Managing administration of computer systems for conservation lab

Mark Giles MacKenzie <mark.mackenzie [at] state__nm__us> writes

>The problem which has developed over time is that State IT
>department controls access and everything else to do with our
>computers in the laboratory and analysis areas. ...

I am a paper conservator working in a statutory board, under its
umbrella are the conservation center, archives and four museums.
They are all in different buildings with the conservation center far
off in the industrial area. I am in the same situation as yours
where computers are connected via intranet and under the "Public
Service IT". I can't install any software myself, not even Adobe
Reader. Such system is set up to prevent virus or hacker programs
from getting in. If I need any software, I have to make an online
request to the IT department, and the IT guys will install it on my
computer remotely.

There are conservation equipment like MuSIS, colour spectrometer and
dataloggers here in the labs that require software to run or analyse
the data. A laptop was purchased with the conservation funds for
them as such equipment will be used on-site in the museums, so does
not come under the "Public Service IT" but an asset of the
conservation center. Software can be installed and set up by
conservators or equipment vendors but it cannot be connect to the
intranet and internet, any data will have to be transfer by memory
cards or USB storages.

Sending and opening large digital images via e-mail through intranet
here will jam up the computers too. A common shared drive for the
conservators was set up in a server somewhere for storing large
image files and information like reading notes, exhibition lists,
etc. Any conservator's computer can accessing these files are very
fast, but others like the curators can't access it, any images for
curators will have send to them on CD.

Siew Wah, Lee
Heritage Conservation Center
32 Jurong Port Rd
Singapore 619104


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:61
                  Distributed: Saturday, May 17, 2008
                       Message Id: cdl-21-61-012
                                  ***