IRIS Photos

Using the "Mobile Lab"

Jacalyn Spoon

The Adelson Library has embarked on its very first series of full-length, hands-on workshops.  In the past, we have offered only half-hour mini-workshops, which were literally look-over-the-shoulder-of-the-librarian.  Classes were limited in size and staged in the library at one of the two public computers.  

Out of a desire to host larger classes with greater content, I began my search for an alternative.  I happened on a new CIT offering, the Mobile Lab, consisting of twenty laptops with wireless Internet access.  It’s the perfect solution for a small unit library.

With the Mobile Lab and the help of colleagues I am now able to offer both the standard workshops available on campus, as well as some that are customized for the Lab of Ornithology community.  Jim Morris-Knower, from Mann Library, taught the first full workshop on EndNote and RefWorks, held on October 26 in the Fuertes Room.  The laptops come with Microsoft Office Suite loaded, but specialized software must be obtained elsewhere.  Thanks to a well-written CUL license, CL³ provided EndNote software for this workshop.  To save money, the EndNote software was installed by Adelson Library staff, which took about two hours.  If you prefer, CIT staff will install software for a fee, and they can work out licensing issues too, also for a fee.  It is not necessary to uninstall or clean up the laptops—CIT does that.

The delivery of the Mobile Lab costs $60 round-trip via RedRunner.  All delivery arrangements are taken care of by CIT.  The laptops arrive in three large (and very heavy) locked plastic shipping containers (with wheels) at a predetermined time.  One surge protector with seven outlets and a heavy-duty extension cord are provided with each shipping container.  A mouse is included for each laptop.  CIT prefers to schedule twelve laptops at a time, but twenty can be accommodated with advance planning.

Creating an online sign-up sheet for the workshops was not difficult.  With some instruction from Kornelia Tancheva, at Mann library, I learned to enter a workshop into the library workshop page. I also added the same information to the library events calendar.

I’d like to pass on a few tricks I learned after setting up this workshop.  Request the combination for the shipping cases and request an administrative login for each computer.  If you need to use any parts of the MS Office suite, open it on each computer prior to installing your software; MS Word is not fully installed until it has been opened once. The wireless connection is controlled via an icon in the system tray and must be set to “Enable Radio.”  Ask the workshop presenter what Internet browser and home page he or she would like to use.  Allow yourself a minimum of one hour to set up all twenty laptops and a projector.

Upcoming workshops sponsored by the Adelson Library at the Lab of Ornithology include PubMed, geared toward ornithologists, to be given by Susanne Whitaker, from the Vet Library, on December 8; a Library Orientation workshop led by Marty Schlabach, the librarian at Entomology and Geneva, on January 17; and InDesignCS, taught by CIT instructor Shaley DeGiorgio on January 18.  Combining these two workshops in one week will allow me to save on delivery charges. CIT offers many useful workshops at no charge.

Sebastian Carello, who was my original contact for the Mobile Lab, has said: “Thank you, Jacie.  You managed to capture the experience in a way that is both accurate and complimentary.  I hope it will encourage others to take advantage of this service.”  To reserve the Mobile Lab, contact the CIT Training and Documentation team by phone at 5-8232, or e-mail IT-Training@cornell.edu.  In the subject line, enter Mobile Lab.

If you have a workshop that you believe would benefit the Lab of Ornithology community, or if you would like more information about my experience using the Mobile Lab, call me at 4-2165, or e-mail jcs93@cornell.edu.

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