Working from home

Those who can work from home are asked to do so as much as possible. This permits us to maintain effective physical distancing and a safe limit to number of persons in the library building.

Additionally, MSU has established temporary work-from-home provisions for staff who are high-risk, care for a high-risk person, or have childcare demands that complicate scheduling. Contact your supervisor, who can arrange an official agreement and file it with HR.
All staff working from home should complete the MSU telecommuting agreement.
How to perform at-home work:
- See the Projects and Self-guided learning pages and consult with your supervisor.
- See tech support information below to set up your home work station & software.
- Some materials may be removed from the building for at-home work. Consult the Taking home materials page for policy and details.

Technical guidance for at-home work

Any TS staff working from home will need to access various library platforms/software. You can bring in a personal laptop to have software installed, or there is a possibility that laptops will be available for check-out (stay tuned for more info). Sierra and Connexion also offer web-based apps that can be used instead of desktop clients.

PLATFORM	ACCESS	NOTES
Library VPN	See guidelines on this page: https://lib.msu.edu/staff-telecommuting-guide/	Use your library sign-in (the same one you use for email) to log in
Sierra desktop client	The Sierra client can be downloaded using this link: http://magic.msu.edu:63000/web/installers/ The download is a .zip file. For Windows 10, Stephanie Bour recommends installing Windows Pure 64 bit ZIP for downloading and unzipping this file. For Windows 8, she recommends Windows ZIP. During install: Accept the default settings When asked for “Server URL,” enter magic.msu.edu	Desktop client can only be downloaded to PCs; Mac users can use the browser based app below or Remote Desktop instead. (Link goes to an intranet page – must be on library VPN and sign in with netID to view.) Must be signed into the library VPN to use the desktop client. Log in using your usual credentials. Macros, text strings, etc., will need to be recreated in any new installation.
Sierra web-based app	https://magic.msu.edu/sierra/sierraweb	Must be signed into the library VPN to use the web app. Log in using your usual credentials. Macros, text strings, etc., may not be available. We are limited to 16 seats at the moment.
Connexion desktop client	Download Connexion on your personal machine using these instructions.	Desktop client can only be downloaded to PCs; Mac users can use the Connexion browser instead. Library VPN not required for access. Log in using your usual credentials. Records can be saved to the online save file and accessed later for export to Sierra.
Connexion browser	http://connexion.oclc.org/
Zoom conferencing software	https://msu.zoom.us/ Zoom how-to Frequently asked questions	Can be downloaded to PCs, Macs, and mobile devices Can be used just with audio or with a webcam Participants can also dial into Zoom meetings from their phone if desired – no computer required

Considerations for using Connexion from home:

Be sure you know your authorization number, plus any additional authorization you may use for Rovi work.
- Email Joshua if you need help with your authorization number.
- In all cases, your password is your last name, capitalized.
Macros and text strings might need to be recreated manually. Copy your text strings while in the library so they can be re-created at home. Macros and text strings may not be an option in the Connexion browser.
Constant data can be saved to the online constant data file and accessed from home.