From: lynch@theory.TC.Cornell.EDU (Tim Lynch)
Subject: A survey of support units
Keywords: survey, support, library, vision-thing
Organization: Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell Univeristy
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 15:07:03 GMT

Hello,

We are doing a survey of units that support computing in academic 
environments. Our purpose is to better design a college-wide support unit
of our own where none now exists. Our college here at Cornell, Agriculture
and Life Sciences, is one of the largest on campus. The university supports
a central computer services unit that serves the entire campus providing 
the sort of functions you might expect: software site licenses, hardware
discounts, applications training, etc. What we feel is missing is an
attention to the specific and unique needs of our college. Whereas the 
college is composed of several departments each of which is served in
various degrees of formality by someone "watching over" things, there is no
central group providing leadership, guidance, and vision to the college as
we move through the last decade of the twentieth century. 

I should say that my group within the college's library comes close to meeting
the criteria of our desired college-wide support unit. But we are not
staffed to provide the amount of technical support needed throughout the
college.  My purpose in mentioning my group's location is to ask the question
of where best to locate such a support group? If what we are primarily
concerned with is information and its orderly dissemination, is the Library
then a logical place for such a unit? Well, now I'm getting ahead of myself.
Let me pose my questions:

If you have within your college a group charged with providing leadership,
guidance, vision, and (or) assistance in the area of electronic technologies
and information, would you please answer the following questions regarding
that group:

1. What is the name of your group?
2. Could you summarize the charge or objective of the group? (Is the group
   limited to technical support, or is it specifically charged with
   developing long range plans, ie, the "vision thing"?)
3. Describe the job function of each member of your group and the level
   of training or expertise required to perform the job.
4. Describe the hierarchy of management and reporting within the group.
5. Describe the hierarchy of management and reporting without the group
   (ie, is the group part of the Library?)
6. How many people are thus supported by this group?
7. Bonus point: Up to this point, there has been a certain sameness to
   the groups we've studied ("Jim is our network support technician, Sally
   is our office applications specialist.") If your group has what you feel
   is a unique mission in life, organization model, or anything else that my
   brief list of questions has missed, please add a comment here.
8. I know I don't really have to ask for "any other thoughts and ideas"
   but just to give them a categorical number. If you have any other
   thoughts or ideas...

Finally, I will gladly summarize (collect and mush together might be more
accurate) all responses and email back to anyone who desires a copy.
Alternatively, if there's indication, I will post my findings.

Thanks for your help!

Tim Lynch                                  lynch@albert.mannlib.cornell.edu
Information Technologies Group
Mann Library
Cornell University


Newsgroups: comp.infosystems