Meet Rob, one of our EIS Specialists tweeting from 28/10 to 1/11

I've been working at York St John since June 2011, initially as the "Digital Archive, Web and System Support Librarian", with responsibility for supporting the Library's digital content. However, last July I was seconded onto the IT side to support Moodle, and will shortly be moving over officially into a role as "EIS Specialist - Open Source".

For those who are not aware, "EIS" stands for "Electronic Information Systems". Our small team develops custom applications, supports systems like eVision and Moodle, and does database and server administration.

I have been working in IT and on the IT side of libraries for the last five years. I started out in Leeds City Council's Libraries and Information Service, working there for two years before moving on to spend some time working for Talis Information in Birmingham (a company which provided library management systems). Before this, I spend about sixteen years working in health and social care, but that's another story.

I am an enthusiast of free and open source software (it's not just a job), and have recently become interested in the opportunities offered by online education platforms like coursera.org and p2pu.org. Ask me anything, and I'll do my best to answer.

Scheduled downtime: Web of Knowledge

Thomson Reuters, who provide the Web of Knowledge database search service, have scheduled maintenance and upgrade for this service this Sunday 27 October, starting at 14:00 and due for completion by 02:00 the next day.

During this time, access to Web of Knowledge may only be intermittent. This will not affect any of our other library databases.

Meet Phill, one of our System Specialists, tweeting from 21 October - 25 October

Hello!

My job role is “systems specialist” within ILS

I primarily work in the network team administering the network infrastructure. This includes implementing new solutions, resolve any issues that may arise, identify and recommend any possible improvements.

I am Currently working on a new campus wide wireless network, this will be followed by the launch of Eduroam. I’m also working on the IPv6 deployment which is in its very early stages.

I also second desktop team with the virtual server and desktop infrastructure to provide additional support when required.

Meet Annette, Our Academic Technologies Trainer, Tweeting the 14 October to 18 October

Annette Webb is the Academic Technologies Trainer at York St John University, supporting Microsoft Office and University online systems e.g. Mahara and Moodle.

Annette provides support in Microsoft Office including Essays in Word, PowerPoint Presentations, Excel Spread sheets and YSJ online systems to all undergraduate and post-graduate students.

Annette provides 1 to 1 support via tutorial booker to tackle individual training needs from students who are complete beginners to users with more advanced skills.  She also runs regular workshops that students can book on to enhance their IT skills.  Annette also liaises with Academic Tutor’s to provide bespoke training sessions on Mahara ePortfolio system and effective bibliographies using Word tools.

Over a typical academic year over 600 students are seen on a 1:1 basis and in groups - approx 5000 individual contact hours (SCONUL measure).

In collaboration with Careers there are a series of 4 'soft skill' sessions delivered, named ‘WorkStart’ for mainly 3rd years to prepare them for the workplace.  Handouts and exercise files are provided within Moodle and they receive a certificate on completion.  This has proved very successful with an average of approx. 20 delegates per session.

Meet Katy, Academic Services Manager tweeting the w/c 7 October

I am the Academic Services Manager in ILS. I work with the Academic Technologies Trainer, the Digital Trainer for Staff and the Academic Liaison Librarians. We are the ones who work with staff and students, providing advice and help with everything from how to reference a journal article to how to format a Word document. I sit on various University Committees, including the Research Committee and take part in several working groups across the University. The part of my role I enjoy most is researching and thinking of how to work with other areas of the University and colleagues from outside the University to make sure you get the best advice and teaching from ILS that we can give.

Before I came to York St John I was an Arcadia Fellow at Wolfson College Cambridge researching and recommending ways to implement a holistic curriculum for information literacy. Great experience but remarkably like being at Unseen University (for the Pratchett fans). Prior to that I worked in FE as a Learning Resources Centre Manager, working with vocational students studying at all levels and in subjects ranging from Artist Blacksmith to Accountancy.

I was a mature student at Manchester Metropolitan University, where I gained my degree in Library and Information Management, having left a career in IT to do so. The importance of access to information freely, in the appropriate format and when it is needed is a passion of mine. For that reason I was one of the founders of the campaign group Voices for the Library (http://www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/) Ask me about access to information and human rights some time.

I am looking forward to sharing my working days with you but be warned, there may be MotoGP also.

Information sources affected by US Federal shutdown

EDIT (17 Oct 2013): A deal has now been reached resulting in an end to the federal shutdown. For more on this, see: http://bbc.in/1bXDdO4

- - - - - - - -

The US federal shutdown has an impact on some information sources we use.  The sources currently affected are:

• the US National Library of Medicine who maintain PubMed and Medline
• the US Department of Education who maintain ERIC
• the Library of Congress

Medline is still accessible and searchable from Discover and our databases page (http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/information-learning-services/information-learning-services/faqs-for-staff--students/where-can-i-find-databases.aspx) however, this database may not be updated as usual.

ERIC is still accessible and searchable from our databases page but access to full text material via ERIC is NOT possible during the shutdown.  Our advice is to continue to use ERIC for searching but alternative access to full-text may be found on Google Scholar.

PubMed is accessible and searchable at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed but it not being updated or maintained as usual.

There is no access to the Library of Congress website.

For further information on the US federal shutdown see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24378831

For further help and assistance please contact Information Learning Services ils@yorksj.ac.uk 

Problems viewing Dawson ebooks on IE10?

You may find that if you have a recently purchased PC or laptop which uses Internet Explorer 10 you may experience problems viewing Dawson ebooks. We advise the following:

• check which version of Internet Explorer you are using.  You can do this by click on Tools and then About Internet Explorer
• check that you have Adobe Reader installed on your PC or laptop.  If you don't have Adobe Reader you can download the latest version from: http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/.

Alternatively:

• you can use browsers such as Chrome or Firefox without downloading Adobe Reader.
• or you can download the York St John University desktop to your PC or laptop.  For further details see: http://www.yorksj.ac.uk/information-learning-services/information-learning-services/services-for-you/staff/it-support/desktop.aspx

If you are experiencing problems using Dawson ebooks on campus, on earlier versions of Internet Explorer or on Macs, android devices or iPads then please contact ils@yorksj.ac.uk.