Meyer Library Hosts Bay Area Technology and Computing in Higher Education Conference
by Surajit Bose
On Friday, March 21, approximately 25 attendees gathered in Meyer Library for the third Bay Area Technology and Computing in Higher Education conference, which was sponsored by Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources' (SULAIR) Academic Computing group.
The participants at this year's BATCHe represented several Stanford departments, including Information Technology Services, the School of Medicine, Student Affairs, and the School of Education. Participating SULAIR units included Cubberley Library, the Information Center in Green Library, and, of course, Academic Computing. Representatives from Holy Names University, the University of California at San Francisco, California College of the Arts, and Santa Clara University were also present.
Strategies for Software Updates and Security Patches
The proceedings got underway at 9:00 a.m., when participants were welcomed with a continental breakfast. The morning session of the conference, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., was devoted to a discussion of strategies for keeping large numbers of computers up-to-date with the latest software updates and security patches. Patrick Lee from CCA, John McWalter from UCSF, and Allan Chen from Santa Clara each had presentations on their respective schools' approaches to this issue.
After a roundtable when representatives from the other participating departments and institutions briefly described their practices in this regard, Karl Kuehn and Dustin King from Academic Computing gave an overview of that department's method for updating and patching cluster and kiosk computers in the student residences and the Libraries. Each group also discussed the difficulties and problems involved in ensuring that computers are updated reliably and in a timely fashion. The different strategies and solutions presented gave participants many ideas for retooling their own practices.
Moving from Static to Dynamic Web Pages
Over the catered lunch, participants continued informally to exchange ideas and discuss possible collaborations. At 1:30 p.m., the afternoon session began with a presentation by John Bickar of Cubberley Library and Ronnie Fields of Green Library's Information Center on moving from static to dynamic Web pages. Both Library units have recently completed a transition from static HTML pages to dynamic sites that use Drupal as a content management system. John and Ronnie summarized the planning, training, and implementation involved in this transition. Their presentation was well-received, generating many questions from the attendees.
Data Protection Strategies
The final formal presentation of the day was by Elena Olkhoskaya and Emerson Whatley of Holy Names University. They spoke on data protection strategies. Now that Web sites, email servers, and other online resources are expected to have 24/7 uptime, what strategies are required to ensure this uptime? How should IT staff protect these resources against catastrophic occurrences such as earthquakes or fires? How can access to these resources be restored quickly after such occurrences? The ensuing discussion was lively and thought-provoking, with useful suggestions regarding funding for backup services, offsite storage of critical data, and redundancy planning.
Suggestions for Next BATCHe
Coffee and cookies brought the conference to a close. Over the refreshments, attendees suggested topics for the next BATCHe: for example, dual-boot machines, supporting multimedia production, or network management. Both Holy Names University and Santa Clara University expressed interest in hosting the next BATCHe. The commonly held sentiment appeared to be that this particular symposium was both useful and enjoyable; the general desire to keep the conversation going via future meetings was an indicator of the conference's success.
