WAGDA

GIS Lab Policies

Mission:

The mission of the GIS Lab is to provide space, software and equipment for UW students to work on their GIS assignments with skilled assistance for basic GIS operations. Group work on GIS projects is particularly welcomed in this space.

Location

Hours and Staffing

Hardware and Software

Printing

Policies

Feedback

Location

The GIS Lab is located west of the Government Publications Reference Desk on the ground floor of the Suzzallo Library adjacent to the Government Publications Stacks.

Hours and Staffing

Lab staff can provide assistance with basic GIS tasks such as discovering data for your project, getting data into your project, and basic geo-processing tasks. TAs and instructors remain the primary source of information about assignment scope and requirements.

The GIS Lab is CLOSED March 20 -30, 2008 and will reopen for Spring Quarter. There are two computers with ArcGIS software in the UW Library Map Collection that can be used if you need help with GIS software/data OR email your question to gis@lib.washington.edu.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Spring Quarter (March 31-June 11)	4-7 pm	4-7 pm	4-7 pm	4-7 pm	1-4 pm	1-4 pm	CLOSED
Yan Jiang, GIS Staff Assistant	9-3 Maps 4-7 Lab		9 - 3 Maps 4-7 LAB		1-4 LAB	a	a
Adrian Fine, GIS Lab Assistant	a	4-7 LAB	a	4-7 LAB	a	1-4 LAB	a
Holiday Hours Spring Quarter 2008	May 26 CLOSED					May 24 CLOSED

Hardware and Software

The lab has 20 Dell workstations. Software available includes:

• ArcGIS Desktop Suite (v9.2)
• ArcInfo Workstation (v9.2)
• Microsoft Office XP
• WinZip 10.0
• Various utilities to facilitate GIS data downloading and manipulation

Printing

Printing is available from library workstations for a small fee at several central locations. Please click here for more information on printing from library workstations.

Policies

• General Usage
  • Open to students, staff and faculty of the University of Washington with a UWNetID.
  • You will be required to present identification to lab staff to prove your affiliation with the university. A HuskyCard is preferred. If you do not have your HuskyCard on your person, you may be asked to log in to MyUW on a lab machine for proof of student, staff, or faculty status.
  • Computers and ESRI Software are for educational, non-commercial, University related projects and research ONLY. Please familiarize yourself with the ESRI/UW Site License for more details on use restrictions.
  • No food, drink, or smoking is allowed in the lab.
  • No game playing.
  • Users requiring GIS software are given priority use of computers in this room. If the lab is full and people are waiting to do GIS work you may be asked to give up your workstation.
  • No general computer support is available from lab staff. Lab staff will only support GIS applications consistent with the Lab Mission Statement.
  • We support collaborative group work, however, noise is to be kept to a minimum. Disruptive patrons will be asked to leave. The Libraries Code of Conduct and Library Computer Use policies will be enforced.
  • The Libraries does not bear responsibility for loss or damage of data or disks that occurs in the lab. Staff will attempt to assist in the recovery of data but cannot guarantee its recovery. The client accepts the risk that data can be irrecoverably lost.
  • All clients must be aware of and abide by all federal copyright laws and any data licenses or use restrictions. See the UW Copyright Information Page for details.
  • Licensed software on the computers may not be copied for any purpose.
  • All legal restrictions about the use of university resources apply.
  • The lab closes at 7pm Mon-Thurs and 4pm Fri-Sat. Begin saving your work and backing it up at least 30 minutes before the lab closes. See our file storage and back-up pages for options.
  • Please use PINE, PC-Pine or WebPine for email rather than Outlook or Outlook Express
• Security
  • The Libraries Code of Conduct and Library Computer Use policies will be enforced.
• File Storage/Backup
  • Each workstation is equipped with a 40GB hard disk for temporary file storage.
  • You will not be able to store files on the workstation for any longer than you are actually sitting and working in the lab.
  • ALL DATA LEFT ON WORKSTATIONS WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DELETED AFTER 15 MINUTES OF INACTIVITY AND/OR NIGHTLY, NO EXCEPTIONS.
  • You are responsible for backing up your data before you leave the lab to either a *USB/thumb/jump drive, *portable hard-drive, *FTP account (e.g. Dante), or *DVD/CD.
  • While you are using one of the lab computers, you may store files temporarily in the My Documents, Desktop, C:\Downloads, C:\WorkSpace, and C:\Temp folders on that computer. Please back up and delete files before you leave.
• Software
  • Only staff will install software. If you require an application, web browser plug-in, font, utility, or other software for your use, please use our feedback form with your request. Your request will be reviewed by libraries staff.
    
• Lost and Found
  • Personal belongings left at an unused computer will be transferred to Lost & Found at the Information Desk, Allen Library North when the lab closes.
  • If your belongings are not there, they may have been transferred to the lost and found at the main information desk in the Husky Union Building (HUB).
    

Feedback

This lab is new and we are trying to figure out how to best serve you. Please give us feedback about the lab. We want to know if you prefer different hours, different software, or anything else that you like, dislike, or would like changed about the lab. The feedback form will generate an email to library staff. It can be anonymous if you prefer.