Locking kits and other resources provided by outside support helps equip libraries with digital assets that enhance educational opportunities for youth in El Alto, Bolivia
Kensington®, a worldwide leader of desktop computing and mobility solutions for IT, business and home office professionals and The Professionals' Choice for 35 years, today announced that its Desktop PC & Peripheral Locking Kits are being used to protect computing resources that are part of the Senkata Library Network in Bolivia, also known as the Bolivia Library Project. The libraries are equipped with Internet-connected computers and computer resource training to provide improved educational opportunities for children and families of the Senkata parishes, while Kensington's Locking Kits keep computers and peripheral accessories locked safely together to protect against theft or damage.
The Bolivia Library Project was founded in 1997 as a network of parish libraries that supports the Bolivian youth of the Senkata parishes of San Francisco de Asis and Santa Clara as they strive to improve student access to online educational resources in their existing parish libraries. Chris Edmundson, who works for the University of Colorado at Denver, became involved through his parish with the plight of the Bolivian students and their need for digital education resources. "These Bolivian youth see education as an opportunity to help pull their families out of poverty and to improve their society," Edmundson said.
After submitting a grant request to set up a computer lab for the Bolivia Library Project and getting it funded through his church, Edmundson knew his next step was to find a way to lock down the donated computer equipment, which included 10 monitors as well as 10 thin clients, to prevent them from being taken out of the building. "At one point I worked for the State of Colorado, where we deployed Kensington locks to protect employee laptops from being stolen. I knew we needed to find a similar preventative method to protect the library machines in a similar manner," Edmundson said. "Since these are public libraries, there is a lot of public access to the machines."
After considering whether to use previous security solutions, Edmundson was pleased when Kensington offered to donate 10 Kensington Desktop PC & Peripheral Locking Kits to protect and secure all 10 computer monitors and other accessories that had been donated to the Bolivia Library Project.
The Kensington Locking Kits, which feature a long carbon steel cable, anchor plate, and a Kensington keyed lock head, allowed the thin clients to be locked down securely with their associated monitors like a "set," avoiding the need for 10 extra locks.
With Kensington Locking Kits, the Bolivia Library Project is able to keep its arsenal of donated thin clients and computer monitors locked safely together to avoid theft. Being able to protect these precious digital assets is key to ensuring that the outside support given to help equip libraries with computer equipment continues to provide enhanced educational opportunities for Bolivian children and families.
"It was an important way to ensure that the equipment in the library would be secure in a public setting," Edmundson said. "The Kensington Desktop PC & Peripheral Locking Kits solved the problem because each kit has everything needed to secure both a monitor and peripherals. This is exactly what we needed to ensure that the computer donations would stay safely in the library for student use."
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About Kensington
Kensington is a leading provider of desktop and mobile device accessories, trusted by IT, educators, business and home office professionals around the world for more than 35 years. Kensington products empower people to dynamically interact with content, creating a better working experience for productive performance. In both office and mobile environments, Kensington’s extensive portfolio of award-winning products provides trusted security, desktop productivity innovations, and ergonomic well-being. Our core competencies in engineering, industrial design, product quality and responsive customer support make Kensington The Professionals’ Choice™.
Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Kensington operates as the technology division of ACCO Brands (NYSE: ACCO), one of the world’s largest designers, marketers and manufacturers of branded business, academic and consumer products, sold in more than 100 countries across the globe.
Kensington is the inventor and worldwide leader in laptop security locks, the acknowledged leader of Trackball innovation and offers a broad range of premium-branded desktop productivity solutions.