The Project Management Community of Practice Begins Anew

Across campus, there are several Communities of Practice (CoP) groups. The CoPs are a helpful way to grow your network with fellow practitioners, develop competencies, share solutions, and create standards. This fall Melissa Wisner, IT Portfolio Manager & Project Librarian, will begin leading the Project Management CoP. The Project Management CoP (PM CoP) has been in existence for several years and originated with Yale ITS. Based on new goals set forth by Yale ITS leadership the CoP is looking to broaden the group’s reach by inviting members from different unit’s practicing project management university-wide.

Continue Reading The Project Management Community of Practice Begins Anew

Library IT, Reimagined

Library Information Technology (Library IT) has undergone significant changes over the past two years. Now under the leadership of Director of IT, Dale Hendrickson, the department looks forward to a time of opportunity and growth. The department has embarked on a reorganization this summer, with current staff assuming new roles and new staff being hired to support the new structure of the department. View the new organizational chart.  an external link

Continue Reading Library IT, Reimagined

Welcome the New Haven Promise Interns

Building on previous successes, Library IT has teamed up again with New Haven Promise and is bringing in four summer interns to Sterling Memorial Library.  We are excited to welcome back Annissa Carter and Bryana Kilpatrick, interns from last year. And welcome two new interns, Eric DeJesus and Arthur Abeshouse.

Continue Reading Welcome the New Haven Promise Interns

Beinecke and Access Services Participate in BorrowDirect Pilot for Special Collections

Last October Yale University Library and five other Ivy Plus Libraries participated in a pilot program to share scans of special collections materials at no cost to BorrowDirect Libraries. BorrowDirect is an unmediated library resource sharing partnership encompassing thirteen Ivy Plus academic institutions Before the pilot, interlibrary loan (ILL) requests for scans of Beinecke materials were canceled by SML/Bass Access Services and the ILL office was told to contact Beinecke directly. In the pilot, SML/Bass Access Services and Beinecke Access Services work to fill these requests through ILLiad and Aeon. Currently, only requests for PDF Scans are eligible for the pilot. Patrons requesting high-resolution scans must still contact Beinecke directly. The pilot runs until October; Access Services and Beinecke plan to review and evaluate the success of the pilot over the summer.

Continue Reading Beinecke and Access Services Participate in BorrowDirect Pilot for Special Collections

Much-anticipated Windows 10 Upgrade

Over the summer, Library IT will begin to update the staff computers from Windows 7 to Windows 10, throughout Yale University Library (YUL).  A major goal of this upgrade is to remain consistent with Yale’s ITS effort to migrate computers to Windows 10 campus-wide. Windows 10 is currently the latest production version supported by Microsoft; support for Windows 7 will end in January 2020. This upgrade will only affect staff computers; an upgrade to service computers and specialized equipment will occur at a later date in Phase 2.

Continue Reading Much-anticipated Windows 10 Upgrade

Aeon Email Addon Sends MSSA Greater Efficiency

Over the past few months, Library IT worked with Manuscripts and Archives (MSSA) to implement an Email Addon to Aeon. This feature was added to both instances of Aeon. The Email Addon allows MSSA staff to email patrons when requested materials are in. The emails can be sent out using a batch process providing MSSA staff with a level of automation that allows them to communicate with a large number of patrons in a matter of minutes, quickly and easily. Staff can still use a manual method for emailing patrons for those situations that require special circumstances.

Example of the batch emails to patrons
Figure 1: Example of the batch emails template sent to patrons.

Each item is still scanned by an MSSA staff member in order to trigger the email, preceded by a number of steps that involve monitoring transactions as they move through notification queues, then rerouting them to their final destinations. The Email Addon automates the routing rules that govern the sending of the email so staff does not have to manually send one to each patron for each request.

Since the MSSA Reading Room is the only monitored reading room in Sterling Memorial Library, restricted materials patrons request are sent to this location.  The volume of materials being delivered and processed at MSSA is substantial, sometimes receiving as many as 60 boxes with multiple deliveries in one day. The Batch Process helps MSSA keep track of their materials more efficiently making it easier to return materials to Library Shelving Facility (LSF) thus limiting the time materials are at risk. Once notified, the patron then has 5 days to come in and use the materials before it is returned to the LSF.

The benefit to patrons is the quick notification of when materials are available. Access to this information helps to eliminate some of the mystery patrons experience between requesting materials and receiving them. The notifications allow patrons to better plan for their trip to the Library, as some patrons are coming from a distance.  Having an awareness of when materials will be available and in what format helps patrons with their planning, especially if only partial orders are received. Ultimately with this new functionality, MSSA is able to manage patron expectations of hold times from the moment an item is put on hold.

The Email Addon has in place since March 1st and has been working very well. MSSA hopes to explore more batch processes in the future.

Passwords Inadvertently Convert Zoom Accounts

There have been a few YUL staff members who have had their Yale Library Zoom Account converted into a Yale University Zoom account inadvertently. Library IT has discovered the source of the conversion — using your NetId password in the Yale Library Zoom Login. You should have a Zoom account password that differs from your Yale NetId. It is easy to enter your NetId password into the Zoom login out of habit.

To confirm your Yale Library Zoom account hasn’t been converted to a Yale University Zoom account, log in to yalelibrary.zoom.us.   After logging in, select “Profile” from the menu on the left, check your Account No. If the number is not Account No. 195330 then your account has been converted, see Figure 1.  If you are unable to successfully log into yalelibrary.zoom.us, you either do not have an account or your account has been converted into a Yale University Zoom account.

Figure1: Zoom Account Profile screen to ensure you are affiliated with the Yale University Library.

There are two issues that occur when an account is converted to a Yale University Zoom account.

  • Users lose access to previous recordings and scheduled meetings.
  • Meeting invitation links users have sent out prior to being converted will no longer be valid. The scheduled meetings links have the account type in its URL. For example, a link from a Yale University Library Zoom account will have the following path: https://yalelibrary.zoom.us/j/191745741.

Whereas an invitation link from the Yale Zoom account will have this path:  https://yale.zoom.us/j/457231612.

 

How do I prevent this?

  • Ensure that your NetId and Yale Library Zoom account passwords are different.
  • Pay close attention to the password you use to log into your Yale Library Zoom yalelibrary.zoom.us account to prevent accidentally using your NetId password.
  • Always be sure to use yalelibrary.zoom.us when logging in on the web.

 

How do I get help?

If you have any questions or have discovered your account has been converted send an email to library.helpdesk@yale.edu. You can also open a ticket at the Library IT website.

Delivery Services Goes the Distance for the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library

This past fall, the Yale School of Medicine launched the Online Physician Assistant program. This program currently boasts 44 enrolled students from 16 states, including Hawaii, and is set to scale even larger in future cohorts. Since these students will not have the option to come to the library in person, providing the same level of access to materials posed a challenge to traditional delivery methods.

Continue Reading Delivery Services Goes the Distance for the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library

ArchivesSpace Public User Interface (PUI) Workgroup

Yale is continuing to develop the ArchivesSpace PUI and is preparing for a soft-launch of the new archives and special collections discovery service this Spring. This will create the foundation for the migration from YFAD to the Public User Interface. The ArchivesSpace PUI (public user interface) blog keeps staff informed of the significant work the project team and its workgroups are doing.

Continue Reading ArchivesSpace Public User Interface (PUI) Workgroup