Technology Presentation at All Directors Meeting re-cap

Yesterday (July 19, 2012) I gave my annual State of the Technology Department at SCLS presentation at the All Directors Meeting (Thanks to Wendy and the Fitchburg Public Libary for being such a gracious host!).

You can view the presentation online, but I thought I would re-cap some of the highlights of my presentation on the Technology News Blog this week:

What happened over the last 12 months

• 2,517 support tickets addressed.  That's over 10 per working day!
• Over 12,000 miles driven by Tech team members out to our 53 libraries.
• We installed, replaced or re-purposed over 300 PCs this year.  That number is less than last year, primarily because of the vast number of PCs installed at Fitchburg's new library.
• User-driven access to Overdrive Stats was introduced
• The Partnership Program was put into production, and 6 libraries now have it fully in place at their library or will very soon.  (Contact Vicki or Kerri if you're interested in participating)
• Zoho Creator for Summer Library Program was responsible for another successful SLP, with 16 participating libraries and over 9,000 registered users.  There were many wonderful comments made at the All-Directors meeting about Zoho Creator.

What Happened with the 4 Future Directions outlined at last year's meeting?

• Windows 7

  • Servers were virtualized and upgraded to the lasted Windows Server version
  • Lots of work was put into the Staff and Patron Images.  We're proud to announce that Windows 7 is in production at 3 libraries (and HQ) right now, and we plan on releasing it to many more libraries over the summer and fall.
  • Moving forward, we'll be installing Windows 7 on any new SCLS-supported PC from now on
  • The Patron Image work is moving along as well, though it's a more strenuous task du to the way we need to balance high security with a high level of patron access.
  • There were some questions as to why we're replacing Windows XP with Windows 7.  One of the biggest issues facing us is the obsolescence of software.  Already we're seeing it with Internet Explorer and we believe Firefox is more a matter of when, not if.
  • There are many new tools we have in place to support PCs and many of these only work with Windows 7
  • The real deadline for libraries to be concerned with is April, 2014.  See a previous post on the Technology news blog for more info.

• Bandwidth Update

  • 28 libraries have, or will have, received a bandwidth update on their Badgernet connection this year.  We were obviously hoping for more but TEACH only approved 50% of all of our requests.

  • Our alternative plan is a VPN solution, connecting libraries to SCLS HQ over a private ISP line using a Virtual Private Network to connect to supported PCs.  We're currently testing this solution in the lab and undergoing other related work on behalf of our libraries.

  • Network Convergence also continues to move forward.  We've completely converged 16 libraries and will work on converging more throughout the Summer and Fall.  See more details on the Technology News Blog.

• Enterprise Wireless: After one year of having EW working, we can report that this project is a success.  32 libraries are now up on EW with over 99.8% uptime.  In the future, we're planning on changing our level of support for legacy wireless.  Watch the Technology Committee agenda for more information
• Gadgets were another great success:  we continue to look for ways to improve the gadget packs (like combining the E-reader kits) and welcome your input on new gadgets or ways to improve.

 

Future Directions

We've made some changes in staffing and the way we support PCs.  Dan and Greg have had some position changes and/or project focus, which has allowed us to take on major projects like the Koha reports project and spend more time on Windows administration.  From now on, any PC-related issue should be directed to the Help Desk, regardless of network.  Also, all ordering is now done centrally, through the PC ordering form.

We've introduced some new software that will allow us to "instantly" update PCs on the SCLS network.  We're also planning on utilizing some new software from Microsoft that we will use to apply security patches on a much more rapid pace.  We'll be looking at possibly changing the antivirus solution we have installed and will be rolling out MS Office 2010 very soon.  Every new Staff PC will automatically get Office 2010 from now on.

Some time by the end of 2012, we hope to introduce another great product called Software Center.  This will allow any staff member the ability to install extra software on their staff PCs such as iTunes or Chrome without needing to call the help desk.

Finally, we're happy to announce that Drupal, a Content Management System that will be used to replace the existing Web environment is in place for 3 member library websites.  Our plan is to migrate all 40+ libraries over to Drupal and then start the process of Website re-design in this new environment, one that offers a rich variety of features such as calendars, event listings, and photo galleries.

 

Please share any comments you may have below about the presentation.

 

 

 

Comments

[Trisha Frankland]

Anybody else notice the *gasp* in the room after JM said Dan would no longer be visiting libraries?

[Dan Jacobson]

Don't worry Trish, my official title is System Administrator/Innovator. The innovator part means I'll still be out at libraries and helping dream up new and innovative services/ways of doing things!