Tim takes care of the things that people take for granted, for example printers, email, and computer files. He’s part of the Library Technology and Facilities Services (LTFS) group that takes care of the technology in the Library, and customizes things to work best for our department. He also works with folks in IST to get their assistance and to make sure that Library technology is conforming with their standards/guidelines. Tim’s work is relatively steady day to day, but picks up between terms when more work can be done without effecting as many users. He also suspects it would pick up at the beginning of the term when we’re on campus, but as he’s only been on campus one day since he was hired, he couldn’t be sure!
Tim works a lot with maintaining the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and it’s a love/hate relationship. He loves the challenge of the new technology, with all its complexities, and the power VDI has had to make work from home easier. Tim’s happy to report that LTFS has been making changes to improve VDI over the last year. That said, VDI can be a real “black hole of time” that requires a lot of troubleshooting to figure out.
Tim works closely with Josh Schmiedchen, Library Systems Technician, Jordan Barnartt, Information Systems Specialist, and the Senior Systems Administrator in LTFS, Nick Springate. He’s been able to be pick up all sort of tips and tricks on VDI from these folks.
Tim is currently working on:
When I spoke to Tim he was working on all the behind the scenes details of the N Drive migration. This is a great example of when LTFS has to interpret IST’s instructions for the Library context – since other departments aren’t using VDI, Tim needed to figure out how to make the migration work on that system.
How you can help Tim out
Tim suggested that the best thing you can do to help him out is to send a screenshot of the issue you’re encountering. Often times it’s difficult to replicate an issue, and since computers can have a mind of their own, it’s good to be able to see exactly what you’re seeing.
Something fun about Tim
Tim moved from Nanaimo, B.C. last year and has worked 1 day at the library before being sent home. One year later, he has bought a house in Stratford where he enjoys going for walks along the Avon River with his wife Erica and their dog (Coyote\Red Healer) Ruby.
