University Libraries' Access to ILLiad Interlibrary Loan Module Temporarily Suspended

On April 20, 2006, access to the public interface to the University Libraries’ ILLiad Interlibrary Loan Request System was suspended when the Ball State Computer Security Response Team determined that the ILLiad authentication process we were using was not secure.

Prior to the suspension of the ILLiad service, the University Libraries served as a vendor-hosted ILLiad site, configured to use the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for authentication. This means that BSU usernames and passwords – the same credentials used on campus to access some special types of personal records – were transmitted to the ILLiad web server that was located off-campus.

BSU’s Computer Security Response Team determined that this procedure may not be consistent with Federal and Indiana privacy laws nor with Ball State’s guidelines for personal data. The problem identified was not with the ILLiad/LDAP configuration as such; rather, there were non-University steps involved in the authentication process. A local implementation of ILLiad on a system located on the Ball State campus, or a remote hosted solution using an ILLiad specific username and password process, would have eliminated the security issue identified recently.

There is no known breach of access or misuse of sensitive data, and Atlas Systems has repeatedly stated that they do not log or otherwise store passwords under any circumstances. Even so, the process that was in place provided the potential for interception of sensitive user data by an unauthorized third party. As a precaution, Ball State’s users of ILLiad have been advised to change their passwords if they have any concerns.

Security experts from University Computing Services and Library Information Technology Services continue to work with Atlas Systems to implement a secure authentication process. We anticipate that the ILLiad public interface will be operational soon.

Until user authentication with ILLiad is resolved, the University Libraries continues to provide Interlibrary Loan Services using techniques and procedures that were in place before ILLiad.

For more information, contact Bradley Faust, Assistant Dean, Library Information Technology Services, BFaust@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8032.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 3.

Getting Started with University Libraries' RSS Feeds

Since late April, the Ball State University Libraries have sponsored several RSS feeds that provide news, events, and listings of academic resource updates for library customers. View the webpage, www.bsu.edu/library/rss
Now that you have found an RSS feed to which you want to subscribe, what do you do next?
The first step is to get an RSS reader, which is sometimes called an aggregator. These applications access selected RSS feeds to regularly bring information to you, allowing you to read a variety of content through a single interface.
There are numerous Web and software-based readers available, such as Bloglines, Pluck, Yahoo, and Google. One that I recommend is Bloglines because it is free and easy-to-use. Visit www.bloglines.com/register to register for a free account.
After you have set up your Bloglines account, you add feeds as follows:
1. Right-click on the "RSS" or "XML" icon of the feed you want to subscribe to;
2. Select “Copy Shortcut” (Internet Explorer) or “Copy Link Location” (Firefox)
3. In a different browser window, with your Bloglines account open, click on the tab labeled “My Feeds”
4. Select “Add”
5. Paste the copied URL into the box labeled “Blog or Feed URL”
6. Click on “Subscribe”
That’s it! Repeat this process until you’ve added all of the feeds you wish. The next time you open your reader, you will have the headlines, abstracts, and sometimes full text, of all the news you have selected to read.
For more information regarding the University Libraries’ RSS feeds, two available online articles are the following:
Getting Started with RSS Feeds
www.bsu.edu/library/article/0,,42836--,00.html
FAQ about RSS
www.bsu.edu/library/article/0,,42833--,00.html Readers interested in ALA and OCLC blogs and RSS feeds, check out these sites:
ALA: www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/cfapps/xml/pr_inst.html
OCLC: www.oclc.org/rss/default.htm

For additional information or to make comments or suggestions, contact Daniel W. Hartwig at DWHartwig@bsu.edu or by phone at (765) 285-8723.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 7.

A Productive Year for Technology Training Support Services

As we leave the 2005-06 academic year behind, we pause for a few moments to look back on some of its highlights since this is the time to prepare annual reports and record accomplishments. So here are some of our numbers.

Those of us in Technology Training Support Services (TTSS) thank our faculty, staff, and students for their confidence in our services.

This was an especially busy and productive year for us at TTSS. Who knew there was so much interest in learning software among the faculty and staff? This past year, we saw an increase in attendance for our classes, up 185 persons or 11% over last year. During this same period, we offered 58 fewer classes, a reduction of 13%, because of an extended illness of Pamela Stant, one of our training specialists.

In addition to our attendance numbers, we have seen an increase in the number and frequency of support calls, hits to our Website, the number of accounts generated through the ElementK online learning system, and requests for classroom guest speaking.

This wonderfully productive academic year will be followed by a summer filled with opportunities for faculty to enhance the instructional technology they employ in their classes, in addition to our regular offerings. For our colleagues who toil outside the classroom, we are in the process of creating a certification program. Watch for future editions of The Library Insider and our website www.bsu.edu/techtrain for details on this new program.

Our Technology Training Specialists and I will be taking time this summer to polish our skills and learn new technologies so we can once again entice our faculty and staff to spend some time with us. Terms such as blogging, podcasting, and document sharing will all be part of our vocabulary come fall semester.

For information, contact Yasemin Tunc at YTunc@bsu.edu or call (765) 285-5902.

This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 5.

University Libraries' Internet Toolbar Available Free

Students and faculty who use the Libraries’ newly developed Internet toolbar report that it provides easier access to the University Libraries’ online resources and services.

Developed by Andy West, Microcomputer/Systems/Network Analyst in the University Libraries’ Library Information Technology unit, the Internet toolbar is freely available for installation on either Microsoft’s Internet Explorer or the Foxfire 1.5+ Internet browsers.

No matter what web site students or faculty are visiting, with the Internet Toolbar installed, the University Libraries’ powerful resources are just a click away for a desktop research library.

To access the toolbar for instructions and free download, visit www.bsu.edu/library/article/0,,42835--,00.html
This article was published in The Library Insider May 2006, pg. 8.

Re-learning an Old Lesson: Backing up Data

In the March 2006 issue of The Library Insider, I reported that one of our Gateway 935C file servers failed. It had been in service for over three years.

This failure became a calamity because there was no backup copy of the data. The server was one of several general purpose file servers. It hosted miscellaneous data, application files, and Access databases.

We were fortunate that none of the “lost” files affected public services. The next step was to send server components to a company that specializes in data recovery from failed devices.

We shipped 3 hard drives and the RAID [Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks] controller to CBL Data Recovery Technologies in El Cajon, California.

After analyzing the components, CBL reported that much of the data could be recovered. In mid-March, we received 6 DVD discs containing recovered data files. We estimate that 95% of the data was recovered.

Our Windows server specialist Budi Wibowo analyzed the recovered data and began the process of restoring the files and securing appropriate access permissions. This time the data is available on a HP ProLiant DL360 server that has quality backup processes in place. The cost was $3,550.

Notwithstanding lost productivity and the anxiety caused by our server crash and subsequent concern for weeks about lost data, our story has had a good outcome because we recovered almost all of our otherwise lost data. From this experience, we also re-learned an important lesson, which is to back up our operational and strategic data.

For information, contact Bradley D. Faust, Assistant Dean for Library Information Technology Services, BFaust@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8032.

This story was published in The Library Insider, April 2006, pg. 7.
The Library Insider

BSU Libraries to Use RSS to Share News

You have probably seen the small orange ovals or rectangles that are labeled RSS or XML. They seem to be popping up on Web sites everywhere. They indicate that the site offers a new way to access its news.

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds allow people to receive news content from several sources in one location. Instead of going to a site for news daily, for example, news on a topic is published to a news reader, called an aggregator as it becomes available.

The University Libraries expect to begin using RSS technology in early May 2006. Using this technology, we will expand the type and variety of news and information that we provide our students and faculty about our programs, services, and collections.


For information, contact Bradley D. Faust, Assistant Dean for Library Information Technology Services, BFaust@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8032.

This story was published in The Library Insider, April 2006, page 7.