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Thumbprints Used To Check Books Out of School Library

Posted by samzenpus on from the we-also-need-a-blood-sample dept.

krou writes "Junior students at Higher Lane Primary in Whitefield, Greater Manchester, are in a trial of a system that uses their thumbprints to check out and return books from a library. The thumbprints are 'digitally transformed into electronic codes, which can then be recognized by a computer program.' The system was developed by Microsoft, and is being trialled elsewhere in the country. NO2ID condemned the system, saying it was appalling, and that 'It conditions children to hand over sensitive personal information.' The headmaster has defended the scheme, saying, 'We have researched this scheme thoroughly. It is a biometric recognition system and no image of a fingerprint is ever stored. It is a voluntary system. The thumbprint creates a mathematical template. All parents have been written to and we have told them what the system is all about. From the responses we have had there has been overwhelming support. We hold a lot of information about children because we are a school. This is no different.'"

5 of 355 comments (clear)

  1. Next up by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Informative

    School bans gummi bears

  2. Big Deal by sensationull · · Score: 3, Informative

    Big deal schools in the UK and NZ have been using this method for checking out books for ages. You try to get a six year old to remember a pin number or library card. Many also use public barcode lists of users instead due to the cost of fingerprint scanners and in some rare cases privacy concerns.

  3. It's worth mentioning ... by krou · · Score: 4, Informative
    ... that it's more widespread than the article Snip:

    Many schools are fingerprinting pupils without parents' permission, teachers have warned.

    It is thought around 100 schools in the UK now use fingerprint identification systems for registration, borrowing library books and cashless catering.

    But there is no legal requirement for schools to seek parents' consent for using biometric technologies.

    --
    'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
  4. Riiights... by vvaduva · · Score: 4, Informative

    "All pupils' details are erased when they leave school."

    They promise...this time is true! For real!

  5. Re:Fingerprint != Private by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 3, Informative

    Do you commonly tag your biometric data with your legal identity? Sure, my fingerprints are left on the counter when I buy something at the corner store, but I do not sign those fingerprints with my name. When you start using fingerprints for library records, you essentially have a convenient database for tying those fingerprints to the people who own them, without the effort that was once necessary to do so (i.e. following someone around, picking through their trash, and so forth).

    --
    Palm trees and 8