On June 18th Bob Hurowitz joined the ranks of SUL early retirees, after devoting more than 28 years to various technical services units. Highlights of Bob's many and varied roles include extensive periods as a cataloger of Social Science materials as well as an early stint as a Slavic cataloger. He served as manager of the filing unit before it was disbanded, worked as Head of the Systems Department from 1980-1982, and was the first Cataloging Department NOTIS Coordinator.
Disliking crowds, Bob refused our usual farewell ministrations but did not exactly leave without enduring some formalities. Rather than the traditional gold watch, he happily received a handsome brass clock as a service award from Cath Tierney during a small Catalog Area coffee, and was later feted at a cheerful lunch at Swagat in Mountain View.
We sincerely thank him for his many contributions over the years and wish him well in his new endeavors.
--Mia Rode, Cataloging Services Coordinator
You likely know that a team of SUL/AIR staff worked this summer to evaluate our computing support and recommend ways to meet the demands of new technology. Three years ago, SUL/AIR adopted a shared model of computing support between branch and unit staff and the Systems Group. This model has proven successful in many instances, but it needed improvement to keep up with technological advances in the resources we provide to the faculty and students. SUL/AIR directors recently approved several of the recommendations made by the team evaluating the program and will begin implementing them this summer.
A pivotal step is to hire an Expert Partners Program Manager for SUL/AIR. This person will work with the Expert Partners to resolve technical problems, provide training, documentation, and resources, and assist in technical planning efforts. The position has been posted and the new Expert Partner Program Manager will report to Lois Brooks who heads up our Academic Technology Support Services within the RITS (Research and Instructional Technology Support) group.
Another essential step is to clearly define how the computer support process will work - how we troubleshoot and replace broken equipment, how we purchase new equipment, how we work together to resolve difficult problems, and how new products are rolled out. The team defined a framework for computer support, and when the Expert Partners Program Manager arrives, he or she will work with each area of SUL/AIR to make computing support happen in a more organized and expedient way.
Your ideas about how to make the effort a success are most welcome. Please feel free to share them with your manager, director, or to contact Lois Brooks at lbrooks@leland. I would also like to take this opportunity to give much-deserved thanks to Lois and the staff group who worked with her this summer in evaluating and making recommendations regarding our computing support model. The others in that group were Jane Adams, Joao Barretto, Peter Blank, Gary Davis, Judy Esenwein, Karen Greig, Ann Latta and Joe Wible. Managers throughout the organization have a copy of their report in case you wish to see it.
--Karen Nagy, Deputy University Librarian
We are getting ready to reorder all manner of dumb barcodes in the next few weeks using last year's usage as a general guideline. Please let us know if your unit is planning any -- lcerny@sulmail.stanford.edu or telephone 5-1124.
--Lucretia Cerny, Technical Services
The Libraries are seeking an electronic information specialist, preferably with graduate training in a humanities-related field and experience in textual mark-up and delivery technologies. The specialist administers the creation, conversion, preparation and addition of texts and other content-based material for inclusion in Stanford's rapidly growing electronic library. The specialist will also assist in the management of ATS (Academic Text Service) servers, the management of current ATS Web services and creation of new services, and participate actively in a number of on-going and project-based initiatives designed to enhance access to traditional and non-traditional content-based resources in all subject areas. The position is in the C06, $3084-3919 salary range. For additional details and application instructions, see the "What's New?" section of the ATS Web page at: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/ats/ats.html.
--Jim Coleman, Head, Academic Computing for the Humanities