In message <[log in to unmask]>, at
19:40:07 on Tue, 7 Sep 2004, "Simon Howarth (WSL)"
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>I agree it's excessive, at least in that no permission has been sought and I
>presume your son is not yet of "legal age".
Indeed not.
>I would also be wanting to know what uses the fingerprints are going to be
>put.
Further information: apparently the library charges 5p per book that the
students withdraw [1] and the fingerprint was explained as a way to
charge the correct child (or, as they put it, make sure a child doesn't
get charged for books another has withdrawn). My son points out that if
they hadn't gone to the expense of the fingerprint system, perhaps they
wouldn't need to charge!
But there must be less intrusive ways of running a set of library
accounts than this. For example, they could ask for the money in cash at
the time. This is their system for school meals, it seems: they have a
buffet style, so the price is unpredictable, and have no method for
pre-paying. Children must take several pounds of cash to school each
day.
[1] This also seems to me to be an unwarranted tax on education in what
purports to be a system free at the point of delivery; but this is
probably the wrong list for discussing that.
--
Roland Perry
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