Library Technology Overview
Public Access
RIT Library
has 210 public use computers as well as 483 active ethernet jacks
(more than 80 in public areas for patron laptop use) on all four
floors, including study rooms. More than 400 other jacks are available
for free activation.
The library purchased and installed the first public wireless equipment
on campus in January of 2000 as part of a joint pilot project with
the Networking Group of RIT's Information Technology Services Department.
Two ceiling mounted wireless access points were purchased for all
four public floors. They broadcast a wireless signal to all public
areas of the library with some signal spillage into staff areas,
the College of Liberal Arts building, and some areas outside of
the library.
Simultaneously the library began circulation of 15 wireless equipped
laptops for patron use which has grown to 27 laptops with an additional
18 more to be added soon. Wireless laptops are very popular with
students and are the second highest circulating item in the library.
Each is equipped with Microsoft Office and Internet browsers.
In addition, patrons may use their own wireless laptops in the library
or will soon be able to borrow library wireless cards for their
laptops from the second floor VIA computer lab. VIA provides support
to patrons during all library open hours for wireless cards and
laptops as well as laptop software.
VIA
LAB @ Wallace Library
is a place
in which anyone can get their school work done, do research, learn
something new and have fun as well. VIA LAB's more than 80 personal
computers with Internet access are available from early morning
to late at night.
A range of technology
and research related workshops
are available to the public in a 30-seat classroom area in order
to learn new skills or brush up on old ones.
And knowledgable
VIA Assistants are on duty during all library hours to help out
with Word and Excel, or software like Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver
and many others.
Library Services
More than 150
online
databases are available through the Wallace Library website
to meet the diverse research and reference needs of the RIT community.
More than 50 of these databases feature full content -- scholarly
journals, popular and general magazines, newspapers, conference
proceedings, encyclopedias, case studies, statistical data, legal
information and much more.
In addition,
more than 12,000 online full-text journals are accessible via Wallace
Library's E-Content Finder searchable by title and taking the user
directly to an individual journal's front end whenever possible.
All electronic resources are available to patrons 24 hours a day
& 7 days a week, and are also accessible from off-campus via
the library's EZProxy server which authenticates the user based
on his RIT online account.
Serving the
RIT community as well as distance learners with interlibrary loan
and document delivery services, the informal motto of the Information
Delivery Services (IDS) department is "if we don't have it we'll
get it." Using the ILLiad interlibrary loan management system and
Ariel document delivery software, the department consistently achieves
same-day processing and turnaround and has a 97% fill-rate for requests
placed by RIT Libraries' patrons.
Connect
NY is an exciting new enhancement to RIT Libraries' implementation
of Millenium. It is a consortium of five academic libraries in New
York State (Rochester Institute of Technology, Colgate University,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, St. Lawrence University, and Vassar
College) sharing their holdings to create a unified collection of
more than three million items available to their patrons. RIT's
Wallace Library was instrumental in the project coordination, web
development and marketing of Connect NY which often provides the
delivery of an item from a member library within 48 hours of the
request.
Electronic
course reserves make materials available to students on the
Internet, 24 hours a day & 7 days a week via Wallace Library's
website. This expands the kinds of materials professors can currently
place on reserve with links to online resources, digitized images,
and more. To comply with copyright guidelines, all copyright protected
materials are password protected and limited to students enrolled
in the class.
To make the
RIT Libraries more accessible to the public beyond our walls, a
real time chat
service, One
2 One, gives patrons access to reference librarians throughout
the day for answers to questions in their subject specialty.
The One 2 One web page lists the subject specialties covered and
gives access to general information as well. By clicking on a link,
a patron accesses a web application in a browser window through
which they can chat in real time with the selected specialist.
Tech Services
The library
uses an integrated library system, Millenium, for the management
of all holdings and assets. Developed by Innovative
Interfaces, Inc., Millenium implements a wide variety of modules
including OPAC, WebPAC, cataloging, circulation, acquisitions and
serials, and stores its information in an Oracle database.
WorldCat,
the Online Computer Library Center
(OCLC) Online Union Catalog, is used by the cataloging department
to create bibliographic records in MARC format. This is done either
by editing existing records or inputting original records for materials
added to the library's collection. The records are exported into
Wallace Library's online catalog EINSTEIN.
Worldcat is
also used for resource sharing through interlibrary loan processes.
Library staff either use WorldCat directly, or access it through
CatME, the Cataloging MicroEnhancer,
which is OCLC's off-line editing software. In cooperation with the
acquisitions department, OCLC's PromptCat
service is used to automatically select bibliographic records from
OCLC and embed vendor invoice information within those records.
The records are then transfered via FTP into the library's online
catalog.
The cataloging
department is currently investigating the Cooperative
Online Resource Catalog (CORC).
Nearly all of
RIT Libraries' ordering is done electronically through online vendors.
Our largest supplier is Yankee Book
Peddler whose web-based, interactive bibliographic information
service, GOBI, provides access
to approximately 2 million titles. This utility allows for quick
turnaround, high fill rates and the ability to download PromptCat
cataloging and electronic invoicing though OCLC.
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