ILS-530 System Analysis and Design

When the new library opened in May the library staff used a signup sheet to track the use of the public Internet computers, but as use of the computers increases, this is no longer sufficient. When patrons arrive and find all the public Internet computers occupied, the staff has to step in and request other patrons give up their seats. It also requires that staff keep an eye on signups at all times and be aware when a patron sits at a system without signing in.

The system chosen for this project will manage library patron use of the 20 new public Internet computers at the M G Greeley Public Library in Dracut, Massachusetts. The reservation and time control software will schedule access to the PCs and manage their session time.

Organization of public Internet computers at time of library reopening

Public Internet computers at time of library reopening

Organization of the public Internet computers with reservation system

Public Internet computers configured for reservation system

Diagram of new system

Goals and Objectives of the System

Manage patron use of the public Internet computers in a fair and equitable manner.
Provide statistics of computer use for library management for budgetary purposes.
Free limited library staff resources from constant supervision of public computers.

Operations Checklist of the System

Functional requirements

Library Management
- System must provide daily / weekly / monthly use reports
- Patron must use library card number as identification
- System must enforce daily session limits for patron
Library Staff
- Staff-assisted reservations
- Create Guest IDs for patrons without library cards
- Easily monitor status of computers in system
- Easily set system parameters for holidays, shutdown times, and maintenance time
Patron
- Patron self-service signon with library card number
- Choose computer access by time of day, particular computer, and type of computer
- Make advanced reservation when current computers all in use
- Automatically clear patron session before next patron uses system
- Allow guest logins for visiting patrons

Non-functional requirements

Fair, equitable, and predicatable access to computers
Free up scarce library staff resources
Easy to use by patrons and libarry staff
Clear documentation on configuring, maintaining, updating, and using system

Constraints

System must coexist with other software running on public systems (Norton Anti-Virus, CleanSlate, pay-for-print client).
System must run on current hardware at library (no server)
System must use patron's library card number for signon and be able to query regional database to validate the card

Non-Requirements

Filtering - The system is not intended to filter access to particular sites on the Internet. This is handled through posted library policies and is not implemented any software.
User history - The system will not track Internet sites visited by patrons. The only information stored will be the session time, computer used, and library card number. After a period of time specified by posted library policy, the library card number will be purged from the session information.

People

Users of the Reservation System

Patrons - Anyone wishing to use the public Internet computers. This includes people in the following categories: town residents, residents of towns in the library’s regional consortium, other residents of Massachusetts, and out-of state residents. Types of patron identification include: a library card from their home town, other identification with their home address, or no identification at all.

Library Staff - Library employees who work with the public and have access to the staff computers in the area where the public Internet computers are located.

Library Technical Staff - This is the subset of the library staff that will be responsible for installing and maintaining for reservation system on the conputers in the library.

Library Management - The Library Director and the Board of Trustees

Goals and Objectives of the people using the PC reservation system

Patrons - Access to the public Internet computers at the library in order to use word processing for a school project or job resume, surf the Internet, conduct a job search, access online email, play on-line games, use MySpace, etc.
Library Staff -
- Oversee use of public computers at library with minimal staff intervention
- Monitor users so that all patrons have access to public computers in a fair and equitable fashion
- Prevent misuse of computers (monopolizing systems at busy times of day, hacking systems, etc.)
Library Management -
- Obtain statistics of public computer use for budget planning and reporting to local and state agencies
- Free library staff for other tasks (reference work, book orders, etc)

Work

Description of what the system should do

Sign patrons on to public Internet computers using their library card or guest ID for up to a specified number of sessions per day
Allow patrons to make computer reservation by type (Internet computer, word processing computer, etc).
Patron or staff can do reservation with local or regional card and staff can do reservation for patrons without local or regional card (guest ID).
Allow staff to override limits if patron needs additional time.
Automatically reset computer when patron leaves system.
Shut down computers at library closing time.
Collect usage statistics - time used, number of patrons, session lengths, etc.

Goals and Objectives of the work

An automated system to make public computers available in a fair and equitable manner to all patrons.
Free staff from policing and refereeing time usage when computers are busy.
Provide general usage statistics of the public computers for budgetary purposes while maintaining the patron's privacy.

Environment

Description of the environment

The M G Parker Memorial Library is a public library in Dracut, Massachusetts, a suburban town of some 29,000 people. The library is a member of the 35-library Merrimack Valley Library Consortium which maintains a shared on-line catalog for the region. The catalog used Sirsi/Dynix Horizon as its interface.

On May 8, 2006 the M G Parker Memorial Library opened in its new building after 2+ years at a temporary location in 5 rooms of a junior high school annex. There were 11 staff computers and 4 public Internet computers at the temporary library. Usage of the public Internet computers was low and it was easy for the staff to keep track of patrons using the computers. The computers were a mix of Windows 98 and Windows 2000 running on computers with 256kb of memory.

The new library has seven times the floor space and the in-library computer network includes 18 staff computers, 10 library catalog computers, 4 children’s computers, and 20 public access computers. All computers run Windows XP Pro on Dell systems with 1mb of memory.

Upon reopening in May, the library staff began using a signup sheet to track the use of the public Internet computers, but as use of the computers increases, this is no longer sufficient. When patrons arrive and find all the public Internet computers occupied, the staff has to step in and request other patrons give up their seats. It also requires that staff keep an eye on signups at all times and be aware when a patron sits at a system without signing in. With limited staffing this is very difficult to do and takes resources away from the reference desk.

Since the opening of the library computer use has climbed from 30 patrons a day to 120+ patrons a day. Computer session lengths range from a few minutes to 6 or more hours.

The library staff reports increasing problems policing use of system and keeping track of patron use. These include:

Asking patrons to surrender seat when patrons’ waiting (this assumes that a patron asks to use a system instead of walking away when they don’t see an available seat)
Computers left in an uncertain state when a previous patron walks away from the system (there is currently no system to make them automatically reset). One patron who did not know to log off her email account found that someone at library sent obscene email from her account later the same day.
Making sure that all patrons sign in at desk before using computers. With the large number of systems and limited staff, patrons frequently sit and use systems without signing in or incorrectly indicate the time that they sat down.
Identifying patrons who hack the systems (damage hardware or try to disable security and software on the systems)

Goals and Objectives of the environment

Insure fair use of the public computers, particularly at times of high demand.
Free library staff to perform other duties at reference desk

Part II: Gathering the data

System Steps and Personnel Responsible

Define requirements for patron access to system (library director and trustees, library technical staff):

Local library card (town resident with proof of address or out-of-state with yearly fee)
Regional library card (35 libraries in consortium)
Massachusetts resident (eligible for local card with proof of residency in state)
Guest ID (issued for one day if patron does not meet above criteria, patron must have some form of identification)

Update library card policy for library to match above criteria (library director and trustees)
Determine layout of system components with staff (library staff)
Placement and number of reservation stations and management console (library staff)
Coordinate with regional system on requirements for software (library technical staff and regional software support) accessing regional library card database
Determine configuration parameters for patron reservations (library staff, management, software vendor, staff at other libraries using software)
Group public computers by location and installed software (library staff)
Set time limits for sessions and parameters for extending sessions if no one waiting for systems when a session ends (library staff)
Define system behavior for library card holders and guests (library staff, library management)
Clearly advertise the reservation system to patrons before, during, and after implementation (library staff)
Document system for use by current and future library staff (library technical staff)

Calendar of Events during system analysis and deployment

June-July, 2006	Collect Requirements for new system from management and staff
July-August 2006	Evaluate software products based on above criteria
August 2006	Confirmed that region was ordering SIP2 interface needed for system to communication with central patron database
Mid-August 2006	Placed order for software with vendor
September 2006	Notify patrons of coming changes to system. Posted signs to notify public of impending new reservation system and need for library card or guest ID to use systems
Mid September 2006	SIP2 interface installed at region
Early October 2006	After extensive debugging determined that SIP2 server at region is not validating library card numbers as it should. Information forwarded to reservation system vendor, region, and Sirsi/Dynix
October 9-27, 2006	Installed management console and two staff reservation stations. After a week it was determined that the management console should be moved to a system in the reference office (prevent accidental shutdown of system running local server for system). Also reservation stations have sufficient features for staff at desk. The management console at reference desk was replaced with a second reservation station.
November 6, 2006	Set up one client system and one self reservation system I public area.. Allowed staff to play with systems and try various combinations of reservations with and without library cards.
November 13, 2006	Began deploying clients even though validation to central database not working yet (see SIP2 dependencies). Began demonstrations for library staff who will be using the system. Post signs at individual computers with new logon instructions
November 15, 2006	SIP2 interface updated and reinstalled.
November 17, 2006	Library card validation feature goes live after fix to authentication server at regional site.
November 21, 2006	Completed installation of clients, system fully functional

Part III: Analyzing the Present System

Cost Analysis

Three computer reservation systems were considered for use at the Dracut Library. Each is in use by one or more other libraries in the consortium.

Time Limit Manager - excellent simple package, rejected because it does not use library card ID to track number of sessions per ID per day
Pharos - high-end package, rejected because of high price per seat and server requirement
PCReservation - mid-priced, modular package. Does not require server, easy to add components to system at a latest date. Works with library card ID. Uses SIP2 server installed at region.

Component	Location	Purpose	Price	Number	Cost
PC Reservation Client Module	Public Internet Computers	Counts minutes Controls access Displays timer, warning messages Display usage policies and other messages Auto update from Management Console Provides multiple user-selected languages	$95	20	$1900
PC Reservation Management Console	Reference Office Computer	User interface for manual reservations, view PC status, changing system preferences, and overrides. Includes Reporting Module Link to regional database via SIP interface Store statistics locally	$2450	1	$2450
PC Self-Service Reservation Station	Reference Desk Computers	Installed on dedicated computers at Reference Desk Self-service sign up for next available PC and advance/future reservations.	$0	2	$0
PC Staff Reservation Station	Reference Desk Computers	Installed on staff computers at Reference Desk Provides staff management of reservations, PC status and control.	$0	1	$0
SIP Interface to Patron Database	Regional Office	Installed on server at regional site Interface between reservation software and regional library database	$0 *purchased by region	1	$0
Receipt Printer	Reference Desk	Connected to main staff computer at Reference Desk Used to print Guest IDs for patrons without library cards	$400	1	$400
Annual Support Contract			$995	1	$995
					$5745

Flow Chart

One thing that flowcharting immediately made obvious was the need to clearly document the requirements for having a library card or guest ID to access the system. This includes updating the library procedures for issuing a card, having the Trustees bless the new
requirements, and posting the updated requirements on the web site and in the library. Who can request a guest ID must be clearly stated.

Flow Chart Patron Signup

Another area that requires careful charting is the procedure for extending sessions for patrons who need extra time for a critical project, or for days when the computers are underused. The purpose of the system is not to keep systems idle for the day, but to handle high traffic periods and the occasional problem patron (yes, they do exist). Note that the policy for extending sessions in not a function of the reservation software, but rather a policy of the library that must be updated, reviewed by the library trustees, and posted for public view.

Data Flow Diagram

This is an alternate view of the patron signup process.

Data Flow Diagram - Patron Signup

Entity Diagram

Monitoring Plan

In its first week of use, the reservation system has worked well. Most patrons have used it successfully without having to ask for staff help. The first change to the system will be the additional of a receipt printer at the staff reservation station. The major problem to date has been accurately transcribing the generated Guest ID for the patron. A receipt printer will generate a reservation slip with the Guest ID and session information which the patron can use to sign on.

The system has actually fixed a few problems on the systems where it is installed. The signup and session screens clearly display the time making it easy for the patron keep track of thier work. Patrons are also remembering to log off the systems when they are done. This has lead to a decrease in patrons having a problem when they sit down at a system that a previous patron has left in an uncertain state.

In furture, use of the systems will be monitored on a weekly and monthly basis using the Report Module located on the PCReservation Management Console. Session times, session frequency, session extension policies, and policies regarding the issuing of Guest IDs will be reviewed on a regualr basis.

Part IV: Designing an Improved System

Recommendations

So far, the revcommendations for the system are minor. They include -

Increase the size of the PC Status display window
Increase the size of the PC reservation display
Make it easier to display the generated Guest ID on screen for staff reservation systems that do not have printers
Purchase receipt printer for Guest Ids to avoid transcription errors when giving Ids to patrons (14 digit number)

Part V: Evaluation

Usability: Users and Testing and Iteration

The software was deployed gradually, allowing the staff to use each component for a number of weeks before full deployment. See the Event Calendar for specifics.

References

Boss, Richard W. (2006). PC Reservation & Print Management Software. American Library Association. Retrieved on November 7, 2006 from http://www.ala.org/ala/pla/plapubs/technotes/pcreservation.htm .

Envisionware (2006). PCReservation Module Overview. Retrieved on November 10, 2006 from http://www.envisionware.com/pcr_modules.htm

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