Microsoft Office in Public Area
The four computers nearest the entrance to the first floor have become a testing area for the introduction of MS Office suite to our students. Each of the newly cloned computers will require a MY USF NetID in order to log on. After testing, the remaining computers will be given the same set of programs, which include MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint and MS Publisher. In the final stage, four computers used for testing will be alloted for public non-student use, and all others in the reference area will require the MY USF NetID and host the Microsoft Office product. This is good news to those who are trying to view and print these common document types, and will allow students to view alter and print their work from the convenience of our public machines. Look for the updated desktop look along with additional softwares including the Office Suite, LUNA client for viewing digital archives, and other updates. A survey will be available to assess the needs of students and thier reaction to the latest technology updates in the library, available through the Virtual Library icon on the desktop.
Wireless LAN Access
All floors of the library will soon enjoy wireless access, thanks to the addition of Cisco wireless access points placed within the library. Students will be able to enjoy the benefits of wireless technology with their own laptop computers as well as a library provided machine. The reference and public areas of the first floor are the focal point of the 1st floor wireless plan, the study areas in the northeast corner of the 2nd and 3rd floors allow for wireless access with a waterfront view, and the Poynter patio allows breezy internet access. The wireless access areas will support communication rates up to 11mbps with 128 bit encryption security, with instructional documentation and maps of the wireless areas found through our systems department web page. Three major brands of network cards will be supported (Orinoco, Cisco Aironet, and Apple AirPort) so students will be able to purchase their own network cards from local vendors based on their budget, and then follow a simple registration process to access the internet from the wireless areas. The wireless service is expected to be available beginning the week of March 24th.
Cut the wires!! Wireless Access Laptop Available Soon
Currently enrolled students will be able to check out a fully loaded Dell laptop, which will allow them to use the library's wireless access network to browse the internet to perform research from within the library. This Pentium 4 based computer runs at a quick 1.8 Gigahertz under a windows 2000 operating system. Thanks goes to the Society for Advancement of Poynter Library (SAPL), our library support organization, who helped fund this great addition to our list of computing services. The laptop will be checked out through the reference desk, and will be re-imaged after each use to provide a full suite of applications that include Microsoft Office (MS Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Publisher), Microsoft Frontpage, Mcafee Antivirus protection, image editors and others. The laptop includes a huge 15 inch display, a floppy and CD-RW drive for creating CD's and saving work, wireless and wired networking, and a two hour battery. The laptop is expected to become available for checkout in late April.
Phase Two of Security Plan
Annoying pop-up messages from the MS Messaging Service should now be thing of the past, now that the Systems Team is taking full advantage of the Windows 2000 technology. With a simple click on a system policy, the Messaging Service is guarded from unwanted advertisements. Several security and functional updates will be performed on all staff desktops as the Systems Team rolls out the second phase of our desktop security rollup package. As this process begins in Early May, users will be required to add complexity to their passwords. Don't worry, there will still be flexibility in password choice, falling within a few modest extra rules. Thanks for your cooperation and kudos to the Systems Team in implementing Phase One, which included deskop and server side protections, firewall implementation, and system updates.
Welcome our new Campus Webmaster
I would like to introduce you to John Husfield, our new campus webmaster. Hired in a recently created position, John will help the campus and our library to have an improved presence on the Web. John has worked on the Tampa campus as a Graduate Assistant Webmaster, where he helped develop sites such as Forum, History & Traditions, and News, as well as our graphic design department page. He will be working to implement a new design for our campus site, and will work closely with the library webmaster and content providers in the library to bring elements from the redesign to our library pages. He stresses usability and simplicity in his designs, and is on the 'fast track' of creating a new template for our campus site. Read more about John in the Campus Grapevine. John holds an NT4 MCSE Certification, with emphasis on Microsoft Exchange and SQL.
FCLA Helps Fund New Technology
The library has begun to receive equipment that was ordered with the help of FCLA, so several staff will soon get a knock on the door from a systems team member with a new Dell PC, among other technology enhancements which will ease our transition to Ex-Libris. Other items include a new printer has been installed in the Circulation area that be used by any staff with volume printing needs, server enhancements, and a Cisco data switch.
