Library Computer Lab

About the Library Computer Lab

The Library Computer Lab, located on the 12th floor of the Tower building has seventeen fully networked Macintosh eMac 1.42 GHz G4 computers running Mac OS X, equipped with DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drives and Toast Titanium for burning CDs and DVDs.

The lab also has two B&W Laser Printers and three G4 PowerPCs which are connected to Microtek ScanMaker s450, 4800 X 9600 dpi flat-bed color scanners.

The programs on the eMacs include: Google Earth, OIV, Adobe Reader, iTunes, Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player, DVD Player, iPhoto, AppleWorks, Fetch, Graphic Converter, Internet Explorer, iPhoto, iTunes, MS OfficeX, Firefox, Camino and Safari.

The lab is also equipped with six DELL Pentium 4 PCs running MS Windows 2000. All computers in the lab can be used for writing papers, checking e-mail and for doing Web research.

The programs on the PCs include: Internet Explorer, MS Word and others.

Wireless connectivity is available on the 12th and 13th floors of the Library for laptops with network cards that conform to the 802.11a - 802.11g standard installed. In case of unavailability of wireless service Ethernet wall jacks are available in the lab to connect laptops to the Internet. Please ask for assistance at Circulation.

Library Lab Reservation Policy

The Library computer lab primarily accommodates walk-in, first-come, first-serve use of the lab equipment. Computers may be reserved for small classes as well. For young patrons in adjunct classes the MassArt faculty member must be present during all reserved lab usage. A weeks advance notice is required to insure that equipment and personnel are available. We need to know: how many workstations you wish to reserve, the size of the group, the nature of the lab session, what applications, services and equipment you will need (i.e. Internet, color scanners, printers, etc) and what time period you will need access. If a student, staff, faculty member or department has an unusual or special instructional need, please do not hesitate to inquire, and we will make every effort to assist.

To reserve computers in the library computer lab you may contact Leslie Everett leverett@massart.edu at (617) 897-7106, or a public services librarian.

Always plan ahead and allow yourself plenty of time to complete projects.

Computer Help Online

• A few informative guidelines for people not familiar with Macintosh OS X. That's pronounced: OS "ten".

  NOTE: In the interest of promoting consistency in all labs we have upgraded the library lab to OS X and removed OS 9.

Logging On to Lab Macintoshes

NOTE: Lab users are advised not to store files on machines in the lab. As a part of daily maintenance files stored on the desktops of lab machines are deleted. Students are advised to store their files on zip or floppy discs, which they can take with them.

 

• Lab users may logon to any eMac computer in the lab by entering the login name "libuser"and the password "libuser" without quotes, in the "username" and "password" fields.

• The OS X desktop looks somewhat different from OS 9, but many similarities remain. The biggest difference is the Dock, which replaces the Launcher and Applications Menu. The Trashcan has been relocated to the Dock on the right side Drag mounted drives (eg. a zip disc), it changes to an Eject symbol. Icons are prettier and look different as well.

• Clicking on the icons on the Dock launches or switches between programs. An icon with a small black triangle under it (or beside it) means that program is currently running.

• Red "X" button closes window but doesn't quit the application.
• Yellow "-" button minimizes to Dock beside the trashcan.
• Green "+" button resizes the window.

Using Programs

Internet Explorer,Netscape, Safari, iTunes, iPhoto, Extensis Suitcase, Acrobat 6.0 Professional, Microsoft Word, Text Edit, AppleWorks 6, Fetch 4.0.2, FirstClass, GraphicConverter, QuickTime Player, RealOne Player, System Preferences, Sherlock, Print Center, Trash.

• Plan ahead. Networked printing is sometimes unpredictable and it is important to give yourself plenty of time to finish your assignments and it is important to familiarize yourself with printing in OS X.

• The lab has three G4 PowerPC color flatbed scanning stations. PhotoShop is no longer available in the library lab, please visit the image processing labs on the third floor if you need PhotoShop.

• Plan ahead. We recommend CD-RW discs. Documentation on How to burn CDs is available in the lab.

• The scanning stations are not connected to the printers, if you need to print files you scanned you should either save the file to a USB Flash drive, zip, or E-Mail or you can move your file over the network to a computer connected to the networked printers.

• Students registered in classes at MassArt are automatically given e-mail accounts. Refer to e-mail documentation available through administrative computing for instructions on using your MassArt e-mail account.

• You can access the Internet from any computer lab machine. Available Web browsers are: Firefox, Camino and Safari.

• The Library has wireless access available on both the 12th and 13th floors. If your laptop has a network card that conforms to the 802.11a, 802.11g standard installed and configured to connect automatically you should be able to connect to the MassArt network without further adjustments. If you find you have problems connecting to the wireless network try moving to a few different locations and if you still cannot get a signal ask for help at the circulation desk.

• PCs in the lab are not equipped to burn CDs. If you need to burn a CD you can use the eMacs which have Toaster Titanium installed. The scanning stations also have Toast and are equipped with CD-RW drives capable of burning CDs.

• Software and hardware on computers in heavily used public areas are subject to wear and tear. If you believe the computer you are using is malfunctioning please notify a library staff member and try to use another computer. If you have removable media: CD disks, flash drives, or zip discs, and you notice the same behavior is repeated on different machines, it is possible your disc may be the cause of the problems. It may have corrupted files or perhaps it is damaged in some way. You may try copying any useful files to another good disc. If you cannot boot the disc you might need to discard the damaged disc and buy a new one.

Contact Information

Any Library Computer Lab questions may be directed to Leslie Everett or another available library staff member.