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On Monday, July 8, 2024, the Office of Information Technology’s (OIT) in-person service desk moved from inside the Bobcat Depot at Baker Center to Alden Library’s fourth floor to help enhance the student experience and access. By moving the Tech Help Desk to Alden, the University hopes this will improve computing device and software support, as well as increase the hours of operation.
Chris Ament , chief information officer, initiated the conversation about the shift with Janet Hulm , interim dean of University Libraries, and has been working with a group of OIT staff to make the change a reality. He mentioned that the goal is to create a “one-stop shop” in Alden Library for all technological help.
“First and foremost is that we [OIT] want a location that's more accessible for students, and by more accessible, I mean just more centrally located in a place where students are more likely to be,” Ament said. “We also want to be able to align our service and support hours with student needs.”
Ament also mentioned that the new location at Alden will allow the IT Service Desk staff to be physically present to help answer more in-depth technical questions and give support.
"Students will be able to walk up, just like they can in the in the Depot and just like they do at the current help desk for the Library, so when someone wants help in the Library, they walk up, there's a person there, they ask their question and hopefully get it solved,” Ament said.
The new location will be a one-year test pilot as students return to campus. The OIT Tech Help Desk will provide general IT support such as basic troubleshooting for devices, software support, setting up multifactor authentication and the set up of Microsoft 365 applications, among other things.
Hulm mentioned that the partnership with OIT aligns nicely with the Libraries as the services are similar and that “it's really about benefiting the students, staff and faculty.”
With Alden offering more flexible hours for IT support as this transition occurs, University Libraries hopes that students and those in the OHIO community will take advantage of this new opportunity.
“Putting this all together has been a really positive experience and even though it is a pilot, I anticipate success,” Hulm said.