Welcome to Library Technology Service’s occasional newsletter for anyone interested in Harvard Library IT.
Change Management
Change is the driving force behind progress, and as we embark on significant modernization initiatives, effectively managing change is pivotal to our success. This is where Change Management assumes a crucial role, offering a structured methodology for guiding individuals, teams, and organizations from their current state to a desired future state. By prioritizing the human aspect of change, we ensure that new systems, tools, and processes are not only implemented but also fully adopted and integrated.
Moving forward, the LTS newsletter will include insights into the fundamentals of change management, practical strategies for navigating transitions, and latest trends in the change management field. Serving as a resource for managing change in your roles, we will cover topics such as effective communication techniques, methods for fostering user adoption, and lessons from past projects. We will explore tools and strategies that empower individuals to become effective change leaders. Together, we can cultivate a culture that not only embraces innovation but also thrives in its pursuit.
Please feel free to reach out to LTS' Change Manager, Khamiya Oyelaja, if you have questions or if you have specific topics you would like covered in this newsletter.
Discovery Portfolio Team Update
The Discovery Portfolio team’s recent work supports the development of both the Media Presentation Service (MPS) and new archival discovery platform that will replace HOLLIS for Archival Discovery, ArcLight.
- The team wrapped up a comprehensive review of unit tests for all 40+ MPS components. Unit tests make sure each piece of code works as expected. This review will help us to strengthen the application, fix older tests, widen coverage of what’s tested, and make our code more open and clear.
- We updated the login experience for the beta Viewer/Mirador 3. While this version of the Viewer is not yet in production for Harvard Library, it is a viewing option when browsing any digital collection hosted on CURIOSity.
- In early fall, we began collaborating with a vendor and Harvard Library service owners to stand up an instance of ArcLight on our QA server. Since then, we’ve checked off the majority of our scoped requirements, including integrating a material request function, updating the user interface (UI), and improving the search and browse experience. Our vendor engagement will hibernate over the winter while LTS and the Library continue to work on UI enhancements, data pipeline updates, and data remediation.
Introducing HOLLIS?!
Upon the release of the first HOLLIS (Harvard On-Line Library Information System) in 1988, an article the Harvard Crimson reported on the “blinking cursors on eight terminals in Widener Library…” Describing the system as “absolutely state of the art” with visits to the library “becoming unnecessary. From the comfort of a dorm room or an office, anyone with a personal computer, a modem and the appropriate software can hook into the system.” The article states that “planning for HOLLIS began in December 1980” and “no students have officially tested the new technology.” How processes have evolved over the decades since!
Staff News
“Library Technology Services Newsletter: December edition,” Harvard Library, © 2024 by Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College is licensed under CC BY 4.0