All you need is the ability to read books, the desire to learn, and the time to do it.
—Eric Lease Morgan1
While there is no way to know all the specific tasks you will be assigned (or need to take on) in your role as systems librarian, the previous three chapters have given you a good overview of tools and technologies. In this chapter, we’ll touch on a few additional issues that you should be aware of, starting with the most important application in your library: the integrated library system.
Integrated library system (ILS) management is one area in which your library background will be essential. Without an understanding of cataloging fundamentals, for example, it is nearly impossible to understand the ILS needs of a cataloging department. As one library systems coordinator stated, “I couldn’t do this job effectively without prior knowledge of MARC or cataloguing standards—everything else I can see learning on the job.”
Managing an ILS requires attention to issues as varied as:
• Regularly backing up patron and bibliographic data
• Maintaining the ILS server and database
• Creating and running reports
• Technical support for ILS users
• Customizing the display of your public access catalog
• Managing access to and setting up security for staff modules
• Installing client software on staff workstations
• Serving as the liaison between your library and an ILS vendor
• Keeping current with new versions and features, and coordinating any needed upgrades
• Testing connections between the ILS and any linked external databases
• Setting up policies in conjunction with other library staff
• Implementing new or additional modules
In many cases, ILS management will usually be carried out by staff at your library system or consortium, and you will serve as their local liaison. In a stand-alone library, however, someone needs to take responsibility for each of the areas in the preceding list, as well as for any other ILS issues that may arise.
For a discussion of managing an ILS migration, see Chapter 11.
Mobile devices are not given enough attention in most libraries. In his report on mobile computing in libraries, Cody Hansen asks librarians what it will take for us to consider mobile computing as more than a passing fad:
What evidence would provide a good indication that the day had come for your library to focus concerted efforts on mobile services? If nearly all Americans owned cell phones? Maybe if a large percentage of those phone owners demonstrably used their device to access the internet? Perhaps if smartphone sales began to approach sales of PCs? If major information service providers were shifting their focus from the desktop to mobile devices? If the trend turned away from mobile devices mimicking the functions of desktop computers, and instead desktops began to emulate mobiles? Maybe if there was evidence that traditional desktop connectivity wasn’t reaching people who could be reached on their mobile devices?
If so, then that day is today.2
In May 2011, 84 percent of smartphone users and 15 percent of other cell phone users in the U.S. reported that they use the internet on a cell phone.3 Libraries should be providing services to our patrons on these devices, and it falls to the systems librarian to explore what devices are out there, what makes them different, and which ones the library needs to focus on going forward.
Just as in the PC market, the smartphone market has several different operating systems, each of which comes with its own strengths, limitations, and—let’s not forget—application store. Some libraries, such as the Hennepin County (MN) Library System, offer mobile library apps to cater to as many operating systems as possible (www.hclib.org/pub/info/mobileapp.cfm). Others, such as the (Washington) DC Public Library, start with an iPhone app (dclibrary.org/appstore) and then see what their patrons demand. Your job will be to evaluate your options (considering both tablet computers and mobile phones), compare them to the usage patterns of your patron base, and decide what’s best for your library.
Preparing the library for mobile users starts with making our website and catalogs mobile device–friendly. One study found that mobile device users visiting a mobile-friendly version of a site were successful (i.e., were able to complete the task at hand) 64 percent of the time. However, mobile users who had to navigate the full (desktop version) of the site were only 58 percent successful.4 This means that we need to revisit our websites and online catalogs, and create mobile-friendly versions to help our patrons find what they’re looking for more efficiently on their mobile devices. Once that initial step is done, it’s time to consider designing apps for mobile devices; the same study found that users’ success rate jumped to 76 percent when they used an app to complete the task.
With so many different mobile devices to design for, it can be overwhelming to try and figure out where to start. Many web design blogs have helpful posts and guides to help you get started:
• Smashing Magazine (www.smashingmagazine.com) is a great place to look for design tips, and it even has a “Best of” category where you can find a list of links to articles on mobile web development (www.smashingmagazine.com/guidelines-for-mobile-web-development) or browse its series of articles on current trends in design (www.smashingmagazine.com/tag/trends) to see what other organizations are doing.
• Six Revisions (www.sixrevisions.com) provides articles and tutorials on web design trends, including those related to creating mobile websites and apps. Its article on building web apps the right way (www.sixrevisions.com/web-applications/buildingmobile-web-apps-the-right-way-tips-and-techniques) and its best practices guide (www.sixrevisions.com/web-development/mobile-web-design-best-practices) are just two of the many handy guides you’ll find.
• Mashable (www.mashable.com) is one of my favorite sites for learning about new tools to make my job easier. Its list of tools for creating a mobile version of your website (www.mashable.com/2010/12/16/create-mobilesite-tools) in particular can help you in your efforts to provide a mobile-friendly site.
For library-specific resources related to mobile web and application development, check out Lori Barile’s article in College & Research Libraries.5 You can also review what other libraries have done in the mobile arena by checking out the Library Success Wiki’s M-Libraries page (www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=M-Libraries), which lists libraries that have mobile applications, websites, or other mobile services.
In addition to thinking about how best to serve our patrons who use mobile devices, we need to consider how we can use these new systems to improve library services. For example, when the staff members at the University of Northern British Columbia’s Geoffrey R. Weller Library noticed that in-person reference questions were decreasing, they decided to experiment with a roving reference model with the help of handheld tablets.6
Networking in libraries can encompass a variety of issues; as always, the specific networking knowledge you’ll need depends on the needs and technological environment of your institution. In all but the smallest library, you will probably at least be involved with administering an internet-connected local area network (LAN). At a minimum, this network requires ensuring that the server(s) operate consistently, that users can access the internet, and that the client machines (whether there are five or 500 of these) can connect to the server and access shared resources such as files and printers. Depending on your institutional environment, you also may be involved in ensuring your network security through the deployment of a hardware or software firewall, while ensuring that the firewall is flexible enough to allow authorized access to online subscription databases and other desired resources. (In larger or consortial environments, the firewall may be maintained at the system’s end.)
Software packages such as Microsoft Office may also be installed on your server and accessed by the client machines, rather than being installed and used from the hard drive of each client. Decisions on what to make available through your network will usually depend on the size and needs of your library and the reliability of your network server and connections.
Most libraries currently employ some form of Ethernet network, but some institutions are moving toward replacing or supplementing standard Ethernet cabling with fiber connections, and many are adding wireless connectivity. This network may be small enough to run off of one server, or it may employ multiple servers and server software packages (including Linux and Microsoft). If your website and/or email server is locally hosted, you will need to support internet services, as well as local functions on your network. You may also wish to set up some related locally hosted services, such as email lists or newsletters for your staff and/or patrons.
Client machines may be full-fledged workstations running a client operating system such as Windows, OSX, or Ubuntu, or they may be thin client machines that only gain functionality when they are connected to your network. If you need to add cabling and additional workstations, you may also be involved in planning for new wiring centers, or you’ll need to at least add switches to expand the number of clients you can support. Here, you will also need to be cognizant of licensing issues. On a Microsoft-based network, for example, you will need to purchase a client access license for each additional workstation you connect to your server. If you are interviewing for a systems librarian position, be sure to ask questions about the type and size of network you’ll be responsible for supporting.
Wireless networks are becoming the norm in many organizations. This is a useful way to avoid the annoyance of running cable everywhere you want to drop a network node—and, of course, as a way to let patrons use their own devices to connect to the internet. In a wireless environment, infrared or radio signals are used to transmit network data between network nodes and a wireless access point (which works much the same way as a traditional network hub), allowing you to place workstations and other devices with wireless network adapters throughout your building—and move them around without having to drop new cable. Wireless networks can also be combined with existing wired versions, providing an alternative method of network expansion.
Useful resources for those interested in establishing wireless LANs in libraries include Bill Drew’s Wireless Librarian blog (archived at www.billthelibrarian.com/category/wireless-librariesblog), which contains vendor information, article citations, and useful links. Also check out The Wireless Networking for Libraries pathfinder at WebJunction (www.webjunction.org/content/webjunction/documents/wj/
WebJunction_Pathfinder_Wireless_Networking_for_Libraries.html), which provides access to many resources on the topic. Other sources include:
• “Wireless Success Stories” through WebJunction, resourcesharing.webjunction.org/wireless-success
• Wireless Networks in Libraries (Library Technology Reports v. 41, no. 5) by Marshall Breeding (Chicago: ALA TechSource, 2005)
• “Look Ma, No Wires! Or the Ten Steps of Wireless Networking” by James L. Glover (Computers in Libraries, March 2001, www.infotoday.com/cilmag/mar01/glover.htm)
• The Joy of Computing: Recipes for a 5-Star Library by Chris Peters (San Francisco: MaintainIT Project of TechSoup, www.techsoupforlibraries.org/cookbooks/recipes-for-a-5-star-library)
• “Create a Smart Wireless Network for Your Library” by Louise Alcorn (WebJunction, January 10, 2012, www.webjunction.org/content/webjunction/documents/webjunction/
Create_a_Smart_Wireless_Network_for_Your_Library.html)
If you are thinking about creating a wireless LAN in your institution, you should also be aware of the potential security implications. First and foremost, change default names, set passwords, and create a separate network for library staff from the one that is accessible by the public. This way, patrons are less likely to access something you don’t want them to access.
Related networking issues involve providing consistent access for your library community, whether users are on- or off-site. Your library or consortium may choose, for example, to run remote requests for access to IP-restricted licensed databases through a proxy server so that you can authenticate such requests against your patron database (or by username and password). Proxy servers permit remote access by handling remote requests and passing them through to vendor databases as if the requests were originating from an IP address within your network. Software proxies such as EZproxy (www.oclc.org/ezproxy) that run on an institution’s server (bypassing any requirement for users to make modifications to the proxy settings in their individual browser software) are popular in all types of libraries. These also let you gather statistics on remote usage of your electronic resources. Some ILS vendors also provide their own remote authentication products.
Lastly, you might be involved in creating a virtual private network (VPN) environment for library staff if you have a number of telecommuters or others who need access to local resources from remote locations. A VPN allows users coming in over the internet to be recognized as if they were coming from within the local network, while adding encryption to protect your institution’s data while it is being transmitted over the public internet. In this way, a cataloger working from home who logs in to your VPN, for example, will have access to modify item records in your ILS database just as if she were working on location at your institution.
An Interview with Ruth Kneale, Systems Librarian
Ruth Kneale, systems librarian, joined the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) 9 years ago, after serving as the librarian/webmaster at the Gemini Observatory for 11 years. She talked to us about being a “jack of all trades” systems librarian.
Tell us a bit about your library.
I don’t have a library in any traditional sense of the word. I have a bookcase with one shelf of books, mainly conference proceedings and computer manuals, but that’s it. I do have a well-populated online library and archive for my staff (spread out over three states), so distributed information delivery is very important. I serve neither the public nor any academic researchers, only the observatory staff, but those services can run the gamut from obtaining a list of citation references to installing a new printer.
Are you the only person working in systems? Do you have to deal with a separate IT staff?
I am, and I do. I provide systems support for my project team, but we are part of a larger organization that I must interface with regularly for services like email accounts, network security, etc. For example, I may spec up and order a new server or workstation, but I then interact with the Computing Infrastructure Services (CIS) department to get an IP address assigned within our subnet, verify the wires at my end are connected to the right router at their end, and add them to the domain. I make sure that all my staff’s computers are running the latest enterprise antivirus software, but the licenses we use are provided by CIS.
And anytime I need to move the servers around in the computer lab—or move a server into the lab—I have to coordinate the space I use in our rack with the CIS manager. I have developed good relationships with the CIS staff I work with regularly, and I’ve learned a lot from them over the years.
Do you deal with the vendors who provide your systems or do you have an administrator who does that?
While I suspect my vendors are not the same as in most libraries, I do deal with them directly and provide the administrative support. For example, we use a proprietary product data management system for our electronic documentation processes, we store all of our files in the “vault,” and we use a workflow process to manage our reviews, approvals, and esignatures. I deal directly with the vendor to get our yearly maintenance renewal pricing and then provide that to our procurement department. I administer the system on our servers, including setting up accounts and permissions, and setting up, maintaining, and changing the workflow as we need. When we have a problem I can’t solve, I deal directly with technical support and apply any fixes or patches to the server myself.
Can you tell us a little bit about your typical day as a systems librarian?
The one thing I can count on in my job is that I rarely have a typical day! Some of the tasks I’m regularly given include:
• Administer and/or troubleshoot our electronic document management system or other client software packages (including things like getting webcams set up, helping configure backup programs, installing software, configuring printers, etc.)
• Find published papers or help complete a bibliographic reference list for a paper going in for publication
• Administer and manage ATST’s web content management system, Drupal (www.drupal.com), and maintain the website (which can range from a quick 30-second update of a page to a dedicated chunk of time setting up a restricted website for an upcoming review and everything in between)
• Administer, manage, and maintain the NSO websites and migrate them into Drupal
• Provide configuration management process support to the staff by shepherding critical documents through our workflow and tracking their progress
• Administer and update our systems database, which is a one-stop-shop for information about all our project documentation, such as reports, technical notes, specifications, drawings, staff publications, and all the other documents generated by a construction project
Most of my days involve at least half of these tasks.
What have you learned on the job that you wish someone had told you in library school?
That working as a nontraditional librarian can be just as satisfying and purposeful as working as a traditional one—and it does not mean I’m not a librarian.
What is your advice to other “jack of all trades” systems librarians?
Keep your calm, pace yourself, and take breaks. Expect crises to come in bunches, and practice your juggling. Keep your mind open—many times a solution to a problem won’t come from where you expected it. Never underestimate the importance of playing with technology. Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
What is your favorite part of your job?
The fact I almost never get a chance to be bored. I definitely do not do the same thing every day, and even when the tasks I work on fall within a certain category, I can guarantee that today’s issue is completely different from yesterday’s issue. I also love that I get to play with technology and then demonstrate it to our team. Many things the staff thought were not useful in the workplace I have been able to show otherwise, and now they’re in common use.
Least favorite?
Software upgrades and system rebuilds, by far!
Where is your favorite place to turn for assistance and information related to systems (specific websites, groups, etc.)?
I get a lot of general systems-related news from the SYSLIB-L list. Being a Drupal administrator, I also belong to several Drupal-related listservs and get a lot of help and information from those. I also have been known to use Lifehacker (www.lifehacker.com) as a starting point for problem research. I have plenty of O’Reilly tech books on my reference shelf, and there isn’t a knowledgebase I’ve met yet that I can’t get some useful information from.
Anything else you want to share with us? Anything else you think future systems (or accidental systems) librarians should know about?
This is a great profession where you can let your geek flag fly in tandem with your librarian one! You are not alone—there may not be a lot of us out there, but we are there, and we’re happy to help you.
As is true of all electronic equipment, computer components and hardware inevitably fail, experience glitches, and require upgrading in order to take advantage of more current technology. Especially if you are in a larger institution with hundreds of workstations, sending machines out for repair or upgrade whenever needed can become prohibitively expensive and time-consuming. Luckily, many common tasks, from adding RAM to swapping cables to installing network cards, are easy to master. A willingness to tinker is often all that is needed to give you a solid background in maintaining computer hardware and resolving hardware issues.
As academic systems librarian Terry Ballard noted even back in 1994, “When a piece of equipment is broken, the only procedure is to send it out for repair. However, I have found that only one percent of my cases need to be sent out. As someone with no technical background and little formal education in computer science, I feel pretty good about that score. The point is not that I am an extraordinary troubleshooter—it’s that if I can learn to do this anybody can.”7
You can begin hardware troubleshooting with a fairly basic set of tools; for many jobs, all you will need is a Phillips screwdriver. If you find that you often need to delve into your machines’ innards, you may wish to invest in a small computer technician’s toolkit, flashlight, and other basics. Familiarize yourself with the basic layout of PCs; take the time to open and explore a case before you need to do so in an emergency. You can use older, discarded machines to practice on or to strip for parts—and newer PCs are often lighter, easier to open, and better-laid-out, which means that working on them will be a breeze if you have learned on older machines.
You will also need to become comfortable troubleshooting common problems with computer software and configurations. (Find more on researching such issues in Chapter 6.) Some preventative maintenance will go a long way toward preventing many system problems, as will regular backups or drive imaging. On internet-connected terminals, make it a habit to remove spyware, malware, and adware with a program such as Ad-Aware (www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware.php) because these unwanted programs can make machines run sluggishly after a while. Defragment disks, back up Windows registries, and otherwise make a habit of maintaining your PCs. Much of this can be automated to run at night in a network environment when it will be least disruptive to staff and patrons.
If you are in a large, spread-out institution, or if you have WAN (wide area network) responsibilities, look into remote-access software such as pcAnywhere (www.symantec.com/business/pcanywhere) or its free competitor, VNC (www.realvnc.com/products/free/4.1).8 These programs will allow you to access both your server and clients from your own desktop, saving you the time and trouble of having to visit a malfunctioning workstation on your own or to sit at the server to make configuration changes or add users.
In an open environment such as a library, ensuring the security of the computing environment is integral to the smooth functioning of library systems. Whether by accident or by design, patrons are prone to wreaking havoc with unprotected machines, changing settings, releasing viruses, deleting files, or saving pornographic images to the desktop. Since PCs by default assume that their users have certain access to their machines, you need to prevent such problems by locking down public workstations and protecting them from patron interference.
In a Windows environment, for example, start by setting a BIOS password on all machines and set all of your public PCs to boot off of the hard drive before accessing any other drive. Your attempts at locking down a Windows desktop, for example, will be futile if users can simply insert a system disk and boot to a command prompt.
There are a number of ways to control a desktop, which may be used alone or in combination, according to your situation. You may also wish to use these methods in conjunction with software such as Norton Ghost (us.norton.com/ghost) or Clonezilla (www.clonezilla.org), which allow for easy imaging and restoration of workstations. Another option is to invest in a program such as Fortres Grand: Clean Slate (www.fortresgrand.com/products/cls/cls.htm) or Faronics Deep Freeze (www.faronics.com/enterprise/deep-freeze), each of which restores your original system configuration, settings, and files with each reboot. Such software might be most useful in a computer lab environment, when you wish to allow access to Windows functions for training purposes but still want to keep users from permanently damaging settings or configurations.
The first approach to securing public machines is installing a public PC management application, which locks unauthorized users out of such danger zones as My Computer and the Windows Start menu. Realize that you will have to do some configuring so that patrons can still access the programs and services you want them to be free to access. You should be able to install security software on your server and configure group settings, so you don’t have to create new settings for each machine you want to protect. Such security software has been discussed at length on Web4Lib; search the archives (www.web4lib.org) of the list for testimonials and warnings. (Find information on mailing lists for systems librarians in Chapter 7.)
You might also decide to control access to the desktop through setting network rights and permissions for certain users and groups. For example, use group policies to lock patron logins out of changing settings, and/or limit their logins to accessing only one program (such as Firefox on catalog terminals or internet stations). It should go without saying that you need to discourage library staff from leaving staff passwords on display or making their passwords simple to guess. Create written policies for your institution that delineate what users will be allowed to do on public machines; you will probably want to prohibit anyone from loading personal software onto library workstations, for example.
Security software or network policies, however, are insufficient protection for your workstations. Protect each computer in your building, as well as your network server, with reputable antivirus software and be sure to keep your virus definitions updated daily. (You can probably download definitions onto your server and then update workstations from the local network.) Major antivirus vendors include Symantec (Norton Antivirus), Kaspersky, and BitDefender. Invest in a site license or in sufficient client licenses to protect all of your machines. With the proliferation of emailborne viruses, you can also protect staff machines from infection by stripping off any executable file attachments (such those with .exe, .pif, and .bat extensions) at the mail server end. Staff should have no reason to be receiving these types of files and removing such attachments before they are received will go a long way toward protecting your network. Be sure to set your virus scanner to check all drives on access, since this is another major method of infection.
While software security is important, you’ll need to recognize the necessity of protecting the physical security of your equipment. Consider the possibility of equipment theft, especially if your library is open late and/or understaffed. If this is an issue for your institution, consider investing in lock-down cables to prevent users from removing expensive printers, monitors, and CPUs. Users in some libraries have even to taken the balls from unprotected mice, and staff members have resorted to gluing them shut (although this can make cleaning them difficult) or have switched to optical versions. Protect against power surges with UPS/surge protectors at each workstation, if possible. Create emergency startup disks for your workstations and back up important data. This is less of an issue on public machines where users should not be storing personal data in the first place, but staff should be encouraged to save all documents to network drives, which should be backed up each night. Check the integrity of your network backup on a regular basis by attempting to restore files off tape to ensure that your data has not been corrupted and that files are actually backing up.
You may also need to support a number of newer and more library-specific technologies and services in your institution. These include:
• Ebook distribution: Issues here include selecting platforms and formats the library will support, assisting the cataloging department in deciding when and how to catalog ebooks, delivering content to handheld devices, and deciding when and how to circulate ebooks and ebook readers.
• Digitization projects: Digitization encompasses a variety of issues, discussions of which could easily fill up an entire volume. Libraries involved in digitization projects are usually concerned with preserving and making historical materials available. A sampling of what you may need to deal with includes the process of converting documents, photographs, and/or videos to digital format; creating cataloging records and metadata; ensuring accessibility, storage, and usability; and attending to the copyright protection and adherence of your digitized collections.
• Distance learning: If the university in which your library is located provides distance learning opportunities to its students, your library will need to provide distance learning support for these classes. This can include creating webpages and providing and promoting online resources, creating electronic reserves, snail-mailing course materials to students enrolled in distance learning courses, and supporting interactive courseware.
• Electronic resource licensing and management: Your duties here can range from selecting subscription databases to negotiating license agreements with vendors to training staff and patrons on the use of various resources to arranging on- and off-site access to a variety of databases. In larger institutions, you might want to create reports and identify which full-text database contains a desired journal by using tools such as Serials Solutions (www.serialssolutions.com). When selecting and maintaining electronic resources for your library, always remember that formats may change, but your goal is to provide library users with the information and resources that will be most useful to them.
• Public internet access: See the Web Browsers section in Chapter 2 for a brief discussion on deploying web browsers in a public environment. Beyond the browser, however, systems librarians supporting public internet access must make decisions such as which plug-ins to install and support; what headphones to buy that will be both sanitary and unlikely to break easily; whether to allow access to chat, gaming, and similar activities; and how often and how extensively to offer patron training. Internet filtering is a separate issue that is beyond the scope of this book, but it’s important to realize that you might be involved both in discussions with your administration and/or the public on filtering advisability and effectiveness and in implementing a filtering solution, if your library chooses to use one. Many libraries will also decide to implement time metering and/or print management software, which you will also need to research and support.
• Adaptive technologies: Public and university libraries have a responsibility to provide open access to all users and part of providing such access is making library computer technology accessible to all. Your institution might, for example, invest in screen reader or zooming software for the visually impaired. You will wish to ensure that at least some of your workstations are wheelchair-accessible—do not locate all of your catalog and electronic resource stations at stand-up carrels.
• Mobile access: Some libraries extend the traditional concept of a bookmobile to include “cybermobiles,” which can provide roving internet access, computer training classes, and online database access on the road. You will need to research connectivity options such as satellite internet access or cellular modem solutions.
The preceding descriptions, while insufficient to describe all the duties that a systems librarian’s job truly entails, should give you an idea of the common tasks and background shared by many. If you are thinking of becoming a systems librarian, consider whether you have an existing aptitude for, knowledge of, or willingness to learn more about one or more of these areas. Try not to be intimidated by the sheer variety of tasks described in this chapter; you will not need to be an expert in every area and much depends on the needs of your particular institution.
1. Eric Lease Morgan, “Technical Skills of Librarianship,” LITA Blog, August 7, 2005, accessed May 22, 2012, www.litablog.org/2005/08/technical-skills-of-librarianship.
2. Cody Hansen, Libraries and the Mobile Web, Library Technology Reports 47:2 (Chicago: ALA TechSource, 2011), accessed May 22, 2012, www.alatechsource.org/taxonomy/term/106/libraries-andthe-mobile-web.
3. Aaron Smith, Americans and Their Cell Phones (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, 2011), August 15, 2011, accessed May 22, 2012, www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Cell-Phones.aspx.
4. Jakob Nielsen, “Mobile Usability Update,” Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox (blog), September 26, 2011, accessed May 22, 2012, www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html.
5. Lori Barile, “Mobile Technologies for Libraries,” College & Research Libraries 72, no. 4 (April 2011): 222–228, accessed May 22, 2012, crln.acrl.org/content/72/4/222.
6. James MacDonald and Kealin McCabe, “iRoam: Leveraging Mobile Technology to Provide Innovative Point of Need Reference Services,” The Code4Lib Journal no. 13 (April 11, 2011), accessed May 22, 2012, journal.code4lib.org/articles/5038.
7. Terry Ballard, “Zen in the Art of Troubleshooting,” American Libraries 25, no. 1 (January 1994): 108–110, ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULL TEXT/JR-EPT/ballard.htm.
8. Learn more about these tools and others like them from MaintainIT at www.techsoupforlibraries.org/cookbook-3/maintaining-and-sustaining-technology/remote-desktop-software.