Information Resources: Library, Academic Technology and Information Technology
Academic Technology
Web Site: http://at.sfsu.edu/
The changing demographic of students and faculty report an increasing desire to incorporate technology into the university experience. Academic Technology (AT), which resides within the Office of Academic Operations, supports and advances effective learning, teaching, scholarship, and community service with technology. Academic Technology:
- Actively collaborates to provide universally accessible solutions
- Researches, implements, promotes, and evaluates innovations and best practices
- Develops expertise and competencies through training, consultations, and professional development
- Designs, equips, maintains, and supports virtual and physical learning environments
There are 4 core areas of service within Academic Technology:
- Teaching and Learning with Technology provides SF State’s Learning Management System iLearn, ePortfolios, Course Streaming, web conferencing, and other online services, workshops, and institutes.
- Media Distribution and Support provides audiovisual equipment for teaching, support through training and troubleshooting, and access to more than 17,000 films and videos.
- Learning Spaces constructs and maintains the audiovisual equipment in all classrooms, meeting rooms, and lecture theaters across campus.
- Creative Services provides assistance with graphics, posters, photos, videoconferencing and teleconferencing.
Consultations and recommendations on technical specifications for grant proposals are available to the campus community.
Teaching and Learning with Technology
Today's students need SF State to accommodate flexible schedules, alternative course locations, different learning preferences, various levels of background preparation, unequal access to technology, and much more. Teaching and Learning with Technology responds to emerging needs with new technologies and approaches that enable engaging teaching and learning experiences both in and out of the classroom.
Currently, Academic Technology leads and coordinates development, training, and support for several different online teaching and learning tools, including:
iLearn (http://ilearn.sfsu.edu) is SF State’s supported learning management system, which allows faculty, students, staff, and community groups to share course or project materials, facilitate interaction opportunities, and assess performance in many ways. The home page lists the latest announcements and system status, useful tips and tricks for using iLearn, and links to help and technical support resources for both students and faculty.
CourseStream (http://at.sfsu.edu/coursestream/) is an online environment which provides a variety of streaming media options to students enrolled in certain large classes. Students can view a live webcast, with synchronized PowerPoint slides and video recorded lecture, or review the archive in webcast or podcast format. Students can also search an entire semester of lectures by keyword and then jump right to a specific point in a video clip for easy review.
ePortfolios (http://eportfolio.sfsu.edu) are electronic portfolios of student and faculty work, which provide new opportunities for assessing achievement and learning outcomes over time, as well as presenting an evolution of work in response to interactions with instructors, mentors, and classmates. ePortfolios are also being actively used by students to connect with and further their career development.
Other course technologies include DIVA (digital virtual media archive), LabSpace (virtual desktops and software applications for faculty researchers and students), Online Syllabus Tool, Clickers (Standardized Personal Response Systems), Turnitin.com (Academic Integrity software), WebConferencing, and other web-based technologies. AT’s help-desk support is now accessible via chat, text, email online@sfsu.edu, phone (415) 405-5555 and drop-in in LIB 220.
Media and Equipment Distribution and Support
Academic Technology provides faculty with media and technical equipment to meet their classroom and other instructional purposes. The university media collection includes over 20,000 videotapes, DVDs, laserdiscs, CD-ROMs, films, and multimedia kits. Students can check out media for up to four hours, while faculty can check out media for longer periods. To consolidate and simplify purchasing processes at SF State, effective July 2012, the J. Paul Leonard Library will handle purchasing new media for the SF State Media Collection. An online purchasing form is available at: http://www.library.sfsu.edu/about/staff/media.php.
Technical equipment in support of instruction includes laptop computers, video projectors, multimedia integrated carts, slide projectors, audio and videotape recorders, video presentation carts, student response systems (clickers), and digital cameras. This equipment is available for faculty and staff checkout, though students can check out laptops from the library for up to four hours in the twenty-four hour Research Commons.
Although the Library provides the core technological services for students, AT also works with students by advising them at the distribution counter, answering their technical questions, and showing them various types of equipment. AT also shows students how to set up the equipment they want to use for their presentations. AT provides a valuable service to students when advising them to bring in their laptops to determine their compatibility with our LCD projectors and troubleshooting their problems before their presentations.
Learning Spaces
Academic Technology currently oversees and maintains approximately 300 enhanced classrooms, 6 enhanced meeting rooms, and 2 enhanced theaters. Academic Technology plans, designs, builds, installs, and maintains instructional electronic equipment throughout the campus. The campus television network, electronic classrooms, and mobile electronic teaching platforms are examples of services provided by this area. Academic Technology also provides consultations and recommendations to the campus community for audiovisual purchases and installations.
AT designs, installs, operates, and maintains all radio and television microwave links for the University, including C-band, Ku-band, and DBS satellite connections, an extensive campus cable television network, and a series of teleconference facilities across the campus. Using these services, faculty experiment with new teaching strategies; participate with their classes in satellite-based seminars; and both originate and receive distance education programming from around the state, the nation, and the world.
Creative Services
Faculty use AT’s creative services to create media to meet their classroom instructional needs using a wide variety of resources, including digital video and photography, computerized graphics, and virtual environments. This media is used to develop self-teaching videotape modules, distance education on-line courses, multimedia packages, and Power Point classroom presentations. Continuing support for faculty using slides, overhead transparencies, and charts is available. Video streaming, video conferencing, and teleconferencing are also supported in this area.
Division of Information Technology
Web Site: http://tech.sfsu.edu
Office: Administration 110
Phone: 415.338.1420
The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) offers a wide range of technology support and services to the campus community.
Help Desk – The Division of Information Technology Help Desk provides technical assistance via Web, e-mail, phone, and walk-in services. Support includes assistance selecting technology, protecting computers using anti-virus and anti-spyware software, using e-mail and other software, and troubleshooting technology problems.
E-mail Accounts – An e-mail account is provided to each student. E-mail accounts can be accessed using the Web, e-mail clients such as Outlook, and on tablets and smartphones. http://live.sfsu.edu
Safe Computing – Anti-virus and anti-spyware software are provided to help protect computers from attacks. The greatest risks are software viruses, worms, spyware and phishing. Universities are frequently targeted in phishing scams. Do not respond to e-mail or telephone requests for your password, SF State ID number or any other personal information. If you question the authenticity of a request, look up the sender’s phone number and call to confirm.
Passwords – Most Web-based services at SF State use a single-sign-on service that provides access to all services after you enter your SF State ID and password. To safeguard your personal information quit the Web browser (IE, Firefox, Safari) when you are finished. If you need assistance with your SF State password contact the Registrar’s Office at records@sfsu.edu or (415) 338-2350. SF State will never ask for your password.
Software Licenses – Anti-virus software is available for all current students, faculty, and staff through a campus license. Many Microsoft and Adobe products can be purchased at a significant discount from the campus bookstore.
Coursework Accounts – Coursework accounts can be used for classes that use Web sites, programming, statistical analysis, and Linux/Unix in instruction. Accounts are automatically created for students in majors and classes that use these technologies.
Internet Access – The campus has high-speed Internet connections available in all classrooms, computer labs and most on-campus housing. The campus provides wireless access in most buildings and outdoor locations.
Gateway – The SF State Gateway Web portal is available for students to access online registration, grades, financial statements, class schedule, financial aid awards, unofficial transcripts, make address changes, order official transcripts, and more. http://gateway.sfsu.edu/
Infrastructure – DoIT provides the technology infrastructure that is key to running the University. Services include enhancing and maintaining the campus network, servers, application development, telephone services, campus-wide administrative systems (student information, financial and human resources), data center operations, and information security services.
Sanctions for Copyright Infringement – It is not permitted to use SF State network or technology resources to reproduce or distribute substantial parts of a copyrighted work without permission of the owner. Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). Automated detection systems flag electronic file sharing violations and provide detailed data to identify violators. Violators are subject to sanctions as defined in the CSU Student Conduct Procedures. http://tech.sfsu.edu/guides/copyright-law
The J. Paul Leonard Library
Web Site: www.library.sfsu.edu
The mission of the J. Paul Leonard Library (JPLL) is to empower its university constituency with lifelong learning skills to identify, find, evaluate, use, and communicate information in promotion of excellence in scholarship, knowledge, and understanding. To fulfill its mission within the context of the missions of San Francisco State University (SF State) and the California State University (CSU) system, the library is committed to the following goals:
- Collaborating with departmental faculty in incorporating information competence into the curriculum to ensure that all SF State graduates are competent in locating, retrieving, organizing, critically evaluating, analyzing, synthesizing, and communicating information in a cohesive, logical, and ethical manner;
- Creating a learning environment that promotes study, research, and scholarly interaction in the context of a diverse campus community;
- Supporting excellent teaching and learning by providing equally for all university constituents on-site and remote access to relevant materials in support of the curriculum in any format, whether owned by or at JPLL or elsewhere;
- Encouraging through collections and access exploration of the broadest spectrum of viewpoints, constructs, cultures, beliefs, and methodologies;
- Evaluating, selecting, and teaching information sources and search strategies relevant to the SF State curriculum;
- Providing leadership to the University community in exploring and incorporating changing information technologies and formats;
- Supporting an understanding and appreciation of diversity through collections, programs, and instruction; and through recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff;
- Preserving cultural heritage through unique primary source materials;
- Promoting, supporting, and encouraging the transfer and sharing of information and knowledge within the broader community, and the sharing of intellectual and creative resources locally, regionally, and internationally.
The J. Paul Leonard Library collections number over four million items, including books, periodicals, electronic resources, government publications, microforms, media, computer software, and maps. Electronic resources include electronic full-text journals, e-books, and databases used to locate journal articles and reference information. Information about these materials is accessible via the library’s online catalog and the Library’s web site.
Computer stations on campus offer access to the Library’s online catalog, electronic resources and other information available on the Internet. Computers and quiet and group study areas are available to students during extended hours. Off-campus access to the library’s electronic resources is available to the campus community at any time once you have chosen a Library PIN.
At the Information and Research Assistance service points, library faculty and staff offer advice on library research and assistance using library resources. Appointments may be made with subject specialists for research advice on term papers and similar projects.
ADA Compliance: the J. Paul Leonard Library building follows universal design principles.
Borrowing: students may borrow from the library's main collection and many of its specialized collections by presenting their OneCard (university identification card). Neither the card nor books borrowed on it may be transferred to another person. Loss of a student ID or change of address should be reported immediately to the library Book Checkout & Pickup desk and to the Registrar's Office. Students from other CSU campuses may borrow books directly from the J. Paul Leonard Library if they present a current CSU identification card and register with JPLL to obtain a special borrower’s card.
Borrowing from Other Libraries: you may request items such as books, dissertations, and copies of journal articles not available at this library. Register for a Library PIN to use the LINK+ service; register for ILLiad for all other requests.
Collections:
- Books: print and electronic books are accessible by using the Library catalog. Printed books are located in open shelving on the 3rd and 4th floors by call number, and in the Library Retrieval System (LRS). Request LRS titles online via the library catalog and pick up books on shelves next to the Book Checkout & Pickup desk on the 1st floor. Electronic books (eBooks) are linked from the book’s record in the Library catalog.
- Government Publications: the Library is a selective government depository housing federal, state, international, and local government publications. Most government publications are included in the Library catalog. For electronic sources, check the Library web site under Find Government Information.
- Magazines & Journals: most of the Library’s collection of magazines and journals are available electronically using the Library web site. Printed magazines and journals published within the past two years are located on open shelves on the 3rd floor. Bound journals are available from the Library Retrieval System or may be in storage. Ask at Research Assistance for help in identifying how to locate a magazine or journal article.
Computers & Printing:
- Study Commons: Large study area on the ground floor with Mac and Windows PCs, color and black & white printing, media viewing and listening, group study rooms and quiet study room. Open extended hours during fall and spring semesters.
- Research Commons: Large study area on the first floor with Mac and Windows PCs, color and black & white printing, laptop checkout, research assistance from librarians, group study rooms and quiet study room. Open extended hours during fall and spring semesters.
- Digital Media Studio: high-end computer lab on the second floor supporting digital media creation with specialized hardware and software.
Friends of the J. Paul Leonard Library: established in 1980 to promote the love of books, strengthen relationships between the University and the community, and to raise funds beyond those available in the regular budget for library services. Membership is open to SF State students, faculty, staff, and community adults. Privileges include borrowing books and use of many library services. The Friends maintain a book sale room and accept used books and other donations.
Information Literacy: the library administers the Basic Information Competence Requirement that must be fulfilled by undergraduate students who entered SF State before fall 2014. Students can meet this graduation requirement by completing OASIS: Online Advancement of Student Information Skills, a web-based tutorial available at http://oasis.sfsu.edu, or by completing library courses or programs recognized by the Library as equivalencies.
The library offers course-related instructional sessions, individual research advice, and research guides by subject.
Media & Equipment Distribution: provides access to the University’s media collection such as videotapes, compact discs, audiotapes, and computer software.
Reserve Materials: the Reserve collection provides materials in high demand for assigned readings in courses. Articles and other short readings are available through links on course pages in iLearn. Print materials on reserve are available at the Library's Book Checkout & Pick up desk. Non-print materials on reserve are available at Media & Equipment Distribution.
Special Collections & Archives:
University Archives & Special Collections houses archival material about the history of San Francisco State University, the Archer Collection of Historic Children's Books, and other rare or unusual materials.
San Francisco Bay Area Television News Archive
The San Francisco Bay Area Television News Archives includes KQED and KPIX historical film and video footage as its core.
The Frank V. de Bellis Collection of the California State University is a library-museum representing the civilization of ancient and modern Italy, particularly in the areas of history, literature, fine arts, and music. Holdings include rare books, music scores, archival sound recordings, manuscripts, periodicals, microfilms, art prints, artifacts, and coins.
The Labor Archives and Research Center, collects, organizes, preserves, and makes accessible the records documenting the lives of working men and women and their labor organizations in the Bay Area.
The Sutro Library, a branch of the California State Library is open to all citizens of California and includes some 140,000 volumes and 40,000 historical pamphlets. Among its collection strengths are natural history, Mexicana, Shakespeareana, records of the Pacific voyages of discovery, the history of printing, genealogy, and local history.
More information about the library, including descriptions of services and policies, is available via the library web site: www.library.sfsu.edu.
