| February 15, 2006 | Vol 7. No. 12 |
Wireless Networking Now Available in Residence Halls
Wireless networking or “WiFi,” has been a popular part of our campus networking infrastructure for several years. Beginning with the Bouwhuis Library, the wireless network has grown to cover the majority of the campus, including Old Main, Lyons Hall, Churchill Tower and more. Students, in particular, are heavy users of this easy and convenient means of attaching to both the campus network and the Internet.
As of the spring 2006 semester, wireless network connectivity is now available in Eastwood Hall, Bosch Hall and Frisch Hall, as well. Plans for expansion into Palisano Pavilion as well as other residence halls are underway. Any laptop computer or other portable WiFi device can be used to connect to the campus network in these buildings, using the same configuration that is used on the rest of campus. If you need assistance with connecting to the wireless network, please call the ITS Help Desk at Ext. 2299.
Finally, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using a wireless network connection. While it is more convenient and mobile, a wireless connection will generally be slower and potentially less secure than a wired connection. Keep this in mind when deciding whether to connect your computer to the campus network.
LibQual+ Library Survey in Progress
This spring the Canisius library will join with over 500 libraries in North America and Europe in a project to define and measure library service quality. Along with the other libraries, we will administer a Web-based survey called LibQUAL+. You may remember that Canisius participated in 2003. As a result of the 2003 survey, the library made a number of improvements, including better signage, additional group study rooms, and new electronic resources, especially in the sciences. Descriptive material about the project and lists of participants are available at the LibQUAL+ Website. http://www.libqual.org/
Again this year, the library will randomly select approximately 2,000 members of the Canisius community to respond to questions developed to help identify how well the library meets the community’s expectations of service and how to define areas for improvement. We will also be able to compare perceptions of service quality here at Canisius with data from our peer institutions. Although aggregate results will be reported back to the Canisius library and shared with other participants, identifying links between responses and the respondents E-mail address will be destroyed at Texas A&M.
If you are among those selected to complete the survey this spring, the librarians hope you will take the opportunity to help us learn what the Canisius community thinks about library services and what new initiatives we should undertake. Questions or comments can be sent to Barbara Boehnke, associate director for collection services, at boehnkeb@canisius.edu, or Ext. 2937.
Higgins named Interim Director of Archives
Betsey Higgins (higgins2@canisius.edu, Ext. 2916) has been named interim director of archives following the departure of Karen Bordonaro, PhD. Higgins will now be responsible for offering assistance to those who use the Canisius College Archives or Special Collections, in addition to her duties as a reference librarian. Before coming to Canisius College in 2002, she worked in the Buffalo & Erie County Library. Congratulations, Betsey!
More Book Borrowing Available Through Connect NY
In August 2005, Canisius College joined Connect NY, a consortium for direct patron borrowing and rapid delivery of books. Now, Pace University has joined Connect NY. Pace has schools of arts & science, computer science, nursing, business, education and law. The Pace library collection will reflect these disciplines. The addition of Pace brings more than one million additional volumes to Connect NY. The total for Connect NY now stands at 5.6 million items and 2.9 million titles, of which 70 percent are held by a single library.
If you look for a book at library.canisius.edu, (the Canisius library catalog) and Canisius does not own it, press the Connect NY icon, and the book will probably be found in the consortium catalog of 10 other libraries. Normal delivery time is 48 hours.
Special Library Hours
Check the library’s Web site http://library.canisius.edu/library/hours.html for special hours of operation during the Presidents’ Day weekend and spring recess.
Do you have questions, comments, or suggestions for articles you would like to see published in the LIS News? Please let us know: lis_comments@canisius.edu