Category: Workstation and Technology Services

Update on Office 2013 targeted deployment at YUL

Jenn Nolte

The IT Infrastructure & Client Services unit is currently working with the Endpoint Engineering group at Yale ITS to begin automatically deploying Office 2013 to select Library workstations.

To date, about 60% of YUL staff systems have been upgraded to Office 2013. Overnight Monday Dec. 1st into Tuesday Dec. 2nd, we will be deploying to another large group, essentially everyone else except the Arts Library, Drama Library, LSF and OHAM. Those areas will be addressed later in December.

Next week systems in CSSSI, Divinity, Medical Library, the Music Library and various collection areas in SML will receive their upgrades.

Additionally, you can further prepare for the upgrade by viewing the lynda.com online videos available to the Yale community by visiting http://www.yale.edu/lynda and watching Office 2013 New Features. We also encourage you to check out the Office 2013 Quick Start Guides.

Click here for the previous announcement about the Office 2013 deployment.

Adobe Connect testing final phase

rmk28

In partial response to some library departments’ relocation to 344 Winchester, Jenn Nolte and Reon Keller from Library IT are began testing the Adobe Connect video conferencing and collaboration service in Library-operated conference rooms around campus this October. Library IT is also simultaneously testing Microsoft’s Lync service, which is a chatting, phone and video conferencing service.  See original post on this project here.

Testing has been completed for all targeted library conference rooms, including:

  • Lewis Walpole
  • Sterling 315, 332, 409 and 511
  • BRBL
  • CSSSI,
  • Medical
  • Divinity

Some of the equipment in these rooms may be upgraded eventually to optimize performance, but most are adequately equipped for use of Adobe Connect and/or Microsoft Lync. Cindy Greenspun recently pointed out the closed-captioning feature in Adobe Connect, which we will test in the coming month.

In Spring 2014, look for some web pages with set up information, video conferencing etiquette, best practices and a list of video conference enabled rooms. Library IT will also be conducting training on how to use Adobe Connect as well.

For questions, please contact reon.keller@yale.edu or jennifer.nolte@yale.edu

Library IT upgrades East Asia Library Seminar Room

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Library IT recently completed another AV project room upgrade in the SML 218.   The project’s scope called for the installation of a permanent overhead projector in the East Asia Library’s (EAL) Seminar Room.  The projector comes with both HDMI and VGA connectors, which are universal and compatible with most PC and Mac laptops. In addition, two speakers are also mounted on the front wall.

Now both EAL classrooms, SML 207 and SML 218, are equipped with a permanent overhead projector and AV capabilities.

Frederick Rodriguez managed this project on behalf of Library IT.

For questions about the space, please email tang.li@yale.edu

Library IT testing Adobe Connect for use in Library conference rooms

rmk28

In partial response to some library departments’ relocation to 344 Winchester, Jenn Nolte and Reon Keller from Library IT are currently testing the Adobe Connect video conferencing and collaboration service in Library-operated conference rooms around campus. Library IT is also simultaneously testing Microsoft’s Lync service, which is a chatting, phone and video conferencing service. All testing at the various sites have been successful thus far. Some rooms are already equipped with the necessary hardware, making it easy to set up and determine the best approach to video conferencing.

Conference rooms tested so far:

  • Lewis Walpole
  • Sterling 315, 332, 409 and 511
  • BRBL

Library IT will also test conference rooms at CSSSI, Medical and Divinity.

Once testing is completed, look for a how-to web page with set up information, video conferencing etiquette, best practices and a list of video conference enabled rooms. Library IT will also be conducting training on how to use Adobe Connect as well.

For questions, please contact reon.keller@yale.edu or jennifer.nolte@yale.edu.

 

Library IT and Yale ITS collaborate on Office 2013 targeted deployment at YUL

Jenn Nolte

The IT Infrastructure & Client Services unit is working with the Endpoint Engineering group at Yale ITS to begin automatically deploying Office 2013 to select Library workstations this week.

Workstations in MSSA and at Beinecke will receive their upgrades on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings,respectively. Next Thursday November 6 , systems in Access Services will be upgraded and on Tuesday November 11, Acquisitions and Cataloging will receive the upgrade.

Over the next several weeks, we will deploy Office 2013 to additional departments and libraries. Detailed information will continue to be distributed via the YULIB mailing list.

Reon Keller has been conducting Office 2013 overview sessions throughout the summer and into the fall to prepare the YUL community for this upgrade. Reon is holding another session in the Bass classroom on Thursday October 30 at 10 am. You are encouraged to attend if you have not done so. Seating is limited so please register here:

https://bmsweb.med.yale.edu/tms/tms_enrollments.offerings?p_crs_id=5440

Additionally, you can further prepare for the upgrade by viewing the lynda.com online videos available to the Yale community by visiting http://www.yale.edu/lynda and watching Office 2013 New Features. We also encourage you to check out the Office 2013 Quick Start Guides.

Data Storage Virtualization and Security Upgrades Continue

Bob Rice

LibraryIT’s Information Architecture team continues to manage the SGI/StorHouse storage virtualization upgrade and Trusted Edge implementation, begun this week.

To oversimplify, storage virtualization is the introduction of a virtualization layer that sits in between network-connected data storage spaces. This allows for related files (digital objects, typically) to be stored in unrelated storage areas yet represented in one continuous resource- the end user who is looking for and retrieving files will never see that the whole system they are using lives in separate spots.

Our StorHouse storage currently houses approximately 600TB (terabytes), or about two thousand times the size of our Orbis database, of replicated data. Plans are to implement Trusted Edge, a policy-based/tiered storage component, that will allow us to move files to specific storage based on their use and type. For example archive type data will move off to our archive system, StorHouse, while use copies that should be available to the end user might be moved off to a faster storage area for faster access.

Library IT creates list of technology services for staff

Jenn Nolte

The User Experience group and the IT Infrastructure & Client Services group recently collaborated on a survey of productivity services used by Library staff. You can see the survey results here.

Informed by this survey, Library IT created a comprehensive list of available services, systems and software for staff to use in doing their work. Some of these are supported by Library IT, some by central Yale ITS, and some are simply freely available.

With this list of services, LIbrary IT hopes to make some recommendations towards which services are best suited for library staff use in a particular context. As services evolve, mature and decline this list will also be updated accordingly. Please feel free to consult the page, or anyone in Library IT, if you have questions about which service will best suit your purposes.

Take a look here! http://web.library.yale.edu/applications

Sharepoint 365 Task Force meeting notes from 10/21/2014

Jenn Nolte

The Sharepoint 365 Task Force, chaired by IT Infrastructure & Client Services manager Greg Blasko, met for the second time on October 21st. The task force discussed potential approaches in successfully configuring and migrating to Microsoft’s Sharepoint 365 content management and collaboration software from the existing Sharepoint sites around the Library.

Ultimately, and guided by information from Adam Sharani who spoke about the Beinecke Library’s implementation of Sharepoint as an internal, staff collaboration platform, the task force decided to begin the information gathering phase of this project this way:

1) Create and send a survey to existing Sharepoint power users in the Library.

2) Schedule drop in sessions and site visits around the Library to assess existing  functionality that will need to migrate to Sharepoint 365 (this will be led by Jenn Nolte and Cindy Greenspun).

3) Using an existing list of services and tools used by Library staff, assess what functionality currently used in Sharepoint sites can be better served by other services and tools aside from Sharepoint.

The group will meet again in  early November. Please email the task force members if you have any questions, and watch for a power user survey and drop-in sessions to be announced in the next few months!

Task Force Members:

Greg Blasko, Library IT (chair)
Kristin Bodgan, CSSSI
Jerry Anne Dickel, Tech Services
Cindy Greenspun, Access Services
Christine McCarthy, Preservation
Jenn Nolte, Library IT
Adam Sharani, Beinecke

Library IT provides infrastructure setup for a successful digital exhibitions project

Jenn Nolte

This week, a group of Yale librarians presented the results of a pilot project using Omeka for creating and curating digital exhibitions at the Library. Library IT was pleased to provide infrastructure and support for the initial Omeka installation.  The Systems Infrastructure and Integration Services unit configured and deployed the underlying infrastructure according to specification provided by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

LibraryIT looks forward to supporting more successful pilots like this one!

 Here is the announcement regarding the group’s presentation:

Omeka: Piloting a Web Platform for Digital Exhibitions at Yale

When: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Where: Sterling Memorial Library (SML), International Room

120 High St., New Haven, CT 06511

 Description:
Over the course of the last academic year a working group made up by Francesca Livermore, Melissa Grafe, Peter Leonard, Kerri Sancomb, Robin Dougherty, and Andy Hickner, has been tasked by the Web Group with investigating a platform for digital exhibitions at the library. After developing a set of system requirements and exploring several options, the working group suggested a six-month pilot of Omeka, an open-source web platform created by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University with support from the Mellon Foundation. As the pilot draws to its end, Francesca and Melissa will discuss the work of the group so far, including our experience working with Omeka, and next steps beyond the pilot period.

via Omeka: Piloting a Web Platform for Digital Exhibitions at Yale.