NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 25 number 3 - Spring 2005

NCSU Libraries Gets Thin

By Andrew K. Pace, Systems

As a central hub for student research and learning, the NCSU Libraries serves as a "commons" where significant computing resources are made available for use by all students. Currently, students have access to 145 Windows and Mac-based computers at the D. H. Hill Library and the four branch libraries, along with more than 150 laptops and tablet PCs. Students' needs are constantly changing and expanding, however, and the library is committed to exploring new and innovative approaches to meet these needs. The library also faces the problem of maximizing student access to computers as it enters the extended period of the East Wing renovation, when both space and power will be in short supply.

In response to these challenges, in spring 2005 the Libraries began a pilot project to deploy thin-client computers for student use. Thin clients run all their applications from a central server, without any memory, hard drive, or operating system required on the desktop terminal. However, SunRay Ultra-Thin clients support a graphical Windows-like interface and can provide students with all the applications the library provides from its PCs. Not only do thin clients have a much longer life expectancy than PCs, they consume less than half the power of a PC and monitor, and two thirds less power when the desktop is not in use. The SunRay terminal can also be easily secured to the desktop, reducing the risk of theft, because it cannot operate without a server. Moreover, new software or other improvements can be made available to the desktops simply by upgrading the central library servers.

In support of this new initiative, the NCSU Libraries sought funds from the university's Electronic Technology Fee (ETF), a student fee to support campus technology. In stiff competition for limited dollars, the proposal received unanimous support from the ETF Advisory Committee, and the Libraries was awarded $50,000 to pilot the new technology. In December 2004 the Libraries' Systems Department deployed thirty-four SunRay thin-client computers. Post-renovation plans will add between seventy-five and one hundred additional SunRay terminals throughout the D. H. Hill Library and the branch libraries. This quantity of computers is possible thanks to the SunRay's lower unit cost, longer lifecycle, and lower maintenance requirements.

The SunRays will feature the Gnome open-source desktop environment and provide students with ready access to the Web, student file space, locally mounted databases, network printing, and--after the renovation of the new public computing space--the StarOffice productivity suite. The Libraries is working with student representatives on the University Library Committee and other groups on campus to develop an optimal desktop configuration and to seek general input on the pilot project.

Library staff members spend an immense amount of effort maintaining patron computers--protecting against viruses, troubleshooting, upgrading, and so on. With the addition of thin clients, the NCSU Libraries can support greater numbers of computers and a broader spectrum of computing options for students more efficiently and less expensively.