LibraryIT Synergies and Consolidation Opportunities

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Library-IT Synergies and Consolidation
Opportunities

• Pat burns, Interim Dean
• CSU Libraries

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Outline

• Accepted models for Library-IT consolidation
• User support and services
• User training
• IT servers and systems
• Middleware
• Futures

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Accepted Models for Library-IT Consolidation

• IT and Libraries are commonly consolidated at
  many small schools/ community colleges
• Very rare at large, research universities, with
  the following exceptions (Burns conversations)
• Columbia
• Michigan State University

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Columbia

• Consolidated all of IT several years ago
• Mistake, subsequently split out
• Administrative computing
• Networking
• Academic computing (email, web, file storage)
• Effect
• Consolidating the central IT help desk with the
  Libraries reference desk has worked
  exceptionally well. Jim Neal, VP for
  Information Services University Librarian

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Michigan State University

• Consolidated central IT help desk in the Library
• Absolutely a no brainer and has worked better
  then we expected. Users are very happy with this
  arrangement. David Gift, VP for Libraries,
  Computing and Technology

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Lessons Learned

• In the new millennium, lessons learned should
  actually be learned The Dalai Lama
• Consolidate only where there are synergies
• Can overreach

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Recommendations for CSU
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User Support Services - Consolidate

• Consolidate user support in Morgan
• Reference/info. desk 4 FTE students
• IT help desk 1.5 FTE students
• Computer maintenance and repair 1 FTE
• Large format plotting (cost recovery)
• Why
• Improved services from a single source
• Information access is almost entirely digital
• Its where many students are anyway
• Synergies, cross training, cost savings

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User Training - Consolidate

• Training should be consolidated with the help
  desk to take advantage of shared knowledge base
• Ergo, also, move Fran Campana into Morgan
• Use the computer classrooms in Morgan and C142
  Clark as training facilities
• Space exists and has been identified

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IT Servers and Systems

• Collaborate
• Elevate level of quality of operations and
  management of Library servers to the same level
  of quality as central IT
• Server class hardware, redundancy, monitoring and
  statistics, alarming, upgrades
• Take advantage of newest hardware and
  technologies in the Libraries
• E.g. ACNS blade servers in main data center
• Consolidate file back-up and archival

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Middleware - Collaborate

• Evolve to use of eID to access Library services
• Single sign on for users
• More secure
• New technologies (federated authentication,
  already a joint project digital signatures)
• Joint development efforts
• Self-service web pages for reserving/accessing
• ETD submission
• Group study rooms
• Video conferencing facilities
• Digital materials, etc.

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Futures

• Strategy
• Central IT be responsible for the back-end IT
  infrastructure in the Libraries (invisible)
• Library IT be responsible for front-end
  instructional technology and services (visible)
• Jointly cooperate/collaborate on futures
• Digital repository
• Learning-IT Commons
• Etc.

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Questions

• Are most welcome