Oct 09, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog, Volume 83 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog, Volume 83

College Resources


Library/Audiovisual Resources


J. Spencer and Patricia Standish Library

The J. Spencer and Patricia Standish Library provides educational services, materials, and information to support the teaching, learning, and research needs of the students and faculty at Siena College. The library collection provides access to over 1.2 million items, including books, journals, electronic collections, DVDs, images, sound recordings, fine art, archives, and special collections.

The Standish Library Web site, https://lib.siena.edu/, provides a convenient access point to the collection, as well as information on services and study space. Remote, 24/7, access to the e-resources is available from the web site.

Library faculty and staff are available, both in person and online, to assist students and faculty in their course assignments and research. Library services include instruction on using library resources, information literacy, and research skills, as well as interlibrary loan, course reserves, and media services. Through local and national resource sharing networks and agreements, Siena students and faculty have access to the holdings of many libraries in New York State and throughout the United States.

The J. Spencer and Patricia Standish Library offers attractive and inviting spaces for individual study and collaborative learning. Students may reserve study rooms through a link on the library website, https://siena.libcal.com/reserve/studyrooms. Print, audiovisual and electronic resources are located in close proximity. Media and Digital Services provide traditional and electronic access to audiovisual resources; digitization services and support for the Digital Scholarship Center, as well as supporting coursework and other educational programs.

During the academic year the Library is usually open Monday - Thursday 7:30 am to 12:00 am; Friday 7:30 am to 8:00 pm; Saturday 10 am to 6:00 pm; and Sunday 12 pm to 12:00 am.  Hours may change so for verification of the schedule please check the library web page at (http://lib.siena.edu/home).

Information Technology Services

Information Technology Services provides access to computing services for all members of the Siena College community. The staff and facilities are dedicated to student and faculty needs and are available to support them in their coursework and research. Contact the Helpdesk at (518) 786-5000 for students and 782-6000 for faculty/staff.

Services available to students and faculty include: hardware and software support, “How To…” documentation, and frequent training seminars. Equipment provided includes desktop and laptops (Windows and Macs) as the primary computer for faculty and staff; desktop computers in labs and study spaces throughout the campus for students, laser printers (B & W as well as color) and scanners. Two computer labs are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Most residence halls include a lab space with a printer. The 24-hour lab in the library also houses the Student Help Desk. All students have accounts that provide access to email, the Internet, WiFi, and network file, print and application services.

The Siena College campus is fully interconnected with a high-speed fiber-optic network. Internet is provided from multiple vendors utilizing redundant paths to maximize availability and are protected with next-generation firewalls.  Internet2 and a ScienceDMZ are available for research and education.  Student residential spaces have ethernet and wireless connectivity available.  All buildings, the Academic Quad, athletic fields, and many outdoor student spaces are also covered by wireless connectivity.

All classrooms including seminar spaces have computer and multimedia projection technology. Additionally, there are a number of teaching spaces throughout campus with computers for students, both PCs and Macs, to meet both general and specialized coursework needs.

Faculty and students use the Canvas Learning Management System with support provided by Academic Technology. The College uses Google Workspace for Education as its e-mail and collaboration tool. Students will retain their Siena Google account on becoming alumni. Available software includes the Microsoft Office suite, the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, and specialized software applications such as SPSS, SAS, JMP, R, Tableau, and ArcGIS.  Other specialized software packages are also used in the lab and classroom facilities for languages, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and business. A virtualization environment is available for use in teaching and research by both students and faculty.

Computer Ethics

This is a summary of the College’s Acceptable Use Policy. The complete document is available on the College’s website and is published in Siena Life, the student handbook. The computing facilities are a resource of the College with access given for academic and research use. Accounts are to be used solely by the person to whom the account was given.

In order to continue to provide computer services to students and faculty at Siena, it is expected that all persons who are given access to the computing facilities will conduct themselves responsibly and professionally.

Student abuses of the privilege of access to the computing facilities will be adjudicated via the College’s judicial system, following stated College policy on dishonesty and theft. Abuses of privilege include (but are not limited to):

  • Use of another person’s account (with or without the owner’s permission).
  • Reading, printing, altering, or deleting information from another account without permission of the owner.
  • Damaging, modifying, replacing, or copying any licensed software.
  • Damaging, modifying, or replacing any computer equipment.
  • Use of any hardware or software in the pursuit of personal monetary profit.
  • Harassment of any individual via use of any part of the Siena computer network.

The staff of Information Technology Services may access users’ private files during the investigation of possible abuses, or by direction of the President or Vice President of the college.