Establishing computer accounts * SCILS listservs * Getting a library card * Parking * Textbooks, software and computers * Library tutorials * Computer skills requirements
You should establish your account on the Rutgers computers and subscribe to the LISSA list as soon as possible. Once you are registered for courses and have paid your tuition bill, you can set up an account with Rutgers Computer Services (more on that below). If you have a common name like Smith or Jones, an initial may be added (eight or fewer characters, e.g., smithjd, if your name is Jane Doe Smith; your e-mail address would then be smithjd@eden.rutgers.edu). Your password should consist of a mix of letters and numbers, not exceeding eight. This password should be easy for you to remember, but not readily guessed by someone else. If you already have an Internet provider and e-mail account that you use at home or work, you can arrange to have mail forwarded automatically. If you already have an e-mail account elsewhere at Rutgers, that is fine.
Subscribe to the Library and Information Science Student Association list. To subscribe, follow the advice of one of your classmates, Gabrielle M. Casieri, who says: "I found that it was really easy to just use the link provided on the mailman webpage, which is https://email.rutgers.edu/mailman/listinfo/. I clicked on the SCILS_LISSA link and filled in the info (less chance of typos!)"
To subscribe to most of the other SCILS listservs, it's basically the same procedure- this will work for SCILS_PAPERPEOPLE, etc.
Unless you are residing on campus in a dorm that has been wired to connect to the Rutgers network, you will need to check "Getting Connected," http://oit.rutgers.edu/services/connected/index-body.html. You should also take a look at http://www.nbcs.rutgers.edu/online.html, New Brunswick Computer Services Website (NBCS). You can also find instructions on how to connect from the Rutgers Libraries home page, http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu. Note that if you are closer to Camden or Newark, you can establish an account on whatever University facility is least expensive for you to use. Having an eden or other Rutgers account will not only allow access from outside the University, but will also insure that you receive important messages that the University occasionally sends to all students (e.g., traffic or weather emergency information). Instructors at the Technology Workshop on "Computing at SCILS," continuing students, or lab assistants, (732-932-7500 x8999; help@scils.rutgers.edu) will be happy to answer questions and to help you when you get stuck.
Your photo identification (ID) card serves as your library card. Check your admissions packet for information on how to get it. You may also refer to the RUconnection Website, http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~ruconxn, or call 732-445-6949. For new students, IDs are being issued in RUconnection Card Offices, as long as you are registered for classes. You will need to present a form of photo ID. Then, stop by Alexander or any other Rutgers library to establish a pin number so that you can be recognized as a registered library user. You can also do this online via the Libraries' Website at http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/forms/reg_pin.shtml, but that takes 48 hours.
Try to beat the crowds if you need to arrange for parking (http://parktran.rutgers.edu) or have to buy books and/or professor packets. See the table of contents to find maps and information on transportation.
An increasing number of courses have most readings posted online. If there is a required textbook, you will usually not find out what it is until you get the syllabus at the first class meeting. For some courses, however, the texts do not always change from semester to semester, and used copies may be sold by students who have completed the course. Watch the LISSA listserv! If you do have to purchase a new copy of a text, the Rutgers University Bookstore at Ferren Mall should have it. Parking for brief periods is free in the deck next to the Bookstore, if you remember to get your ticket stamped by a Bookstore clerk. Some books may be available from online booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. For a few courses, professor packets are made available in class, so bring your checkbook!
If you don't already have a computer, there's a helpful site "What type of computer to buy for Rutgers?" at http://rucs-nbp.rutgers.edu/newcomputers.php. This includes a link to findTech Connections which helps find computers at "academic pricing," though of course you will want to shop around. Ideally, you will have a computer with at least a Pentium III processor with 1GHz speed and 256 MB RAM and, preferably, a DSL or cable Internet connection. Microsoft Office with Word, EXCEL, Powerpoint, Access, etc. are considered standard tools for the program.
To get a head start on learning to use the Rutgers Libraries resources, take time to complete some online tutorials, beginning with Searchpath at http://searchpath.libraries.rutgers.edu/. You can access another one via http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/ecollege/index.html, or from the Libraries' home page, under Library Instruction. Working your way through these is especially important for students who do not attend the appropriate technology workshop, and will be good reinforcement for those who do. Some of the details may have changed since the tutorial was created, but the basics are for the most part the same.
Below is a list of what faculty require you to have prior to taking courses at SCILS. These are basics without which you will not succeed as a student or as a library/information professional. You can acquire these skills through courses at a community college or a computer training center, or through books, or online tutorials (e.g., http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/%7Eruasis/help.htm. Some of them are covered briefly at the technology workshops offered by our MLIS students shortly before classes begin, but if you are a novice computer user, you will be wise to start learning before then.
To check on your readiness to start at SCILS, use the following checklist to assess your skills and knowledge (grade each one on a scale of none-minimal-fair-good-excellent)*:
Basic hardware/software:
Document processing:
Internet
Moving files around:
Additional skills good to have:
You should be able to give yourself all good to excellent grades! If any instructor finds that you do not have the required skills and knowledge, you will be asked to withdraw from the course.
*One essential procedure that you will not be able to perform until you have registered for courses and are entered in the Rutgers computer system is the setting up of your own Rutgers computer account and dial-up access.