Tag Archives: students

MiddLab

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http://go.middlebury.edu/middlab

MiddLab is a new section of Middlebury’s website with no precedent: an academic network, uniting all of the… blah, blah blah.

Truth is, MiddLab has been hard for us to explain ever since we heard the idea. A research network featuring discussions and blogs, and linking together disciplinary themes? How does that work? Rather than write a manifesto, here is what we’re trying to accomplish with MiddLab.

Our Goals

  • Make research easy to discover. If you want to know what student and faculty research is going on in a department, you shouldn’t have to know where their papers are published or the address of the project’s web site. Instead, these should be one or two clicks from our home page.
  • Show connections between research. Whether researching the population growth of trees in Biology or the population density of people in Geography, projects share themes and people interested in the topic can easily explore both.
  • Start a discussion. We encourage and recommend that you add comments to the projects on this site. Ask questions, suggest new research, or explain why you disagree with the conclusions. You can add your thoughts to any project page on MiddLab, explore the individual blogs for some projects, or contact the researchers directly.
  • Provide space for research and the sciences on our site. We’ll be expanding this site to feature more presentations from the Spring Research Symposium and research projects in our science departments. Though MiddLab is open to any student, faculty or staff projects, these are areas where we know we’re not offering enough information on our site and would like to use MiddLab to expand.

Your Feedback

We aren’t sure these are the right goals for our site. We’d like to hear from people: what would you like to see in MiddLab? What parts of this site work toward these goals and which don’t? Leave your thoughts by commenting on this page.

Oh, and if you would like us to feature your project in MiddLab, send an email to middlab@middlebury.edu.

Student Printing Allotments to Roll-Over

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Students…

I am writing with good news concerning your print quota.  Based on student feedback, we have decided that you will be able to roll over your print allowance from term to term until you graduate (or depart) from Middlebury.

This means that the amount you have in your account as of the end of May will be added to your fall quota.  A first year student who ends the spring term with $5 in her account will have $30 upon her arrival on campus for the fall semester.  A fourth-year student with $1 in his account will start the fall with $51.  For those attending Language Schools, you will see the roll-over appear in your summer allotment.

We hope this change to our policy will help make the new printing policy less expensive for you, as it will allow you to cover the costs of printing for a print-heavy year with savings you might enjoy in a year when you have less printing.

Best wishes,

Michael Roy
Dean of Library and Information Services

LIS Website – Student Survey Results & Recommendations

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I’ve compiled the results from the LIS Website Team’s survey of LIS students workers where we asked about familiarity with areas of the LIS website and knowledge of web technologies. This was a shorter survey than the staff version with 20 students responding to the 2009 version and 17 completed 2010 surveys. Before I present the results of the student survey, I want to share my recommendations based on the results of both surveys. These are just my initial thoughts. The LIS Website Team will compile its recommendations based off this data, the comments included with both surveys, and usability testing we’re conducting this month.

[Reminder: If you want to participate in usability testing, reply to the all-campus email that was sent Wednesday, April 7 with the times when you would be available.]

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BFP article on area college student phones

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http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091112/NEWS0213/91111028&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

The preceding Burlington Free Press article was published on 11/12/09.  In addition to Middlebury, UVM and St. Michaels College recently removed their room phones.  But I do find  UVM’s claim that they saved a half million dollars supporting 2800 student phone lines rather amazing.

Student room telephone service to be removed January 1, 2010

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LIS announced to students earlier this week that telephone services will be removing dial tone and telephone equipment from residential hall rooms unless a student requests that we keep their service in place.  The deadline for those requests is Sunday, November 15.  From then through December we’ll be working to re-route remaining dorm telephone lines and remove port cards with a goal of reducing our active landlines by 2000.   Ginnie Bukowski is shepherding this part of the project working with our contractor and facilities services.  During the week of December 7, recycling services will place bins in dormitories where students can deposit their telephones.  The phones will be moved to the Recycling Center where the equipment will be processed for either re-sale or recycling of parts. 

The consequence of reducing our maintenance costs is that we no longer have full-time telecommunications maintenance services. Thus, there may be a delay for individual telephone and network repairs and installations as of January 1, though major repairs will continue to be a high priority.

Check out “yourmiddleburycanvas”

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Joseph Watson–   A few weeks ago I mentioned an ambitious art project that a few students were intending to present in the Main Library.  Well, Sally Hatfield ’09 and Katy Laird ’09 have pulled it together!  Check out http://www.yourmiddleburycanvas.com/ and stop by the Harman Periodicals Reading Area to see it in person.