Rochester Hills Public Library Technology Plan July 1, 2013 June 30, 2016

Transcription

1 Rochester Hills Public Library Technology Plan July 1, 2013 June 30, 2016 Contents Library Mission Technology Goals I. Goals for Public Service II. Goals for Collection Development III. Goals for Community Relations IV. Goals for Staff Development and Training V. Goals for Facilities and Equipment Current Status and Equipment Inventory Staffing and Training Budget Requirements and Projections Evaluation Prepared by: Derek Brown, Director of Information Technology July 2013

2 Library Mission The goal of this plan is to detail how technology can help the Library fulfill its stated mission. The Rochester Hills Public Library provides resources to inform, educate, enlighten and entertain the people of our community. Increasingly, new technology offers the resources to meet the varied needs of our community. As technology continues to play a vital role in providing access to information, our library users expectations continue to demand increased access to technology. An integral part of fulfilling our mission includes providing materials and resources in electronic formats. Successful integration of technology into our library environment requires ongoing training for all staff. We provide our users with access to information, regardless of the means or the format. Stability and sustainability are the focus of our IT infrastructure s future outlook. We want to consume less energy, fewer resources, and find ways to improve our cost effectiveness within our department. This will allow us to reduce costs for services and materials while focusing that budget back into long-term physical infrastructure. Continuing to expand virtualization will decrease our environmental footprint while also improving stability, performance, and functionality. RHPL will continue to investigate new technologies and provide high quality services that our patrons expect of us. This plan is created to maintain what we have and expand to new services through future-thinking and development. Page 2

3 Technology Goals I. Goals for Public Service Objective 1: Continue to improve methods for accessing information about the Library s materials and customer accounts online through Polaris a. Complete roll out of Polaris Express Check self-check machines by December b. Add foreign languages to our self-check machines by March c. Improve access to the mobile PAC (online catalog) after the completion of the new RHPL website by April d. Continue to customize interface for Polaris web catalog (ongoing). e. Continue to cleanup materials database for Polaris (ongoing). Objective 2: Explore options for providing improved circulation and checkout services to the public a. Install an additional new self-check for the Youth area by September b. Investigate options to implementing RFID to replace our current electromagnetic security system by December c. Continue to evaluate the use of the self-check machines and market them for increased usage (ongoing). d. Investigate a material handling system that will correct the delays within our check-in procedure. This system would eliminate patron confusion over delayed check-ins and reduce time consumed by staff answering this problem by December Objective 3: Continue to improve methods for accessing electronic resources a. Move catalog stations to locations closer to the new layout throughout the library by December b. Investigate the possibility of using thin-client technology for all catalog machines throughout the library to save on energy efficiency by December c. Follow developments by vendors for apps, widgets, and other tools that make access to electronic resources easier, on mobile devices or the web as a whole (ongoing). d. With help from Adult Services, review current collection of electronic databases and evaluate their use, both in the library and remotely (ongoing). Page 3

4 Objective 4: Continue to provide methods for accessing materials that RHPL does not own whenever possible a. With help from Polaris staff, evaluate the functionality of NCIP for Polaris and MeLCat libraries to improve workflow for MeLCat participation by December b. Continue participation in MeLCat as funding permits (ongoing). c. Investigate federated search applications that will allow patrons to easily access free information (not owned by RHPL) through our webpage by December Objective 5: Maintain and upgrade computer equipment to provide consistent and efficient access to electronic products and services a. Investigate the possibility of grant funds to purchase and provide maker stations (Video/photo editing, 3D printers, etc.) within the library. b. Maintain EnvisionWare software to manage public computers and printing (ongoing). c. Replace/upgrade all public computers to improve performance as funding allows, which may fall outside our previous schedule of every three to four years. Reduce total numbers if patron usage has shrunk (ongoing). Objective 6: Improve access to library services for customers who do not visit the Main Library on a regular basis a. Maintain Internet access from the Bookmobile with Verizon network and investigate other options as technology expands (ongoing). b. Support the Oakland Talking Books Service (hosted within RHPL) through all possible technology necessities (ongoing). c. Investigate streaming library events online to reach a larger audience by December Objective 7: Provide effective training for the public to increase their skills with and awareness of electronic products and services a. With help from Adult Services, continue to offer training sessions to the public (ongoing). b. Investigate training for maker stations with grant funded guest speakers or in-house specialists (Requires maker stations to complete). Objective 8: Continually improve web site functionality and user interface a. Complete redesign of the RHPL web site by November b. With help from the Web Team, maintain and update the RHPL web site with new content and technologies (ongoing). c. Continue to evaluate the user interface and make changes as necessary to provide easier and better access to Internet resources (ongoing). Page 4

5 II. Goals for Collection Development Objective 1: With the help the librarians and Technical Services staff, provide access to information and materials in Polaris that meets our customers needs a. Increase the options for importing records for materials from z39.50 databases, Midwest Tape for other material types, and other vendors as determined by library staff (ongoing). b. Maintain and improve our Polaris Acquisitions module (ongoing). c. Track developments in delivery of audio-visual materials to libraries, including ebooks (and readers), movies on flash drives, downloadable music and/or movies, and more. As funding allows and the technology fits, add these new options to the library s collection (ongoing). Objective 2: Collect statistics on usage of the Library s resources a. Continue to report statistical information to the board on a monthly basis about usage of our materials and technology and resources (ongoing). b. Monitor statistics provided by electronic vendors to help analyze product use (ongoing). III. Goals for Community Relations Objective 1: In conjunction with Adult Services and our Community Relations Specialist, increase the promotion of our electronic resources a. Continue to offer Internet training classes on using ematerial, subscription databases, and other etopics (ongoing). b. Highlight electronic resources both on our web site and on Library publications (ongoing). Objective 2: Use current technology to promote Library events and services and communicate with our community a. Maintain and improve our electronic tools for conversations with our community through our forms and live chat options for customers to communicate with library staff from our website (ongoing). b. With help from the Web Team, continue to promote RHPL s presence on the social networking sites of Facebook and Twitter, and expand the library s use of these tools (ongoing). Page 5

6 Objective 3: Establish partnerships with neighboring libraries and organizations to share in technology endeavors a. Support the website development needs of the Community Organization Resource Exchange (CORE) by hosting their Events Calendar with the Library s Evanced Solutions software and maintaining both the content and hosting for their website (ongoing). b. Attend meetings with Metro Net and TLN libraries and participate in joint technology projects with these libraries (ongoing). c. Remain active in the Polaris Users Group (PUG) in order to benefit as much as possible from the experiences of other Polaris libraries and the Polaris staff (ongoing). d. Recruit highly skilled IT interns through local universities and colleges to promote partnerships and maintain in-house IT support IV. Goals for Staff Development and Training Objective 1: Maintain and upgrade computer equipment to provide consistent and efficient access to electronic products and services a. Replace/upgrade all staff computers to improve performance as funding allows, which may fall outside our previous schedule of every three to four years. Objective 2: Implement technology solutions that improve staff efficiency, communication, and productivity a. Investigate an alternative to Room Reserve (from Evanced Solutions) to assist staff in scheduling all conference rooms in the library, including those used solely by the staff, by December b. With the help of the Web Team, continue to update the information available on the staff intranet (Rhub) and provide access to as many resources there as possible (ongoing). c. Maintain and support the use of smart phones and virtual private network connections for key staff members to ensure access when needed (ongoing). d. IT will work with each department s manager to help streamline processes with their staff through information technology (ongoing). Objective 3: Increase staff competencies in using all appropriate computer resources a. Use the staff intranet to promote troubleshooting and FAQs for employees on our technology (on-going). Page 6

7 b. Investigate options for offering staff training, both done in-house (learning lunches) and by outside groups such as MCLS (previously MLC) or MLA (ongoing). c. Create cheat sheets for staff to refer to for help with new technology and common problems (ongoing). V. Goals for Facilities and Equipment Objective 1: Maintain and upgrade the Library s network, telephony, and server technology to provide optimal performance and service for staff and public a. Implement a formalized disaster recovery plan by December b. Continue with remote data backup of the Library s most critical data in addition to the on-site Barracuda backup server (ongoing). c. Sustain sufficient network connectivity and bandwidth to provide access as needed for voice and data for the Library, including planning for upgrades of network lines for either voice or data or both, as needed (ongoing). d. Re-wire MDF (Main distribution frame) and IDF (Intermediate distribution frame) for simplicity and thermal dispersal by December e. Upgrade dated network infrastructure by December f. Due to the increased usage and reliance on virtualization complete upgrades on both our NAS (Network-attached Storage) and VMware environment by December g. Complete migration of physical servers into our virtualized environment by August h. Convert RHPL s Exchange Server to Google Apps to improve functionality, cost-reduction, and greater uptime (December 2014). Objective 2: Increase our sustainability through energy conservation, costreductions, and simplicity. a. Reduce power consumption through virtualization and purchase energy conscious hardware (on-going). b. Lessen our usage of physical printing and rely more on electronic formats (on-going). Objective 3: Create and maintain technology department documentation a. Inventory all systems and document network, servers, clients, and all related equipment (ongoing). b. Document how to use staff and public computers to provide some written instructions for staff in their use (ongoing). Page 7

8 Current Status and Equipment Inventory Local Area Network (LAN) a. The Rochester Hills Public Library has two connections to the Internet. 123net provides a 50mbps connection through a fixed wireless link (expandable to 1Gbps for future growth) for our staff network. Comcast provides a 50mbps connection through their cable network for our public wireless network. We increased the bandwidth from 20mb to 50mb in March b. Our LAN connections are managed by Cisco equipment connected between two wiring closets by fiber. This infrastructure will need to be refreshed as soon as possible due to age. c. Our wireless network consists of Aerohive Networks products and was implemented in January Servers a. We develop, maintain, and upgrade our network. We support the network equipment listed in the previous section with on-site servers. b. We maintain three HP servers running ESX VMware and two EMC SAN (storage area network) AX4 running the majority of our IT infrastructure. Our Polaris production server exists on a separate HP server but will be migrated into the virtualized environment. There is one HP server acting as the telephony server for Polaris and a Barracuda backup blade. We have greatly reduced our previous physical infrastructure in to save on energy consumption and increase reliability on our network. c. We maintain two domains, one for staff and one for public. In addition, our web servers reside in a DMZ (Perimeter network). These networks are segmented through our firewall. The servers manage the clients on each network. Page 8

9 Workstations a. We have replaced almost all the computers (and repurposed some lower-usage computers) in the building in the past three years. We have 170 computers total. b. Public Computers (83 total): Adult Catalog computers (8) purchase dates vary Adult Internet computers (12) purchased in 2012 Quiet Computer Room computers (20) purchased in 2012 Teen computers (8) purchased in 2012 Outreach computers (5) purchase dates vary Youth Internet/Catalog computers (18) purchased in 2012 Print Release/Reservation computers (2) purchase dates vary Self-checkout computers (4) purchased in 2013 Public Mobile Laptops (10) purchased in 2011 c. Staff Computers (87 total): Adult Services staff computers (10) purchased in 2013 Outreach Services staff computers (7) purchased in 2013 Bookmobile staff computers (3) purchased in 2008 OTBS staff computers (3) Purchased in 2012 Youth Services staff computers (8) purchased in 2013 Circulation Services staff computers (14) purchased in 2013 Technical Services staff computers (5) purchased in 2013 Service Desk computers (14) purchased in 2013 Administration staff computers (7) purchase dates vary IT staff computers (4) purchase dates vary Other: Friends, Staff Lounge, etc. (8) purchase dates vary Software a. Operating Systems: The Rochester Hills Public Library uses Windows 7 for all of our computers. b. Applications: We primarily use the following software applications Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Polaris Integrated Library System and Innovative Millennium for MeLCat Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome Avast Anti-virus The Library uses a number of other software applications for specific projects. Page 9

10 Printers and Copiers a. In 2013 we greatly decreased our number of public / staff printers and copiers to reduce costs, power consumption, and waste. Public Printers / Copiers (2 total) Staff Printers and Copiers (24 total) Telephony a. We have two PRI (Primary Rate Interface) lines and DS1 (Digital Signal 1) service on those lines, including a block of DID (direct inward dialing) numbers. We also have 2 Plain-Old Telephone Service lines and an analog alarm trunk. AT&T is our telephone service provider for local and long distance. b. We have an Avaya IP telephone system used through basic phone wiring with a virtualized voice mail server. The library has 70 telephone handsets. Page 10

11 Staffing and Training Current Staffing The technology for the library is managed by the full-time Information Technology Director. For IT, the library has up to four part-time Interns or Computer Systems Technicians to assist the IT Director. These positions provide computer support for the entire library. IT Staff Training The field of technology changes so rapidly that continuing education and training is essential. In order to fulfill the goals outlined in this plan, training in more advanced topics will be necessary. Library Staff Training With the continued introduction of updated hardware and software, library staff members need frequent training updates and refreshers to help keep their skills current. They also need more advanced level training to help them use computers more efficiently and effectively. During the transition from our Microsoft Exchange Server to Google Apps we will need to train staff on the new process and offer learning-lunches as refresher courses. When available, staff is able to attend training classes and conferences outside the library, including the Michigan Library Association conference, workshops at the Michigan Library Association and the Michigan Library Consortium, and national conferences including the Public Library Association conference and the Computers in Libraries conference. Page 11

12 Evaluation Evaluation is a key part of this Technology Plan. 1. The Director of IT will review progress on projects in this plan every three (3) months. 2. Each goal and objective in this plan has a deadline, and it is the IT Director s responsibility to ensure that projects are completed in their scheduled timeframe or adjusted according to library needs and priorities. 3. The IT Director will remain aware of evolving technologies that may benefit RHPL by participation on discussion lists, attendance at conferences and workshops, and networking with others through The Library Network, Metro Net, and other consortia. (ongoing) 4. When a new project presents itself that would benefit RHPL, the IT Director will work with the Library Director to determine if we can pursue the project and if there is a way to budget for the project within the current or a future fiscal year. 5. The IT Director will meet with other library managers and the Director annually to discuss progress of the Technology Plan. 6. The IT Director is responsible for keeping the plan current throughout the length of the plan and creating a new one every three (3) years. Page 12