The Class of '07 got a jump-start on their academic experience at Lehigh University through a new program offered through the campus portal--the key to information at Lehigh.
Students were able to consult with their advisors online, select courses
online, and take the self-administered math readiness test. This innovative
approach to orientation, developed using Campus Pipeline's Luminis Portal
product, places Lehigh in a technology leadership position in the creative
use of student portals.
First year students became part of the Lehigh community in early June when e-mail accounts were created and the portal was made available to them. By mid-August more than 90% of first year students, including some connecting to Lehigh from as far away as Kashmir, had completed their course selections through this online process. Students were surveyed during August to assess perceptions of the portal's effectiveness. Preliminary results indicate that 90% of the students found the information presented to them through the portal useful. Students commented: "The portal was very self-explanatory and was a very nice and easy way to register for classes," "I found it very easy as opposed to coming to campus early to select courses or doing it through the mail," and "My experience using the portal was great, and I never had to look very far to find answers to my questions."
John Early, a senior analyst in Library and Technology Services' (LTS) Enterprise Systems Implementation group, noted that colleagues who worked on the technical aspects of the project were generally pleased with the outcome. Next year they expect to address some browser compatibility problems that cropped up during the debut of the program. Assistant Dean Lori Bolden coordinated much of the portal content; she felt that "overall it seemed like a good experience, especially for the first run." Carl Moses, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, who also worked on the portal, noted that "Our challenge is to develop a system that supports students as they cope with (complicated) choices while also providing a pretty streamlined process for them to express their course preferences after they make their decisions."
Another innovative feature of this year's orientation program was the summer reading assignment of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, to be read and discussed by first year students with faculty/staff facilitators. LTS provided the support of its "On the Same Page Lehigh" reading program with an in-depth web site on the book. The Friends of the Libraries' helped fund author Barbara Ehrenreich's visit to campus.
First year students, and indeed all residential students, enjoy the benefits
of the WIRED program and the recent upgrade of network infrastructure in
university residences. WIRED celebrates its tenth anniversary this fall;
see the story below. With the installation of new data switches in all residences
during 2003, students now have dedicated 10 megabit capacity at each network
port. This new infrastructure will also support more widespread wireless
computing capacity.
WIRED Celebrates 10th Anniversary
In 1986 Lehigh University was one of the first campuses in the country to provide network access to all residential students. The new 9600 baud Intecom telephone system provided voice connections via digital telephone instruments and data connections via an "ADI" (asynchronous data interface) at each port. By 1993 Lehigh had begun converting campus data access to a 10 megabit shared network using fiber optic cable and new data switches independent of the telephone system. This faster and more versatile networking was introduced to students first in Taylor College where 35 students who had their own personal computers participated in the initial pilot for WIRED or "Worldwide Information Resources in Every Dorm". WIRED provided students with technical support for connecting their computers to the network and with licensed software they could access over the network.
The program grew as the residences were converted to the new network and
as more students 
came to campus with computers. A select core of undergraduates, often sophomore
and junior computing majors, were trained as consultants so that they could
assist fellow students in their rooms, including during evenings and weekends.
The consultant program continues to offer a valuable training opportunity
for students. By 1996 fraternities and sororities were included in the new
network and some 1,700 students elected to participate, bringing personal
computers to campus and paying the required fee. In 1998 the last residential
facilities, the Saucon Valley apartments, were converted to the new network.
Currently all students in university residences are part of the WIRED
program and receive convenient in-house hardware and software support, funded
by the technology fee. For fall 2003 seventy students have been enlisted
as consultants working under WIRED staff Monica Booth and Bruce Eisenhard.
With the installation of new data switches in all residences during 2003,
students now have dedicated 10 megabit capacity at each network port. This
new infrastructure will also support more widespread wireless computing capacity.
Currently the common areas in six residences are wireless with plans to
progress until all common areas, and as many rooms as possible, are also
wireless.
WIRED Highlights
1993 - Pilot with 35 students in Taylor College
1996 - Fraternity and sorority houses on the Hill converted to new network
1996 - 1700 students elect to participate in WIRED
1998 - Saucon Village apartments converted to new network
2000 - 2,750 students elect to participate in WIRED
2003 3,100+ students in residences part of WIRED assisted by 70 WIRED consultants
Six Public Sites Upgraded with New Computers
Over the summer 139 computers were upgraded by LTS at the 6 public sites
listed below. In addition new computers were placed in a number of classrooms
that are being upgraded. These new computers have flat screen LCD monitors,
512 mb 
RAM, front side USB and audio ports, and CDRW/DVD combo drives. Zip drives
are no longer installed; alternative media for storage include user LAN
space, USB keychain drives purchased by users, and CD or floppy media. USB
keychain drives are available at the Lehigh University bookstore.
Fritz Engineering Lab 605 (25 computers)
Grace Hall 28 (33 computers)
Seeley G. Mudd 464 (18 computers)
Packard Lab 502 (18 computers)
Whitaker Laboratory 257 (13 computers)
Fairchild Martindale Computing Center 180 (34 computers)
25 Million+ New York Times Articles Online7 Number 3
Library and Technology Services has purchased the new ProQuest Historical New York Times product for use by faculty and students. This is a fully digitized version of the complete backfile of the newspaper covering 1851 through December 31, 1999. Every issue has been digitized cover-to-cover and the full text is searchable using basic keyword or advanced search techniques. All content—news stories, editorials, photos, graphics and advertisements are included and can be printed to an attached printer. Searches can also be restricted to certain categories of articles, such as obituaries, wedding and birth notices, editorials, legal notices, losses by fire, reviews, real estate transfers and more.
Readers can view the articles separately or in context of the original
page. ProQuest president Joe Reynolds described the project as "an unprecedented
conversion effort, comprising nearly three million pages and over 25 million
articles" which will "allow researchers to find information about every
aspect of American history from 1851 forward." This offers an extremely attractive
alternative to using either the printed New York Times Index or the
microfilm version of the articles. Go to the library's Database Finder to
link to the Historical New York Times. For tips on printing, use the "more
info" link associated with this product on the Database Finder page.
New Scanner Simplifies Microfilm Access by Gail Kriebel
This fall Library and Technology Services is rolling out an exciting new digital approach to microform access. The microform scanning station currently being tested in the Fairchild Martindale Lending Services Office represents a fresh solution to the problem of obtaining clear, readable copy from material stored on microfilm or microfiche. The user friendly scanning station is expected to improve access to the libraries' extensive microform collections including retrospective journal runs, educational research, early American literature, early newspapers, and government documents.
The new station includes a scanner that transforms pages of microform into tiff files and saves them in a folder. Test users have been delighted by the opportunity to save material for future reference without the expense of copying. Although the new station makes excellent high resolution 400 dpi copies on letter, legal or ledger size paper for 25¢ per page, most users will probably opt for free scanning. After scanning, users can chose to email the pages, save them on a CD, in their personal LAN space, or to a portable USB storage device.
During setup and testing, the microform scanning station is being housed in the Fairchild Martindale Lending Services Office on the main floor of the library. Later this fall, when LAN access is secured, it will be moved to the public area near the microform on the second floor. Until then, users are encouraged to ask at the Fairchild Martindale Library Circulation Desk for a staff member or supervisor who can provide instruction for and access to the scanner.
19th Century American Journals Online by Judy McNally
Library and Technology Services has recently provided access to the 33 electronic journals in the Making of America Project. This collection contains twenty-three popular periodicals including literary and political magazines, as well as Scientific American, Manufacturer and Builder, and Garden and Forest: A Journal of Horticulture, Landscape Art, and Forestry. The longest run is for The North American Review, 1815-1900. The titles can be searched in ASA or found individually on the Library Services Electronic Journals web page.
A collaborative project between Cornell University, the University of Michigan, and the Library of Congress, these online versions of nineteenth century print journals were digitized and made available through the Library of Congress's American Memory Project. To see the most complete listing of the titles in this project, connect to the Library of Congress site at (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/moahtml/snchome.html). The uncorrected OCR text is searchable and each individual digitized page can be viewed and printed. Lehigh may also own the journals in this collection in print or on microform; a search in ASA, the online catalog, will clarify the options available.
Other new electronic journals include 47 new electronic journals added to the JSTOR Arts & Sciences II collection bringing the total number of titles in this collection to 122. The newly added electronic journals enhance the interdisciplinary nature of this collection by including titles in subject areas such as African Studies, Middle East Studies, Classical Studies and the History of Science as well as adding content in Arabic, Hebrew, and Hindi.
Freedom, Security and the USA Patriot Act: Do We Have to Choose?
At 4 pm on Thursday, September 25th, in room 200 Linderman Library, University
General Counsel Frank Roth, American Studies Director John Pettegrew, Librarian
Gail Kriebel, and Immigration Specialist Gisela Nansteel will discuss this
law's impact on Lehigh University and the nation. This law has been controversial
because it contains what are widely 
perceived as new restrictions on civil liberties. It is a very timely topic
because there are active efforts underway to amend the Act, to increase
its scope and to limit its scope.
On October 25th, 2001, six weeks after September 11th, Congress passed the "Uniting and Strengthening American by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" Act (USA Patriot Act). The law broadly expands the powers of federal law enforcement agencies investigating cases involving foreign intelligence and international terrorism. The legislation amends the laws governing the FBI's access to business records, including those in libraries and bookstores. One provision orders any person or institution served with a search warrant not to disclose that such a warrant has been served or that records have been produced pursuant to the warrant. It also expands prior requirements mandating that colleges and universities contribute to a national database on international students (SEVIS) within 21 days of any changes including major, financial or immigration status, address, etc.
The primary effort to extend the anti-terrorist powers is The Domestic Security Enhancement Act ("Patriot Act II") introduced in February 2003. More recently the Justice Department began a multi-city month long public relations effort in support of these Acts, led by Attorney General Ashcroft who appeared at the new National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on August 20th. Others, including a bipartisan group of Senators, have introduced a bill to ensure that the secret authorizations of government wiretaps in foreign intelligence investigations have some kind of public accounting, at least the numbers of such surveillance activities. This bill is called the FISA Oversight bill because it pertains to actions by the court set up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Join the debate and find out more about this topic by attending this session.
At the Library Materials Center on the Mountaintop campus, some 50,000+
books were packed, stored, and then reshelved on new compact shelving. Volumes
at that location can be retrieved for users in one work day.