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Wow! What a great set of questions. And man I have been there. Please, please keep all of us in the loop on the answers you receive.
But then there is the bigger picture:
You say there is no money for an IT person? What I would say is there is no way a museum that incorporates IT can afford not to have at least some sort of budget line for just such support. And if it is not in the current budget/plan, an effort must be made to do so in the future. And the future is exactly what this is about.
I also have a sneaking suspicion that your job title is short in what you actually are asked to do (mine always was) and you will find it hard to keep up with the other tasks of design and maintenance if you are spending all day trying to debug software or incompatibilities.
Two cents….
Erich
Erich Rose Design
807 The Living End
Austin, TX 78746
512-626-9930; [log in to unmask]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/erichrose/
On Jan 10, 2014, at 11:41 AM, Steven Valenziano <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Hi All,
>
> I'm grappling with some IT woes, and I'm wondering how other
> small-to-midsize museums have dealt with similar issues.
>
> Specifically, we have no IT person (and can't afford one), and I'm trying
> to set up systems that allow our IT hardware to "organize itself" with
> minimal labor on my part, since I prefer to concentrate on designing
> building new exhibits, not sorting computer cords.
>
> We have 30 employees, and about 90 computers, including machines that are
> used for summer camp programs and exhibits.
>
> Things I'd love input on:
>
> - *How to document networking and other IT infrastructure? *Regardless
> who does the IT work- volunteers, contractors, me - the work needs to be
> documented well so others can troubleshoot effectively, or make changes
> that cooperate with existing infrastructure
> - *Organization-wide password databases? *so we don't get locked out of
> computers / other hardware when the person who knows the password leaves
> - *IT volunteers?* Do they help, and what are best practices for keeping
> them happy and ensuring effectiveness?
> - *How to enable all staff to keep the common IT hardware storage
> organized?* One thing I'm considering is creating some storage
> containers for every type of hardware (VGA cables, DVI cables, power cords,
> stereo mini-plugs, multi-RCA plugs, etc.) with crystal-clear pictorial
> labels, enabling people to put the cords back where they found them.
> Anyone seen such labels so I don't have to make them all?
> - *Books or online resources that explain this sort of thing. *Googling
> has been fruitless...
> - *Anything else that helps things go smoothly...*
>
> I'm not trained in IT, so maybe I'm missing something glaringly obvious
> that an IT person would think is basic.
>
>
> Thanks for any advice you can provide...
> Steven
>
> --
> *Steven Valenziano*
> Exhibit Design Coordinator
>
> Impression 5 Science Center
> 200 Museum Drive
> Lansing, MI 48933
> office: 517-485-8116 ext 135
> cell: 919-210-4080
>
> impression5.org
>
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>
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