University network downtime - Tuesday 7th and Thursday 9th August

As part of the work to upgrade the University network infrastructure this summer, there will be no network access throughout the University for up to four hours starting at 7am on the mornings of Tuesday 7th and Thursday 9th August. SOLO will also be down during this period, as will the web interface for topping up your PCAS account.

University network upgrade: change to scheduled downtime

OUCS have announced a change to the schedule of planned downtime for the network upgrade work this summer. There will now be no downtime on Tuesday 3rd July; instead the downtime that was planned for then will take place on Thursday 9th July. Again the downtime may last up to 11.30am.

This will affect all networked library services, including SOLO, PCAS, reader PCs and the wireless network.

Network downtime Tuesday 26th June am - Wireless, SOLO, Library PCs

As part of the work to upgrade the University network infrastructure this summer, the following library services will be unavailable for up to four hours starting at 7am on Tuesday 26th June:

• Wireless (OWL, Eduroam and Bodleian-Libraries)
• SOLO
• Library PCs

University network upgrade this summer: effect on library services

Over the coming weeks, the University Computing Service is undertaking work to upgrade the University network. This will necessitate periods of scheduled downtime.

Networked library services may be unavailable, in some cases until 11.30am on:

• Tuesday 26 June
• Tuesday 3 July UPDATE 29/6 - this downtime has been rescheduled to Thursday 9 August.
• Tuesday 7 August

SOLO, reader and staff workstations, wireless and Ethernet connections, and PCAS may be unavailable during the mornings. There may also be delays to the book service.

Local work affecting the Vere Harmsworth Library will be carried out on Tuesday 7 August. The networked services listed above may be unavailable in the Vere Harmsworth Library until 11am on this date. Again, this may cause delays to the book service on that morning.

We apologize for the inconvenience that this necessary work may cause.

Wireless temporarily unavailable

The wireless router at the VHL is currently out of action.  This means that there is no access to either the Bodleian-Libraries or Eduroam networks until it is fixed, hopefully later today or tomorrow morning.   As the RAI router is still working, wireless internet access is still available via OWL for anyone with VPN.

UPDATE 23rd September: Full wireless access has now been restored.

Wireless update

For those of you who have been experiencing problems with connecting to the wireless network this week, please ensure that you are connecting to OWL and not OWL-VPN. OWL has replaced the old OWL-VPN network, but apparently OWL-VPN is still visible in some parts of the library with a very weak signal. Connections through OWL-VPN will therefore be poor and liable to drop out. Choose OWL from the list of available networks instead, and then log in through the VPN as normal. Alternatively you can use the new OULS-reader network, which doesn't need the VPN - just open up your web browser, enter your OLIS barcode and password and away you go!

Wireless problems and WISER coming up

The wireless upgrade on Tuesday doesn't appear to have gone as smoothly as planned... we've had several reports of a consistently weak signal and problems connecting. ICT are investigating and hopefully the network will be back to full strength soon. In the meantime, if you have been having problems accessing the wireless network it would be great if you could let us know (including how you are accessing - OWL via VPN or the new OULS-reader - and where you are sitting).

UPDATE: Apparently 1 connection in 10 is suffering a weak signal, so hopefully the majority of you are connecting fine...

And while I'm here... next week's WISER session:

WISER: Google Project
Wednesday 4th June 2008 (week 7), 12.30 - 1.30, OUCS, Banbury Road.
The Library Services are working with Google to attempt the mass digitization of our entire holdings of out-of-copyright C19th material. This presentation will set our experiences and the outputs of the project in the context of Oxford's ambitions to provide a digital library service for the global community of readers.
Michael Popham.
Book at: http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZWR

Changes to wireless network access

Following the upgrade of our wireless service this morning, there is now a choice of ways to access the wireless network in the VHL. When you start up your computer, it will now pick up three wireless networks which you can connect to:

• Bodleian-Libraries: This is now the preferred option, and can be accessed without the need for VPN software. After you have connected to OULS-reader in the list of available networks, open up your web browser. You will be taken to a page where you will be prompted to enter your library card barcode and password. This is the same password as you would use to place stack requests via OLIS. Once authenticated, the full range of network resources will be available to you. NB, if your password is the same as your barcode this system will not accept it and you will need to change it via OLIS. Once changed, there will be a delay of up to 30 minutes before you can access the network. 
• OWL: If you are used to connecting to the wireless via OWL-VPN you can continue to do so!
• Eduroam: If you are an external reader and have an Eduroam account from your home institution, you can use this to connect via the Eduroam network. Please note however that this will only give you access to the resources subscribed to by your home institution, and NOT Oxford's. If you wish to access Oxford's resources, please log in to OULS-reader.

Reminder - wireless network upgrade (Tuesday 27th May)

Just a reminder that our wireless network is being upgraded tomorrow (Tuesday 27th May), which will result in the network being unavailable for approximately one hour at 10am. The network connections on the library PCs will be unaffected so you can still access the internet/electronic resources using them.

Wireless upgrade - Tuesday 27th May

Our wireless service is due to be upgraded next Tuesday (27th May). This will mean that the wireless network will be unavailable for approximately one hour from 10am. The network connections for the library PCs on the ground floor will be unaffected, so if you need to access electronic resources, email, the internet etc you will be able to do so through them while the wireless is down.

New computers

We now have new computers in the library for reader use. They have access to OLIS, the internet and all the usual electronic resources as before, but also have Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access) and EndNote installed. It is not possible to save anything to the hard drive however, so you will need to bring your own USB drive if you need to save things. If you don't have a USB stick and need to save something temporarily (eg, to email it to yourself or to transfer to your own laptop), we have a couple that we can lend you - please ask at the staff desk.

The only computer that hasn't been replaced yet is the one attached to the microfilm scanner - this is due to a problem with incompatible hardware which should be fixed shortly.

New computers - now 6th March

Good news - we've just heard that our new reader PCs are coming on Thursday 6th March. As before, if you have anything saved on any of the old ones, please make sure you have retrieved it by then!

Delay to new computers

We have just been informed that we won't be getting our new PCs next week after all. ICT explain the reason for this as follows: "The Dell PCs need an upgrade patch to be installed and we have taken the decision to suspend the remainder of the rollouts until we can apply this patch in advance to save a further visit to the PCs post installation. THE PLANNED INSTALLATIONS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PCs HAVE THEREFORE BEEN SUSPENDED." There's no news on when they will be replaced, but as soon as we hear we will let you know.

Skype + webcam available in the group study room

We have installed Skype and a webcam on the PC in the group study room. If you would like to use these facilities (for academic purposes, not just to call your aunt in Australia!), please email us to book the room. The PC in the group study room has sound enabled, unlike the main library PCs, so can also be used for looking at audio-visual resources (again preferably for academic purposes, tempting as Star Wars Kid or those guys on the treadmills may be...).

New computers

We will be having new PCs installed in the library on Wednesday 20th February, to replace our very old (and excessively large) ones.

If you have anything saved on any of the current machines that you don't want to lose, please save it elsewhere before then!

Wireless for external (non-University) readers

We are now finally able to offer access to the wireless network for non-University members. If you are an external reader (ie, your library card is any colour other than blue!) and you would like to be able to connect your laptop to the internet in the VHL, please ask at the desk and we will issue you with an account username and password. This will allow you access via the OWL-VISITOR network.

Things to note:

• Visitor accounts are short-term and all accounts issued will expire in December. If you want to continue using the wireless network next term you will need to re-register in January.
• Access to the wireless network will not guarantee you access to all the University's electronic resources. Most subscribed e-resources are IP-authenticated and therefore will not be available via the wireless network.
• There is effectively no technical support for this service as OUCS will not support non-University members.