WebJunction

Joe Tynes, Director of the Dixie Regional Library System, was looking for a way to better serve his three-county system. Northern Mississippi's Pontotoc, Calhoun, and Chickasaw counties have low rates of education (high school graduation rate of 60%) and income (14% of families below poverty level). Supporting eight libraries serving a population of 61,000 on a technology budget of about $70,000 meant that Joe and his assistant director wound up with the task of providing all on-site support and maintenance for all the system's libraries. With patrons that weren't very comfortable with computers and not enough budget to hire technically savvy staff to support those patrons, this was not an easy task!

In 2001 fate stepped in-in the form of an American Libraries article, where Joe first learned about “thin clients.” Rather than relying on his cranky and trouble-prone individual PCs, he realized he could make use of scaled-down (“thin”) computer terminals (or “clients”) that would be managed by a centrally located server. These terminals look much like ordinary PC monitors, but without the “box” or CPU (the component that usually causes all the trouble). In place of the CPU is a small device that temporarily stores information for an individual user's session—most of the brains of the system are in the central server.

In addition to costing less money for individual workstations (with an existing IMLS grant, the DRLS was able to purchase sixteen terminals rather than eight full-fledged PCs), this solution was intended to allow computers for the entire library system to be managed from a single location. Patrons and staff would have access to the Internet, email, and Microsoft Office. If a problem developed, a brief phone call to the system headquarters would mean a quick resolution. Software upgrade or virus updates? Perform them just once, on the central server. Are patrons playing with local settings, Internet bookmarks, or security? Reset the terminal and it's as though the troublemakers had never walked into the building.

The implementation of the system has been highly successful. In Joe's experience, his thin-client systems are more reliable, less expensive, and easier to take care of than the traditional PCs he had been using. Taking into account all the necessary hardware, capital costs are about the same, but non-capital costs (for set-up, maintenance, repair, training, and the like) have been significantly lower. The new units use less electricity too, saving the library system several hundred dollars per year.

The expectation of low maintenance has been well justified during the three years since the system was initially implemented. A fifteen-minute phone call usually solves any problems. The team has had to “reflash” a couple of units, by connecting to a remote server via the Internet and reinstalling some files. A unit was recently exchanged for a new one due to a bad mouse port. But, in the last three years, no other mechanical problems have been encountered with the terminals—quite a contrast from the constant challenge Joe and his staff faced in keeping the traditional PCs operational.

Thin-client technology is a relatively new arrival on the library scene, but at least one small library system has found it perfectly suited to its unique rural circumstances.

For more information, contact Joe A. Tynes, Director, Dixie Regional Library System (DRLS), 111 North Main Street, Pontotoc, Mississippi 38863, (662) 489-3961, director@dixie.lib.ms.us.