The evolution of user services
Richard B. Garret · 1988
In order to fully comprehend the evolution of User Services and peer into the future through our computing crystal ball, one must necessarily begin the journey with an exploration of our past achievements and then make a careful analysis of the trends for future computing requirements. The purpose of this paper is to trace the advancements of User Services from its infancy into the present and beyond. From its inception it quickly became apparent that the primary focus of User Services would be education and research. User Services quickly adapted to the rapidly evolving computer environments to provide the educational and research services that were required by the user community to make efficient use of the available computing resources. Serving a select few individuals within the faculty, staff, and student body community, User Services began its growth which would soon result in its expansion into every facet of the academic and administrative life as well as the surrounding communities of users. As we continue our exploration of the history of User Services, we can begin to understand the significance that the role of technological advances within the computing facilities played upon the expansion of services provided to the computing community. With the acquisition of more and more powerful computers came the realization of distributed computing. User Services extended support to not only larger numbers of faculty, staff, and students; but also groups not directly associated with the University. Soon this support would include a vast array of administrative functions as well. With the vast growth in the user community came the introduction of large numbers of users who required the computing power afforded by these technological giants, but who had little computer related expertise. User Services once again was on-hand to provide the needed support — consulting. Soon technological advances would introduce minicomputers and microcomputers into the computing facilities of the University. With the burgeoning computer facilities, came the need for the dissemination of information to the user community at large. User Services would once again expand its role to include publishing and documentation as a part of the services provided to the user community. Finally as microcomputers became more prevalent the need for networking of computer resources became more apparent. Along with the responsibility came the need for support of the following: equipment evaluation and acquisition, software evaluation and acquisition, and repair and maintenance of computer equipment. From the cursory examination of the past we are able to recognize that the future of User Services is driven by the technological advances in the computer industry and therefore the increased needs of the user community. User Services' role will continue to evolve to incorporate these changing needs into its area of responsibility.