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How to Get Help With PLOW

SILO provides technical support for the DNS, e-mail, and Web hosting services provided through the PLOW Project. SILO is a joint program of the State Library of Iowa and Iowa State University. Our offices are located in the Parks Library at Iowa State University in Ames.

The SILO Program has four full-time staff that support Internet hosting and resource sharing services. We have one Systems Support Specialist who is primarily responsible for answering technical support questions for the PLOW Project.

Information on the Web

Many of your questions may be answered on our our Web site. All of the handouts from the PLOW classes are posted under the SILO section of the State Library's Web site. We also have configuration guides and advanced how to guides available for topics that were not covered in class. All of our guides include step-by-step instructions that can be printed directly from your browser.

Please see the following pages for more information:

DNS support is available at http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/silo/dns
E-mail support is available at http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/silo/e-mail
Web site support is available at http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/silo/web

SILO Help Desk

If your question was not answered on our Web site, you may contact the SILO Help Desk. We are available to answer your technical support questions from 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM Monday through Friday. Questions are usually answered within two business days, often sooner.

When you contact us, we will enter your request for support into our ticket tracking system. We will ask for your name, your library's Locator code, and a summary of the problem. Your request will be assigned a ticket number. SILO staff will track your ticket, recording any information related to the problem and solution. Even if we resolve your problem immediately, creating the ticket will help us keep a record of the types of problems encountered, so that we can develop better methods for providing support in the future.

Contact the SILO Help Desk by Web Form

For support by e-mail, send your question via the web:

Go to the SILO Help Desk Web Form
Fill out the form
Click on the Send button at the bottom of the form

The information you enter into the web form will be sent to the Help Desk via an e-mail message. Our help desk ticket software will reply to your request automatically. The reply will include the ticket number SILO staff will use to track your question. A SILO Staff member will follow-up with you within two business days.

Before You Call

Check our Web site for the latest how-to guides and technical support updates.
Collect your PLOW binder and all of your handouts from class. You may want to add notes to your binder to keep track of any changes we make to your accounts.
Consider using the e-mail form. Even if you want to talk to someone in person, you can send us your question through the form, and ask us to call you back. If you suggest a specific time, we will try to call you back then.

Contact the SILO Help Desk by Phone

For support by phone, call 1-800-981-9131

Your call will be answered by a SILO staff member. We will ask for your name, your library's Locator code, and a summary of the problem. Your request will be assigned a ticket number. Most questions can be answered immediately. If we can't answer your question right away, we will keep the ticket open, and a SILO staff member will get back to you.

If no SILO staff are available, your call will be transferred to voice-mail. Leave a message with your name, your library's name, your telephone number, and a summary of the problem. A SILO staff member will return your call as soon as possible.

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