Hi librarianbethany,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
Restore alert 1611 is typically associated with security software. Please use the following article to help you isolate and troubleshoot the issue.
Resolve iOS update and restore errors
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3694
Related errors: 2, 4, 6, 9, 1000, 1611, 9006. Sometimes security software can prevent your device from communicating with either the Apple update server or with your device.
Check your security software and settings to make sure that they aren't preventing a connection to the Apple servers.
Have a great day,
Joe