"Library card? Check. Fingerprint? Really?"

[mooseandsquirrel]

Read the whole thing

Before long, patrons wanting to use Naperville Public Library System computers without a hassle will have to prove their identity with a fingerprint.

The three-library system this week signed a $40,646 contract with a local company, U.S. Biometrics Corp., to install fingerprint scanners on 130 computers with Internet access or a time limit on usage.

The decision, according to the American Library Association, makes Naperville only the second library system in the country to install fingerprint scanners.

Library officials say the added security is necessary to ensure people who are using the computers are who they say they are.

Officials promise to protect the confidentiality of the fingerprint records.

But with Congress contemplating an expansion of the USA Patriot Act, which gives federal authorities access to confidential library records, and cameras watching the streets some Chicagoans drive or the sidewalks they stroll, privacy advocates are concerned about yet another erosion of personal liberty.

snip

http://tinyurl.com/ctf4c

I can attest to numerous people using stolen identity on computers in public libraries. And yes, people do look at porn and fondle themselves, making for very embarrassing situations for all concerned. Still, I worry about the invasion of privacy and where all this could lead.

m&s
librarian@large
http://moose-and-squirrel.com

[aden_nak]

1. Any system with that kind of personal information needs to be secure.

And I have never, ever EVER come across a publicly accessible system (in a library, school or the like) that couldn't be walked into with rudimentary computer knowledge. It's very often possible to get farther into the system than you are supposed to just from one of the public terminals if you know jack-all about what you are doing.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "All your data are belong to us." - BushCo Republicans

They want komplete kontrol

[zbdent]

3. Hasn't the mandatory DNA sampling begun yet?

[bloom]

4. I hate this.... eom

[aeolian]

5. So I'll just carry a severed finger in my pocket.

or just a wax imprint of someone else's fingerprint.

Foolproof my ass.

[FreedomAngel82]

6. And just think

this will be the beginning.

[slaveplanet]

7. What kind of apologist

bullcrap is this?

If people fondle themselves then call the police, that's the proper way to find out their identity.

not punish everyone else for the few freaks...

[trixie]

8. As a librarian....

I am against this. In our library system we are fighting the Patriot Act by discarding all evidence of checkouts immediately upon return (with the exception of late items that are on the record because of consumer laws). We have been approached for user lists on the internet and we no longer require our patrons use their library cards. They can pick up an "all use" card that is good for internet only. We have no trails of our patrons.

[bloom]

9. That's cool.

It's nice to hear of people doing stuff like this.

[Spike from MN]

10. One of the grocery store chains here

recently introduced a biometric reader for payments at the checkout. Supposedly, the reader only reads "the unique heat signature, not the fingerprint" of the customer and it can't be reverse engineered. Uh, yeah, sure. The money is then deducted from your "electronic wallet" so when you sign up for the program, you not only give the grocery store your "fingerprint" but also all of your financial information. They're "testing" the system at the moment in just a few stores and participation is optional but at the rate this country is going, expect it to be mandatory in a few years. Why anyone would sign up for something like this so they can save that extra 5 seconds at the checkout is beyond me. Apparently they have never heard of buying groceries with cash, check, or a debit card.