Author: Melissa Cresswell

Warning: New Phishing Attempt 11/8

Please be aware of a recent attempt to gather login, password, and other secure personal or College data from Bryn Mawr College community members.

Be on the lookout for messages that appear to share an important file with you, such as a memo about a salary increase. This is a scam.

Do not open the attachment, click on links, or respond in any way. Delete the message or report it as Phishing in Outlook. If you believe you’ve given your information to a phisher, immediately change your password and contact the Help Desk: help@brynmawr.edu, 610-526-7440.

Email scams come in many forms. While we work to keep you informed, attacks are increasingly diverse and sophisticated. It’s not possible for us to warn you of every message before you see it. Be cautious and suspicious. If you ever have a question or suspicion, don’t hesitate to contact the Help Desk.

Week 7: Check out the Assistive Technology Database

Looking to learn more about assistive technology that can help you with your daily tasks? Check out the new Assistive Technology Database on the Assistive Technology: Features and Resources page of the Access Services website. 

In this database you can search for apps to help you with productivity, schoolwork, note-taking, accessibility, and more.   

Additionally, if you are interested in getting more personalized help with finding tools that fit your needs, schedule an appointment with Grace Cipressi, Bryn Mawr College’s assistive technology specialist. 

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

Routine System Maintenance: 2023

Routine system maintenance generally occurs on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month from 6:00 p.m. – midnight. LITS implemented this practice in June 2015 to reduce overall system downtime, to improve the security and reliability of College systems and networks, and to maintain compliance with industry and vendor support requirements and best practices.

2023 Schedule:

Jan 12, 26

Feb 16, 23

Mar 16, 30

Apr 13, 27

Jun 15, 29

Jul 13, 27

Aug 10, 24

Sept 14, 28

Oct 12, 26

Nov 16, 30

LITS coordinates with divisions across the College to confirm our system maintenance schedule annually. Not all systems will necessarily be unavailable during these maintenance windows; however, you should assume that they will be and plan critical work around the system maintenance schedule. LITS will provide details on the LITS Blog whenever possible. Want to receive reminder emails? Subscribe to System Status posts.

The PeopleSoft patch testing schedule is determined by our vendor and does not follow the system maintenance schedule.

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu, 610-526-7440, or lits.brynmawr.edu.

Resolved: Problems Accessing BMC Library Resources from Off Campus

Updated 11/2/22 9:45am: we believe this issue is resolved. Please contact us if you have problems.
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Community members are reporting problems accessing BMC library resources using EZproxy from off campus [“EZProxy Hostname Error”].
We believe this issue may be widespread, and are investigating now. We will provide updates as we know more.
Contact library@brynmawr.edu with questions.

Week 6: Document Converter

Have you ever come across an inaccessible document that you couldn’t use a text-to-speech program on? If you ever encounter this, the Document Converter is an excellent tool to help you make your document accessible so you can read it. 

Besides making files accessible, the document converter allows you to convert files from one file format to another. It also lets you apply Beeline Reader coloring onto your documents! 

To use the Document Converter, simply go to the Document Converter page on the Bryn Mawr College website. This Ask Athena article provides instructions on how to use the Document Converter. 

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

Week 5: Grammarly

Grammarly is a tool that helps correct spelling and grammar mistakes in your writing. Unlike other spelling and grammar tools that are exclusive to the program they are built in, Grammarly works among a variety of social media, email, and document platforms.  

Grammarly goes beyond a typical spell checker by also checking your writing for tone of voice and misused words. 

Visit the Grammarly website to start enhancing your writing today! 

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

Week 4: Beeline Reader

Beeline Reader is a unique tool that transforms the appearance of your text so it has an ombre color gradient. The gradual blending of colors sweeps your eye across the text, making the task of reading less taxing. Because your brain doesn’t have to focus as much on the task of reading, it frees up focus to be spent on comprehending what you are reading. 

There are a variety of color themes you can choose from.  You can also use Beeline Reader to change the size and line spacing of text as well as apply the Dyslexie font to your text. Beeline Reader offers a focus mode that allows you to blur out distracting advertisements and links on the page you are reading. 

Beeline Reader can be used on websites as well as PDFs. If you want to use Beeline Reader for PDF, you must also download the Beeline Reader PDF Viewer. 

Beeline Reader is available for free to members of the Bryn Mawr College community. Follow the instructions in this Ask Athena article to get started with using Beeline Reader today. 

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.