PCR Feature #1: 2 hours use is the limit, period.

A current scenarion as imagined with a patron using CybraryN:

It is morning at a medium sized branch of the FCPL. It is also slow as one patron has been leisurely using a 30 minute public computer and because there is little demand for computer use, the patron is given numerous time extensions (let's say about an hour). This seems okay until patron traffic increases and the patron is logged off due to another reservation being made for that particular computer. Due to one of the quirks of CybraryN, the only time that was recorded and matters is the initial 30 minute use. In reality, the patron used and an hour and a half but CybrarN only kept track of the first 30 minutes. This enables the patron to hop on another computer for another hour and half and keep using time that is technically much more above the 2 hour time limit that is in the FCPL Internet Guidelines for Use.

Now back to reality. The inability of CybraryN to keep accurate track of computer time usage has been a serious issue, especially during times when demand exceeds supply. This quirk results in an imbalace in regard to how much computer time a patrons use, especially during busy times and many patrons are scrambling to get on one. One patron may have used 4 hours on a computer while someone else only gets, let's say, 30 minutes.

Luckily, this lack of keeping an accurate two hour time limit is absent in PCR. When a patron uses their library card on a public computer managed by the PCR system, there is in theory (I say theory because PCR is still being tested) a limit to how much time is available and it is 2 hours. If a patron gets a time extension (yes, PCR will extend time) because there is no reservation pending, that extended time is tracked and is part of the overall 2 hours that is allotted to patrons. Essentially, everyone gets 2 hours on the public computers, no exceptions. The PCR system will keep track of how much time is used in regard to a patron's library card and once that limit is reached, the patron has to wait until the next day to use a public computer at that location.

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