Yes, I Am Still Here

This blog has not been abandoned. It has been a hectic two weeks, and there has not been enough time to make a satisfactory entry. As my coworkers might attest, I have been running around frantically trying to come up with solutions to the various issues that plague us.

Some updates on various outstanding issues:

RELAIS INTERLIBRARY LOAN

Hooray, the never-ending project has been completed! We can now move it to simple maintenance keeping mode. The best part was that we were able to launch it on time for the start of the new semester – September 4th.

Among some of the achievements with this project included:

• We performed customization of the self-registration forms from the source code that Relais provided.
• Relais went beyond the call of duty and customized the login and patron forms pages. They employed our desired colour scheme – which was a bonus that we did not expect.
• The training session that we underwent was most helpful, and put the ILL staff at ease with the new system. A couple of Lethbridge College staff members also attended the session.
• The trainer from Relais said that we were the first group that completed the generic system testing without training and with very little intervention by them. A real feather in our cap, and a testament to the high level of determination and skill of our ILL staff – Jason and Valarie can take a bow.
• The trainer was also surprised to see that we installed and began to use the new Relais Reports product. This new module is definitely an improvement over the previous ILL system.
• TAL targeting of Find It/SFX has moved from the older Innovative Millennium ILL system to the new Relais system – thanks to Weiwei for her promptness in honouring our request.

As you can see, despite some trials and tribulations, the Relais Implementation Committee was able to pull a rabbit out of its hat to better serve our patrons. Whoo hoo!

START OF THE SEMESTER BLUES

We are happy that the school season is in full swing, but we are plagued by the start of the semester growing pains. The college has modified many aspects of how computer services are delivered this year, and this led to some confusion about the access of those various services.

PASSWORDS GALORE. Students must now know not less than 5 user name/password sets to access resources. To clear up confusion about the various logins, I created a new handout that demonstrates the various user name/password sets. You can view the document by clicking here.

Additionally, I also created a “pocket guide”. The pocket guides are printed on a standard business card and present examples of all 5 user name/password sets.

SLOW LOGINS. For some reason, computers around the campus are very slow at logging-in. Wait time for logins can take 10-15 minutes. Naturally this hobbles the library, since it is a main hub in the institution. Students popping in to check e-mail between classes are leaving before their machines full authenticate. Library staff have been graciously shutting these machines down for students.

NO NETWORK DRIVE SPACE. Students were originally going to get up to 1GB of drive space on the network servers. Due to technical difficulties, those personal drives are not presently mapping. The sneakernet is alive and well for the time being.

WIRELESS NETWORK.
The wireless network remains unavailable. Many returning students are somewhat annoyed by this development, and all we can ask for is patience. Computer Services has set this as a high priority, and we hope to be able to offer this service again.

There are scads more, but am I too short on time and recollection to make a record at the moment. Stay tuned.