News

Laptop station allows library patrons to borrow laptops in Cleveland, Ohio suburb

May 1, 2017

The Westlake Porter Public Library in Westlake, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, has installed a Laptops Anytime station, offering six Mac Airbooks and six Dell PC laptops for in-house use, according to cleveland.com.

One of the computers can be borrowed for up to six hours by anyone with a valid library card. Users scan their library card at the kiosk, agree to the terms of service and select either a Mac or PC from the options on the touchscreen.

Once the library card is accepted and the agreement approved, a laptop is dispensed. John Guscott, library IT manager, said a mouse can be obtained from staff at the reference desk. If the unit needs charging during use, cords also are available, as are DVD drivers.

Computers must be returned to the kiosk 15 minutes before the library closes. To return a unit, the user slips it into an empty slot for that type of computer.

All laptops are loaded with Microsoft Office 2016 and internet browsers - Safari for the Macs and Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer on the Dell PCs. The units are connected to the library's wireless internet network. They must be used in the library.

Guscott said when the laptops are returned to the kiosk, they are wiped clean to protect user privacy. A rail-type device is installed on each laptop to lock it into the kiosk. The computers are charged when inserted into the kiosk.