New Books

Just added new material this morning.

The Disappearing IE Window

Ladies & Gentlemen:

Sorry for the delay in posting this. Over the last several months we have been having a problem with Internet Explorer Windows not opening properly on many of our computers. The problem is the IE window automatically minimizes to the taskbar. It looks like this:

There are two solutions.

1 ) Use Firefox

OR

2) Right Click on the minimized window in the taskbar and Select Restore

Please let me know if you have any questions.

MLA 7th Ed. Handout

The library handout for the new MLA format is now on the print handout shelf and is also available on the Library Handouts webpage. For now, the 6th ed. handout is only available online.

Please let me know if you think we need to put both 6th and 7th on the print handout shelf.

Dana

REF Libs - Chat Reference

Thanks to everyone for participating in the reference chat. I have been getting questions. How about you guys?

I did notice that occassionally we're not shutting down pidgin when there is noone at the desk. I found this conversation when I logged on this morning. The potential here is that students may stop trying to use the service if they get no response when the bubble is green in the meebo chat box.

So if you don't know when there will be someone at the desk next, just sign off.

Thanks!

New Books

Just updated the New Book shelf, take a look.

Library Staff Meeting

We met today for a brief staff meeting. Shuk, Dana, Diana, Cris and Francisco were in attendance.

Shuk confirmed that there will be no winter intersession. We will need to make a plan for the projects that will happen during that time. ie: shelf reading and inventory.

Shuk mentioned that I had been on GavTv 10/14/09. Click here if you want to see it. http://blip.tv/file/2726386 Shuk wants to take advantage of this to maybe do outreach. We have been asked to do some Ask a Librarian spots, JoAnne's book reviews and maybe some topics put together by Don.

Cris reported that our student worker, Nicole, has been working through the reported missing lists. So far 10 books have been found/recovered! Yeah Nicole.

Shuk updated us on the library budget situation for the current year. You can contact Shuk or me for more details if you need to.

Shuk asked for ideas for online outreach opportunities as well as other types of opportunities. Maybe add informational links about alternative sources for books such as Worldcat and GoogleBooks.

We adjourned about 2:15pm.

ILL Reminders

We are now fully into the fall semester and the ILL requests are starting to come in. Especially requests from Dr. Oler's students. I thought we might want to brush up on the basics. All ILL requests should come through the reference desk and be signed off on by a librarian.

The ILL form pdf file is on the Reference user desktop as well as having been distributed by email earlier.

1. The student should fill out the top of the form, read the conditions and sign.
2. The article (including an ISSN for the journal) or book citation information should be printed out from EbscoHost or wherever it came from. This will cut down on errors and will streamline the ILL process.
3. Once the form is completed, the citation is attached, and a librarian has signed off the form should go to Rachel's desk.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. We do have the basics of ILL spelled out for students here http://www.gavilan.edu/library/ill_gavilan.html

Reference Request slips

The Reference request slips have been updated and are now located at the circulation and reference desks. I archived the previous year's slips in the drawer to the left of the circulation computer.

Dana

'Saving' a file to a pdf

For those of us that work in the evenings we often get asked to help a student with some aspect of using the Diet Analysis program (on computers LIB008-LIB010). The primary question we get is how to 'save' their reports to a pdf document. Here are the basic steps.

Note: a pdf is an electronic printout so the trick is that we are printing the document to a pdf.

1. Student completes the data input and chooses to print the reports.

2. Select the PrimoPDF printer.

3. From the PrimoPDF interactive window, select the drive and file name.

4. When you have entered the filename and pointed at the drive or folder in which you want to save the document, click on the Create PDF button. This creates the file and saves it to the drive and folder you selected.

5. The file is now ready to upload to the instructor.

What is Where? 2009

As a reminder to us all, here is a listing of what programs have been loaded on our library computers for student use in the evenings and what computers they are on.

Diet Analysis (+pdf printer) -- LIB008 - LIB010
Final Draft -- LIB006
Gaspar (Spanish language program) -- LIB000-LIB005
Kurzweil (oral reader for online resources) -- LIB007-LIB011, LIB017
QuickBooks -- LIB010
Beginning Statistics -- LIB000-LIB002

Dana

Wireless Access & Guest Access at Gavilan

Now that we are further into the semester, we know more about the wireless access process. In order to use the wireless access on campus you are now required to login with a GavID and PIN.

UPDATE: The student must also be currently enrolled.

Occassionally, even if a student is entering the correct information, they are not able to logon to the wireless. There is a way to creat a temporary guest account. Here are the instructions.

• Log into the intranet. You will see the options at the top of the screen which include email and stuff. They have added an icon at the end of the row for Guest Wireless.


• Click on the Guest Wireless icon.You will see filled in blanks for a username and password.


• Click the create button. You have created a guest account.


• Give the username and password to the person you created it for.


• The account will expire at the end of the day you created it.

Banner Account Assistance to Students

Good Morning:
Occassionally as student trying to get their GavID and PIN have maxed out the allowed attempts. You will know if this is the case if you get this message:

*** ERROR: User not found ***Please call the Admissions and Records office at 408-848-4735 for further assistance.

As you can see in the error message the student will need to speak to admissions or call the number listed. Someone inadvertantly sent a student to counseling yesterday. I just wanted to remind us all.

Dana

ALA Outstanding Reference Books 2009

Here are the Outstanding Reference Books for 2009. I've indicated which ones GAV owns.

Books and Beyond: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of New American Reading. Kenneth Womack, ed. 4 vols. Greenwood, 2008. (9780313337383).

Encyclopedia of Taoism. Fabrizio Pregadio, ed. 2 vols. Routledge, 2008. (9780700712007)

Encyclopedia of the First Amendment. John R. Vile, David L. Hudson Jr. and David Schultz, eds. 2 vols. CQ Press, 2009. (9780872893115) (GAV has on order)

Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales. Donald Haase, ed. 3 vols. Greenwood, 2008. (9780313334412). (GAV has ebook and print)

Encyclopedia of Education Law. Charles J. Russo, ed. 2 vols. Sage, 2008. (9781412940795).
Climate Change: In Context. Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner, eds. 2 vols. Gale Cengage, 2008. (9781414436142).

Gale Encyclopedia of Diets: A Guide to Health and Nutrition. Jacqueline L. Longe, ed. Gale Cengage, 2008. (9781414429915).

New Encyclopedia of Orchids: 1500 Species in Cultivation. Isobyl la Croix. Timber Press, 2008. (9780881928761).

Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social and Military History. Spencer C. Tucker, ed. 4 vols. ABC-CLIO, 2008. (9781851098415). (GAV has ebook and print)

African American National Biography. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Evelyn Brooks-Higginbotham, eds. 8 vols. Oxford University Press, 2008. (9780195160192). (GAV has)

Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Bonnie G. Smith, ed. 4 vols. Oxford University Press, 2008. (9780195148909).

I have had several students in looking for three short stories for ENG1b for Luoma.

• Sonny's Blues by Baldwin, James
• Rose for Emily by Faulkner, William
• Cathedral by Carver, Raymond

The circulating books that have these stories have been checked out. However, I found them all in the anthology on reserve for ENG1b for Richards, G.

Just thought you all might find this useful! Dana

ASB Cards

Students get their ASB card at admissions and registration now. I just found this out Friday.

If they need to 'replace' their card, they do that at the ASB office but to get one or pick up the one they already paid for.... that is at admissions! :-)

Reminder from Cris

Good Morning All! Cris sent this great reminder out by email but I thought it would be useful to have it in the blog for posterity! Thanks Cris!
Dana

Just want to remind staff about paying attention to certain details in Circ. These details, even though a little time consuming, especially when you have patrons waiting, still need to get done, otherwise patrons don't get their holds or we end up with missing items.
Thank you.
Cris

When checking in (discharging) material:
If there is a HOLD, a pop-up "Item Block" note will appear, please take note of who the requesting party is and set the item(s) aside.







Check for number of items, especially video and sound recordings: A pop-up note will appear alerting you to the number of items. At this point you need to make sure all items are accounted for before entering OK to the pop-up (This "Items block" note appears when you charge and discharge materials)

Fall 09 Updates and FYI

Good Morning:

There have been a few changes over the summer and during the first week of classes that everyone will need to know.

The computer place changed their login procedures to the students GavID and Banner PIN at the computer.
AND
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the wireless access is also using the GavID and Banner PIN as the login.

This has resulted in an increase in students needing to get their GavID and PIN or verify it. I found the best way is to direct them to Self Service Banner and use the Get GavID and PIN feature. If they are trying to login and can't remember their PIN, the Banner Login screen has a Forgot PIN button. If they have both numbers and it isn't working, I have asked them to log into Banner and most of the time they find that they have the wrong numbers and we use one of the previous ideas to find the correct information.

Later Gators!

Mindset of the Class of 2013

Beloit College has once again published its list of life experiences for the incoming freshman class. Here is this year's list.

The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2013

Most students entering college for the first time this fall were born in 1991.

1. For these students, Martha Graham, Pan American Airways, Michael Landon, Dr. Seuss, Miles Davis, The Dallas Times Herald, Gene Roddenberry, and Freddie Mercury have always been dead.
2. Dan Rostenkowski, Jack Kevorkian, and Mike Tyson have always been felons.
3. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.
4. They have never used a card catalog to find a book.
5. Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.
6. Salsa has always outsold ketchup.
7. Earvin "Magic" Johnson has always been HIV-positive.
8. Tattoos have always been very chic and highly visible.
9. They have been preparing for the arrival of HDTV all their lives.
10. Rap music has always been main stream.
11. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.
12. Someone has always been building something taller than the Willis (née Sears) Tower in Chicago.
13. The KGB has never officially existed.
14. Text has always been hyper.
15. They never saw the “Scud Stud” (but there have always been electromagnetic stud finders.) 16. Babies have always had a Social Security Number.
17. They have never had to “shake down” an oral thermometer.
18. Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.
19. They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.
20. American students have always lived anxiously with high-stakes educational testing.
21. Except for the present incumbent, the President has never inhaled.
22. State abbreviations in addresses have never had periods.
23. The European Union has always existed.
24. McDonald's has always been serving Happy Meals in China.
25. Condoms have always been advertised on television.
26. Cable television systems have always offered telephone service and vice versa.
27. Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.
28. The American health care system has always been in critical condition.
29. Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.
30. Desperate smokers have always been able to turn to Nicoderm skin patches.
31. There has always been a Cartoon Network.
32. The nation’s key economic indicator has always been the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
33. Their folks could always reach for a Zoloft.
34. They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
35. Women have always outnumbered men in college.
36. We have always watched wars, coups, and police arrests unfold on television in real time.
37. Amateur radio operators have never needed to know Morse code.
38. Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia have always been independent nations.
39. It's always been official: President Zachary Taylor did not die of arsenic poisoning.
40. Madonna’s perspective on Sex has always been well documented.
41. Phil Jackson has always been coaching championship basketball.
42. Ozzy Osbourne has always been coming back.
43. Kevin Costner has always been Dancing with Wolves, especially on cable.
44. There have always been flat screen televisions.
45. They have always eaten Berry Berry Kix.
46. Disney’s Fantasia has always been available on video, and It’s a Wonderful Life has always been on Moscow television.
47. Smokers have never been promoted as an economic force that deserves respect.
48. Elite American colleges have never been able to fix the price of tuition.
49. Nobody has been able to make a deposit in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
50. Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening News came on.
51. Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.
52. They have never been Saved by the Bell
53. Someone has always been asking: “Was Iraq worth a war?”
54. Most communities have always had a mega-church.
55. Natalie Cole has always been singing with her father.
56. The status of gays in the military has always been a topic of political debate.
57. Elizabeth Taylor has always reeked of White Diamonds.
58. There has always been a Planet Hollywood.
59. For one reason or another, California’s future has always been in doubt.
60. Agent Starling has always feared the Silence of the Lambs.
61. “Womyn” and “waitperson” have always been in the dictionary.
62. Members of Congress have always had to keep their checkbooks balanced since the closing of the House Bank.
63. There has always been a computer in the Oval Office.
64. CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging.
65. Avon has always been “calling” in a catalog.
66. NATO has always been looking for a role.
67. Two Koreas have always been members of the UN.
68. Official racial classifications in South Africa have always been outlawed.
69. The NBC Today Show has always been seen on weekends.
70. Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.
71. Conflict in Northern Ireland has always been slowly winding down.
72. Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.
73. Nobody has ever responded to “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
74. Congress could never give itself a mid-term raise.
75. There has always been blue Jell-O.

http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2013.php

Welcome Back!

Fall 2009 is here. Welcome back.

Gavilan is now requiring wireless users to login with their GavID and PIN to access websites off campus. It looks like once they have logged in, that will stay active for a period of time. I tried this with IE and Firefox. For those library users without a G00 number, they will need to use the desktop computers.

Off campus access remains the same.

At this point in time, we cannot access the library catalog using the wireless access. I have asked MIS to look into fixing this.

Dana

Library Catalog/OPAC

As many of you already know, the voyager system was upgraded between the semesters. As a result, we lost our customizations. I think I have them all back in place. Please let me know if there is something you got used to using and is no longer there.

I also figured out how to do the New Books search in the new system (thanks for the brain jog Cris!)

I have included a link to the New Books in the list of Library Links on the right side of the blog. And here is the link for those of us that want to launch the New Books catalog search from here.

NewBooks

Dana

Computer Place Summer Hours

If we get any questions about the Computer Place, they will be open this summer the same schedule as the library.

Dana

Staff Recognition Dinner

As you all know the Staff Recognition Dinner was Friday night. I was just looking over the photos up on Flickr from the event and I found some great ones. Shuk was honored for her 20 years of service to Gavilan.

Photo Courtesy of Gavilan Flickr photostream.


Photo Courtesy of Gavilan Flickr photostream.

And here is a picture of our fearless leader from near the beginning of those 20 years of service.
Photo found in Gavilan Archives housed in the library.

FYI

The Computer Place now has 4 Macs. In case you get asked where a student can work on a Mac, now you can recommend the Computer Place.

Dana

New Books

New Books added, check them out

MLA parenthetical citations for long titles when there is no author

This came up today and I thought I would share it with other librarians. According to the 6th and 7th ed. MLA Handbook for Writers: In a parenthetical reference to a work alphabetized by title in the list of works cited, the full title (if brief) or a shortened version precedes the page, paragraph, section,” etc. The manual does not state how many words, but example parenthetical notes were given.

Title: “Snowy Owl”
Parenthetical title: “Snowy Owl”

Title: “Decade of the Spy”
Shortened parenthetical title: “Decade”

Title: “Traveling in the Breakdown Lane”
Shortened parenthetical title: “Traveling”

Note that no ellipsis … follow the abbreviated title.

Cybraryn Challenges

As most of you already know we have been having trouble with Cybraryn lately. Not because of the software but because of the network communication with the server. If someone tries to login or logout when that communication is not working, cybraryn will crash and leave the computer open to potential abuse. If you find a computer with the desktop background showing (the picture of Gavilan in the summer), reboot the computer. I have had to reboot student computers as much as 25 times in the course of a busy day.

A side effect of this is that these students are not being logged out fully due to the communication problem. So the number of accounts already in use is up. The easiest way to fix an account that is already in use is to override with the password. I did find out today that if the student clicks on the Wait button the system will reset the account if they are truly not logged in elsewhere. The hitch there is that this will take several minutes.

MIS is aware of this situation and they will be moving the software onto a more reliable/less congested server. We don't know when this will take place.

Anything else? Please use the comments for any comments or corrections.
Dana

New Books

Just added some exciting new titles to the New Book Shelf.

GavFest Thanks

Thanks to everyone that participated in our GavFest READ Bookmark - a - thon! My rough estimate is that we made 45-50 bookmarks on Saturday. I hope I said it enough on Saturday but here it is again. THANK YOU! Without everyone's help we couldn't have pulled this off!

Here is a sampling of some of the bookmarks.

NEW BOOKS

New books on display and on new book shelf, be sure to look them over.

Cris

Chat Reference and the Reference Statistics

Reference staff:
Let's add chat reference to our Phone/email column on the reference stat sheet.

We will divide that column into three columns. Phone / Email / Chat

This will allow us to track not only the usage but the time of day it is used.

Thanks for your help. I have gotten some use. How about anyone else?

New Books

Don't forget to see what's on the New Book Shelf.

ScienceDirect Trial

We currently have access to ScienceDirect College edition until 4/17/09. Here is a link to use from on campus. For those of us working from a geographically remote location please call me and I can set up access for you guys. Please review this database and how it might fit in to our collection of electronic information for our students.

Thanks
Dana

http://www.sciencedirect.com/college

Soc 4 reserves

There are two folders on reserve with articles for a Soc 4 class. One folder had some missing pages that were luckily available in the other folder. The contents of the folders looked like chapters of textbook(s) and photocopied articles. In talking with Shuk, it came up that maybe we could scan the chapters and articles (articles not available on EBSCOhost) and put them on eReserve behind our proxy so students would have to use their library cards to access them. If you have any ideas on this, please feel free to chime in.

GECA Science Class

Students from a GECA science class are all writing papers on the same topic: whether or not the U.S. should continue to fund space exploration. There’s a couple of ways of searching at the reference desk. What I tried is by subject: Outer Space—Exploration including further subdivisions OR using keywords: space exploration. Many appropriate print books are already checked out. We have some that are a little old (but still good for background/historical type info). Luckily we have several eBooks (search inside the books with keywords like funding, funds, financ*, benefit*, wast*, etc.) There is a good Info Plus series book in the reference collection: REF QB 500.262 S624 2009 (use its index to find “benefits” of space exploration, etc.)

Also don’t forget to try EBSCOhost, Opposing Viewpoints and CQ Researcher.

What is Where?

As a reminder to us all, here is a listing of what programs have been loaded on our library computers for student use in the evenings and what computers they are on.

Diet Analysis (+pdf printer) -- LIB008 - LIB010
Final Draft -- LIB006
Gaspar (Spanish language program) -- LIB000-LIB002, LIB004-LIB005
Kurzweil (oral reader for online resources) -- LIB007-LIB011, LIB017
QuickBooks -- LIB010-LIB011

We will be adding the Diet Analysis program to one or two additional computers soon. I'll update this post at that time.

Dana

New Books

Hi all
Once again I updated the new book shelf, check it out.