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Found in: Case Studies

Countless community members depend on the Minneapolis Public Library for access to information and other resources on the Internet. The library's IT staff includes five people responsible for maintaining 900 computers for 15 library buildings in Minneapolis. Dependable IT with a small maintenance staff requires durable, high-powered machines with a vendor service plan designed to avoid downtime.

Daily Computer Destination
The Minneapolis Public Library purchased Gateway Profiles for all of its locations. Computer use often surpasses book use in libraries, and the Gateway Profiles offered a way to fit more computers in the limited space available. The all-in-one machines also gave computer areas in older branches a sleek new appearance.

"They're cool looking. You come in and look at one of our buildings, and you see all these tables with all the Profiles laid out. It just looks really good," said Sharon Kinsmith, IT director for the Minneapolis Public Library.

The reliable Gateway Profiles withstand a steady stream of public usage. And their high-powered performance is important to Kinsmith and her staff. Productivity for library staff members rose dramatically after the switch to Gateway.

"Productivity really picks up when you have a computer that actually responds," Kinsmith said.

She said the technologically centered nature of libraries means core operations essentially shut down during computer downtime.

"The staff can't do any of their work. They can't check in books. They can't check out books. They can't look up patron records, and they can't do any research for patrons," Kinsmith said.

The library also uses Gateway desktops to power self-checkout stations in all of its buildings. The technology was a welcome arrival when budget cuts forced the library to cut its staff by 25 percent.

Patrons directly feel IT problems at the library, especially since its catalog is exclusively online.

"You have to have a computer to see what we've got. You have to have a computer to check books out," Kinsmith said. "If you don't have a computer you can't go to the Internet for either pleasure or research. You can't do your e-mail if you just dropped in on your lunch hour."

Gateway's high-powered performance and simple service support help minimize downtime, which keeps patrons using the library.

Service for a Small Staff
Reliable service is essential for Kinsmith's staff, which is spread thin. Gateway gave the library priority service with a special phone number to call for part replacements. The IT staff is authorized to diagnose repair needs and order parts without needless troubleshooting.

"Our staff goes through the diagnostics process themselves before they make the call. If they are made to go through it all again, they are just wasting time," Kinsmith said.

The library IT staff does all of its own installations, which makes them intensely busy during major deployments, especially since they simultaneously continue maintaining all other branches throughout the city.

Kinsmith recently used Gateway's preimaging services to simplify a 430-machine deployment for the new downtown Central Library.

"It was very helpful. We sent Gateway three images and told them how many of which to give us, and when we wanted them," she said. "They also staged them for us. They held on to the computers until I asked for them, which was really helpful because I was moving out of an interim location, into our new building, and I didn't want the computers to show up at my old building. I didn't have a place in the new building yet, so Gateway held on to them until I was ready to install. I could just call them up and say, 'OK now I need 100 machines with the staff image, and they'd send them."

Class Time
The Minneapolis Public Library uses technology centers stocked with Gateway Profiles to advance technology education in the community.

"Some of our libraries are in neighborhoods that really don't have very much. We see it as our vision to help those neighborhoods get the kind of skills they need to get a job, advance in a job and help them in school," Kinsmith said. "You can only apply to some jobs online, and if you've never used a computer, you don't know how to do that."

Many immigrants in Minneapolis have their first computer experience on a Gateway Profile because their public library is one of the first places they visit to complete forms, all of which are now online, said Kinsmith.

Gateway's high-performance machines and quick repair service enable computer instructors to focus on training citizens who are often using computers for the first time.

"The library is funded by the taxpayers, and they have the right to have working equipment that will actually let them do what they are trying to do," Kinsmith said. "Maybe we can't afford to buy computers as often as we should, but it's important to keep as up to date as possible."

Gateway After School
The library is also making use of Gateway laptops. Many teenagers spend time in their local library after school, thanks to a new section of the downtown Central Library called Teen Central. The library purchased several wireless Gateway laptops for the project so teens could check them out.

"They can take a wireless laptop and go lounge about in the beanbag chairs or wherever and do whatever they want to do online without having to sit at a table with a desktop," said Kinsmith, who added that Gateway had the laptops engraved with the library logo for her. "They're really nice, cool little laptops. The performance has been really good."

Gateway technology allows the library to bring citizens of all ages the technology and information they need to succeed by providing reliable, high performance equipment to both library staff and patrons.