At the end of spring semester 2015, when we lost our one graphic designer (she graduated), we hired a completely new graphics student five-man team. We also decided to combine our graphic designers, tutorial designers, and photographers into one large team. We've named it the multimedia team. This team will be responsible for:
    library event pictures (taking, editing, organizing)
    designing posters for the Informatics department
    designing graphics for the library website (including Benner bulletins)
    designing graphics for the Archives website (including Archives Marquees)
    designing graphics for any other Informatics' needs that may arise
    writing scripts for specified library tutorials
    creating assigned Informatics and library tutorials
    maintaining and organizing library tutorials

We have never had such a large "specialized team" in the department. It now consists of nine students: Bekah, Biz, Emilie, Emily L, Emily R, Kristen, Nick, Walker, and Will. These students are also expected to work as our normal Informatics lab students. Knowing how things work in the library and having regular lab training enhances their knowledge when designing for the library and Informatics department. The organization and policy design has become an overwhelming task. We've divided the multimedia team as a whole into three teams with much overlap.

One of the first issues we ran into was scheduling. We have had to be creative because becoming organized takes a lot of group meetings. We were lucky to find a couple common times where most of the team can meet. Our weekly meeting time is on Fridays. Each week we decide who needs to be at the meeting. Sometimes it's the entire multimedia team and other times it's one of the subgroups. Some weeks we do not meet at all. We have had to be creative and give up other office student staff time in order to justify having nine students in the office at the same time.

The first couple of weeks we spent getting organized, talking about current projects, and setting up policies and procedures. We were down to one tutorial student so that part was easy - we just needed to get more students trained. Our one student (Emilie J) has been here for four years and is magnificent at her job - she can do it all including a great job of training. We chose three people (now down to two) that had an interest in making tutorials and had her run with it.

The graphics team was a little different. We had worked with two of the students over the summer from off campus. It was very difficult. Tasks were put in Asana and we had shared files using Google Drive and it wasn't the smoothest of systems. Trying to connect with a graphics designer off campus is not the ideal scenario especially when they are new and don't know a lot of your expectations. It was definitely a learning curve.  Both girls, Emily R and Kristen, stuck with it and had great attitudes. Being the upperclassmen of the group, Emily R quickly emerged as the leader so we made her the head graphic designer for the team. All graphics need to go through her before they come to Informatic's Administration. She rose to the challenge and stepped up to the plate. She spends a lot of time organizing everyone making sure everyone has an assignment. We kept our summer workflow and began to run into problems immediately. We found that ai files did odd things in Google Drive. Colors in the viewer were often skewed and not the right hex numbers when we used the color picker. We even had some sizing issues when we were trying to open files that came from Google Drive in Adobe Illustrator. After a couple of months of just surviving, we decided to come up with a more concise policy:

Open appropriate folder on our shared drive:
There will be a series of folders where files should be stored:
1. Working copy - is just yours to use as needed if at all. It would be a great place to back up or end a shift with bc they you could pull it up on other Informatics computers. Please delete these files once completed or outdated.
2. Submit for review - this is where you put the ai files that you are ready to have reviewed by the Student Graphics Leader. Once you put it in this folder, update your Asana task tagging the leader so they know it is there
3. Once it has been reviewed, revised, re-submitted, and approved, the Student Graphics Leader will move it to approved, tagging the Informatics Librarian in Asana.
4. Informatics Librarian will move them to appropriate application or person, check as completed in Asana, and move to completed on T Drive. She will also give the artist their project completion tally points in Tally.
Since September though our sub graphics team has cranked out three color palettes for our two websites and applications. This was a enormous undertaking because Informatics Administration (Matt and I) are very picky! We often changed the rules and guidelines on them because it didn't always turn out as we expected! :) They have redesigned/designed most of our Benner bulletins and Archives Marquees and they have begun to design new icons for our Informatics' homegrown applications. (We have about twenty in all.)

Emilie has been working on training Will and Biz on tutorials and still cranking out new tutorials in the meantime. Biz just completed her first tutorial. Emily L returns to us in January - we are really looking forward to seeing her again!

Bekah has been busy cropping staff pictures and building pictures for the new Archives pages.She has worked closely with the University Archivist serving as a liaison between the two departments. She and Angie (Informatics' Administrator) worked together in designing the photograph that serves as the Archive sites background. (http://archives.olivet.edu)

I am genuinely impressed with the level of professionalism that they have demonstrated through this chaotic semester. They have had great attitudes, shown tremendous patience, and paid astute attention to detail.

Informatics Devotion 2015

College is a rite of passage – we come into it thinking we are now an adult and that we know most of what there is to know about life in general. We are excited to be adults and get away from the authorities that we have been under for at least the last 18 years. We look forward to a new found freedom and hit the ground at full speed ready to prove ourselves and our independence.

When I came to ONU I was no different BUT I didn’t consciously realize it. As a matter of fact I didn’t really come to the realization of it until later. You won’t see it now which is why I bring it up. I have proven my loyalty and trustworthiness to most of you so I ask you to really think about what I’m saying and even if you can’t see it now take my advice to heart.

In this age of tolerance and political correctness, you are more vulnerable than ever! In this age, I have watched even the strongest in their faith to be pulled under. There are so many relative ideas and justifications and acceptance of clearly stated non-Biblical actions in the name of tolerance, love and political correctness. Everyone is looking for new and fresh Biblical doctrines so that they can get an audience or more people in attendance. Everyone is looking for a new and friendlier way to worship.

Here’s the part I want you to take home:  Ecclesiastes 1:9, That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. There is nothing new under the sun. Trust me the Bible translated from the original three languages is the absolute truth. It’s all you need to know to honor God. There is nothing wrong with singing and feeling emotional but it cannot replace the word of God, the truth is the truth no matter how intolerant or politically incorrect that it may seem. Everything God wanted and needed us to know is in the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16, All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; It doesn’t change just bc society wants it to. If His word changed He wouldn’t be a fair God. If the man whom He created is so different now that His original rules didn’t apply, He would give us new guidelines. That’s along the lines of blasphemy bc it insinuates that He didn’t know what He was doing to begin with when He created us.

All I ask is for you not to use these crucial formative college years to change your entire belief system. Continue to get under a pastor you believe is teaching accurate Biblical doctrine and give yourself time to hit the real world and not be someone you wish you had not become. Psalm 27:14, Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.  Wait on the Lord, let Him promote you and give you wisdom. Do it in His timing. These years are still for you to learn. Learn how to study, learn how to respect your authorities whether you like them or not, learn how to do your job as unto the Lord, learn how to prioritize your life. AND have fun, enjoy yourselves. You have to be a grown up the rest of your lives don’t rush it.

Our Informatics verse for the year is:

Proverbs 3:5, Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:6, In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

Don’t try to solve the world’s problems and become a completely different purpose focus on getting to know yourself and God. Lean not on what you think you have all figured out but allow Him to straighten your path.

Checklist for the preparation for the Voyager 9.1.1

Before the update: 
o   Check minimal requirements provided by CARLI 
o   Research best way to handle the installation process at our library

Decision: We will do a "manual" update checker installation. This means that we will set all update checkers not to check automatically for updates. This decision was made due to IT running updates between 2-5am each morning. Felt like the precaution was worth the extra effort as a preventative measure. (Will leave a couple non-Voyager computers in the Informatics office on automatic to see if there would have been issues - for future reference.)

o   Check each staff computer using Voyager to see if update checker is set to "Y" for automatic - change "Y" to "N".
o   Update staff client list (list with all library staff and which clients they have installed on their workstations.
o   Email staff explaining the upcoming outage time and steps that will take place from a technology/installation standpoint.
o   Check with each staff member to ensure that they still want the same clients that are on their list.
o   Remove or add clients to workstations based from information from previous step.
o   Install Voyager Checker on an computers that do not currently have it but will need it.
o   Screenshot preference screens for applicable staff. Remember that the preferences are computer profile specific AND Voyager login specific.
o   Communicate with staff about what the Global Data Change client is and that it will not be available immediately.

o   Email patrons of outage one week before outage is scheduled.
o   Email patrons of outage the day of outage.
o   Add announcement outage on website two weeks before outage.
o   Email appropriate people in IT about upgrade and how it will affect them.

Decision: GPL office computer has IGLOO deep freeze so we will work with IT on Tuesday after the upgrade to complete this installation since IT will have to thaw it for us to work on it.

o   Discuss offline checkout with circulation if library will be open.
o   Send email to student workers and staff about checkout procedure changes.

Decision: Library will be open on Saturday due to Freshman orientation. Informatics will follow all of their normal procedures except for the actual charge/discharge. They will take equipment up to the circulation desk with the patron and assist the circulation student with any information that may be needed (like checkout periods).

o   Check with third party companies that use library catalog to see if there is any precautions that can be taken.
o   Discuss implications of password change settings.
o   Inform appropriate IT personnel that XML is now an option besides SIF for patron uploads.

o   Backup SQL files from Access file for anyone who uses it.

Decision: We will replace our current mdb files with the new and improved CARLI file. Then re-import our saved SQLs into their file.

o   Save copy of current mdb files.

o   Comparison of three ini files to the new ini files
o   Check with circulation to make sure they have not made any modifications since last installation

o   Analyze and revise Report files including NoticeEmail.cfg

Decision: We are an I-Share email alternative so we are going to risk doing nothing here. We have a backup of the mdb file just in case we need to make modifications after the fact.

o   Put user guides on shared network drive.

After Completion of upgrade (Monday, June 13, 7am)

o   Installation test on Informatics Librarian's computer.
o   Retrieve new voyager and circ ini files - make changes per earlier research comparison.
o   Quick test of functionality.

o   Login to each staff computer using Voyager with Informatics Admin account
o   Run update checker
o   Replace ini files: callslip, voyager, circ
o   Set Voyager Checker back to automatic checking

o   Have each staff member logon to their computer (may need multiple logins if multiple profiles on computer)
o   Check/update client preferences in applicable clients

o   Email staff about completion, issues to watch for (especially report changes that may need customization) and changes.

o   Relink Oracle to Access Reports
o   Import customized SQLs to each desired mdb file

o   Check index REGENs schedule.
o   Notify Kathy, Trish, Circulation and ILL of evening will we be updated.