As Fall Approaches Library Experiences Change

Following a long hot summer, fall approaches. It brings the arrival of crisp cool temperatures, leaves change color, and daylight hours decrease. Fall also brings changes to the Library. We experience a new group of students, changes in personnel, new procedures, and more.

We noticed a marked difference in students this fall. The Library was predictably the hub for emailing and Internet surfing but, beginning the first week of classes, the students were using the computers for assignments. Each day presents more challenges. We anticipated questions concerning Office 2007. For the most part, they have been patiently handled by the staff and students.

We have been impressed with the responsible use of cell phones in the Library. We were also surprised at the number of personal laptop computers in use. Nearly the entire campus offers wireless Internet access. This appears to be the newest technology sought by our students. Yesterday we witnessed a student finishing his document on his laptop. He then accessed one of the PC's in the reference area. He saved his document to a flash drive USB device, transferred it to the PC, and printed his assignment. Our students demonstrate their adaptability every day.

We should have our new staff member by the middle of October. This will be very welcome indeed. We've all been carrying an extra load since Melissa left our team in July. We again wish her our best while we wait with anticipation for our new staff member to complete our team. More on this soon!

The most problematic procedure is helping new students initially login to their computer accounts. They aren't allowed access to a campus computer without activating their email account. Each student is assigned a login that has 3 letters, 3 numbers, and 1 letter such as xxx111z. Their assigned password is their birthdate in 6 number format (mmddyr) followed by a hyphen (-) jwcc. So the password would be 092089-jwcc. Problems logging in occurs when these letters and numbers are not typed EXACTLY. When we show them how to enter the information, we hear, "Oh, I didn't know I needed the -jwcc" or "I didn't know my login was 3 letters, 3 numbers, and 1 letter."

It has been slightly stressful this fall semester without one of our staff members. It has also been rewarding, fun, and surprisingly uneventful. We hope the positives continue to outweigh the negatives.