MSD Laptop Policy

Policy

Any department staff member may request a laptop, based on work-related needs. Laptops and docking stations may be requested during the replacement cycle to replace desktop computers, or may be requested at any time as an additional computer. Laptop requests should be submitted to the supervisor. With the supervisor's approval, the request is forwarded to the Division Heads Group. Division Heads review and make decisions on laptop requests on a case by case basis. Decisions to support laptop requests are based on work-related justification and budget constraints (see purchasing support below).

Any staff member who has an occasional need for a laptop may borrow the shared departmental laptop. It is available for check-out from the departmental Administrative Assistant (AA). Whenever possible, make reservations in advance using the form available from the AA.

Purchasing Support

First time purchases of PCs and laptops are the responsibility of the department. Once a PC or laptop is added to the Library's inventory, the Information Technology Department (ITD) provides support for periodic replacement. Following is ITD's replacement policy, plus some additional notes.

Replacement Eligibility

An item is eligible for replacement on the normal replacement schedule (detailed below) if one of the following is true:

• The item was added to the replacement program by Library Cabinet, along with an appropriate increase in budgeted replacement funds.
• The item was purchased as part of a prior year's replacement cycle.

The source of record for determination of whether or not an item is eligible for replacement is the ITD inventory database.

Replacement Funding Levels

The default funding levels for various types of computers are as follows:

• Desktop PCs: Up to $1,500
• Laptops: Up to $2,000

These funding levels include sales tax, shipping and any accessories, such as laptop docking stations, monitors, and extra batteries. Any amount beyond the default funding level must come from departmental funds and must also conform to ITD manufacturer restrictions. (Note: A desktop PC can be replaced by a laptop with the approval of the relevant department head.)

There are a few exceptions that can be made to the default funding levels. These exceptions are as follows:

• If the laptop being replaced belongs to a department head, the available ITD funds are increased to $2,600.
• If a laptop qualifies as an "operational floater," the available ITD funds are increased to $2,600. An "operational floater" is a laptop which is not assigned to a particular staff member, and is directly involved in supporting the ongoing operations of the department. Examples: a laptop that floats between conference rooms, laptops that are checked out to patrons, laptops that are used by staff to scan barcodes in remote locations, etc.
• If a staff member's job requires the use of a computer that exceeds the normally available ITD funds, exceptions can be made at either the IT Department Head or AUL level, depending on the amount of funds requested.

Replacement Schedules

Replacement schedules are expressed in terms of years from the fiscal year of purchase. For example, a computer purchased in the 1999/2000 would be replaced in the third fiscal year following the purchase or 2003/2004.

In general, the IT Department does not pro-rate early replacements. For record keeping purposes, we also prefer that all items eligible for replacement in a given fiscal year have their replacements purchased by the end of that fiscal year.

Additional Notes

• We do not currently have theft insurance, but the issue of loss replacement will be explored within ITD and may be included in a future iteration of the policy.
• The responsibility of an employee for the contents of the data that reside on her/his laptop is covered by multiple campus based policies. It is best not to keep sensitive information on your laptop. Here is a link to UCSD policy on security:

http://adminrecords.ucsd.edu/PPM/docs/135-7.pdf

• Maintaining antivirus software, operating system patches, backups, etc. is the responsibility of the Departmental Systems Support Liaison (DSSL), with back-end server support e.g. Symantec Server, Veritas Backup Servers, etc. from ITD.

Prepared by Shirley Hioggins
Approved by MSD Unit Heads August 14, 2006
Minor update, February 11, 2008