Information Services Newsletter
Director's Welcome

Welcome to the latest Newsletter from Information Services! A feature of this issue is that it is clear that improvements in services are keeping pace with those in our buildings and equipment. Two new Learning Resource Centres have been opened in the last year or so, while the programme of installing fixed digital projectors in teaching rooms continues. The success of the former can be seen by the heavy use that is being made of them, not least the popularity of the group study rooms at Jordanstown and Magee. The LRCs have demonstrably taken pressure off IT laboratories which can now concentrate on their role in providing a teaching environment.

The implementation of the new student email system (NetMail) has gone smoothly, giving easy access to email messages via internet browsers from anywhere and providing a reliable way for academic and administrative staff to communicate with students; NetMail is also being rolled out to staff users, where again it should prove an advance on Pegasus. However, there has been a growing demand from all users for protection from unsolicited email (or "spam"), which accounts for 40% of email messages at the moment. The new spam filter, which is described in these pages, is proving as popular an innovation as any in recent years.

The issue of spam emphasises the sad but inescapable fact that the Internet is the bearer of threats as well as information riches. The university is building security into its IT systems in a sophisticated programme, but much will continue to depend on individual users - both staff and students -using these systems with care and self discipline. As Brian Beesley points out in his article, one of several dangers is that of copyright infringement when downloading music or video; besides clogging the network, the transfer of such files can draw the attention of copyright owners, who are looking for opportunities to prosecute users who ignore their rights. Please seek advice from the Helpdesk before running risks.

Finally, readers will be interested in the faster and cheaper copying and printing facilities described in this issue of the Newsletter by Mark Millar; investment in new digital technologies is having a major impact here, while we await the "paperless age", which never seems to quite reach us!

Nigel Macartney