This can be solved unilaterally by the library system, with no extra action by google. I would furthermore argue that it should be solved by the library, rather

This can be solved unilaterally by the library system, with no extra action by google. I would furthermore argue that it should be solved by the library, rather than by google, as the library has the ability to solve this problem more completely. As a brief introduction, the goal of computer security is generally to make a computer as secure as a door lock. A door lock can be easily broken into, but to do so requires that a person show up to the door in person, and to take some illegal action. A computer, if secured naively, is much less secure than that: if I gain access to the password, I can hack a computer from anywhere in the world. Furthermore, since I have the password, it isn't even clear that I am breaking any rules. The library system can solve the problem described in the letter while maintaining door-lock level security in the following way: they would give to every library system user a library card, associated with their person. This card would be used to log in to library computers. Certain information would be preserved between logins, namely the browser cookies. Thus, the user would remain logged in to their google account as long as they had access to their library card. If they lost the card, or forget the password, the library would be able to reset the password, or issue a new card, as long as the user could prove they were the owner of the card to the satisfaction of the library employee. Google, being an internet company, cannot reasonably issue cards to all their users, but libraries regularly do so. For the same reason, Google has difficulty verifying the identity of their users, which libraries can do easily. Google is structured as a profit seeking corporation, and would need to justify charitable behaviour to shareholders. Libraries are well known to exist to provide services for free to their users, and can easily alter their operations to do so differently. Most importantly, libraries already provision physical access to computers. The most important element of our door-lock security model is that a person must appear in person in order to get around our security. The library is the organization operating the physical terminals, and so the library alone can provide this essential element of our security model.