Overview

Operating public computer labs presents challenges, not the least of which is managing the access in a way that is fair to all of the patrons, and doing so with minimal staff touch-time. CASSIE will automatically apply your policies to manage contention situations smoothly and efficiently. Patrons are empowered to spend their own daily time budget throughout the day, and staff are liberated from mundane management functions, allowing them to return to providing the services in which they specialize.

Session Policies

When you configure the system, computers are organized into functional groups and the selected policies are applied to all computers in a group. Policies you may configure for each group include:

• Session length
• Reservation style: reservations or first-come-first-served waiting list
• Minimum and/or maximum age required for access (* see note)
• Patron type attribute required for access (* see note)
• Web content filter profile to be applied to the session
• Warning time (automatic warning at 1 minute left plus at one additional specified time)
• Whether to allow automatic session time extensions when no other users are waiting for a computer
• Whether to require users to log in with ID (useful for card catalog computer groups)
• Whether to provide free printing for all print jobs (useful for card catalog computer groups)
• Optionally lock screen or end session after a specified mouse/keyboard inactivity time
• Optionally shut down computers automatically at the end of the operating day
• Optionally reboot computers automatically between sessions
• Whether users must accept your custom usage policy statement
• And more...

* These specific policies require that CASSIE be linked to a supported ILS or other data source via Patron Authentication.

Advanced Time Management with Time Pools

You may create daily usage time pools of specified lengths to easily handle complex situations that a simple "daily time limit" cannot handle like situations involving express terminals or special use stations like geneaology or 3-D printing stations, where daily usage time is maintained separately from standard Internet or word processing stations. Each computer group is assigned to one time pool, and session time for sessions within that group are charged against that time pool's time for the day, for each patron. You can also override a computer group's time pool setting for specified patrons according to data from the patron's ILS record.

Advanced Access Control with Group Access Rules

Our group access rules engine allows you to create simple or complex rules to allow or block access to computer groups based upon data from a patron's ILS record, all from a intuitive GUI with no scripting involved. This can aid you in maintaining order if you have separate computer groups for children, teens and adults, or if you have special use stations that require that a patron possess additional permission or status in order to access them. You may specify single or multiple conditions that must be matched, or specify conditions that must not match in order for the patron to be allowed access. Additionally, when a rule is matched you may specify characteristics that are to be applied to the offered session, like content filter profile(s) allowed and time pool against which the session time is to be charged.

Guest Users

You can allow computer and print access to users who do not have a library card or a record in your ILS, like out-of-town guests. Guest users may be restricted to a single session, or allowed access for the day. Optionally, guest users may be restricted to a specific computer group. Staff may print receipts with IDs for guest users, either one at a time or in batches. Guest user accounts are valid for the current day only, allowing you to maintain control.