, a huge privacy and security concern. In a public library, someone could be looking up info on breast cancer, but the filter prevents the word “breast”. In addition, the pricing model is based on population served and the cost per person is outrageous. We use SafeDNS to filter the computers at the DNS level. You could probably get away with using PI hole or adguardhome on desktop system to do the same thing, just make sure the logs are set to wipe at least once a day.

      Security/privacy: It’s important that some kind of wiping ability is leveraged. We use Deepfreeze, but it’s expensive. Our chromeboxes are setup in a permanent guest most, so when the session is stopped, it reboots and all previous information is wiped.

      Analytics: You will want to find out if they will want to keep track of usage. Not necessarily who is using the computer, but if it’s being used. We tent to track hourly usage at all locations, and if a library card was used to log into the system or a temp pass that works for 2 hours. Chrome box wise, we have a basic script the fires every time the browser is opened to date, time, and location (which branch) of the use. When the browser is closed, the session is over and the system reboots. The patron is warned via a pop up that this will happen.

      Authentication: Most library auth systems use the SIP2 protocol to check the library and pin match existing records in the automated library system. Unfortunately, all of the systems we have ever evaluated require windows.

      Other discount options: Tech soup is the big one if a library is to go in for solo purchasing. They offer discounts to local governments (usually what a library falls under), nonprofits, and schools.

      If there is a larger system, they should be coordinating a discounted purchasing program with dell or another provider. Wisconsin has one that was coordinated by Madison, but my system has also negotiated for cheaper hardware in the past.

      We are experimenting with Chrome OS Flex on our older dell hardware. We tend to use these stations for catalog browsing terminals, but are allowing them to now breakout of the catalog to browse the web. These is a license cost to manage from the Google Admin console, but if you only have a dozen-ish systems, it could work.

      Lastly, I cannot tell you how many libraries I have walking into around the state and in other states that have unactivated copies of windows. It’s one of those situations where if you don’t need to change the background but are getting the needed security updates, do you really care? This is my understanding of what most library directors think. They are usually more worried about of the local town/village board member is going to cut their funding because they have an LGBTQ book on the shelf or is it going to be the one on race relations.