Dear Linka ...
Have a question about LIS or any service provided by LIS? Linka has the answer — ask her!
Born Caroline Dorothea Margrethe Keyser in Kristiansand, Norway, Linka and her husband, Herman Amberg Preus, arrived in Spring Prairie, Wisconsin in 1851. Her husband was a pastor and later president of the Norwegian Lutheran Synod in America. Christian Keyser Preus, her son, became the second president of Luther College. Linka is best remembered for her sketchbooks that contain her drawings of Luther College and the Decorah area from the 1850s and 1860s. In 1876, she suffered a stroke from which she never fully recovered. She died four years later in 1880. Her diary, translated in 1951, contains details not only about events in her life but also about her thoughts and feelings in entries recorded from 1844 to 1864.
In the 21st century Linka now channels LIS with answers to all questions, easy and hard about information services at Luther … perhaps Linka can teach you a thing or two about LIS, and we know she can answer your questions.
Computer Labs and Printing
‘Eye’ have good news for you!
New equipment was bought this summer including video cameras that use internal hard drives and not tapes. There are also four new multimedia workstations outside of the Help Desk.
Since media is so important to education, LIS has an eye on the future and established a Multimedia Lead (Matt Baumann). His job is to make sure new technology works with existing technology. If you have any questions, I’m sure he’ll do everything he can to help you.
Non-duplexing printers are akin to scribes: a thing of the past. All future printer purchases will have a duplexing option. In addition, as a printer is replaced duplexing will be set as the default printing option. LIS is also looking into a print accounting system to track usage and help discourage wasteful printing.
Library Resources
Not knowing the answer, Linka had to ask her friend Martha Davis, the Serials Manager in Preus Library. Here’s what she had to say:
Books are individually more expensive than a journal, but the subscriptions to buy the journals are very expensive and have to be bought every year. Books are also more difficult to photocopy. Journals are much easier and cheaper (at Luther anyway!).
Many Public libraries allow journals to be checked out, but that’s because they aren’t binding them for library collections. Since most of Luther’s journals are used for research, we bind them and need to keep them in good condition to be available for others to use.
Please, no food in that room!
As its name would imply, the Rare Book Room has many hard to find works of literature. Among them is a bible written in 1498, copies of the sermon from Martin Luther’s funeral (1546), and first editions from some American authors. There are scores of other material from all subjects and years, many of which reflect the heritage and history of Luther College. One ‘rarely’ sees anyone in the room because access is limited to those with research needs. As you can see, you cannot study in the room, but you can arrange a tour with the Head Librarian. Read more at http://lis.luther.edu/resources/collections/rarebooks
The Librarians would like you to believe it is an exotic process involving far flung travel to distant lands or the Koren Oracle. In truth, purchases are driven by Faculty requests. It is a very important job though. Together, the Library and Faculty make decisions on what books to buy in order to best support learning. The Librarians are always reading and reviewing books, buying what they feel there is a need for. If you want to suggest a book for the “Oracle”, talk to a Librarian. You can learn a lot more at http://lis.luther.edu/resources/colldev/acquisition/#main .
I must say, I enjoy students who are as dedicated to their work as you are! And it’s easy! Just connect to the desired resource by going through http://library.luther.edu rather than going to it directly.
The Library has created a ‘Proxy’. This system acts like a doorman, standing in front of restricted resources, and making sure that only those with the right permissions get through. If it sees you trying to access a resource while on campus, it stands aside. If you are off campus, it asks you for your Norse Key before allowing you through.
One day I asked my husband, Herman, “Herman, can’t we get a better milking bucket? I don’t find this one very user-friendly.” (It was more like a vase, really, small-mouthed). Little did I know that Herman already had a new wide-mouthed bucket waiting around the corner. Googie, your wide-mouthed Library-Google search is waiting around the corner, we call it Encore. Go to http://encore.luther.edu/iii/encore to see it in action.
Network Resources
To be able to speak with another without having to wait weeks for a letter? Why, the idea is marvelous! Though, I do suppose there are those that one simply does not have patience for and it would be fine to avoid their callings. Alas, the telephony department has informed me that while it is possible, it simply costs too much at this time.
When Towers was built in ages yonder, the first concern was to have thick walls so that students could sleep and study without disruption. But alas, wireless is akin to shouting – the more walls (and the thicker they are), the more difficult is it to hear the signal. It would take many stations to provide wireless for Towers, possibly more than the Union, Library, and Main combined! Good news Tethered, Towers is tentatively scheduled for renovation (which will include wireless) in the summer of 2009.
Web Services
“Owe no man anything” (Romans 13:8). A frugal student is a wise student. Many vendors, such as Microsoft or Apple, have student or academic versions of their software. The websites, http://academicsuperstore.com and http://theultimatesteal.com, caters to education as well on a wide variety of products. Lastly, one could look at other free options such as OpenOffice.org or NorseDocs (http://docs.luther.edu
Oh dear. That is embarrassing. Well, you can take heart and never go hungry again because LIS has already added a calendar! The new Norse Apps has a Calendar feature (http://calendar.luther.edu or click the Calendar link in Norse Mail). You-Know-Who can even give you access to their calendar to spare you further embarrassment. If you are a student, you already have access. If you are a Faculty or Staff member, you can switch to Norse Apps by contacting the Help Desk. Look at http://lis.luther.edu/learn to learn more.
Using Norse Cal, you could even invite You-Know-Who to a I’m-Sorry-I-Forgot-Dinner lutefisk dinner.
I must say, I enjoy students who are as dedicated to their work as you are! And it’s easy! Just connect to the desired resource by going through http://library.luther.edu rather than going to it directly.
The Library has created a ‘Proxy’. This system acts like a doorman, standing in front of restricted resources, and making sure that only those with the right permissions get through. If it sees you trying to access a resource while on campus, it stands aside. If you are off campus, it asks you for your Norse Key before allowing you through.
Actually, Katie-kisser, a Katie page is automatically created for each course at the beginning of each semester. It is left to the discretion of your professor as to whether Katie will be used for the course or not. Perhaps you should discuss this with the professor. If you are not successful, you may want to enroll in this course, http://katie.luther.edu/moodle/course/view.php?id=4232.
One day I asked my husband, Herman, “Herman, can’t we get a better milking bucket? I don’t find this one very user-friendly.” (It was more like a vase, really, small-mouthed). Little did I know that Herman already had a new wide-mouthed bucket waiting around the corner. Googie, your wide-mouthed Library-Google search is waiting around the corner, we call it Encore. Go to http://encore.luther.edu/iii/encore to see it in action.
