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Posts tagged ‘LIS’

Mar 4

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SGA Sound-Off: EdLiberty Bill

Alrighty folks, in possibly the longest (and most well-attended) meeting of the Senate yet this year, there was quite the lively discussion this evening. As always, I’m here with the scoop. Apologies in advance for grammatical, spelling, and/or nonsensical errors, running on thesis-deadline fumes my friends.

In old business discussions: (1) The ad-hoc committee on the restoration of Worth Mountain Lodge is still going and will continue to report on progress. (2) After a polling of constituents as to what newspapers they most prefer, with overwhelming support for the New York Times the Presidential cabinet will keep this in mind when re-negotiating the contract for subscriptions (current contract ending this year).

However, to the meat of the meeting, the EdLiberty Proposal. The brainchild of Brian Foster ’13, EdLiberty is a community-building media and information sharing platform that would allow students, faculty, alumni, staff (anyone with an @middlebury.edu email) to instantly generate content that would be immediately made visible and open to the entire Middlebury community. It’s a four-prong platform, made of: Thinktank (a discussion platform for open conversations), Bulletins (where anyone could post events and activities), Newsroom (a space for posting news links), and video (would be administered by Old Chapel to promote Middlebury videos: sports, arts, performances, speakers, etc.). The bill requested $33,500 in start up funds from the SGA, which if received the administration would match at $33,500 to fund the full request amount of approx. $67,000.

Brian Sirkia, head of MiddVenture Community, shares his opinions regarding the EdLiberty proposal. The Crest room was filled nearly to capacity, with chairs (and couches) brought down from the upstairs gallery to accommodate all attendees.

As previously alluded to, this bill brought many voices, questions, and opinions from  senators, the SGA Presidential Cabinet, and the student body. In his presentation Brian Foster ’13 identified that EdLiberty fills a community need that he saw since being a first-year here at Middlebury, the ability to have a platform for full, open discussions within the community, bringing voices from all across campus and beyond. With EdLiberty he stated, “For the first time anyone in the community can communicate with everyone else at once.”

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Nov 5

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SGA Sound Off: Yes, Midd has an SGA. This is what we do.

Student Government Association Word Cloud. Yeah, that awesome!

Whenever the SGA is mentioned here at Middlebury, it always seems to solicit a rather unusual response: “Wait we have one?!” The follow up questions come in close for second and third: “What does it do? That’s just for PoliSci Majors right?”

As a resident SGA Senior Senator, I’d like to clarify a few things. First, we have an SGA. Second,  the SGA does (or can and should do lots of things). And third, SGA is not just for PoliSci majors (take it from me, a former neuroscience, literary studies, and now finally history major).

From my approximate eight weeks in office, I’d love to quickly provide an understanding of what I’ve learned the SGA does, why you should care, and how you should get involved.

What does SGA do? SGA serves as the central voice of the student body. Students’ dreams, hopes, fears, and all types of emotions and desires should be the concern and soul of the SGA.

The SGA, feasibly, can do two things:

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Oct 26

Peering Into “The Portal”

Is it possible to construct a GO link to usurp all GO links—a comprehensive, definite link that captures the campus’s online community in a single webpage? Over the past summer, the College’s Communications worked in collaboration with Web Application Development with this very goal in mind. Their result?

Well, just type go/portal into your Internet Explorer Google Chrome search bar. For those off campus, follow this link: http://portal.middlebury.edu

Apart from amalgamating campus news, events, blogs, dining menus, along with many other student and faculty resources, the new “Portal” service marks Midd’s first significant foray into mobile technology. Again, open a new tab, and type go/mobile into your browser’s address bar. Looks familiar, right?

Have you taken the Portal plunge?

According to LIS’s Joe Antonioli, the “Portal” concept came about following three separate discussions:

1)    A need for customized homepages. The Portal service allows members of the Middlebury community to subscribe to and arrange information in a way that they prefer.

2)    A need for a mobile website. Middlebury’s current website boasts rich content and an equally nuanced interface; consequently, it is cumbersome to navigate on a smartphone device.

3)    As well, Antonioli cited the fact that “faculty, staff and students’ pages receive a high amount of traffic, but the links are rarely clicked on, and most visitors leave the pages immediately.”

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Aug 27

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Google vs. Microsoft: Middlebury Debates a Switch

Yes, a pillow fight between Google and Microsoft.

Middlebury is looking to switch to Google products for email, calendar, etc. But Microsoft and its band of Outlook-lovers won’t go down without a fight. How do you duke it out at this school?

A debate. Well, ten debates. LIS is sponsoring a week‘s worth of debates on current products vs. Google. And it’s up to you to weigh in — should Middlebury welcome the giant G into our lives? Below are the dates and times to ask the right questions (especially students who won’t all be back on campus yet) on everything from privacy to to-do lists. This is a big deal so go speak your mind or leave comments on this post.

UPDATE: these sessions have been postponed at the last minute. Read about why here.

calendar 8/31, 2-3 pm LIB105
email 8/31, 1-2 pm LIB105
support 8/31, 3-4 pm LIB145
groups/mailing lists 9/1, 2-3 pm LIB145
costs 9/1, 3-4 pm LIB145
tasks/ to do lists 9/2, 11-12 pm LIB145
security 9/2, 10-11 am LIB145
privacy 9/3, 10-11 am LIB145
administration 9/3, 9-10 am LIB145
sites, docs, chat, etc. 9/3, 11-12 pm LIB145

Aug 11

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Senior thesis carrels to be reserved on MidCat

After a tip a few weeks ago from a Davis Family Library circulation desk student employee and friend, I logged on to the library catalog and booked what I thought would be my senior thesis carrel for the fall and spring semesters. Boy, did I feel like I’d just worked the system!

Much to my dismay, I received an email earlier today from a Library and Information Services employee, half-accusing me of having “snuck in” (proper English?) to the system too early. He told me that my reservation had been canceled, and that seniors would be receiving more information regarding the new online process soon.

In years past, seniors wishing to obtain their ideal thesis desk, complete with locked book locker and name-plate, would line up as early as 5 a.m. on the morning that reservations began. This is understandable, since locations tucked away in eight-desk suites in the basement and mezzanine levels, among others, serve as a truly ideal place for seniors to write their often 100-page+ cumulative works.

Now, it seems that carrels will be booked via an online booking process. By conducting a MidCat search for “carrels”, you can see how users will be able to select their carrel location and time of use. Maps for each level/suite are included, too.

However, until you’ve received an email from LIS giving you the go-ahead, it looks like any reservation you make, like mine, will be deleted. And the covert MiddBlog operations go on…

UPDATE (Fri., Sep. 3, 3:11 p.m. EST): From LIS’ most recent email attachment sent to seniors…

Seniors who are currently enrolled in 500, 600, or 700 level thesis/project work are eligible for a thesis carrel. If you register for one of these classes AFTER Tuesday, September 7th, please stop by the Davis Family Library circulation desk to make sure you have been updated in our library system. NEW AND IMPROVED! You may sign up ONLINE for your thesis carrel starting at 7 am on Monday, September 13th. Instructions can be found here (go/bookacarrel). We have tested this new procedure and expect it to work. If for some reason it does not, we will communicate with you that Monday about an alternate plan. For a carrel at either the Music or Armstrong Library, please go directly to that circulation desk on Monday the 13th to reserve.

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