[Michlib-l] chromebooks for patron use

Thu Apr 15 11:02:14 EDT 2021

Here is the information shared with me. Thank you to everyone who responded!

>From Jessica Goodrich at Capital Area:
We recently started circulating iPads and Chromebooks as part of our Library of Things.
For the Chromebooks, we are managing them with the Google Admin Console. It makes the clearing profile process very easy. When a Chromebook comes back, we login to admin.google.com, select its serial number for the list and go through the reset process. The Chromebook does have to be connected to wireless to reset, but does not need to be logged in. If interested, I can connect you to our IT person who set up our Chromebooks.
We allow them to either use their Google Account login or use the Chromebook as a guest. Guest mode only allows for internet use.
We are circulating them with hotspots as part of a kit. We had a few issues getting the Google Play store to launch with a hotspot for newly logged-in accounts. I attached the Getting Started Guide I created to this email. (if you do end up circulating Chromebooks and would like something similar, let me know and I can send you the Publisher file so you can edit it) The big thing to notice is the inside. We ended up including a USB to micro USB cord. So far, some of our branches have received phone calls from patrons asking for help, but they have all been able to help them by using this Getting Started Guide. If you want more detail on this, let me know, we'd be happy to give you more info.
We found the touchscreen Chromebooks to be a lot more user friendly than non-touchscreen. We still did receive quite a few requests from older patrons for a mouse to be included.  We just purchased them and are currently adding them.
Due to a small accident, we learned that the outside of the Chromebooks we purchased REALLY show scratches.  We purchased hard shell cases through www.ipearl-inc.com. Don't be fooled by their website design skills, they were a really great company to work with. Their order email is order at ipearl-inc.com and they even put our logo on the case.
-Jessica goodrichj at cadl.org<mailto:goodrichj at cadl.org> gave her permission to share her contact info.

>From Loutit:
We're interested in the same thing. So far, we've purchased our Chromebooks, purchased Google Console licenses (to manage them and brick them if a patron doesn't return one) and GoGuardian (to filter them for juvenile usage) licenses from CDW-G. Then we enrolled them with Google Enterprise, and our network systems coordinator created a group policy for them. Be prepared for sticker shock with the Console licenses! Libraries do not qualify for Google's nonprofit discount.
We also had to create a group account for our Chromebooks (we have 5). Patrons will log into chromebooks at loutitlibrary.org<mailto:chromebooks at loutitlibrary.org>. From there, they can access their own accounts, etc.
But we're still trying to figure out how best to configure them for circulation and how to easily refresh them between patrons without doing a factory reset.
Our network systems coordinator works for the schools, so he's coming at this project with experience managing student Chromebooks, but configuring them for library circulation is new to him, so we'd appreciate any advice!

>From Lapeer:
We are in the process of setting up Chromebook loaning as part of our library of things collection. I call them browsers with a keyboard because there are no programs installed on it, has very little memory and has to have the internet to be used. We are trying to stress this to staff, so they can make sure that the patron's know what it can and cannot do. We are loaning them out for 1 week, allow a one day hold with no renewals. There is a lending agreement that they have to sign to check them out, which we go over it with them before they check it out.  We emphasize the cost of the item @ $380 for the chromebook, case and power cord. We check the condition and number of items in the laptop case when its checked out and before its checked in. They will be checked out on our ILS using their library card at a service desk and they won't be able to take them until they are checked out. They must be 16 years old and older with an ID and a resident of our service area. We will have 2 at each smaller branch and 3 at our main branch.
We had our tech people set up guest sessions on each Chromebook and it is managed as a group somehow.  We have it setup to delete user data after each sign off, so if someone wants to log on with their personal account using the "add a person" button, we are ok with them doing so. They can also just log into an email account through the chrome browser.  I am very vague on the tech setup end of things but it can be remotely disabled if the device isn't returned within a specific time frame (which is great if someone decides not to return them on time because it becomes pretty un useable and would encourage them to return the item to us).

>From Detroit:
Go one step up and get laptops. Chromebooks have too many limitations and rarely meet expectations and result in your time eaten up with explaining to patrons why Chromebook won't do something.

>From Lyon Township:
We just started lending Chromebooks as part of our Library of Things about a month ago.
I am using Google Chrome Admin console to manage them.  It has a bit of a learning curve, but it is really nice once you have it set up.  You have to purchase a license for each device, but then you can control all the devices in the console.
I have them set to launch with a managed account, and to bring up a specific web page with links to everything that they might want to access.  We couldn't let them log in with their own google accounts because the devices were purchased with CARES act funding and need to be CIPA compliant.  I have the managed account set to filter content through Open DNS to make sure that we are in compliance.  Users can log into their own google accounts in the Chrome browser to access their gmail and other Google services.
When the browser is closed, it automatically logs out of all accounts and removes anything that has been downloaded to the device.  If a device isn't returned on time, I can remotely disable it and have a message display informing them to return it to the library.

Laura Hauch
Collection and IT Coordinator
Buchanan District Library
128 East Front Street
Buchanan, MI 49107
269-695-3681
269-695-0004 Fax
www.buchananlibrary.org<http://www.buchananlibrary.org>

From: Michlib-l <michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l-bounces at mcls.org>> On Behalf Of Laura Hauch - Buchanan District Library via Michlib-l
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2021 3:14 PM
To: michlib-l (michlib-l at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org>) <michlib-l at mcls.org<mailto:michlib-l at mcls.org>>
Subject: [Michlib-l] chromebooks for patron use

We're investigating circulating Chromebooks, either for in-library use only, or for patrons to take home as part of our Library of Things. We'd appreciate any tips and advice, including the best way to set them up (something about kiosk mode? Pros & cons to letting them use their own google account to log in?).
Thanks!

Laura Hauch
Collection and IT Coordinator
Buchanan District Library
128 East Front Street
Buchanan, MI 49107
269-695-3681
269-695-0004 Fax
www.buchananlibrary.org<http://www.buchananlibrary.org>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail3.mcls.org/pipermail/michlib-l/attachments/20210415/935873a1/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Chromebook Getting Started Guide 3.2.21.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 489434 bytes
Desc: Chromebook Getting Started Guide 3.2.21.pdf
URL: <http://mail3.mcls.org/pipermail/michlib-l/attachments/20210415/935873a1/attachment.pdf>