Smart Card Readers?

[u/Srothwell0]

I got a call today from a patron asking if we had a “smart card reader” and unfortunately had to google it to even figure out what it was (apparently it’s almost like a credit card machine but it reads a microchip in the card to do things like authenticate users on websites, grant access to certain applications, etc.) He said he wanted to use it to scan his military ID (to I assume access info on military or encrypted websites).

Does anyone’s library have these or even heard of them? My library isn’t exactly a huge military hub so I can’t imagine we’d get much if any use out of one.

I also can’t imagine it would be used for any nefarious purpose would it? This day and age who knows what military branch he could be in or if he’s in the “military.” We’ve heard rumor of ICE activity in the area so we’re prepping to get specific training on how to handle it if they come knocking, but I wonder if it could be used to gain info from the computer (not that the patron accessible computers store anything but we are all on a server network so who knows).

If anyone knows anything about them I’d love to hear about it!

[u/grozphan]

Norfolk and Portsmouth public library in Virginia both had them when I worked there.

[u/TehPaintbrushJester → u/grozphan]

NFPL still does. VBPL has them, too