The introduction of a Spam filtering system at the University has resulted in a massive reduction in the amount of unwanted mails reaching staff.

Before the implementation of the Email DNS Realtime Blackhole lists, the University was receiving almost four million messages a week – of which over 80 per cent were recognised as Spam. Since 10 March, when the new system came into effect, only around 10 per cent of mail received is Spam and the number of messages admitted to the University has fallen to just over 1.75 million.

The new filter, which uses industry standard Spam lists to recognise known Spammers, works by rejecting email from known Spam sites before they have even entered the University’s email system. High probability Spam has been deleted without referring it to the intended recipient for review.

Another benefit of the new filter system is that email delivery times have significantly improved.

“Introducing the Spam filtering system has enabled Information Services to vastly improve the University’s email system. Future planned improvements include using a quarantine service to hold lower probability Spam and allowing out of office messages to be sent outside the University”, said IS Network and Systems Team Leader Chris Parry.

A new service enabling students to renew library books by making a single phone call is to be piloted by Information Services.

The new service, provided by Talking Tech i-tiva Connect, will also enable access to information such as library opening hours. It will be provided automatically round-the-clock.

Currently books can be renewed in person at self service machines or lending desks, or online via UNLOC. Phone renewals have been restricted to part-time students, external borrowers, customers borrowing items from the medical libraries or Shakespeare Street Learning Resource Centre (LRC) and people with disabilities.

 “Introducing this new phone system will further improve our 24/7 services to our customers, including those who aren’t able to easily access the web,” said Sue Storey, Head of Library Customer Services.

Further information will be published in future editions of The ISsue.

Upgrades are being made to the NetWare client – the network login system – that provides the links between PCs and services such as printing and your files.

The upgrade has already been carried out in Information Services and its computer rooms around the University’s campuses and is now being extended to PCs in staff and research areas.

Among the future benefits are improvements in printing services, improved login speed for users and the ability to change passwords on your own PC instead of having to contact the IT Helpline for assistance.

Information Services is discussing upgrade dates with IT Representatives and further information will be published in future editions of The ISsue.

The increasing use of mobile phones and other handheld communications devices has led to a fall in demand for payphones around the University.

Ntl, suppliers of around 50 payphones in halls, academic and administration buildings on the UK campuses, extended the contract with the University until July this year. It originally expired in September 2007.

Unfortunately it has not been possible to find an alternative payphone supplier willing to manage the service unless the University agrees to underwrite them at a significant cost. Therefore, the decision has been taken to remove Ntl payphones during the summer vacation.

However, five existing BT payphone kiosks on University Park will remain and a single BT payphone will be installed at both the Sutton Bonington and Jubilee campuses.

Arrangements can be made for Schools or departments wishing to maintain their own payphone service after this July, however this will not be possible with Ntl. Each payphone would need to be subsidised by the individual School or department at a cost of around £800 per year.

Please contact Andrew Holdgate, IS Strategic Partnerships Manager, for further information using the email link to the right of this item.

The University publishes around 4000 articles a year and the ‘Open Access Fund’, has been set up to help to make these openly available on journal websites and elsewhere.

The Fund is available to authors who have previously seen their papers being available only to subscribers of the journals in which they are published. It was set up as a result of a partnership between Information Services and Research Innovation Services (RIS). The Research Committee has asked RIS to administer the fund and monitor the take-up.

The Open Access Fund is designed to help authors take advantage of the increasing number of opportunities offered by journal publishers to pay a fee which allows their article ‘to go open access’ on the publisher’s site.

“Although they are charged for this service, authors also benefit because it increases access to their work which, in turn means that it is more likely to be cited,” said Stephen Pinfield, Chief Information Officer. “It is also a way in which authors can comply with new requirements of a number of research funders to make their work available on open access.”

The following criteria apply to applications to the fund:

• Where a publication results from research funded by the Wellcome Trust, apply to Ros Jones in RIS. Contact details are on the right of this article.
• For publications in a BioMed Central journal, the article charge will automatically be deducted from the University’s prepayment account with BioMed Central.
• For publications resulting from research funded by bodies other than Wellcome Trust, the Research Committee has agreed to meet open access publication costs as part of this new scheme. However, in future, researchers are advised where possible that publication costs should be factored onto the research project costing at the outset.

A new exhibition highlighting the story of Raleigh Cycles of Nottingham opens at the Weston Gallery, D H Lawrence Pavilion, University Park next month.

Raleigh Cycles have had a long association with the city and grown from humble beginnings in Raleigh Street to become a globally recognised household name.

The exhibition draws mainly on the Raleigh Cycle Company’s archives and has been curated by Nottinghamshire Archives in association with Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University.

It runs from Saturday 12 April until Sunday 3 August and is open Monday to Friday, 11am – 4pm and on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from 12 noon – 4pm. Admission is free.

Further information, including details of a series of lunchtime talks associated with the exhibitions, will be provided via the link to the right of this article.