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Systems Annual Report 2000-1

Overview

The 00/01 year has been another busy one for the Automation Division. The primary responsibilities of the division are maintenance of the automated library system (NKUIRE) and troubleshooting (NKU Office of Information Technology liaison) for other hardware, software and networking issues. The division also reviews the hardware and software needs of all library departments. Through working as part of the Technology Team (Automation Division personnel, Electronic Reference Services Librarian, Associate Provost for Library Services) the division recommends the necessary purchases for maintaining the information needs of library staff and library customers. The team balances these needs with budget and staffing constraints. The division contacts various agencies outside the university, primarily Endeavor representatives, KCVL and KCVL committee personnel, and other computer vendors for various issues. The Automation Librarian is primarily responsible for managing the division and acts as primary Endeavor contact person. The Systems Librarian is primarily responsible for NKUIRE troubleshooting and questions regarding Voyager software operations. The Systems Engineer is primarily responsible for networking and PC troubleshooting. The division also employs student workers to assist with the above tasks. During the fiscal year, 631 requests were resolved via the libauto troubleshooting email account. This is an increase of 25 over the previous year. These included 46 printer requests (up from 24), 269 PC hardware/software requests (down from 341), 198 NKUIRE requests (up from 142) and 118 miscellaneous requests (up from 101).

Activities in the division can be subdivided into three broad categories: Voyager implementation and maintenance, networking/PC troubleshooting, and miscellaneous. These categories will be addressed in detail below.

Voyager Implementation / Maintenance

At the beginning of the fiscal year, NKU was still working through Voyager software acceptance issues with Endeavor. Due to the number of issues and the fact that the Endeavor project manager changed four times during implementation, issues took longer to resolve than expected. The number of problems was reduced to a manageable number and a few were non-resolvable. The summer and early fall was spend on investigating these issues as well as "massaging" the data in order to fit NKU needs. The system was finally accepted on Oct. 17, 2000. The information necessary for the configuration of Voyager was gathered. These configurations were entered and changes made as staff adjusted to the new software. WebVoyage was edited and a stable version was implemented in the spring semester. Routine programs were set up to run overnight during the spring. A program for translating student records from the NKU Student Information System was finalized and implemented in June. During 2000, Voyager Implementation Team meetings were held either weekly or semimonthly. During the spring semester, these meetings were held monthly. The Automation and Systems Librarians also attended the statewide meetings of the Kentucky Endeavor Working Group. These meetings were informational and planning sessions for coordination of Voyager usage amongst the state universities. Opportunities for Voyager training were abundant during the fiscal year and Automation Division/NKU staff took advantage of these as appropriate. Planning also took place in the spring regarding the major annual upgrade to the Voyager system which took place between the spring and summer semesters. Problems were encountered with Voyager training on the NKU campus causing a repeat visit by the Endeavor trainer for Acquisitions training. Due to the last minute resignation of an Endeavor staff member, rescheduling of the NKU WebVoyage and reports training (originally scheduled for May) had not taken place. At the end of the spring semester, the old VTLS NKUIRE system hardware was moved from the Administrative Center to Chase Law Library. This move was necessary due to lack of space in the Administrative Center. At the end of FY 00/01 the system was operational as a reference.

Networking /PC Troubleshooting

The bulk of work in this area revolves around troubleshooting PC/printer problems, reconfiguring replaced PCs, and setting up new PCs. During the year, 43 PCs were added/replaced (up from 31 last year). A lot of time is spent "switching" PCs from one area to another when a PC is replaced. This means tripling the amount of work for replacing one PC (setting up the new PC, moving the replaced PC to either surplus or another location, setting up the new location, sending the old PC to surplus). This workflow was streamlined a bit during the spring semester when the Office of Information Technology announced that each new PC had to be replaced and that in some cases OIT designated which PCs were to be replaced. While this method does streamline the process, it does not allow the library to make use of replaced staff PCs that work fine as additional OPACs. These switches and replacements also create a lot of work for the Automation Librarian and the library inventory. The department is continuously trying to streamline the inventory process. It has also created a lot of work in creating a replacement plan when the OIT announces replacement PCs without the input of the library staff. The department is increasingly dependent on student workers to carry out the basic PC troubleshooting problems. A request to fund a staff PC technician position was submitted in the spring but was not funded. Due to lack of a staff member, some problems are forwarded to OIT, which increases response time, and other projects have been delayed due to the System Engineer resolving some everyday troubleshooting issues. During the year, the LAN was updated, a couple of ADA PCs were set up for patron use, and scanners were set up for various departments. Voyager software was upgraded on staff PCs after the migration to the Voyager 2000 software in May.

Miscellaneous

The Automation Division is also involved in activities other than those cited above. Numerous PCs throughout the library were upgraded to Windows/Office 2000 during the spring semester in preparation for the Voyager upgrades. The Systems Engineer installed card readers on the microform machines in the Periodicals Department. and also worked on configuring ports throughout the library for laptop use. The Systems Engineer and Systems Librarian worked on a proposal for integrating electronic reserves into library operations. The Systems Engineer and Automation Librarian worked with the AP and OIT on a proposal to add additional ports/electrical outlets for the loggia (not funded). The Automation Librarian worked on a wireless laptop lending program (not funded) and served on the AP Search Committee.

updated: Sunday, 21-Aug-2005 11:33:56 EDT

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