Greenwell, Stacey

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University of Kentucky

University of KentuckyUKnowledgeLibrary Faculty and Staff Publications University of Kentucky LibrariesWinter 2002Helping the Helpdesk: Resources for TechnicalSupport Staff in LibrariesStacey GreenwellUniversity of Kentucky, staceyg@email.uky.eduClick here to let us know how access to this document benefits you.Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/libraries_facpubPart of the Library and Information Science CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Kentucky Libraries at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion inLibrary Faculty and Staff Publications by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu.Repository CitationGreenwell, Stacey, "Helping the Helpdesk: Resources for Technical Support Staff in Libraries" (2002). Library Faculty and StaffPublications. 260.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/libraries_facpub/260Helping the Helpdesk: Resources for Technical Support Staff in LibrariesNotes/Citation InformationPublished in Kentucky Libraries, v. 66, issue 1, p. 8-9.The copyright holder has granted the permission for posting the article here.This article is available at UKnowledge: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/libraries_facpub/260FUK E N T U C K Y L I B R A R Y A s S O C I A T I O N IHELPING THE HELPDESK:RESOURCES FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT STAFF IN LIBRARIESBY STACEY GREENWELLDESKTOP SUPPORT LiBRARIAN, UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY LIBRARIESJ rom my past experience as the sole tech-nical support person in a public library, I hopeto offer some suggestions and resources forothers who may be in similar situations.Technical support in many libraries, particu-larly small public libraries, can often be a solooperation. With the rapid expansion of librarytechnology in the last decade, budgets to hireand train adequate technical support person-nel have been lacking. Technical support staffmay find themselves suddenly placed in aposition where they feel they know too littleand have too much to do. Technical supportstaff may often feel "unique" with their partic-ular responsibilities; in other areas of thelibrary such as reference or children's services,staff may often have others to assist in sharingduties and solving problems.So what does the solo support person do whena problem arises that is not easily solved?Read manuals? That is necessary, of course,but often the solo support person will not onlybe responsible for technical support activitieswith computer desktops, but will also becharged with the Internet connection, librarywebsite, electronic resources, and libraryautomation system. Sometimes this extends toanything that is plugged into the wall, literal-ly. This leaves little time for leisurely readingmanuals.In addition to lots of training and continuingeducation (and reading those manuals), dis-cussion lists are an invaluable source of infor-mation. Discussion lists can be a greatresource for providing suggestions, assistance,encouragement, and even a place to gripe.Why struggle for a solution to a problemwhen an existing solution may be an e-mailaway? The experiences of others can be verybeneficial-before performing an upgrade, whynot ask others about their experiences withthe upgrade? Often, first-hand experience willprovide information not available in manualsor help sheets or even from a product's techni-cal support line. Not only can the informationfrom discussion lists be helpful, but the com-munity from a good list can also be important,particularly for the solo support person.DISCUSSION LISTSI have compiled a list of some of the most use-ful discussion lists for technical support staffin libraries. While there are many lists thatdiscuss various technology issues, these listsfocus specifically on support in libraries.Note: Some individuals may be more familiarwith the term Listserv, which is actually acopyrighted list software product. Some e-maildiscussion lists run on L-Soft Listserv, butthere are other list software, such as Lyris orMajordomo. Therefore, it is best to refer toany e-mail discussion group as a discussion list.Product-specific ListsMany library automation systems have an e-mail discussion list available for customers aspart of a users group. These lists can be essen-tial for staff who manage these systems. Myown personal experience is with Dynix-L,which is truly a great list, as many on that listare helpful, friendly and eager to share theirown experiences. In addition to these, otheroperations, such as interlibrary loan, cata-loging, or reference applications often havespecific lists. These can be useful when tryingto make a product perform a specific functionor when trying to set up the application.The Washington Research LibraryConsortium has created a fairly concise list ofproduct discussion lists athttp://www.wrlc.org/liblists.[ 8IF E A T U R EGeneral ListsKentucky Library Association Informationand Technology Roundtable (KLA-INFO)http://www.kylibasn.org/itrt.htmThis is the official list of the Kentucky LibraryAssociation Information and TechnologyRoundtable, which is the largest of KLA'sroundtables. While there is little traffic onthis list, discussion of technology issues ishighly encouraged. The Roundtable officerssponsor a Technology Help Desk at the KLAAnnual Conference to facilitate discussion oftechnology. The officers hope that throughoutthe year this list can serve as a forum for tech-nology issues in Kentucky libraries of all types.Library NT (LIBNT)http://listserv.utk.edu/archives/libnt-l.htmlMany lists and websites devoted toWindowsNT often do not focus on the uniquenature of computers in libraries. This discussiongroup, however, focuses on WindowsNT (andWindows 2000) issues in libraries specifically.Public Libraries (PUBLIB andPUBLIB-NET)http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/PubLib/index.htmlPUBLIB is a great discussion list for publiclibrarians. While the topics range amongmany issues in public libraries - from book-drops to policies - the discussion often turnsto technology-related issues in public libraries.Policy issues, such as filtering and computeruse, are common topics, as are reservation sys-tems, timeout software, and public computersecurity. PUBLIB also has a companion list,PUBLIB-NET, which focuses primarily onInternet issues. PUBLIB is certainly a higher-traffic list, but both offer useful information.Systems Librarians (SYSLIB)http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/archives/syslib-l.htmlA popular list for systems librarian job posts,this list also provides discussion about varioustechnology topics in libraries. Most recentlytopics have focused on public computing secu-rity and website management software.Lg-iHELPING THEHELPDESK ..._ilk

Helping the Helpdesk:  Resources for Technical Support Staff in Libraries

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Helping the Helpdesk: Resources for Technical Support Staff in Libraries

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