The two nasty old printers in the Reference Department that we used to fight and unjam and clean and unjam and fight with more have finally been replaced!
(Insert loud hosanna here!)
The two new printers in Reference are not only new but are industrial-strength and made to handle heavy traffic. They are the same brand as the old ones but are the heavy-duty versions of what we used to have. Since they can handle the duplexing, the default setting for these has been set back to duplex. Instructions on how to print single sided are on the tables in the Reference computer lab.
Nothing else has really changed. They use the same print queue (IL_120_K) and print at least as fast as the old ones. The toner container is larger, which means we don’t have to change it as often. Paper will probably just be kept in the brown cabinet like usual. Since these printers sit on the floor, we’ve removed the table that used to keep a few reams underneath it. Minor operational details may change as we start using the printers more.
When you’re in the area, stop by and see our new arrivals!
I am pleased to have found out that Information Resources is working on a Guest Wireless system that will allow anyone who comes on campus to get online wirelessly and without any hassle.
Until that system is purchased and implemented, we now have a login to provide people who come to the library from off campus and want to use their own laptops instead of one of our lab computers. People like this may be parents of students or people visiting the campus for other reasons, such as waiting for their children who are rehearsing with the Indianapolis Children’s Choir or that kind of thing.
Login: DawgLib
Pswd: butler08!
Eventually, there will be a system in place for us to change this password whenever we need, which may be weekly or biweekly or maybe after every time we give it out to someone. For now, we will stick with this one password. This information will be kept at the Reference Desk as well as on this blog.
More is needed before people can login, though. To connect to wireless, they’ll have to go through the same process that students do: http://www.butler.edu/ir/cmsExternalDocuments/xp_wireless.pdf and then go to http://NetReg.butler.edu and register. This last site scans their computer and registers their computer’s ID number on our system, which is what allows their computer to “talk” on the Butler network. Once they’ve done these things, they’ll be able to use the login and password we give them and get online.
Scott
As of this afternoon, all of the publicly accessible computers in Irwin Library (upstairs, downstairs, Room 119, and all around the first floor) are running Windows XP and have the updated standard Library Lab image on them. I’m still checking on the Science Library.
This means all the computers have the same functionality, all are set up to print to IL_120_X, all can unzip files right from My Computer, all can burn CDs easily, and all have Write-N-Cite, Adobe Photoshop, Firefox, and all the other programs that the other lab computers have.
Even the computer with the scanner has been updated to Windows XP and the scanner reinstalled. Because of the new operating system, the process of scanning is slightly different from before. I have printed out new instructions and taped them to the scanner lid. The process is actually much more straightforward now and harder to mess up. 🙂 Choices III is NOT on this computer at the moment, but I’m told we’re renewing our license and should be getting a new version of the program (and new data) sometime this summer.
The Reference Desk computer is also running Windows XP, so people working there can more easily support the public computers.
Please let me know if you find (or hear about) any public computer that is not working right.
Thanks.
Scott
Here’s a brief update on the public-access computers, just to keep everyone in the loop.
Right now, the 18 PCs and 6 iMacs in the main Reference area are the only ones that are receiving the “lab image,” which gives them the formatting that is appropriate to lab-type computers. This includes Windows XP and admin rights for me to access the C: drive. The next time all the computers are reimaged, that lab image will be applied to every public-access computer in the library, including the upstairs computers and Room 119.
Part of that image will give each of those computers Windows XP. Another major part is that I.R. will have configured them all to reboot every night. Say, about 4:00am when we’re always closed. That configuration will include removing profiles as part of the restart process.
Note: every time someone logs onto a computer, it creates a profile for them on that machine, which contains their cookies, browsing history, My Documents, etc. When there are more than 10 profiles or so, that starts affecting the computer and making it slow down, especially during the login process. Many of our machines were not having profiles removed and I’ve manually removed 300-400 of them from some of the machines. That would DEFINITELY be affecting those PCs’ performance. Once profiles are being removed every night automatically, computer performance should stay higher more consistently. (That also means that people will HAVE to use BUFiles, since the computers will basically be getting wiped every night.
Another update to the new image will be Write-N-Cite III, a new version of the MS-Word plugin that connects with RefWorks (click the link for a demo of the new Write-N-Cite). Probably some other things that are being updated campus-wide in the labs.
I will also be asking for the Reference Desk PC to be upgraded to Windows XP this summer, so that we can more easily support the lab computers with a consistent interface.
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Scott
Last night I had a student looking for a translation for a song by Brahms. Fortunately, I knew where to go, but I thought I should share it with the rest of our Reference-related people so it would be less esoteric. Or at least be searchable on the blog. 🙂
Translations of songs, whether grouped by language or by composer, are located in the Music & Fine Arts Reference section, in the ML40’s and ML50’s. It’s only a few shelves, so it’s easy to browse. (Location is down the center aisle, at the end on the left.)
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