Hi, 

We loan laptops from the Health Promotion Resources service in
Northamptonshire. 

Like all our Health Promotion resources they are booked in advance. They are
issued on a library/health promotion resources card, but only to NHS staff
members (we have some members who are not NHS). We loan them out for a week
at a time, although we are prepared to extend if there are no further
bookings on them. 

Beyond chasing borrowers as with normal overdues, and charging them the full
cost of the item, we don't have any way of getting them back if they choose
not to return them. If they return them with bits missing (eg network
cables) we would charge for the missing part. In the case of hardware
failure, we would withdraw the offending laptop from service (!) and
probably try to get IT to fix it - we haven't had that experience yet! I
doubt in that case we'd have enough money to replace. 

All the laptops are encrypted and the encryption is changed every month,
users are given a password when they come to collect the laptops. When the
laptops are loaned, they have to sign for them, which is as near as we'd get
to a contract stating they are responsible for the laptop. 

Occasionally we look at them to see there is no personal information left on
them. 

Every month we connect them to the network for a virus checker update, and
we have had the IT department out to do a health check on them because this
had not been done for a while. 

We are very sorry if people's versions of Office are not compatible, but as
with the library PCs, this is really not something we can do anything about.
Mostly they would be using the same versions of programmes as the laptops
have anyway.  

People seem mainly to hire them out for presentations, and they are well
used (especially at the moment) - but we only have 3!  

I think the major snags we've run across in Health Promotion are people
bringing them back just that little bit late, which impacts on other
people's bookings (which given as they need them for specific events is a
problem) and remembering to update the virus checker, but so long as that's
done, everything's fine! 

Hope this helps, 

Genny 

Genny Franklin

Librarian
Northamptonshire NHS Provider Services
Health Promotion Resources, Westgate House 2, Ground Floor
21 Gambrel Road, Westgate Industrial Estate, Northampton, NN5 5BB

Tel:       01604 321519
E-mail:  [log in to unmask] 
www.library.northants.nhs.uk 




-----Original Message-----
From: UK medical/ health care library community / information workers
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Frances Griffiths
Sent: 25 February 2011 14:17
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Loaning laptops

Dear Colleagues,

We are looking at the possibility in purchasing laptops and then loaning
them out to library users.

Please could any of you let me know if you loan out laptops.
If you do could you give us any information on the below so we know of
things to consider and beware of.

How/what is your process for loaning out the laptops? - issued on a library
card?, Deposit required?, Pre-booking? ect.

How long do you loan them out for, and do you allow users to 'renew' their
loan to keep it out longer?

Are they library use only or can they be removed from the premises?

What security measures are in place to protect against loss / misuse/ damage
-	within the library
-	security if users are allowed to take laptops out of the library

Are your IT departments involved, and if so which aspects do they input on?

What housekeeping is involved (eg cleaning up of drives before reissue to
the next user)

What level of responsibility does the library take for hardware failure, or
student and laptop have incompatible versions of MS Office etc?

Any major pitfalls/snags to consider?

All information would be welcome.

Have a good weekend,

Frances Griffiths

Health Library Deputy Manager,
Clinical Education Centre,
University Hospital of North Staffordshire, Newcastle Road, Stoke-on-Trent,
Staffordshire,
ST4 6QG 

Tel: 01782 556565
Health Library website: http://www.keele.ac.uk/healthlibrary/
Email: [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended  
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. 
Any views or opinions expressed are those of the author and do not 
represent the views of the Trust unless explicitly stated.

The information contained in this email may be subject to public disclosure
 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Unless the information is legally 
exempt from disclosure, the confidentiality of this email and your reply cannot 
be guaranteed.