Snell Library has installed a bioscanner students can use to swipe into the library with instead of using a husky card. /Photo courtesy of Meghan Zwicker

By Alyssa Lukpat, news correspondent

A new biometric scanner in Snell Library installed this semester lets students swipe their hands instead of their Husky cards. Some students appreciate the efficient process of entering Snell, while others are concerned about Northeastern keeping images of their fingerprints.

The biometric scanner replaces the need for tapping a husky card to sign in to Snell Library. Students who register their fingerprints at Husky Card Services can swipe their hand through the scanner and walk in to Snell.

“It’s pretty efficient. Instead of looking for your Husky card you can just use the swipe of a hand,” second-year computer science major Ernie Hao said while walking by the bioscanner in Snell.

Husky Card Services approached Snell Library in August and offered to install the scanner, which was developed by Idemia, by the first day of classes. Husky Card Services is paying for the machine and responsible for its maintenance.

This biometric scanner sits to the right of the check-in machines. Students can register their fingerprints with Husky Card Services in Speare Commons, where a representative will instruct them to wave their fingers through a scanner four times. The scanner saves digital photos of the fingerprints so the bioscanner in Snell will recognize those fingerprints.

Warren Lord, the director of Husky Card Services, declined to comment. Other staff members did not respond to requests for comment.

Fingerprints are put through an algorithm and stored in numbers, said Snell librarian Melanie Bopp. Still, some students are worried about Northeastern storing their biometric data.

“I’m a bit concerned about the security of this,” said Keshav Sharma, a second-year politics, philosophy and economics major. “I understand they won’t have my exact fingerprints but it is code and it can be converted back. I’d still rather not give my biometric information just because of the security concern.”

With one machine and hundreds of students registered, other students are worried about the scanner’s efficiency.

“There are not enough machines, so we’ll have to wait in this line and sometimes it might not be convenient,” Sangeetha Chandrashekar, a first-year computer science master’s student said.

Students can now decide if they want to swipe their hand or continue using their Husky Card.

“I’m really bad at keeping my Husky Card on me,” Hao said. “It’s helpful if I can just swipe my finger quickly.”