Bryn Mawr College

Dear Members of the Bryn Mawr College Community,

This is the fourth message from Information Services this summer detailing significant changes to our services and staffing patterns for the 2009-2010 academic year.

The changes to Information Services resources and staffing detailed in this communication affect all members of the College community wishing to learn how to make the best use of library, research and technology resources for teaching and learning. In bringing together many of our existing resources and services together in one physical and one virtual space, we are hoping to improve the ease with which the community can meet its information needs.

I would like to thank the students and the staff of Information Services who worked together to create the TECH Bar, and look forward to hearing from members of the community about your experiences as we continue to experiment with new forms of information services.

Best,

Elliott Shore
CIO

What is the TECH Bar?

TECH stands for Technology Education & Collaborative Help. Located on the first floor of Canaday, the TECH Bar educates students, faculty and staff in both existing and emerging technologies. “Technologies” includes instructional design, research and academic tools, and productivity and multimedia software. The TECH Bar’s professional staff and students provide College community members with education and consultation in-person and as-needed.

Our approach seeks to empower community members to become active and knowledgeable learners of new technologies by providing collaborative and dialogic learning opportunities, skilled advice and consultation, and self-directed, self-paced learning resources.

IS professional staff members and TECH Team students are available to help with:

• Library Research
• Digital Media & Video Editing
• Visual Resources & Image Editing
• Web Editing & Blogs
• Blackboard
• Microsoft Office
• Email & Calendar
• Materials Lending

How do I use the TECH Bar?

1. Walk-in at Canaday

The TECH Bar (formerly the Circulation and Reference Desks) accepts walk-up questions concerning the topics above. Materials check-out is available any time Canaday is open, and Reference Librarians are available on-call throughout the day. The TECH Bar staff is equipped to provide introductory instruction and consultation on-demand. If a question requires further time, attention and/or support, staff will refer it a specialist for appointment-based consultation.

2. Explore our online resources

Visit the TECH Bar’s online documentation at http://techbar.blogs.brynmawr.edu.
Here you will find a number of TECH tips and resources that are at your fingertips day and night. Use the search box or browse by category. Each post has a PDF or a list of external links with resources, step-by-step guides and online tutorials of how to do anything from printing from your own computer on campus to making a chart or table in Microsoft Excel 2007. There is a space for comments on each post so you can let us know how the tips worked, if there were any problems or if you couldn’t find something you were looking for. Your feedback is welcomed.

Visit http://www.brynmawr.edu/is/learn to learn more about what the TECH Bar is up to, and to meet our staff!

3. Contact the TECH Bar with questions, class or instruction requests and feedback:

• Look for the red TECH icon on various IS web pages, and click to Ask the TECH Bar.
• Email: techbar@brynmawr.edu
• Call: 610-526-5279

What’s the difference between the TECH Bar and the Help Desk?

The goal of the Help Desk is to be the fastest, best point of contact for computing-related problems and questions.

The TECH Bar seeks to educate and inform members of the community about the best applications of technology inside and outside of the classroom.

For more information about our Service Desks click here.

Please contact help@brynmawr.edu, 610-526-7440, for help if you:

• Are having trouble with any of your accounts
• Need access to files, Virtual Bryn Mawr functions, or printers
• Cannot connect to the network or something on your computer isn’t working properly
• Would like to know about options for sharing files, email, or calendars
• Need to purchase software or equipment
• Need service or advice about your personal computer or safe computing practices
• Think you have a virus or other computer problem
• Want to report a problem or place a request concerning a campus telephone
• Are having a computer problem in a campus lab or classroom
• Would like to borrow a laptop, webcam, etc.
• Have questions about software licensing or availability

TECH Bar Hours:

The TECH Bar is staffed during the following hours:

• Monday - Friday 10 AM-Noon
• Every Day 1-5 PM
• Sunday - Thursday 7-10 PM

Library Circulation continues to be available during all of Canaday’s open hours:

• Monday - Thursday 8 AM-Noon
• Friday 8 AM-10 PM
• Saturday 10 AM-10 PM
• Sunday 10 AM-Noon

The Lusty Cup, A Floor Computing Lab, and Canaday Media Lab are open to BMC students 24/7.

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