Bolle, who retired
in mid-January from Polytechnic University, will serve in this position
until a permanent successor is named to replace Hirshon. Markley said a
search committee will be formed shortly to identify a permanent successor
for Hirshon.
v.3 no 1
February 1999
IR Focus on Classroom Improvements
Hirshon Steps
Down, Bolle Named Interim Vice Provost
Search and Find: ASA Grows
50%
New IR Staff
Y2K at Lehigh Update
Friends of the Libraries
Schedule
JSTOR Gives Access
to Back Issues
Schnabel Memorial
Support
Improving technology in Lehigh's teaching facilities continues to be a strategic priority for Information Resources. In recent months technology services were added or upgraded in a number of campus sites. Major renovations were made to Christmas Saucon 201 and Drown 210. While the new computer/VCR projector services were modeled after existing classrooms, notable changes included the use of LCD projectors and touch screen controls to simplify the selection and use of the equipment. Also, for the Drown 210 classroom, the facility was designed without an instructor station and built-in PC. Auxiliary jacks and cables were installed, allowing a client-supplied laptop to interface with the network, projector and sound system. Response to this model has been positive and this approach may be repeated in other rooms, which have limited space for an instructor station.
In addition, major changes to Whitaker 303 included a totally redesigned instructor station, a flat panel monitor, and touch screen controls. In response to these changes, Biological Sciences Professor Barry Bean noted that "[Whitaker 303] is outstanding. I've used the room a lot in the past and the improvements are remarkable. It has been reliable and idiot proof." Professor Jeff Sands, also in Biological Sciences, reports that: "It works well and it allows me to give lectures that fully incorporate my course web site, textbook CD-ROM, and video."
In a major upgrade to a heavily used PC classroom, IR replaced 46 old pentium 75 computers and the projectors in Drown 10 and 20. Dell Pentium 350 computers, projectors and touch screen controls were installed in each room. These are the first PC classrooms to run Windows 98. In addition, monitors and VCRs were replaced at Mudd 353 and Maginnes 518. A new projector was installed in the Williams 210 teaching lab and a portable computer, VCR and projector were installed in Williams 301.
Because more clients are requesting scanner services for digitally capturing graphics and images, IR has installed self-service scanners at two computing sites, Drown 20 and Iacocca D109, as a pilot. For advanced imaging services, clients should contact Media Services at Linderman and Fairchild Libraries. For more details see the Instructional Technology web page at www.lehigh. edu/~intech/. We'd like to hear how this service is received.
Future projects include a complete overhaul of all technology resources in the Rauch Business Center including the upgrade of computers, projectors and control systems in rooms 50, 60, 70, 171, 184 and 271. We also plan to improve the instructor's podium and sound system in Perella Auditorium and upgrade network connectivity from 10 Mb to 100 Mb. Lecture classroom computers will be upgraded campus-wide, providing faculty with faster computers, Windows 98 operating systems, and Zip disk support.
Arnold Hirshon stepped down as Vice Provost for Information Resources, effective January 15, 1999. Donald M. Bolle, former Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at Lehigh from 1981-88, has been named the Interim Vice Provost for Information Resources by Provost Nelson Markley.
Bolle, who retired
in mid-January from Polytechnic University, will serve in this position
until a permanent successor is named to replace Hirshon. Markley said a
search committee will be formed shortly to identify a permanent successor
for Hirshon.
Bolle left Lehigh in 1988 to become senior vice president and provost at Polytechnic University, and two years later, assumed added responsibilities as the institution's chairman of the management committee. He returned to the faculty there in 1992, and served as Interim Vice President for Administration, spearheading the development of a strategic plan for information systems. Bolle is a Fellow of the IEEE, AAAS, and the IEE (U.K.). He was named a Caballero del Imperial Monasterio de Yusta, Caceres, Spain in 1993. He received the Centennial Medal from the IEEE in 1984 and the Distinguished Service Award from the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society in 1987.
Hirshon was named Vice Provost in 1995. He developed an effective strategic planning process to integrate the library, computing and communications organizations, and a client-oriented organization to advance those strategic plans. Hirshon instituted Lehigh's charter membership in Internet2, including successfully leading the NSF grant application to support a high-speed backbone connection. He was instrumental in the formation of PALCI, a cooperative organization for Pennsylvania academic libraries, that has reduced costs for electronic information and instituted plans to make interlibrary loan faster and more cost effective.
During the period he served as Vice Provost, Hirshon published two monographs and a number of journal articles, and represented Lehigh effectively through national and international professional presentations. He was recognized in June 1998 when he received the Hugh Atkinson Memorial Award from the American Library Association.
Information Management librarians are adding over 220,000 new bibliographic records into "ASA", the online catalog. These records extend access to three major collections: Evans' Early American Imprints (1639-1800); U.S. federal documents; and the David M. Greene Collection in the Zoellner Music Library. The major benefit to users of these new catalog records is the ability to locate information about very important collections that were difficult, and sometimes impossible, to access in the past. The cataloging of the recently acquired David M. Green Collection represents the first time recorded music will be widely accessible to the Lehigh community.
History Chair Jean Soderlund, whose field is American colonial history, noted that "the Evans microfiche collection, which contains every book and pamphlet published in what became the United States prior to 1801, is an unparalleled resource for faculty, graduate, and undergraduate research in Early American history, literature, and politics."
ASA, the online catalog, provides author, title, subject, and call number access to each item in the collection. For example, anyone doing research on Cotton Mather or Salem witchcraft can search by these terms and find primary sources on these subjects in this collection. The results of such a search would include the following title from the Evans collection:
Microfiche Evans no.657 (FM-2-MFORM ) copies: 1 type: MICROFORM
The wonders of the invisible world. [microform] : Observations as well historical as theological, upon the nature, the number, and the operations of the devils pub year: 1692 / By Cotton Mather
The collection, located in the Listening Library (Room 341) of the Zoellner Arts Center, is now partially accessible through ASA. Currently about 1800 compact disc titles are fully cataloged and more records will be added throughout the spring semester until the total collection of over 3,000 CDs is included. To view items from this collection in ASA, choose BROWSE from the menu bar and enter the call number DG (for David Greene). This will retrieve a list of all the compact discs entered into the catalog at this point.
Client Services librarians and Information Organization Team Leader Sharon Wiles Young (slw0) can answer questions about this project or the collections involved.
Deborah Feldman joined IR in mid-January as an Enterprise Consultant for the Academic & Administrative Team in Client Services. She previously worked in the Lehigh Financial Aid Office as Software Support Administrator.
Kathy Frederick also joined IR in mid-January serving as Computing Consultant on the Academic & Administrative Team. Ms. Frederick previously worked in the Controller's Office as Software Support Analyst.
Kathleen Koons became Information Delivery Assistant in IR's Information Management Group this past November. Kathleen, who was formerly a teacher, works in the circulation area at Fairchild.
Jim Tyler joins IR as archivist for a new collection. His position is a temporary one funded by a donor. Tyler served formerly as Assistant Rare Book Librarian at the Cornell University Division of Rare Books and Manuscript Collections.
Michael Wuench began his position as computer operator on the Communications and Computing Team of Technology Management in November.
The Year 2000 (Y2K) problem has been a major national concern over the last year, and Lehigh has been addressing this issue in a variety of ways. A Y2K Team was created at Lehigh to respond to administrative and ancillary computer systems issues. This team is headed by Manny Pena and reports directly to Rhonda Gross and Nelson Markley.
MAIN LEHIGH SYSTEMS
The Y2K Team is cooperating with many offices across the campus to ensure that our main business systems continue to meet our requirements into the 1999-2000 academic/fiscal year and the 2000 calendar year. The Y2K team has worked with the Controller's Office, Payroll, Human Resources and Budget to certify the readiness of the Payroll/Human Resources System for the year 2000. This certification process began with a 7-month phase in which the application was analyzed for year 2000 operational issues, after which corrections to the system's logic were developed and implemented. A 3-month system certification test period was concluded in December. In this phase, all system changes were verified, and a final set of repairs made to the software.
The Bursar's and Registrar's Offices, and the Y2K Team are currently testing the year 2000 readiness of our Billing & Receivables System. This phase follows an initial 8-month period of system analysis and remediation. This testing phase is scheduled to conclude by the beginning of March. Finally, the Y2K Team is continuing with extensive analysis and re-programming efforts to ensure the correct operation of our Student Records and Degree Audit Systems. These efforts, including appropriate testing involving several offices on campus, are scheduled to conclude in late April.
In addition, to meet the century change, many areas (Alumni, Development, undergraduate and graduate admissions, Controller's, Financial Aid) are undergoing conversions to the newest releases of their respective software packages. Certification testing will be occurring in these areas and is scheduled to be complete by June 1999.
LEHIGH-OWNED PCs
Lehigh's Y2K remediation efforts also include the identification and remediation of ancillary and embedded systems as well as Lehigh-owned PCs connected to the network. To accomplish the identification of PC-related problems, a networked-based inventory program will be run on each PC to analyze its Y2K readiness. The program, called NetInventory, will be automatically run on each PC connected to the Novell network beginning on February 1, 1999.
NetInventory collects Y2K compliance-related hardware and software information. The program has been extensively tested by Information Resources over the last two months and takes about 90 seconds to run. It will be run automatically on a monthly basis when a user logs in. Data gathered by the NetInventory program will be analyzed by each IR Team and reported to each department head by the end of March.
As an extra benefit, NetInventory also includes a program that can test personally owned and non-networked computers for Y2K hardware readiness. This program is available from the IR help desk or you can download it from the following web site: www.lehigh.edu/y2k/bv2000/bv2000.html.
If you have any questions or concerns about NetInventory, contact your IR College or Team Computing Consultants or Client Services Group Leader Tim Foley.
Brown Bag Book Reviews:
Friends Annual Dinner: Thursday, April 15th, Room 200, Linderman Library, Speaker to be announced.
In January, 1999, Lehigh University became a member of JSTOR, bringing a major electronic journal archive to the campus. JSTOR was established in 1994 as a pilot project by the Mellon Foundation to help libraries meet the space and budgetary challenges posed by the growing volume of scholarly research. JSTOR's charter participants include a diverse range of public and private colleges and universities of all sizes.
JSTOR will contain the complete runs of a minimum of 110 journal titles in 10 to 15 disciplines by the end of 1999, a collection called JSTORPhase I. At present, 69 journals are available. Lehigh's ASA catalog now includes direct links to the JSTOR archive for each journal. For example, search for the Journal of Economic Perspectives in ASA and you see the web link at the top of the page to JSTOR. If you look at the holdings, you will discover that the Lehigh subscription began with v.2 but JSTOR has v.1 as well. Users of the service must have an Acrobat reader loaded to view and print journal image pages.
Lehigh users will recognize most of these titles as core journals already present in print form in the Libraries. With JSTOR, users can retrieve complete copies of all articles printed in the journals—some dating back to the 1880s. The service is also unique in offering researchers a high resolution, scanned image of each journal page as it originally appeared.
JSTOR is an archive and does not mount current issues of the journals. JSTOR agreements with publishers involve a "moving wall" that defines the point at which the JSTOR archive stops and "current" issues start. In some cases, the moving wall is three years (meaning the last issue available in the JSTOR archive would be one published three years ago); in other cases it is five years.
JSTOR is available directly on the World Wide Web to Lehigh users at www.jstor. org. Access to the service, plus ample background information and journal lists area available at the site. To schedule a department or class demonstration, or to learn more about using JSTOR, contact your Client Services librarian.
Grace Swift
Schnabel, widow of James Heller Schnabel, Class of `31, left a bequest
of more than $800,000 to establish the James and Grace Schnabel Memorial
Endowment at Lehigh University. It was their wish that the Endowment be
used in the acquisition of library materials.
Mrs. Schnabel, born Grace Modene Swift in 1910, was a native of Lexington, North Carolina. She graduated in 1932 from the Lebanon Hospital Training School for Nurses in New York City and received her certification as a registered nurse in 1933. She worked as a registered nurse for AT&T for many years, moving to the rank of Supervising Nurse. On October 1, 1952 at the age of 42 she married Jim Schnabel in Bronxville, New York. The Schnabels resided in Connecticut for some years. After Jim Schnabel died in 1962, Mrs. Schnabel moved to Jupiter, Florida. She remained in close touch with Lehigh through the years until her death in 1998 at the age of 89.
James Schnabel, a native of the Lehigh Valley, came from a family of Lehigh University graduates. His father, William Russell Schnabel, graduated in 1905 with a degree in Chemical Engineering, and his brother, William Heller Schnabel, graduated in 1939, also with a degree in that field. William Schnabel also provided for Lehigh in his estate.
Information Resources expects to use the income generated from the endowment to support some of the popular electronic materials that are an increasingly important part of the library resources available to Lehigh students, faculty and staff.
Group Leader for Collection Development Christy Roysdon stated that "Our electronic offerings are a wonderful collection of high quality research databases and this is a timely gift to strengthen our ability to provide them. Few institutions have received endowments that include electronic resources; we hope this is the beginning of a trend."