IS.Communication - October 2007

A Message from the Vice President

Welcome to the Fall 2007 issue of IS.Communications, the online newsletter of the Information Services Division. This issue contains approximately 25 reports of new products, services, and awards since the previous edition. While some of these reports are purely technical in nature and aimed at a specific audience, even a cursory review of these activities will reflect our commitment to continued improvement of information services and technologies in a wide variety of areas. The scope of our work ranges from classroom upgrades, to wireless connectivity in the student residences, to the latest information in library research databases.

James Estrada
Vice President for Information Services &
University Librarian

ADMINISTRATIVE COMPUTING

Student Withdrawal Process Streamlined    Details
Administrative Computing has completed the Student Withdrawal Workflow which streamlines the current process by electronically delivering student withdrawal information to various offices across campus.

School of Engineering Graduate Admissions Online Application
Graduate Engineering students can now apply to the University electronically. The long-term rollout of this project will include other schools.

Classroom Scheduling & Events Management Implementation    Details
The final implementation phase of CollegeNet R25 encompassed both the reservation and event management program as well as the calendar WebViewer.

Spam Blocker Added to StagWeb E-mail
The long-awaited addition of Sophos Pure Message spam blocking and anti-virus software has been installed for StagWeb email. An astounding 250,000 potential spam messages are caught daily by the product. On one day alone 320 virus infected emails were quarantined!

Oracle Upgrade    Details
Administrative Computing has upgraded to Oracle 10 which paves the way for the next major release of Banner 8.

COMPUTING & NETWORK SERVICES

Wireless Access Expanded    Details
Fall 2007 sees wireless internet access greatly expanded on campus.

Computer Order/Tracking System Launched    Details
In August, C&NS and the Controller’s Office launched a new web-based computer tracking system.

New Web Site "Students411" Launched    Details
On the site - www.fairfield.edu/students - both current and prospective students, along with their parents and the campus community, can get up-to-date information on all campus news and events.

"Switching to Mac" Classes Being Offered    Details
New Macintosh users are being offered “switcher” classes this fall.

DIMENNA-NYSELIUS LIBRARY

New Spaces for Collaboration in the Library    Details
Visit the Library to see the brand new Collaborative Work/Study Areas!

"How-to" Videos Available Online Via Library Website    Details
See the power of screencasting in teaching research skills. Students can now find various short how-to videos, or screencasts, strategically placed on the library’s website.

Historical Photographs of Fairfield U’s History    Details
Take a stroll through Fairfield University's history with Digital Collections@ DiMenna-Nyselius Library. The debut collection features over 140 photographs from the University’s earliest days.

Library Hosts Freshmen Book Discussions and Blog    Details
Librarians, faculty, RA’s, administrators and students talk about the freshmen summer reading book Lucky Child.

Three New Databases Introduced for Research    Details
The Library purchased three new databases: Proquest Curriculum Package, CQ Global Researcher, and NewspaperDirect PressDisplay.

Library Wins Gold 2007 Quality Improvement Award    Details
The DiMenna-Nyselius Library received the gold 2007 Connecticut Quality Improvement Award's Innovation Prize for their audio introductions to nursing and literary databases. Listen to the Library’s award winning podcasts.

"Best Bets" Guides Help Students Start Their Research    Details
“Best Bets” are subject-specific, online guides designed to help students who are beginning their research and to promote use of important library resources. Created for every student who asks, “How do I get started?”, these new online guides are just the ticket.

Library Makes a Movie    Details
Choose your Own Adventure - a fun summer project with the Media Center, alumni and the Library – is a movie making its debut in EN 11 Research Classes.

Looking for a Good Read?    Details
The Popular Book Collection (a.k.a. the McNaughton Collection, a leased service) is undergoing some changes to make the collection more engaging and easier to browse.

MEDIA CENTER

Videos Being Produced to Market Graduate Schools
The Media Center is producing two four-minute recruitment videos for the graduate programs in the School of Business and the School of Engineering. The videos will be streamed on the respective Schools' web pages.

New Green Movement Web Site Launched    Details
The Green Movement at Fairfield University recently got a new web site at: http://www.fairfield.edu/green_flash_open.html.

The (Spanish) Olive Talks About Jesuit Education    Details
Using an “olive” to tell the story, the Media Center is creating an animated video to help Jesuit business schools around the country orient new faculty about the history of Jesuit education.

Interviews Videotaped in Paris Being Prepared for Sale    Details
A series of interviews with top Jesuit educators from around the world were shot last year in Paris by the Media Center.

Voices of Others on iTunesU    Details
Nine half-hour programs from the series Voices of Others can be viewed on iTunesU at www.fairfield.edu/voicesofothers.

Media Equipment Reservations Online for Faculty and Students    Details
Faculty and students can now reserve media equipment online using their Stagcard ID number.