Have questions about accessibility or assistive technology?
Stop by during Accessibility Office Hours every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12-1 pm to have your questions answered.
Check out Assistive Technology Talk on Fridays at 2pm for workshops all about tools and tips to reach your goals this year!
Faculty and staff are invited to our Lunch and Learn program for bite-size tips on how to make your class more accessible: every other Monday from 12-12:30.
Watch the Daily Digest for details and zoom links!
Last but not least, the escape room is back! This semester’s game is called Keep Calm and Use Assistive Technology. Keep an on the LITS blog posts starting next week to learn ways to shave minutes off your team’s time this November. Are you up for the challenge?
Wednesday 8/24 at the Resources Fair, 12-2 on Taylor Drive
Connect Your Device clinic – LITS staff will help you get your phone and/or laptop connected to campus WiFi!
Thursday 8/25, 3-4 in Canaday Library
Join our “Canadayland” library tour! Follow a map of candy-themed titles to each floor where LITS staff will introduce various spaces. Sweet treats will be available along the way, of course.
Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.
Help LITS improve our Windows 11 image before it is rolled out for all new College devices! The more folks we have test, the more confident we can be that all will function as expected when we start making the transition. Volunteer by emailing help@brynmawr.edu with the subject line “Windows 11 Testing Volunteer” and please include any questions you may have!
If you’d like to try it out beforehand…Minerva Lab, Athena Lab, and Lusty Cup on the A floor of Canaday Library are now using Windows 11!
New and returning students: get started here with FREE Microsoft Office for your personal computer and access to lots of great software from the library, your dorm room, and off-campus – plus help with wireless, printing, and more!
Check out LinkedIn Learning for online courses and quick tutorials in software, business, and creative skills.
Who Built Bryn Mawr?
Interested in changing the way the College understands its history? Research and curatorial opportunities are available. The current exhibit, in Canaday Library and online, names and celebrates four individuals who helped shape the College’s first 50 years.
Use the GeoChem elevator near room 282 (or the stairwell at the end of the same hall) to access the library.
Circulation office (for book pickup): room 371A
Joyce Angelucci, Resident Librarian in the Sciences: room 371B
Jennifer Coval, Library Assistant: room 371C
See you there!
Fabrication, Design, and Critical Making in the Makerspace
Summer Digital Fellows explore visual representations of data in Makerspace
In 2020, LITS launched a Makerspace in Park to support research and exploration in fabrication, design and critical making. The Makerspace currently houses a small woodshop and suite of digital fabrication tools (including laser cutters, 3D printers and scanners, and a CNC router), a RISO printer, as well as general craft and art supplies. A second location in Carpenter library will provide access to sewing machines.
While the initial launch of the Makerspace was scaled back due to limits on in-person activities, we were still able to offer online and hybrid workshops and individual consultations to members of the Bryn Mawr College community last year. This year, we’re looking forward to a full schedule of in-person workshops and access.
Are you looking for an easier way to do research and write papers? Look no further! Bryn Mawr community members now all have free access to the Read&Write Google Chrome extension. This tool allows you write papers faster through dictation and text expansion features, as well as make research a breeze with its highlighting feature that allows you to color code quotes and organize them in a document in one step.
This tool makes reading much easier with natural text to speech, screen simplification, and audio converting tools. To use, download Read & Write from the Chrome store and use your BMC credentials to log in.
Can you Keep Calm and Caption On?
Do you like puzzles? Do you like making the world a more accessible place? If you answered yes both these questions, then get ready for this semester’s Keep Calm and Caption On challenge!
Each week, there will be a fun challenge where you will learn the skills needed to set up captioning on a variety of platforms. Then, at the end of the semester, you’ll get a chance to put your wits and captioning knowledge to the test in a Digital Escape Room, where you will need to understand how to use captioning in order to get the clues necessary to win. This challenge is open to the entire BMC community!
Brand new Canon copy/print/scan/fax machines were installed on campus over the summer. For info about supplies and service, see this Tech Doc.
Keep up with @BrynMawrLITS on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and on the LITS Blog! Subscribe to all blog posts or just System Status – so you know what’s up (or down), and when.
emailed to service-updates@brynmawr.edu on 4/13/21:
Dear BMC Students, Faculty, and Staff,
We are beginning to prepare the libraries for expanded summer access and for the gradual return to regular library services ahead of fall semester. I’m writing to share the schedule for this transition with key steps we anticipate in reopening of library spaces and on-site services.
As usual during breaks, we will be open limited hours for materials pickup from the end of exams until June 7; details will be published on our hours page.
Beginning the week of June 7, Carpenter and Canaday libraries will open to BiCo community members with regular daily hours, including evening and weekend hours in Carpenter. The specific opening and closing times depend heavily on the availability of student employees, and we will publish those to our hours page once they’re confirmed. We are welcoming student job applications now for summer and fall!
Also beginning on June 7, the stacks will be open and accessible to anyone using Canaday and Carpenter libraries, and quarantining of returned books will end. HathiTrust ETAS (Emergency Temporary Access Service)will also be turned off on June 7 for Bryn Mawr as we are ethically bound to abide by the terms of the program, which allows remote access only when we’re in an emergency condition that precludes access to library stacks and regular access to library study spaces.
We will also begin assigning socially distanced student carrels, by request. Those assigned carrels will be available for use beginning June 14.
The significant work required to prepare the building facilities will happen during the weeks of June 1 and June 7.
Collier Library will remain closed this summer and fall as key elements of Park Science Phase 2 renovations take place in the two wings of the library. Books from Collier will continue to be paged for pick-up at either the Canaday or Carpenter circulation desk.
We are delighted to be able to restore core facets of library access this summer, including the ability to work in the stacks and for student scholars to return to work in assigned carrels. These transition plans are parallel to what most academic libraries and peer institutions will be doing this summer, and our local plans build on what we’ve heard from BMC students and faculty about desired library access. We look forward to preparing the libraries more fully for fall semester and to seeing many of you soon at the libraries! Please let us know via library@brynmawr.edu if you have any questions.
Explore the Bryn Mawr College Photo Archives, Scrapbook and Photo Album Collection, the history of the Summer School for Women Workers in Industry, College yearbooks, issues of The College News, a community-sourced archive of personal experiences and reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and more.
Over the next few months, look for more collections that document the 2020 Bryn Mawr College Strike and the history of Perry House, as well as oral histories with alumnae/i providing first-hand accounts of their experiences at Bryn Mawr.
Sent to faculty, staff, undergraduate, graduate, postbac, and emeriti listservs:
Welcome to the LITS Fall Newsletter!
These messages collect important information and reminders about library and information technology services that are new or different for the fall 2020 semester.
Start here!
Our FAQ is updated regularly with answers to your questions. Wondering about something we haven’t addressed yet? Please don’t hesitate to ask.
Reserve Study Space at Canaday and Carpenter Libraries
Library study space is available by reservation for BiCo students, faculty, and staff! This service will be available when the College is in Level 1 operations. See Tech Docs for instructions.
Hybrid and remote teaching often require sharing scanned versions of documents such as notes, equations, or other handwritten work. Office Lens offers a secure way to scan and share files while also saving to your Bryn Mawr College OneDrive. See Scanning documents using your smartphone for instructions.
The Girl’s Own Book: Selections from the Ellery Yale Wood Collection
The Girl’s Own Book exhibition explores the range of books aimed at girls and young women readers from the beginnings of children’s book publishing in the late 18th century, and looks at how children’s books changed in response to transformations in printing technologies and sensibilities and ambitions of young women readers.
The College’s Information Security Education Program got a major refresh this year with updated content specific to our higher ed context. Many thanks to the class of 2024 for completing the program before arriving on campus! Faculty and staff can watch for a launch email on October 1. The deadline to complete the program is November 1.
Documenting COVID-19 at Bryn Mawr
Bryn Mawr students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to document their experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak and contribute them to the College Archives. Our goal is to create a community-sourced archive of personal experiences and reactions to the pandemic, one which shows the ways in which we are living now. All members of the Bryn Mawr College community are invited and encouraged to participate.
Seeking Community Feedback
LITS is committed to continually improving our services and offerings and the ways in which the community experiences those services. From time to time, you’ll receive a very short survey after you’ve reached out for support from LITS. You’ll also start seeing links to a feedback form pop up in the signatures of LITS staff members. We’d love to hear from you.
As always, please reach out to library@brynmawr.edu or help@brynmawr.edu with any questions. We’re working collaboratively through these channels to assess needs, track requests, and provide consultation in ongoing ways.
Sent to faculty, staff, undergraduate, graduate, postbac, and emeriti listservs:
Welcome to the LITS Fall Newsletter!
These messages collect important information and reminders about library and information technology services that are new or different for the fall 2020 semester. Watch for future issues into September.
I’m writing with an overview of fall library plans and a few associated LITS service updates as the fall semester gets underway. You can find all of this information for reference, as well as other newsletters, on the LITS Blog. Subscribe here to receive blog updates by email.
Our goals are to support the educational and scholarly missions of the College this fall and to do so with a priority focus on safety measures. These include masks worn at all times in areas with more than one person, six feet or more of social distancing, hand sanitizer available near the doors and disinfectant available to staff and patrons for cleaning any surfaces that we touch, Plexiglass at the service desks, and frequent hand washing.
Starting on September 8 through November 21, BiCo community members will be able to access Canaday and Carpenter via swipe card access during the library open hours. The library buildings will not be open to the public beyond BiCo community members due to the College’s restriction on visitors and our HathiTrust agreement, and similarly we will not have 24-hour access during the fall.
Library hours for Canaday and Carpenter for the start of the fall semester will be these (please consult the LITS website for current library hours):
M-Th – 8am-10pm
F – 8am-8pm
Sat – 9am-8pm
Sun – closed
The majority of this message below details the spaces and services that will be available this fall when the College is operating at Level 1, “normal, de-densified” fall operations. First, we include a note here about how the Libraries and other LITS services will be operating while the College is at Level 2 (see President Cassidy’s email from Sept. 1). We’ll communicate about the status of LITS services throughout the semester via the alert.brynmawr.edu site.
Level 2 Library and LITS Operations (Sept. 8 until at least Sept. 14):
We will modify our Level 1 operations, which we describe in full below, by opening Canaday and Carpenter for the following in-person services only:
Pickup of materials at the Circulation Desks (see “access to library books and other materials” in the Level 1 section for details)
Printing (we strongly encourage you to bring your own computer to print from where possible, but we’ll have a couple of public machines designated for this purpose as a backup for those who don’t have a computer and need to print)
Pickup of loaner laptops by appointment at the Help Desk (no walk-in service at the Help Desk during Level 2 operations, though Help Desk staff and student employees will be fielding calls and tickets)
Patrons can request an appointment to visit the Special Collections Reading Room.
The Makerspace will delay the start of student appointments in the space until Level 1 operations, but will start during Level 2 with scheduled pickup of kits for making.
Level 1 Library and LITS Operations:
Access to library books and other materials:
We’ll page books and journals daily for pickup whenever the circulation desks are open at Canaday and Carpenter. Collier Library will be completely closed to patrons this fall due to inadequate ventilation, and physical materials from Collier will continue to be paged upon request and available for pickup at the Canaday Circulation Desk. We have lifted the summer restrictions on the number of items patrons can request. The stacks at Canaday and Carpenter and the upper floors and B level at Canaday will be cordoned off with signage to indicate that these areas are restricted.
There will be a 72-hour quarantine of returned materials, but not a quarantine on materials you request, since the student workers will be taking safety precautions when paging books that we would not expect people using books at home to do.
Most formerly non-circulating resources at Carpenter can now be checked out. Some items (double folios; irreplaceable volumes like excavation reports) will remain in-house use only, but community members will be able to request access to these books by appointment.
We are retaining HathiTrust emergency temporary digital access (ETAS) to many of our print books at least through the fall semester while we continue to figure out the best ways to provide the most robust access to print and digital resources during our hybrid and changeable situation.
InterLibrary Loan (ILL) for electronic items has continued, and we’ll continue to increase physical ILL where possible, though many libraries will remain closed through the fall and many have reduced staffing levels, so availability of physical items via ILL will be somewhat limited.
We will continue to circulate non-Hathi ETAS physical materials within TriCo via the TriCollege Libraries van (this service re-started July 27).
We will not have physical reserves this year – these materials circulate too frequently through too many hands to be appropriately quarantined. We are working actively with faculty and the bookshop to ensure the greatest possible availability of course texts for classes by other means.
Study spaces:
Canaday and Carpenter will offer limited socially distanced study seats by reservation for specific periods of time in order to equitably share the available space. Study space will also be available in the Park Science new addition, and we’ll encourage students to study outdoors when the weather permits.
We are using the Springshare “Seats” application for reserving seats at Canaday and Carpenter, and we will keep an eye on the space to be sure seats remain socially distanced and occupancy doesn’t exceed the seating we’ve arranged. We will begin the semester with a limited number of reservable seats, ~20 each at Canaday and Carpenter. As we confirm that initial testing results during the quarantine period are coming back with a low positivity level and see that the rates of adherence community-wide to safety protocols are high, we’ll expand during the first month of classes to the full occupancy of ~60 seats at Canaday (on the 1st floor and A level), and a similar number at Carpenter. Community members who need to study in the library will be able to reserve a seat using a reservation system that will allow patrons to book seats in advance for blocks of up to three hours at a time (we’ll assess how this is going in the early weeks and beyond to figure out the timing so that as many people as possible can find seats, and those who need blocks of uninterrupted study will be able to find longer reservation periods). More information will follow on how to use Seats when it goes live.
Carrels will not be assigned to individuals or sets of individuals this fall, but some socially distanced carrels will be available to reserve along with other study seats. We need to have carrels and other surfaces cleared regularly throughout the day so that they’re cleaned consistently, and having belongings stored at the carrels does not work for keeping the surfaces cleaned. We also need to provide equitable access to reserved study spaces for all who need to work in the library. You’ll be able to reserve a seat in advance. We believe that you will find ample numbers of seats to reserve in the library, even with our COVID social distancing and disinfecting requirements, and we will monitor and adjust access to space as needed.
Lockers are available in the lower level of Carpenter for anyone who wants to store personal belongings or checked-out library materials. We have ample lockers, so these will be a resource fully available to anyone who wants to make use of them.
Limited video screening facilities will be available.
Reference and research support have continued unabated and will continue to be conducted largely through virtual consultations with individuals and online meetings with classes.
Special Collections:
BiCo community members can make appointments to work with Special Collections materials in the Special Collections Reading Room. Patrons will be seated one person per table, and one staff member will be at the desk, to allow for social distancing.
Small groups (up to 3) can make appointments to work with Special Collections materials and staff in the Special Collections Seminar Room.
The 3rd Floor of Old Library is available on an appointment basis for 1-2 people to consult collections stored in Old Library or as overflow space for consulting other Special Collections materials.
The Rare Book Room will be open from 10am – 4pm Monday through Friday to allow community members to view the Children’s Book exhibition. Appointments are not necessary, but there will be signage limiting access to the space to no more than 10 at any one time with masks and appropriate social distancing. The Rare Book Room may also be used for small (no more than 10-person) class groups or events that are scheduled through Special Collections.
Visible Storage will be set up by Special Collections in the 2nd-floor gallery to allow contactless study of materials related to courses.
Public computers, access to software, and public printers/scanners/copiers:
Several socially distanced public workstations have been set up in the Park extension and in the libraries. Public labs will generally not be accessible to the community and instead have been transformed into computer “farms” so that any community member can access the computers and associated software remotely.
Remote access to software will be available using new services, LabStats for remote access to public machines and software, and Apporto, a cloud-based service that allows web-based access to Mac software and other specialized software typically found on public lab machines (SPSS, ArcGIS, Adobe software, etc.). You can connect to a computer on campus through Remote Desktop here or through a web interface here.
The multi-function printers with scanning and copying capability will remain available in Carpenter and Canaday. Some have been moved to slightly new locations in the libraries for social distancing between printers. We can also advise about scanner apps for your phone (we recommend in particular Microsoft Office Lens for iPhone or Android, which will allow you to save scans to your OneDrive from your phone).
We will continue to lend equipment by appointment via the Help Desk at Canaday.
For the limited number of classrooms that will be in use in Carpenter, students in these classes are encouraged to arrive just in time for class and not to congregate in the narrow areas near the classrooms in order to maintain safe social distance.
Please enter Carpenter via Old Library; the roof entrance will be locked.
Elevators in the libraries should be used by only 1 person at a time.
The Makerspace at Park will be open in a limited way to train student employees and then to enable small groups (~3-4 people at a time) to participate in brief demos and activities. Most making will happen by way of kits that students and other community members can take away with them after the brief demo, as well as through virtual programming throughout the year.
The Writing Center will be open during Canaday’s open hours and will offer a combination of on-site and virtual programming. Please check the Writing Center website or contact Director Jen Callaghan (jcallaghan@brynmawr.edu) for additional information.
We will plan to start the fall this way and will be open to modifying our approach at any juncture beyond that if we find that this model is not meeting community needs. As College plans evolve, our working assumptions may need to change along with them, and in each case we’ll have contingency plans ready for any period when we need to shift to more remote/limited access and services.
Need a tool to help you stay organized as a remote learner? Zotero will help you create notes, bibliographies, and organize your research. Attend upcoming Zotero Workshops on Zoom.
We’re actively contributing to this Virtual Learning Resources site the Dean’s Office has created. Students should check back often for an ever-growing collection of information regarding remote teaching and learning.
Our FAQ is updated regularly with answers to your questions. Wondering about something we haven’t addressed yet? Please don’t hesitate to ask.
We’re adding new information and useful how-tos to our Tech Documentation daily. Take a look at what’s already there and stay tuned for new content.
As always, please reach out to library@brynmawr.edu or help@brynmawr.edu with any questions. We’re working collaboratively through these channels to assess needs, track requests, and provide consultation in ongoing ways.
Sent to faculty, staff, and student listservs 8/24/20:
Welcome to the LITS Fall Newsletter!
These messages collect important information and reminders about library and information technology services that are new or different for the fall 2020 semester. Watch for future issues into September.
Start here!
Our FAQ is updated regularly with answers to your questions. Wondering about something we haven’t addressed yet? Please don’t hesitate to ask.
We’re actively contributing to this Virtual Learning Resources site the Dean’s Office has created. Students should check back often for an ever-growing collection of information regarding remote teaching and learning. Learn how to use different services, try out fun tech tips, and discover the IT resources available to you.
Software Access
If you’d like to get an idea of what software access will look like this fall, we’re ready to start testing our remote software solutions with all of you!
To access LabStats, the software that provides remote access to one of our physical computers on campus, please follow the instructions here.
To access our cloud-based solution, Apporto, go to https://brynmawr.apporto.com/ and log in with your College credentials. From there, you’ll be able to access multiple pieces of College-licensed software such as SPSS, ArcGIS, and Mathematica. Tech Documentation and access to Mac-specific software will be coming soon.
Please keep in mind that we’re still actively working on ironing out any issues that arise as we’re setting up each system and adding new software every day. You may experience service interruptions or see things come and go at any time as we continue our work before the start of classes. Let us know how you think things are looking so far.
We’ll continue to add new activities and useful how-tos to our Tech Documentation daily, so we encourage you to take a look at what’s already there and to stay tuned for new content.
Stream Movies during Quarantine
We’re all stuck inside a little more than we’d like these days. The libraries subscribe to some great streaming services – check them out!
The libraries have been increasing access to e-books in Tripod, our library catalog. (Limit availability to “online” to view them.) Some course texts will be available this way, and you’ll also see links for HathiTrust, which has provided emergency e-access to over 200,000 print books from the Bryn Mawr library stacks. Faculty who wish to request e-books or streaming video for fall should contact their subject librarian, or email library@brynmawr.edu.
The Makerspace located in Park 157 will be available for in-person and remote appointments starting September 8. Available to all members of the Bryn Mawr community, we provide tools and resources to support hands-on and digital design and fabrication. To speak with the Makerspace Coordinator about ways to incorporate making activities into your in-person, hybrid or online classes, please visit us at http://digitalscholarship.brynmawr.edu/makerspace/
All newsletters and announcements are posted on the LITS Blog
As always, please reach out to help@brynmawr.edu with any questions. We’re working collaboratively through this channel to assess needs, track requests, and provide consultation in ongoing ways.
These messages will collect important information and reminders about library and information technology services that are new or different for the fall 2020 semester. Look for our next installments on Mondays into September.
Ways we’re sharing information
We’re keeping a list of frequently asked questions and answers, which we’ll add to regularly into fall. Have a question that’s not addressed yet? Please don’t hesitate to ask.
All newsletters and announcements are posted on the LITS Blog
Lab Software
We’re in the final stages of implementing two solutions that will provide remote access to the software normally available on public computers. The first (LabStats) provides remote access to a physical lab computer and all of the software that’s on it. The second (Apporto) is a cloud-based solution that uses a web browser to essentially “stream” a lab software environment. The great thing about this solution is that it works from any device with a web browser and internet access. We’re excited to provide details and instructions as we complete our testing.
Access to Required Course Readings Across the BiCo
The bookstore and the library are working together to purchase all e-books we can for required course texts. The libraries will be reaching out to Bryn Mawr faculty who have Haverford students enrolled in their classes to provide information about how Haverford enrollees can gain access to electronic resources that Bryn Mawr, but not Haverford, has access to. Likewise, Haverford will provide Bryn Mawr students taking classes at Haverford with access to resources only Haverford has.
New in Ed Tech
This week, we will reach the last milestone of our Moodle upgrade. Starting August 18, features in high demand such as inline PDF annotation, collapsible topics, attendance tracking, and integrations with Zoom, Perusall, and Piazza will be available on Moodle.
We’ll document and advertise all new features via this newsletter, LITS’ Tech Docs, and the LITS Blog, so keep an eye out for more information.
Library Hours
BMC Libraries will have limited access for Bryn Mawr and BiCo community members this fall, including designated study spaces with social distancing for students in particular areas of Canaday and Carpenter, access to Special Collections and non-circulating materials by appointment, and service desks. Stacks areas will be closed, and we will continue to provide contactless pick-up for physical materials via the circulation desks at Canaday and Carpenter. Collier Library will be closed to patrons this fall due to ventilation issues, and books and other circulating materials will continue to be paged from Collier for contactless pickup at Canaday. These are the planned fall semester hours for Canaday and Carpenter Libraries, starting on September 8:
M-Th – 8am-10pm
F – 8am-8pm
Sat – 9am-8pm
Sun – closed
Library Carrels
In order to provide equitable access to distanced study space in the libraries, carrels will not be assigned to undergraduate or graduate students this semester. Graduate Group students will receive more information soon about changes to Carpenter carrels.
We’re pleased to announce that Bryn Mawr has a Makerspace! Located in Park 157, the Makerspace offers workspace, digital fabrication and prototyping tools, a woodshop, sewing machines and supplies, and more. As part of LITS, the Makerspace will help to further explorations into critical making and material culture, support educational and pedagogical efforts on campus, and provide a welcoming space for members of the Bryn Mawr and Trico community to practice and develop new skills.
Submit requests for curbside pickup no later than noon on Tuesday, August 18th, in order to be able to pick up materials by the last available day, Friday the 21st. Submit requests for scanning of library materials no later than 5pm on Thursday August 20th. See the LITS Blog for more information. These services will resume on Tuesday, September 8th, when the libraries open with student employees.
As always, please reach out to help@brynmawr.edu with any questions. We’re working collaboratively through this channel to assess needs, track requests, and provide consultation in ongoing ways.
