The public administration of the city of Boom is using Ubuntu for ten new publicly accessible desktop PCs in its public library. The Boom library is not the only public library in Belgium using this GNU/Linux distribution.
For those who want to install Ubuntu or OpenOffice on other computers, the library is making installation disks available.
"The city council has decided to replace out-dated desktop PCs by ten very fast Linux-PCs running Ubuntu", the administrations writes on its web site. "The PCs will have a broad band Internet connection and can be used for a thirty minutes, or more if there are no other users waiting."
According to the explanation on the municipal web site, the PCs in the public library are used not just to access the Internet. "High school and college students are using USB keys to work on documents. They will be able to use OpenOffice, a worthy alternative to Microsoft Office, which includes a word processor, spreadsheet application and presentation software."
"Documents that the users leave behind on the Ubuntu PCs will be deleted at the end of every day. In the morning, when the computers are booted-up, privacy settings will be reset, ensuring the privacy of other users."
Seven of the ten desktop PCs are made available for Internet and other uses. The three others are reserved for accessing the library catalogue.
Multi seat PCs
The public library in Boom has been using a multi seat computer, where a central server manages six individual open source desktops, since 2007. The ten extra Ubuntu PCs are delivered and serviced by the same company that made the mult-seat, Linux Service in Gavere.
According to Multicar's Guy Deportail the public library in the municipality of Maldegem has recently purchased three such multi seat servers, to manage in total seven individual desktops. The public library in Peer is using one such server, managing four desktops. Similar configurations are also used by schools in Gent and Gentbrugge. "I have six such multi seat servers, managing either two or six desktops, that are permanently in use by schools and libraries, so they can try the system out for free, for a month or more."
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Boom, a municipality between Antwerp and Brussels, has about 16,000 inhabitants.
More information:
Library announcement (in Dutch)