The Hillsdale Information Technology Services department is in the process of installing Virtual Desktop computers in the library. They also plan to update the library’s printer software as early as this summer.
ITS Systems Administrator David Pauken says that these new computers will be much easier for his department to manage, as well as being more secure.
“Instead of rebooting to its own hardware, the computer is actually essentially connecting to a remote computer that’s hosted in the data center,” Pauken said. “So instead of that server having just one operating system, it actually has many, many, many virtualized computers on it.”
The updates to the library have been in progress for a while, Public Services Librarian Brenna Wade said.
“ITS took some of the Virtual Desktop Thin Clients from, I believe, some of the classroom buildings, and they installed four machines in the library,” Wade said. “We’re doing it on a trial basis to see if this would be a viable option moving forward.”
Pauken also pointed out that installing Virtual Desktops will be cheaper for the college and faster for the students than the computers that the library previously had.
“We can reuse a lot of hardware, imagine using your computer with a keyboard and mouse from ten years ago, but you’re on a Windows Ten machine,” Pauken said.
Starting in the fall, ITS plans to change the way that print jobs are released in the library.
“Any student that’s been to the library can tell you that you can often sit down and tell something to print, but when you get there, it’s gone,” Puaken said.
Wade says that this problem will be solved with the library’s new, more secure printing software.
“Print jobs will need to be released through a card swipe or a card tap, so students will need to use their IDs to release their jobs,” Wade said. “It’s a really good thing to do, it’s an extra step that allows more secure access to one’s print jobs.”