Information Technology Services & Digital Strategies
Information Technology Services & Digital Strategies (ITSDS) partners with colleagues throughout the Libraries, across campuses, and beyond on projects and initiatives to support the University’s mission, which is the preservation, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge. We strongly identify with the Libraries’ values of user-centered approaches, collaboration, equity, creativity, and sustainability.
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What We Do
Staff in the department provide collaborative leadership and support for:
ITSDS coordinates Student Technology Fund allocations and can support IT tool reviews. ITSDS can also provide best-effort consulting for other topics such as IT security.
ITSDS maintains tools such as ArcGIS, InMagic, and CONTENTdm that support digital collections. ITSDS manages tools to support UW’s institutional repository, such as ResearchWorks and Dryad.
ITSDS supports library employee computing, which includes supporting desktop machines, laptops, phones, scanners, and printers.
ITSDS manages physical and virtual IT infrastructure for UW Libraries, including system architecture and system engineering. For example, we manage servers in UW-IT’s data center and networking for UW Libraries physical locations.
ITSDS supports tools that ensure effective and efficient UW Libraries business operations. This includes tools such as listservs and the Libraries intranet.
ITSDS manages tools for library resource management and discovery. These include ExLibris tools such as Alma and Primo, and also other tools such as ILLiad, EZproxy, and integrations with MyUW.
ITSDS supports digital signage, room reservation forms, and public computers for patrons to use.
ITSDS supports the libraries’ web site, web sites created with LibGuides, and other public website resources such as Google Analytics.
ITSDS supports Open Journal Systems (OJS).
ITSDS manages a network storage appliance with 116 TB of storage. ITSDS also supports other storage systems such as Google Drive, OneDrive, lolo, and libdocs. ITSDS also supports tools for archiving digital records such as Archivematica.
ITSDS provides research, design, and testing to help improve the user experience.
Our Values
We hold paramount, the privacy and security of our staff and patron information.
We do this by:
- Continuously and iteratively refactoring our workflows and architecture to optimize the health of our systems
- Keeping up-to-date with potential areas of ingress and egress
- Creating and documenting security and privacy policies
- Building a Libraries-wide understanding of the importance of data security
We strive for 24/7 access to our online services.
We do this by:
- Continuously improving the monitoring, efficiency, and maintenance of our infrastructure and processes
- Maintaining robust workstations and technology for staff and public use
- Planning and scheduling service down times to minimize disruption to our staff and users
We align our services and programs with the needs of our communities and strive to create shared ownership of the Libraries.
We do this by:
- Making User Experience (UX) improvements to systems, content, workflows, and/or processes
- Understanding user (including staff as users) needs
- Designing for accessibility
- Basing decisions on research data
With regard both to our users and to our staff members, we strive to examine our biases, and to acknowledge and improve our shortcomings in personal, work, and professional spheres.
We do this by:
- Striving to eliminate roadblocks by conducting accessibility audits, staff surveys, user research, environmental scans, and promoting universal design
- Valuing diverse perspectives and expertise which leads to better end results
- Repeatedly and iteratively examining our internal documentation, practices, and hiring and retention policies
We seek clarity and openness in our communication within ITS & DS, within the Libraries, and with Libraries’ users.
We do this by:
- Timely posting of alerts, communication of planned outages, and notification of status in unplanned outages
- Notifying external partners when projects/work plans are delayed
- Recognizing and respecting different opinions and areas of expertise
- Having thoughtful and deliberate discussions regarding various approaches to the technical solutions we are trying to deploy
We strive to create a healthy work environment that facilitates the well-being of our staff. We hold true to the belief that a healthy workplace and work-life balance not only benefits individuals, but also optimizes the performance of our work.
We do this by:
- Actively identifying and reducing toil
- Documenting tasks and procedures
- Striving for redundancy of knowledge
- Actively pursuing a healthy and enjoyable workplace environment
- Building time into work schedules to learn new technologies
- Respecting personal time and expertise
- Recognizing that healthy, well-designed, and well implemented systems and policies contribute to a healthy staff