I completely agree. One of our developers took another job 4 years ago, and we are still finding little apps and dependencies that we know nothing about but are still in use. Not to mention the ones that are NOT still in use, but are still squirreled away on servers, and we have to figure out who might have been using them to decide if they need to be migrated when the server is upgraded, etc. Which is to say, I don't have a solution, but am determined to get our knowledge documented, and I'd love to hear what others are doing, too. Best, Margaret Alexander Core Systems Librarian University of Oregon Libraries
-----Original Message----- From: Code for Libraries <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Hammer, Erich F Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2023 8:14 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [CODE4LIB] How does your library manage internal utilities metadata? Between administrative interfaces for internal and third-party Library service applications, IT/networking services, support services, etc., I have around 3 dozen bookmarks just to (barely) manage my responsibilities. That doesn't include the various forms for requesting other people do other things with their tools/utilities. The other departments like Access Services, Reference, Archives, Purchasing, HR etc. have their own utilities and services for their needs, and I've been wondering if anyone is actually keeping track of all of these internal needs in case someone else suddenly needs to take over any particular job. Because of reduced staffing, there is almost no redundancy, thus, I know unquestionably that should I get hit by the Lotto bus, there are lesser-used-but-still-vital systems/services that nobody else knows how to access. They might know of them and are probably smart enough to figure out at least some basics if plopped in front of them, but how to get to them has limited/no documentation. I've been thinking that our fundamental function is keeping track of information, so shouldn't the Library also *collectively* keep track of all the tools/utilities necessary to keep the library functioning? I imagine that just a giant list would be too overwhelming when an individual employee might only need a small percentage of them, so some means of indexing/searching is probably required. Does anyone here do have a shared/collective solution, or does each department (or worse, individual) just keep that information separately and internally? Do you use a third-party product (what?), or have you constructed your own solution? Do you keep track of shared credentials or the individual staff members who hold credentials? Thanks, Erich -- Erich Hammer Head of Library Systems [email protected] University Libraries 518-442-3891 University @ Albany The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum.
