Project idea

We (Library Systems) had a retreat recently in another conference room -- occasionally you need to get out of the reach of day to day issues to think a bit more strategically. We noticed a "library" in the room-- boxes of journal issues-- and I wonder how many of them there are across campus? It seems like it would be a good idea for a librarian to survey departments and staff sections to see what reading material they store, organize into boxes, set up index cards to check out, etc. Some of them we may already have in electronic format-- and we may be able to facilitate TOC alerts, linking, or browsing. Some might be good candidates for library online subscriptions that would benefit many-- saving the department not only subscription costs but also the organizational efforts. I'd love to see this suggested as a grant idea.

EDUCAUSE2006: Library/IT Partnerships

Constituent Group: Library/IT Partnerships
Malcolm B. Brown, Director of Academic Computing, Dartmouth College
Daniel Keith Marmion, Associate Director for Information Systems & Digital Access, University of Notre Dame

What are the issues on people’s minds?:
• space/learning centers,
• books vs. computers (some debate about framing it this way!),
• e-archiving, especially of non-text-based materials: faculty create images, tutorials, multimedia, etc.: how do we pick software, create repositories, archive and access?
• support for authoring/multimedia production: at University of North Texas, multimedia thesis projects are officially called “problems in lieu of thesis” by library!, library doesn’t want to deal with it so academic computing is doing, storing and providing access. Library won’t catalog! Was referred by group to some organizations for help: www.ndlp.org, slide librarians assosication, “digital library systems and services” @ Stanford. “These things should be available from the library web site because that’s where people go to find them” (I wonder?)
• embedded library/embedded computing,
• integrating with academic resources, e.g., CMS,
• who provides front-line support?: help desk vs. library, should merge but hard to do, librarians say “not my job” to answer tech questions, librarians don’t want students at the ref desk. Comment from Australia: when librarians rove in lab, there aren’t any questions, when students rove, there are lots! From Seattle: typically librarians are used to working out front, IT is typically behind e-mail or phone, by the time you get the question there’s no point in referring—you should answer! Teaching librarians to answer those questions helps them and provides better customer service. Another perspective: these are the two largest curricular support units on campus, they should focus on the customer! Librarians can help with document management, records retention, metadata: just need to figure out where each fits on the information continuum.
• IT support and training for “legacy staff”.
• Resource management and staff development: library makes demands on IT, move towards shibboleth etc. comes from library needs.
• In merged organizations issues like faculty status (get sabbaticals, “it is an issue if they get big heads, not otherwise”) vs. IT staff (get more money?), MLS vs. PhD. U Indianapolis is “sunsetting” faculty status—all are “professionals”. At CSULB academic technology reports via the library: “techs can learn library easier than librarians can learn tech”. At Kenyon, from new librarian: “merge is good, it fits the way I work, aligns me with my classmates from library school and with new faculty”. At Hamilton, VP IT and Library Director decided first to be collaborators, found it works best when project based and limited. At Binghamton: reserves/blackboard served as a good project to learn to work together, info commons is rockier. At Carleton, heads collaborated on projects (moodle, data services, gis)—don’t need to merge. Focus on similarities, treat as people. At Cornell: was (not now) an underlying lack of respect for skills of other side, it took some brownbags to get some projects going.
• Service points: are they shared? How does communications work in unmerged organizations?

EDUCAUSE2006: Matt Campbell

When Account Management Is Not Enough: Identity at RIT
Matt Campbell, Sr. Infrastructure Engineer, Rochester Institute of Technology

Had many more accounts than students, multiple accounts, not any cleanup. Used SSN since “everyone has one”—- except international students, people who don’t want to give it etc., issued fake starting w/ 999, but people then don’t remember.

What we had to work with: AD, LDAP, Kerberos, Samba, etc. – One user interface (user driven, theoretically kept in sync) but behind the scenes many different accounts

Wanted to do real-time access w/ student system, HR, no ability to have offline update mode (HR people do want this!)

New system: standardized protocols, now soap; switched to subscription model only, sends xml documents that match the subscription for a module: modules in two types, real-time (blocking), pick up modules (non-blocking) – good for antiquated systems (e.g, hr financial, student module) that can’t provide web services, they give up a return of results (he prefers the real time) means keep data around until verified

Duplicate prevention:
Identities are scored based on how well they match new additions, if above threshold, add is denied, very few false positive (usually siblings, spouses)
Affiliation is the most important attribute: student, alumni, employee, library patron: any identity lacking an affiliation is purged from the system, identity system security closely tied to affiliation

Integration w/ acct mgmt: Accts linked to new university id, if remove authorizing affiliation results in removal of the account automatically, allows much more granular account level access restrictions

Deactivate for 6 months before delete account (can’t use during this time)
Technical challenges: duplicate prevention, efficiency. Security, legacy mainframe app integration

Bigger issues: moving requirements target; sample data didn’t represent production data; customers unable or unwilling to modify business processes that result in bad data, data possessiveness: fix this first! People should fix their own data!

Open source: claws released under GPL at claws.rit.edu; subversion; RIT centered at this time, but anxious to take patches, updates from others.

EDUCAUSE2006: Marilu Goodyear et al.

Career Development for IT Professionals
Marilu Goodyear, Professor, Public Administration and former CIO, University of Kansas, University of Kansas
Susan E. Metros, Deputy CIO & Exec Director for eLearning & Professor, Design Technology, The Ohio State University
Eugene L. Spencer, Assoc. VP for Information Services & Resources, Bucknell University

IT leaders can come from variety of backgrounds: MG: sociology degree/librarianship, interested in values that underlie seeking of information; ES: administrative computing @ Bucknell, now leads merged library/it org; a few years ago had good people but not adequate skills, needed professional/org development to succeed; SM: artist, professor of graphic design—keen interest in design architecture; project mgmt; now design has been totally changed by technology

Skills needed: listening, change management, collaboration, project management
Values: mission/vision/goals really are important; if I’m not aligned, I should leave. I have an easier time working if my values are lined up with organization; people can then be successful: we value: excellent customer service, professional development and leadership though the organization, refuse to let each other fail; leadership at all levels, etc.

Professional development:
Early: important to be critical thinker in school, but in job need to know skills which may not happen in education; you should articulate the tools you have in resume; need people skills; need to understand academic lay of the land, academic is different
Mid: Fill your gaps; choice of path between mastery or management, should make a conscious decision here, should have mentor to help you figure out what to do, start networking and build relationships outside your institution; am I enjoying what I’m doing? If not, should do something else, not too late to change
Late career: reinvigorate, John Seely Brown “reverse mentored” with teenagers, share institutional wisdom of what you have gained (continuity/successor planning); you are part of something bigger (IT in higher education); need to provide guidance for younger people; Step out of the spotlight—now willing to be 3d author; Others are capable, consider what your subordinates can do outside of job description; Used to think my job was to take obstacles away now I think I need them to stretch; Know when to let go: they may want to leave to be successful, remember to thank them; be flexible: they are under pressure; allow them to grow in jobs; build on someone’s position; I am in a learning collaboration (mentoring), mentoring group, more for me than them. Get together and talk about jobs, it’s valuable

What about advocating for the profession?:
Within environment, help people understand what we do (e.g., librarians in new faculty orientation) ; job to make UKansas degree the best degree it can be, faculty contribute to growth of knowledge; Advocating for the profession, CALEA, net neutrality, etc. – put values forward; Want to be part of collaborative discussion, rather then being utility

Work/life balance:
Know I’m doing my life work, to my mission statement, get energy out of doing what I am, get energy out of being able to do the best I can, so choose a few areas where I could dedicate time effort to doing best job while still doing full range of job; collaborate with other people; Best advice: I’m the one who needs to take charge of this, “they” won’t fix it; need to assess yourself; make compromises; Not to be known for what I do, but who I am. That’s where your identity comes from; Have good handle on obligations/ commitments and don’t let them get out of hand; I spend time on organization so I don’t have to feel there is something I’ve forgotten, can focus in moment

EDUCAUSE2006: Gerald D. Hinkle et al.

From Labs to Collaborative Spaces: Development of Temple University's TECH Center
Gerald D. Hinkle, Director, Computer Services, Temple University
Timothy O'Rourke, Vice President, Computer & Information Services, Temple University
Sheri Stahler, Associate Vice President, Computer Services, Temple University

Effort started with consolidation, did inventory to learn there were 112 labs on campus, most in schools and colleges, 14 run by computer services. There was a classroom shortage too, 11,000+ courses on blackboard, lab usage expanding over 2 yr period; Teaching and learning center too.

They had a budget of 11 million dollars, large building originally used as corporate data center that had been vacant for 10 yrs., lots of AC, no heat (computers would generate?), raised floors

Question: why not make campus wireless and buy students computers instead??
Did surveys, why use labs, what computers they had, etc.
Results: was already wireless, can’t buy 35,000 students laptops, but why couldn’t they buy their own? Urban institution, board of trustees wouldn’t do
Most students had computers, about a third had laptops (82% said never brought on campus: heavy, could break, might get stolen)
Went to academic affairs committee of board: if we want to be leader in technology, need to provide this to students; student work no longer done in study carrel in library (!); more collaborative, with TV, etc. Students work all hours of day and night, need help desk open 24 hrs. Convinced one board member not to fight it by having a personal meeting with him—not for it, but would wait and see.

Budget: 10M construction, 4M computers, 2M furniture (1M/year set aside for replacements) (From question: students pay a $100 tech fee per semester, ½ goes to colleges, ½ to central IT)

700 workstation lab (600 fixed, 100 laptops), 13 smart “breakout rooms”, faculty wing, university welcome center; don’t want to see “sea of computers”, central operation, keep faculty separate from students, need to be flexible
Open in second semester now
6 specialty labs (e.g, music, AV, computer science--separate network so can take it down without breaking the campus,-- etc.), lots of open social spaces
150 software packages (Endnote, ESRI, Avid, etc.) all needed to be represented in tech lab (metered to cut costs)

Equipment/capabilities:
• Dell optiplex and precision/ macs
• AMX control systems
• IIS
• Bluecoat proxy servers
• Fortress
• Symantec sygate and antivirus
• Samba authentication
• Computrace for laptops
• Vbrick to bring tv to desktop
• Uniprint 400 free per semester, 10 cents/page after that
• My backpack: roaming profile, can store files on “virtual drive”

Open 24 hours Sunday/Friday with Saturday hours
“ask a librarian” service—desk and chat
Large format scanners, plotters, color printing
Laptop friendly furniture (small movable tables near chairs)
30+ flat screen wall displays (show world cup, etc.)

Security was a concern (inner city) so they cut off areas at night so can be more easily controlled, have round the clock security guards; ID swipe brings picture up on display, security videos at guard station; Security cameras w/ dvr; Cable locks for desktops; Lockers and cameras for laptops; Close relationship w/ police

Social spaces and student life: Starbucks 24 hours! (Only covered drinks in lab)

Vending machine: headphones, flash drives, school supplies, etc.

Lab is staffed by full-time employees until 10pm, walk in help desk area separate from phone center as people want customer service; pc clinic: teach how to troubleshoot, rebuild systems, very successful

Faculty wing: instructional support center, teaching and learning, 35 seat presentation room (classes can use only once a semester or so), breakout room, lounge

6000 visits per day—to the lab (not help desk, welcome center, etc.) at 9am overflow area is in use, 8000 visits a day during exams, etc.

Lessons learned:
Hits : quickly adopted; very positive “premier spot on campus”.
Popular labs: breakout rooms booked from noon- 3am, internet lounge a hit, quiet, music and video labs have high usage
76% rise in help desk walk ins, #1 Starbucks in Philly area, #4 in east coast

Misses: overwhelmed with video lab support, software development lab “sandbox” wasn’t enough, wanted access to real networks etc., language lab: largely unused; quiet lab too popular, now additional one; faculty were jealous, perils of popularity: students groups wanted tables in lobby

Flexible: regularly solicit feedback, change as necessary

Design counts: the wow factor
Computer ownership does not mean access to expensive software and peripherals (some may buy, but many don’t want/need for cross-disciplinary

Questions/answers:
• Didn’t cut down on staff, in fact hired 5 extra people
• Closed 4 of the 12 IT labs, probably about a dozen department labs have closed and been turned into smart classrooms
• Does the help desk support the specialized software: Yes!
• Metering software: spent about 15K on licenses, put some in special rooms because couldn’t pay for everywhere.

EDUCAUSE2006: Homero Lopez et al.

Designing Learning Spaces That Promote Engagement
Homero Lopez, President, Estrella Mountain Community College
Richard Marmon, Director, Information Technology, EMCC
Roger Yohe, Faculty Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, EMCC

This is mostly about studio/smart classrooms rather than labs, but has parallels for our Information & Learning Commons.
What makes great learning space? They knew they wanted flexibility, technology, so they came up with “radical flexibility”. Did a survey to figure out what was wanted:
• Plenty of desk space, good lighting, more computers, storage areas, more whiteboard space, temperature control, laptops, color and decorations (aesthetics).
• Learning studio—nodes to deliver, receive, create, collaborate, contemplate, etc.
• Parlor— meet and talk

Also wanted to improve sight lines- showed old-school lab with tabletop monitors, CPUs- looks a mess! They devised various levels of equipment for labs depending on funding: all levels have projectors, dvds, instructor computers; higher level adds one laptop per table, highest level has wireless laptops (tethered) at all table stations.

Partner: Herman Miller (furniture company)

Student reaction to new space: “feels like college”, “you trust us with these laptops”

Institutional strategies: requires leadership vision, involve stakeholders
Their process: experimentation, seek partnerships, create prototypes, gather research, develop best practices, replicate (they are now transforming “vintage” 1992 spaces to the new model.)
Practical tips:
• How did you do power? Floor electricity, power strip under table, one cord from table to floor
• Who moves the furniture back? No one—next instructor may wish to redo, but not necessary
• Kamatsu “air projector” moderator (client on each machine) and will project to screen
• Goal is to make available to student when not used for classes, “access screen” outside classroom can show schedule, working through security issues
• 32 seats in 1000 sq feet, ADA compliant
• Tables were too small initially—moved from 48 to 60”

My Thoughts:
• “Prototypes can drive new mental models”—this resonates with me in several ways.
o It is why I think we need a program for staff to play w/ Library 2.0 tools.
o It reminds me of Icon and Idea: the Function of Art in the Development of Human Consciousness from Art History class in college—the way I remember it is that it was only after some artist had actually created something that someone else was able to see possibilities. This definitely has parallels with website, database creation—so should we have a team with artist and builder?
• “You trust us with these laptops”—don’t know how they are deploying these (just out on the table, checked out?) but I don’t think we’d get this quote from our method of laptop checkout. Do we need to rethink this?
• Their process vs. ours: they are obviously ahead of us with our Information & Learning Commons, but we now need to do the assessment to “develop best practices” before we replicate.
• Is there a way we could use an “access screen” for library instruction rooms with scheduled activities showing and ability for others to use between scheduled events??

EDUCAUSE2006: Vinton G. Cerf

Uncovering the Science in Computer Science: Challenges for the 21st Century
Vinton G. Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google

Cerf talked about computer science: is it a science? If it is, you should be able to use it to predict things, but, for example, you can’t predict how long it will take to complete a program. Also has a significant correlation with science: “auto-immune distributed reflective denial of service”. In the past there was a “viral spread of knowledge”, e.g., the webmaster who learned html by copying other pages. There are new, user-oriented, paradigms, as users search, discover, transact, announce, share, collaborate, and an increasing interest in self-service (nice for the companies, since users may have “only themselves to blame” for lack of good customer service!) He mentioned Amazon, FedEx, Tivo, Instant Messaging, GPS navigation, image and video sharing.

My Thoughts:
Library science, of course, is even less of a science. Just saying.