Academic Services

Library & Technology Services (LTS)

The exponential growth and increasing sophistication of information technology offer new and exciting opportunities for enhanced teaching, learning, and research.  At Lehigh University, one merged organization called Library and Technology Services (LTS) delivers communications, computing, distance education administration, enterprise systems implementation, library, and media services to capitalize on these new opportunities. Additional information about Library and Technology Services can be found at https://lts.lehigh.edu/ and in the university catalog.

In Iacocca Hall, LTS maintains two PC public sites, A-122 and D-109, and one Apple Lab, E-106, where campus-licensed software applications and a networked printer may be used.  A-122 and E-106 are also teaching spaces with a projector, so they sometimes are used for College of Education classes starting at 4:00 p.m. A full description of computing sites and classrooms on campus can be found on the LTS web page (www.lehigh.edu/classrooms/), while a list of software applications is accessible at: https://software.lehigh.edu/install/

LTS’ College of Education Team is dedicated to addressing the information needs of the College, including voice and data transmission, personal computing, networks and library collections.  The team serves the needs of faculty and students by providing programs and services that stimulate the use of Lehigh's information systems as a vibrant intellectual resource.  Helpful personal assistance is available from staff in navigating networks for remote access, researching a topic through the scholarly literature or using a specific software application.  Through Lehigh’s campus-wide information systems and World Wide Web connections, students and faculty anywhere in the world can ask reference questions, request photocopies of documents, initiate an interlibrary loan, or recall books.  The College of Education LTS Team staffs the team office in Room E107 (1^st floor of Building A) Iacocca Hall Mon.-Thurs, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., or by appointment.  The team’s phone number is 610-758-4357.  Individual team members’ contact information:

Libraries

Lehigh University has two major facilities, the Linderman Library and the Fairchild-Martindale Library.  The Lehigh University library collection comprises over one million volumes and subscriptions to more than 25,000 periodicals, many of them in electronic format.

The historic Linderman Library has reopened after an extensive renovation that created a laboratory and showcase for humanities programs and collections, as well as an intellectual center for the campus at large.  The 1878 high Victorian rotunda and the 1929 grand reading room were retained in all their magnificence.  Among the new features are four seminar rooms, a computer classroom, a quiet study space, five group studies, a cafe, and wireless access throughout.  Linderman houses books and journals in the humanities, as well as Lehigh's impressive collection of rare books, including Darwin's Origin of Species and James John Audubon's four-volume elephant folio edition of Birds of America.  Eleven digital library projects highlight various aspects of the collection, ranging from "Digital Bridges" (books on 19th century bridge construction) to "Beyond Steel" (materials examining the social and cultural impact of the Lehigh Valley's industrial past).  In addition Special Collections holds some 30 separate archival collections that focus on industrial and regional history.

The Fairchild-Martindale Library contains books, journals, newspapers, audio-visual resources, and microform collections in all branches of science, engineering, mathematics, and the social sciences, including business and education.  It provides collaborative learning spaces, wireless connectivity, and comfortable lounge areas.  As a government depository, the Fairchild-Martindale Library holds more than 235,000 printed federal and Pennsylvania documents, as well as additional government publications on microform.

The "MyLibrary" tab on the campus portal offers students, faculty, and staff a full range of electronic indexes, reference works, full-text databases, and image databases customized for specific disciplines, easily accessible from on and off campus.  Lehigh's own online catalog (named “ASA” after Lehigh founder Asa Packer) provides direct links to electronic resources.  Personalized interlibrary loan software ("Illiad") allows for easy borrowing from collections in other libraries and offers a gateway to request desktop delivery of scanned articles in Lehigh's print journal collection .  Twenty-six million books in Pennsylvania's largest academic libraries may be identified immediately for quick borrowing through a shared online catalog.  Students and faculty may borrow books directly from other academic libraries in the Lehigh Valley.

For a brief overview of some important things to know about the libraries at Lehigh, please see: https://library.lehigh.edu/about

Networking and Voice Communications

Lehigh University is a “wired” campus in every sense of the word. A high-speed fiber optic backbone network ties together campus buildings and student residences, including fraternities and sororities. The Campus Portal allows each member of the Lehigh community to fully customize their access to web-based information and applications. Student computer use in the residences is supported by the WIRED program (www.lehigh.edu/wired). Staff communicate with students in advance of their arrival at Lehigh to identify for them compatible hardware and software for use on the campus network. When students bring their computers to campus, staff assist them with their initial setup and provide continuing assistance with any networking problems throughout the semester.

Lehigh also provides secure wireless connectivity in many campus settings (https://lts.lehigh.edu/services/wireless-access). Through Lehigh’s enterprise systems, convenient interactive services such as online course registration and online grades are offered to students. There is also a parent portal configured to parent’s needs and interests. Library and Technology Services supports a telephone system.

Computing

Providing technology and consulting services to support classroom teaching, laboratories, and other aspects of the academic and research programs is a strategic priority for Lehigh University. About 600 Windows and Macintosh personal computers are distributed across campus for convenient use by students at more than 27 computing sites. For example, there are more than 100 computers in the libraries and computing center, and 100 in Rauch Business Center. A twenty-four hour site at Grace Hall has 30+ machines. There are e-readers, tablets, and portable laptops equipped with wireless networking available for short-term loan at the Libraries and at the Media Center.

Students and faculty have access to site-licensed software applications and central file storage from on and off campus. LTS provides software at public sites such as desk top publishing and graphics software, programming languages, mathematical and statistical packages, and specialized applications for engineering, scientific publishing, and creative writing.

Lehigh provides access to a variety of high performance computing systems suitable for large scale computation and compute-intensive applications. These systems contain over 2000 processing cores and over 13 terabytes of memory available to tackle the most complex and demanding research projects. For more information, see http://catalog.lehigh.edu/universityresources/libraryandtechnologyservices/computing/. University computing capacity and Internet bandwidth are continuously being increased to meet escalating demand and the campus is also connected to the research-based Internet2 network.

The Technology Resource Learning Center supports faculty. LTS provides technical support for the many computer classrooms, suitable for individual “hands-on” instruction, and 85% of all Lehigh University classrooms are equipped with permanently-installed computer-projection systems. Laptops and portable computer projectors are available through Instructional Media Services to enable faculty or students to give computer-based presentations in any space.

Instructional Media Services

Instructional Media Services operates two facilities in Fairchild Library to provide students with access to and instruction in a wide range of media resources: the Media Center and the Digital Media Studio. The Media Center offers a variety of media resources including scanning, an extensive media collection, and loaner projectors, laptops and audio recorders. Videos and DVDS are available for viewing in the Center (all users) and for short-term loan (faculty and graduate students). The Center coordinates their acquisition for classroom use. The Media Center is also the location of Lehigh’s Technology Resource Learning Center which offers faculty the services of instructional designers and the use of a high technology demonstration classroom with Internet2 teleconferencing capability.

The Digital Media Studio offers students and faculty consulting assistance, a video editing lab, and a wide range of technology to support the creation of professional audio, graphic, and video materials for classroom presentations, projects, and portfolios. Students can scan and edit text, and these images can be output to printers or to computer files for further manipulation. Digital still and video cameras, a video and photography studio, and editing software facilitate the production of audio and video material to support the academic program.

A third media facility, the International Multimedia Resource Center (IMRC), is located in nearby Maginnes Hall. The IMRC trains students to produce web-based, graphic, video projects and consults with faculty wishing to explore new approaches to educational technology. It conducts workshops in web-authoring and multimedia production, and includes flexible seating, a web-capture whiteboard, scanners, a slide scanner, computer and viewing stations, as well as the technology to support it as the campus broadcasting hub.

Student Services

The library, computing center, and most distributed computing facilities are open seven days per week and for evening hours during the fall and spring semesters. During final exams the Fairchild-Martindale Library is open 24 hours. For most of these hours, a help desk located at the Fairchild-Martindale Library provides general help for students and faculty onsite and for telephone inquiries relating to both library research and computing. Help desk staff refer more specialized questions to experts as needed.

Students may also take advantage of virtual help desks where they enter the questions or problems relating to library research, computing hardware or software, or telecommunications at any hour of the day or night for response at a later time, usually within one working day. Most library and computing services are available electronically, for example, interlibrary loan and seminar registrations. “Live chat” library reference and computing help services are also available during many hours.

Each semester Library and Technology Services offers an extensive program of seminars and course-based instructional sessions for students. Attendees learn how to use software applications, library resources, and the Web-authoring tools. LTS professionals work closely with faculty to integrate library, computing and media resources into the curriculum. They facilitate the use of course management software, online courses of various kinds, and course projects in a wide range of disciplines using interactive Web sites created by faculty and students.

Through seminars and policies on the use of print and electronic resources, students are taught computer ethics, recommended computing practices such as frequent backup and password changes, and an understanding and respect for state and federal laws governing copyright, privacy, and destruction or vandalism of library resources or computer systems, networks, databases or software. A free electronic newsletter, LTS Digest, with quick tips and updates is published throughout the year and is available to students who subscribe. There is also a newsletter, the LTS Connection.

Library and Technology Services maintains a variety of facilities for printing, scanning, copying, and duplicating within the constraints of copyright and yearly paper consumption restrictions. In the library, public photocopiers, scanners, and microform printers are maintained for convenience in copying print or microform resources. The Digital Media Studio (described under Instructional Media Services) can duplicate audio and video resources. There are printers at most computing sites. Students are strongly encouraged to print responsibly by using the duplex feature, never printing multiple copies, and examining documents to eliminate unneeded sections before printing.

English Language Learning Center

The English Language Learning Center offers English language learning support through low cost individual and small group tutoring.  The ESL Office also houses a small English language resource center with books, tapes, and computer programs.  For more information, refer to their website at https://global.lehigh.edu/icape/tutoring or contact the Director (Maginnes Hall 246; 610-758-6099).