Daily Archives: February 29, 2016
Countdown to 2FA!
Submitted by Dace Freivalds, I-Tech
Two factor authentication (2FA) will be mandatory for all Libraries’ employees (full- and part-time) by May 10, 2016. This means that you will need to enroll in 2FA prior to that date; if you have not done so you will not be able to log in to UCS, ESSIC or other services protected by WebAccess starting May 10.
As of today, 114 (or 19%) of the Libraries’ employees have enrolled in 2FA. We now have 70 days to reach our goal of 100% enrollment by Libraries faculty and staff.
What is 2FA?
Two factor authentication (2FA) is a second layer of security for your Access Account, meaning that, in addition to your password, extra information or a physical device (typically a phone) is required to log in to your account. Verifying your identity using a second factor such as your phone or other device prevents anyone but you from logging in even if someone else knows your password. Penn State’s two factor authentication is provided through Duo Security, a cloud based two factor authentication service.
What Do I Need to Do?
Enroll in 2FA before May 10. I-Tech will offer regular drop-in sessions as well as departmental sessions to provide assistance with enrollment. The one hour drop-in sessions have been scheduled for every Friday, March 4 – May 6 at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in the I-Tech Training Room. In addition, beginning March 1, Ryan Johnson (I-Tech) will contact department heads, campus library heads and supervisors to set up departmental sessions. These sessions will include a brief overview of 2FA for the entire department/unit, one week for enrollment, and a return visit from Ryan after the week is up for some more targeted assistance if needed.
You do not have to wait for the drop-in or departmental sessions to enroll. If you want to get going on this, the 2FA web site created by Identity Services/ITS provides instructions on how to enroll. In addition, you can refer to I-Tech’s 2FA FAQ for answers to your questions. And if you bump into a problem, submit a Service Desk request and we’ll provide assistance.
Will I Get Reminders to Enroll?
Yes. Four weeks before May 10, Identity Services will begin to send weekly email reminders to individuals who are not enrolled in 2FA. We will also have a weekly countdown in Library News so that you do not lose sight of the deadline for enrollment.
What Do You Mean by a 2FA Device?
2FA requires that you use a physical device as your second level of authentication. The preferred physical devices are smartphones, cell phones, landlines or tablets. It’s important to enroll more than one device in 2FA in case you misplace or something happens to your only enrolled device. For example, if you accidentally leave your cell phone at home, you could use your landline office phone as a backup way to log in to WebAccess.
Duo hardware tokens can also be used as the second factor device. At the Libraries, tokens are available by request per guidelines established by the Libraries administration.
Where Can I get Help?
For more information on 2FA, please see Identity Services’ Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Enrollment and I-Tech’s 2FA FAQ web pages. If you cannot find answers to your questions in these pages, please submit a service desk request or email dace@psu.edu.
Product owners and library IT services
By Karen Estlund, associate dean for Technology and Digital Strategies
When I first arrived as a new associate dean in the Libraries, I conducted SWOT analyses with several departments. One of the outcomes was an evaluation of the many applications that we support through Libraries IT, and a desire for wider input and ownership throughout the libraries was expressed by all. At the same time, the University Libraries’ website migration also offers us an appropriate opportunity to formalize ownership and receive broader input for important functional sections of the Libraries’ website.
To address this, we’re experimenting with a concept from the Scrum Agile software development framework, the role of “product owners.”1
What is a product owner?
A product owner is the person who is accountable for an IT service, application or product’s success. They are the liaison between the IT team and the stakeholders. Product owners are the folks that make decisions about directions for a service. They also are then accountable for demonstrating success and notification of failures so that resources can be redirected and/or problems addressed. As part of this role, they also are responsible for helping to select tools / technologies to solve problems and work collaboratively with the IT team.
A product owner should be both empowered and accountable.
What are product owner responsibilities? 2
- Representing the voice of the patrons/users
- Understanding and delivering on ROI or cost/benefit (through assessment)
- Managing communication and cooperation among stakeholders
- Facilitating content provision from content providers or delegating role as appropriate
- Maintaining communication with the technical team
- Making rapid tactical development decisions if they impact functionality or usability
Participating in technical release planning - Writing user stories and functional scenarios
- Maintaining product backlog (a list) of the product’s feature / issue requests
- Helping the team to estimate development time for each functional scenario with the technical lead
- Participating in periodic feature development review meetings and providing feedback to the team
- Monitoring progress and making ongoing adjustments based on larger strategic objectives
Why are product owners being introduced into our culture?
By introducing product owners in the Libraries, we hope to accomplish the following goals:
- Disperse ownership of and responsibility for technology services throughout the libraries
- Eliminate languishing applications
- Increase stakeholder input
How are product owners being rolled out in the Libraries?
Product ownership in the Libraries is an experimental and evolving process. The first identified service to use a product owner was LibGuides as a discrete entity, and the timing from migration to sustained product fit the bill. Rebecca Miller, Head of Library Learning Services, was identified as the LibGuides product owner and has worked with I-Tech, assessment, and stakeholders to explore how this process may unfold. Other high-priority projects, such as the Libraries website and digital collections, have been identified as areas where product owners may help solidify directions and responsibilities going forward.
We are still learning how this approach will evolve and hope to gain experience from these instances before rolling out for all Libraries IT products and services.
In some cases, individuals throughout the Libraries already have been serving as product owners, and this process is an affirmation of those responsibilities. Jill Shockey’s role as the product owner for News & Events within the Libraries’ website is one example.
We also identified product owners of large IT services, and took advantage of an opportunity that Penn State ITS arranged, and sent a few people to product owner certification training. They included Ben Goldman for digital preservation services, Rob Olendorf for data management, and Tara LaLonde for GIS/spatial data web-embedded services.
It is important to note that product ownership takes a significant amount of time and responsibilities and should be integrated into the job description and goals of a product owner.
Who are current Libraries product owners?
The list of identified product owners is available on the Libraries’ Staff Site (intranet).
How can I learn more?
Stay tuned for an upcoming Tech Forum, April 12 at 1:30 pm, where I will lead a discussion on product owner strategies and a vision for how product ownership may influence our IT services.
What’s next?
We are formalizing what it means to be a product owner in the libraries and seeking feedback from those who are starting out in this role. We’re also excited to work together in new training efforts for assessment and writing user stories, which may have interest beyond “product owners” and will be broadly advertised. These are very pivotal collaborative roles that bridge the library stakeholders, IT, campus community, and users to ensure a successful product. By working in this collaborative environment, we hope to expand technology responsibilities across the libraries, knowing that working together and trusting expertise, we will better serve our users.
1Adapted from: Kaminski, Andre. “The Mythical Product Owner.” Pragmatic Marketing. http://pragmaticmarketing.com/resources/the-mythical-product-owner
2Pichler, Roman. (2010 Dec. 15) “The Product Owner on One Page.” Scrum Alliance. https://www.scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2010/december/the-product-owner-on-one-page
LHR News: Feb. 29
Please join us in welcoming the following new hires:
Full-time:
2/29/16 – Beth Ann Downey, Information Resources and Services Support Specialist 2, Cataloging and Metadata Services
Part-time:
Barbara Weaver – Collection Maintenance
Yan Lu – Collection Maintenance
Jo Ann Smith – Collection Maintenance
Wishing the following employees well as they leave us:
Frank Schrader – Access Services
Annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day program canceled
This year’s Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, scheduled for April 28, will not be held at Penn State’s University Park campus due to budgetary constraints. The program, presented in the past by Penn State’s Office of Human Resources and Educational Equity, is being eliminated as the University attempts to capture savings wherever possible due to a lack of appropriation money from the Commonwealth. Activities that are not core to the mission of the University are being scrutinized for potential reinvestment in other more necessary programs. Penn State employees are still invited to bring their daughters and sons to work on April 28, however there will be no coordinated central program or organizing activity destinations for participants, nor any featured luncheon speaker. Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work program is a national effort to expose girls and boys to what a parent or mentor in their lives does during the work day as a way to introduce them to careers and share the value of their education.
2016 Hopkins Poetry Award winner announced
Penn State University Libraries and the Pennsylvania Center for the Book are pleased to announce the winner of the 2016 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award. This year’s winner is “Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir” written by Margarita Engle, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
The award and a $1,000 prize, courtesy of Lee Bennett Hopkins, will be presented at Penn State in the fall.
Events: Feb. 29
Tuesday, March 1, 3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.: Re-Imagining the Civil War: Gender Roles and the Ethics of History, Mann Assembly Room, first floor, Paterno Library. Centre County Reads event featuring a panel of speakers.
Tuesday, March 1, 6:00–9:00 p.m.: Screening of Spike Lee’s latest film, Chi-Raq, Foster Aud. Co-sponsored by the University Libraries, Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (CAMS), Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) and Residence Life. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Jeanine Staples (African American Studies), Moses Davis (MRC) and Mathias Hanses (CAMS). Free and open to all.
**This event is CANCELLED: Will be rescheduled**: Wednesday, March 2, 3:00 p.m.: Open forum on project management tools, including an overview of a few (e.g., Trello and Asana). Mann Assembly Rm. What do you use and how do you apply it as a PM tool? What has worked? What hasn’t worked? What do you need a PM tool to do for your projects?
Thursday, March 3, 11:00 a.m.: Dean’s Forum with Lorcan Dempsey, vice-president and chief strategist of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). His presentation will address collection trends and collection assessment in libraries today. Foster Auditorium and Media Site Live
Friday, March 4, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.: Penn State’s second annual Wikistorming Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon, held to elevate the presence of women artists online. Sponsored by the University Libraries as part of Art+Feminism 2016, the Edit-a-Thon invites members of the public to participate and encouraged to bring a laptop. The event begins at 207 Arts Cottage, University Park, and includes lunch, a viewing of the documentary “Right Out of History: The Making of Judy Chicago’s ‘Dinner Party,’ ” a visit to the Judy Chicago Art Education Collection at the University Libraries, and a talk by visual artist Susan Hill, who narrated the documentary. Hill’s talk is titled “When this happens / Then that happens = Working Wisdom.”. More information is on Penn State News; register at http://tinyurl.com/wikistorming.
Wednesday, March 9, 3:00 p.m.: Open forum on project management tools, including an overview of a few (e.g., Trello and Asana). Mann Assembly Rm. What do you use and how do you apply it as a PM tool? What has worked? What hasn’t worked? What do you need a PM tool to do for your projects?
Tuesday, March 15, 10-11 a.m.: “Mommy, Where Does Metadata Come From?” Mann Assembly Room. The presentation will discuss the two basic kinds of metadata, the two basic kinds of searches our patrons conduct, and then examine in detail the metadata ecosystem and its ever-more-rapidly-proliferating series of silos (The CAT, LionSearch, CONTENTdm, Google Scholar, WorldCat, ScholareSphere, HathiTrust, DPLA, etc.). We’ll see how the silos are linked, or not, who creates what metadata where, and how the complex relationships that exist and evolve between silos directly impact discovery and access, collection development and assessment, and the user experience both here at Penn State and around the world. The presentation will be recorded and made available on the Web one week after the event. Presented by Metadata Man. For more, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKIqmTeFlzI
Tuesday, March 15, 2:00–3:00 p.m.: Hiring for Diversity presented by Rob Harris, Libraries Human Resources manager, Mann Assembly Room, and Adobe Connect. Content will include search committee formation, issues to be aware of in the hiring process, the interview, and more. If you area is hiring or planning to hire in the future, this presentation will be a useful primer on what you need to know before and during the hiring process. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions. No registration required for this program.
Wednesday, March 16, noon–1:00 p.m.: Annual Diversity Potluck, Mann Assembly Room. Everyone is welcome to join us! (Note: You don’t need to bring a dish!) Sign up sheet: https://surveys.libraries.psu.edu/TakeSurvey.aspx?PageNumber=1&SurveyID=983M3ol&Preview=true!
Wednesday, March 16, 5:30 p.m.: Spring Clean Financial Clutter, Mann Assembly Rm. Spring cleaning can clear clutter in your personal financial life just like it does for your closets and garage. In this workshop, learn how to take control of your finances and simplify financial record-keeping for year-end tax purposes, reducing stress and saving time in the long run.
Wednesday, March 16, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.: An Evening with Karen Abbott, John Bill Freeman Auditorium, 117 HUB. A book signing will follow the event.
Thursday, March 17, 1-2:30 p.m.: Publishing social science data: your other publication 211A Pattee Library, University Park. Stephen Woods, social sciences librarian, will provide an overview of the process for publishing social science data in ICPSR, a premier data archive. Participants will be introduced to Nesstar Publisher and Collectica tools that will assist in describing data using DDI, a core meta-data standard for social science data. There will also be a brief introduction to Open ICPSR, a data archive solution and a comparison of Open ICPSR with other, fee-based solutions. In this session, participants will learn about data discovery solutions that utilize elements of data description to highlight ways a researcher’s data can potentially be discovered. Available for remote participation at https://meeting.psu.edu/ul-dlc.
Monday, March 21, 2:00–3:00 p.m.: GIS Interest Group meeting, 126 A Paterno Library. Discussion topics include updates from the last Penn State GIS users group, library geospatial activities, and current geospatial events and news.
Thursday, March 31, 1:00-2:00 p.m.: A world of census data, 211A Pattee Library, University Park. This session, conducted by Stephen Woods, will explore the wealth of census data from around the world that are available to Penn State researchers as well as from free sources outside of the library’s collection. The presentation will discuss limitations such as language, format and reporting. Available for remote participation at https://meeting.psu.edu/ul-dlc.
Save the date:
Wednesday, March 18, 8:30 a.m.-noon: Data Day 2016, Social Science Library and Data Learning Center, 208 Paterno Library, with lightning talks in Foster Auditorium. More information at http://sites.psu.edu/dataday.
Tuesday, April 12, 2;30–3:30 p.m.: Speak Up for Civility workshop, Mann Assembly Room. More information to come.
Monday, May 23, 2:00–3:30 p.m.; Annual Diversity Colloquium, Foster Aud. and MediaSite Live. Look for a call for presentation proposals in March.
GIS interest group: March 21 meeting
The next GIS Interest group meeting is Monday, March 21, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in 126A Paterno Library. Discussion topics include updates from the last Penn State GIS users group, library geospatial activities and current geospatial events and news. — Tara LaLonde
Updating and installing programs on your library machine
by Ryan Johnson, technology training coordinator
Are you not sure when you should update various programs on your machine? What are some best practices if you decide to update?
Here are some general guidelines you should follow when deciding to update programs on your library machine:
- If the software came pre-loaded on your machine – I-Tech will manage these updates (This includes browsers, flash, java, etc.)
- If you install a new program with Privilege Guard, you can update that program at any time.
- When updating or installing programs, beware of adware. Many installers will try to install other programs or redirect your homepage. Make sure to uncheck unnecessary updates.
- Download from the Vendor directly and avoid sites like CNET.re you not sure when you should update programs on your machine?
Diversity News: Hiring workshop and potluck details
Hiring for Diversity Workshop
Penn State’s new Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence has been described as a “call to action” by Marcus Whitehurst, vice-provost for Educational Equity. One area of focus outlined in the statement relates to the workforce: “We will advance and build our workforce by assessing hiring practices and performance review procedures to attract, retain, and develop talented faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds.” If you want to learn more about diversity-related hiring issues and practices, please join us for a “Hiring for Diversity workshop,” from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., on Tuesday, March 15, in Mann Assembly Room, presented by Rob Harris, Libraries Human Resources manager. Content will include increasing diversity in candidate pools, issues to be aware of in the hiring process and more. No registration is required for this program, which will also be available for remote participation via Adobe Connect.
Annual Diversity Potluck
Join us from noon to 1 p.m., on Wednesday, March 16, in Mann Assembly Room, for a Diversity Potluck!
Everyone is welcome: bring a dish, or just bring yourself! Please complete this sign up sheet: https://surveys.libraries.psu.edu/TakeSurvey.aspx?PageNumber=1&SurveyID=983M3ol&Preview=true
Reminder: Chi-Raq Film Screening and Discussion
Free film screening of Spike Lee’s latest, followed by short discussion, 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 1, in Foster Auditorium. Open to all.