Laptop Staff Training – Laptop and iPad Checkout- SAG

Help

Watch the videos first and instruction below that.

New Laptops Using the Cabinets and cable safety warning

Changes with 12 hour laptops, Labels & Power Adapters

Using the Laptop Tracker & what it does for us

Shutdown Procedure and why it’s so important

This video will not embed but this link should work

About the Laptops and Laptop Equipment

  1. Laptop Tracker Touchscreen PC
    • You will be using the touchscreen to check-out and check-in and it will tell you which laptops are ready. It also tells the library web page which laptops are available.  PC TRACKER Web Page
    • If you ever see a pop up or error  on the PC Tracker SAY YES RIGHT AWAY so the program continues its job. 
  2. Laptop Chargers
    • We only check out chargers when a laptop is giving the patron the out of power warning. A verbal alert that tells them to get a power adapter. Don’t give one to a patron who just asks for one. Plugged in adapter chords are a danger we do not want to add to.
  3. Laptops
    • Lenovo T470s battery life:
      • 25 – 32 are 12 hour check out  and they have a special large battery on the bottom
      • 1 – 24 are only 3 hour check out and have a small flat battery. 
  4. Laptop Cabinets and Power Cables – see also Check-in & Check-out
    • ALWAYS take care with the laptop power cables, Never let them dangle. The doors and hinges are like scissors & if the cut power cords you could get a nasty SHOCK. 
    • ALWAYS make sure power cords are inside, on a shelf when you take out the laptop. 
    • POWER cords are short for this reason DON’T try to pull them out further, instead push the laptop all the way back so cables reach. 
  5. Always report problems to the Library Tech Help Form
    • Please report problems that still need attention to the Library tech team on the Library Tech Help Form. 
      • There is a shortcut to this form on all front desk PCs
    • If you cant get a hold of tech support for a laptop when the it has a problem – tape a note on it saying not to check it out and put it away in the cabinet for Tech Staff to deal with.

Tech Support Form: https://library.newpaltz.edu/techhelp.php

THESE SHUTDOWN PROCEDURES ARE REQUIRED EVERY TIME A LAPTOP COMES BACK

The rule is NEVER put away a laptop until you succeed in running the shutdown procedure. This clears all information from the previous user BEFORE the next user. 

Even if the laptop comes back to you already off you must turn it on and run this procedure. If none of these work call tech support and do not check out that laptop. 

The 3 shutdown procedures:

You will see the shutdown scripts running on the desktop as is turns off. Wait until the green light on the power button turns off before you close the laptop lid to put it back in the cabinet.

  1. Keyboard shortcut 1: Shift + Ctrl + S . Press these keys all at once and the laptop should shutdown. 
  2. Keyboard shortcut 2: Press the Windows Key + type XX then hit the enter key. 
***Use procedure 3 ONLY If the laptop is stuck or frozen and you don’t have access to the other shutdowns.***
  1. Emergency shutdown: Hold down the power button for 10 seconds, that forces the power to cut off. Then you MUST turn it on again and run one of the keyboard shutdown procedures from above.
Note: A slightly tricky thing about # 3, the emergency shutdown: The PC will appear to shut down quickly BUT IT IS ONLY ASLEEP you must hold the power button down a full 10 seconds or it is not powered off.
 

If the laptop comes back on from the emergency shutdown and it is still stuck or frozen put a note on it and report it to the tech support office with the online report form.

NOTE: The shutdown icon on the laptop desktop just puts the laptop to sleep.

HOW TO WORK THE LAPTOP TRACKING PROGRAM

Laptop numbers on the screen are in the same order as the laptops in the cabinet. Each numbers’ status is color coded so you and patrons will know immediately if any laptops are available. Each laptop number has 2 buttons: Check-in and Check-out.

Laptop Tracker Program sampleGreen = Ready to check out
Black = Checked out
Light Gray = Charging
White = Not Available

USING THE PROGRAM:

  • The PC is a touchscreen so just press the obvious “Check out” to check out & “Check In” to check in. Check in starts a half hour timer so the battery can charge a while. Easy Peasy.
  • Turn it on in the morning, turn it off at night & don’t press the power button any other time. The power button is on the upper edge near the right side.

IF you ever see any error messages on the screen answer YES to clear them or the program will not do its job.

CHECK OUT PROCEDURE LIST

  • Pick a laptop number on the Laptop Tracker screen that’s available – Bright Green & says “Ready” 
  • Find it on the shelf and unplug the power cord before taking it out
  • Verify the number on the laptop is correct then press its Check Out button on the screen
  • Check it out to the patron

CHECK IN PROCEDURE LIST

  • Check in from patron and run a shutdown procedure (see above)
  • Check for the “Property of” sticker or any damage
  • Insert the laptop in the cabinet in the correct number slot Like this:
    • Barcode to the right side
    • Slide it in with your right hand all the way back till it stops
    • Keep holding on to it and plug in the power cord to the left most rectangular hole
  • Get the laptop plugged in and be sure its battery light blinks at least once (see video above)
  • Press its check in button on the tracker screen and see the 30 minute count down begin
 

Printing from the laptops has changed 

The laptops are using web print for their wireless printing – along with the rest of the campus

When you first turn the laptop on you will get a chrome popup of the Web Print – log in

Make sure you log into this – if you don’t, you won’t be able to print.

NOTE: If you exited the window without logging in you can open the web print window using the icon on the desktop named ‘Log in to Print’

When you print you have 2 options

OPTION 1: You can go into web print

  1. Click on the icon for web print – you will see your pending documents on the front page
  2. Click on the printing button in the top right hand corner 
  3. Use the search bar to look up the printer you sent your document to (Example – Library-LJ1 for printer 1 or Library-LJ2 for printer 2) this will pull up the library printer queues. Or you can scroll to your printer. The printers are in alphabetical order, all of our printers start with ‘Library’.
  4. Choose the correct queue for the wireless print job.

NOTE: All the printers on campus have 2 queues in web print – Gluon (which is wired) and print.newpaltz.edu (which is wireless). Always choose the printer number with print.newpaltz.edu after the name in parenthesis

              5. Inside the correct queue you can release your print job

 

  OPTION 2:  Go to the familiar desktop view of printing

              1. Click on the icon on the desktop that says ‘Papercut Print Release‘

 

             2. Log into the desktop site – even though you already logged into Web Print

             3. Click the ‘Jobs Pending Release‘ link

             4. Release your print job from there

 

NOTE: The desktop view of papercut is not connected to the login for web print so if you close out of the desktop view you will have to log in again when you want to release something.

 

iPad Checkout Procedure

The iPads are in the Tech office until we are able to find a new compatible software that is easy to use and will protect our patrons privacy. 


Check Out:

A few times a week one of the Tech Support Staff will bring out the ‘ready to be checked out’ iPads and place them in a stack on the cart near the laptop checkout station. 

When checking out an iPad you should :

  • Get one of the iPads off of the cart with its corresponding charger
  • Press the power button on the iPad and continue to the home screen to check that the battery is not dead and that the iPad is connected to the wireless network
  • Check out as normal by scanning the barcode


Check in:

A few time a week a Tech Support Staff will come out to the desk and take the returned iPads out of the desk drawer.

When a patron returns the iPad make sure to:

  • Check the device for damage
  • Check inside the charger box to make sure both the charging brick and wire is inside
  • Scan as normal to return
  • Put the returned iPad in the designated drawer at the Circ Desk


It is VERY important that the iPads that are returned are kept separate from the iPads that are ready to be checked out. A returned iPad has all of the personal information of the previous user saved on it until it is refreshed in the Tech office. We never want to hand out our patrons personal information.

 

 
Modified 2021-08-11