One of the things we can do in WebpacPro is to set all verifications to log users into My Account. For example, if a patron is placing a hold but hasn't logged into their account, they will be prompted to log in, can place their hold, but then they stay in a logged in state. Right now, they can place a hold, but they don't actually log in to their account to do so.
There are advantages and disadvantages to doing this. The main advantage is that the auto login makes it easy to continue to place holds or view My Account or enter databases without forcing them to log in again. The main disadvantage is that people using a public workstation who aren't used to being logged in automatically might walk away from the workstation without logging out of their account because they haven't had to in the past. The workstation will eventually timeout, as they do now. WebpacPro on the testing server is currently set up to do the auto login if you want to try it out and see what you think.
What do you think about this? Is the auto login benefit more important or a greater advantage than patrons in the libraries possibly walking away without logging out of their account? Can we train patrons in the libraries to log out after using public workstations? Or do we need to protect their privacy and keep things as they are now? Please weigh in with your opinions in the comments below. Thanks!
Comments (7)
I like the auto login feature. How long is the reset time set to now?
Could you logout by closing the browser like many people do now?
I like the new layout too.
Posted by Dominic | April 11, 2007 10:11 AM
Posted on April 11, 2007 10:11
The reset time is set to 900 seconds (I know, strange...) which translates to 15 minutes, I think. You can logout however you like, whether it's clicking on the LOGOUT button on the InfoSoup screen or closing the browser.
Thanks for your questions and comments, Dominic!
Posted by Beth C. OWLS | April 11, 2007 10:46 AM
Posted on April 11, 2007 10:46
I like the auto login idea. I don't think it would be a problem for us in Manawa to teach our patrons to log out - many of them do already.
Posted by Lyn | April 11, 2007 12:22 PM
Posted on April 11, 2007 12:22
I think that it is pretty obvious that you are logged in, with the red notice at the top of pages, and the "Logout" box at the top of the screen. People using public computers log into many services, and should be accustomed by now to having to logout before leaving the workstation.
I think that the positives outweigh the negatives here.
Posted by Barbara K. APL | April 23, 2007 9:01 AM
Posted on April 23, 2007 09:01
I think patrons would like this feature and many of them are alredy used to making sure they log out of sites.
Posted by Meg | April 23, 2007 12:38 PM
Posted on April 23, 2007 12:38
I think we will have lots of people who leave themselves logged in and leave their Infosoup accounts exposed, but I'm not sure it's presenting any great opportunities for anyone to do much malicious harm. We just need to remind people, and bring machines back home when we find them abandonded. It will make things a bit easier for more people, so I say let's go ahead and do it.
Posted by Karen P, APL | April 23, 2007 1:35 PM
Posted on April 23, 2007 13:35
I think the auto login is great, especially when helping patrons who say they only need help with one hold and then end up having 10!! Saves a whole lot of time.
Posted by Jeanette | April 23, 2007 3:17 PM
Posted on April 23, 2007 15:17