Scan the Man!

We have a new scanner in the ERC paid for by Tech Fees! Thanks to the student body for providing this station for your fellow students.

When scanning, it saves automatically to "My Pictures" on the C Drive or you can manipulate it to your flash drive.

Enjoy! The software is so easy that you will probably need no help from teh library staff!

Have at it!

Here's the technical skinny:

• 48-bit color depth and 600 x 1200 optical resolution, 600 dpi
• will scan up to 16 pages per minute
• large scan bed : 11.7 x 17 inches (297 x 432 mm)
• EPSON scan software and Adobe Photoshop Elements (manipulate the scanned image)
• ABBYY FineReader 5.0 Sprint for optical character recognition (never retype another document!)

We are wired! All over!

We have been wireless in the library for some time now but....the signal did not quite reach to the ends of the book stacks on the first and the second floor where the great tables and electricity are. They are sweet spots to study because the views are great and you are in the tree line. It is isolated and quiet. Now, the signal has been amplified so that wireless goes all the way there.

Enjoy!!!!

A conversion experience- NEW Microsoft Word!

I just had my first Microsoft conversion experience this morning. I tried to open a document that a colleague had sent me and I got prompted to go to: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/thankyou.aspx?familyId=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displayLang=en to download a converter for the new Microsoft 2007 family of Powerpoint, Word, and Excel. Expect to see this as more and more people upgrade to the new software. The converter is very easy to download and install so . . . no worries!

Scanning 'R Us!

We were given a long-bed Vista Umax scanner for use from a very-supportive patron Matt. We are so appreciative! We hooked it up to a PC on a station by the Reading Room. There are instructions there but it is quite easy to use. The software is under the Programs menu and it is called "Vista Scanner." You do have to change the settings to direct where it is saving and what format you wish to scan as. You can access thos settings by choosing the small icon on the top right-hand corner of the scanning window (it looks like a scanner.)

If you need help, just ask one of us friendly library staff members!

Oh, where, oh, where has the printer gone?

We (Sharon) was becoming deaf on the right side hearing the repetitive clickety-clack of the printer for the last couple of years. It had actually gotten worse the last couple of terms since some faculty have passed the cost of printing to the students and they are printing out tomes of Powerpoint lecture slides.

We also moved it to give patrons more room to stand when they print and it puts students closer to the other tools on the work table: stapler, hold punch, and paper cutter.

Hope you like it. We are getting some good comments over the change!

Cramming it all in my head!

I am down to the wire on a couple of BIG projects and I am running on excitement alone- I think! Certainly not running on sleep. I am working furiously on enough of the "oral history" project to have something to show on April 24th. Plus I have a repository paper to write and the final write up for Digital Libraries. Yikers! Where does the time go? Next week I may have to give up the New York Times Crossword Puzzle that steals time like a thief in the night.

Office 2007-Great stuff!

I had to download Office 2007 (trial version) because my old Office crashed and burned last week. I could not, for the life of me, reinstall it so….frustration turned to desperation and I downloaded a 60 day trial of Office 2007. I love it! Word is aesthetically pleasing to even look at. When you want to change a typeface or size of a font, indent…several options, a ghosty box appears over a word you have selected and you can change it right there. No more traveling clear to the top of the screen to make changes. Those of us with large monitors will appreciate not having to cover so much real estate.

It also publishes blogs like a dream. You write your entry and then it posts to the blog for you. Too easy! I also have been playing with Note—but I am not sure where the notes are going and how to get them back. More on that later!

I have a good playing gig in April-just in time to hand the money over to Microsoft! The price at Academic Superstore is just about manageable,

A caution—I have to remember to save "backwards" so that others can read it. There are also readers that I can send with documents to that others can read this version of Word. More later!

It certainly was not OUR Eastern time!

Summer school registration started this morning at 6 AM in Connecticut—that is 3 AM here! Cruel! I had to get up and register for my research class as it is the last required course and I needed to get it finished! In the fall, I will have two electives and then I am sooooooooooo finished! Oh, and the Capstone.

I was the 7^th person to register for the class so I expect that if 7 people signed up at 6 AM (or 3 AM in my case!) that the class will probably fill soon. Early bird and all that. I am a bit apprehensive about this class. I took it once before in my first Masters' work and it was dreadful. We took our prof out to lunch on a riverboat on the Ohio River after the exam. Then three of us hoisted our textbooks off the side of the boat! It felt great. She laughed. (We were not very environmentally conscious then---nor did textbooks cost $100 for a paperback as one of my Digital Libraries book did this term-yikes!)

 

Best wishes to all the students at Eastern who are feverishly finishing the term in a couple of weeks. Sure have seen a lot of activity last week and today. It is always a pleasure to serve the most appreciative and nice students on the planet!

PastPerfect Software Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon Porter

ILS 655 Unit 3/4-Digital Library Technology Review

February 25, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

    In the lecture notes in Unit 5, elements of a desirable user interface were discussed in terms of feasibility, integration, usability, consistency, reliability, security and recoverability. PastPerfect software is a commercially-available software package used by over 2,750 libraries, museums, and historical societies to manage their digital library collections. Usability is the element most evident when working with this software. In their training sessions, the practical day-to-day workflow is acknowledged by beginning with "A man comes into your library with a box." Anyone who has worked in a library, museum, or historical society knows this scenario. From intake to dissemination, the designers of the software seem to know the daily routines of data entry personnel, librarians assigning metadata, historians writing narratives, and harried directors who have little time to compose thank you letters and track gifts and loans. Much care has been taken to manage the people side of the business of preservation. Tracking fund-raising, patrons, donors, and volunteers is also a feature of the software.

PastPerfect Software Contact Information

    PastPerfect is the flagship of the Pastime Software Company, Inc. located at 300 N. 300 N. Pottstown Pike, Suite 200, Exton, PA 19341. Their business telephone number is 610.363.7844 and the Sales Department can be emailed at sales@museumsoftware.com. The company was founded in 1998 and remains a small company of about eleven employees in their single location. The main contact person is Vice-President Brian Gomez. Their internet address is http://www.museumsoftware.com/ and their toll-free telephone number is 1-800-562-6080. Version 4 has just been released and the pricing is $795 for a single user license but members of AASLH (American Association for School and Local History) receive a 20% discount. Network upgrades are available for 2-5 computers at $450, 6-10 computers at $800, 11-25 users at $1,100 and for 26+ computers it costs $1,400. The company maintains a client list and map on their website under the Resources tab with links to online projects.

    Upon a cursory walk-through of the software screen, it would seem that the product is designed for museums. The detail in the Objects Module is extensive and the Contacts activities with pledge collection abilities underscore its utility in that realm of work. However, the Library, Photo, and Archive modules are just as deep in detail and supportive of activities you would expect in collecting many types of materials aside from realia. The software is aesthetically appealing. Even the data-entry screens don't seem like work. Pull-down menus, use of authority files, and links to the Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphical Materials-Subject Terms and the Getty Union List of Artist Names and Art and Architecture Thesaurus websites aid in data-entry. Authority files are customizable for local definitions to help speed up data entry processes.

    After evaluating objects for inclusion into the collection, the Accession module allows the user to temporary take custody of the item, describe the item(s) and print a receipt for the donor. If the item is kept for the collection, accession activities are managed in this module: assigning it an accession number and completing a Deed of Gift and Thank You letter.

The Basic Four Modules

    The cataloging of an item begins in the Objects, Library, Archive and Photos modules. The Objects catalog is chosen from the main menu. There are different screen views for Archaeology, Art, Geology, History and Natural History. Each type of object will bring up a specialized screen. For example, the natural history screen presents taxonomic choices but in the case of art objects, provenance fields are presented. Chenhall-approved names of objects are accessed through a Lexicon as an authority file. Site information can be described here for archaeological, geological, and paleontological sites and sensitive site information can be password-protected. Repatriation processes are included in this module for noting items that are subject to review, investigation, and disposition. Appraisals are recorded here as well as the condition of the item. Authority files are used to speed data entry for people, classification, subjects (using the Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphical Materials), and search terms. Dublin Core metadata is generated here and the AAT online button accesses the Getty Museum's Art and Architecture Thesaurus (Library of Congress, 2007) (Getty Museum, 2007).

    The Photos Catalog has specialized fields for describing photographs that includes details of the size, negative number, and film size of the photo. Again, the Authority files aid in data entry. Classification is based on a photograph classification system, a finding aid, developed by the Bishop Museum in Honolulu and is organized in a hierarchical system. There is event detail to add for the photographer, the studio, the medium, and storage location fields (Bishop Museum, 2007).

    The Archives Catalog is the area where unpublished materials are catalogued. Examples of materials are manuscripts, oral histories, videotapes, personal papers, maps, music collections, and other documents. Items may be catalogued singly or in collection sets. In this module, conditions of access are defined that restrict or affect access of the item for its use, reproduction, or publication. Finding aids that relate to the item may be identified along with how to obtain a copy. Materials that are associated are described, such as copies or other related materials in the repository. There is multi-level linking to help organize series of documents with a parent directory. Music collections are described in this module with specific fields for track number, composer, artists and their associated instruments, song title, and composer. The genre, a scope and content abstract note, recording label, and recording media may also be defined. Oral histories are catalogued here with notes for applicable restrictions, narrator and interviewer information, transcriptionist, and donor release forms. Links may be made to the audio files for playback while viewing the record but it requires the additional Multimedia Upgrade.

    The Library Catalog is designed for a non-circulating library and describes newspapers, pamphlets, books, and periodicals. Some specialized fields include information found in the CIP (Cataloging in Publication) but cutting and pasting from WorldCat for older titles, or original cataloging is allowable. The Dublin Core and Library of Congress website buttons are available in this module as well (Parr, Hilton, & Danner, 2004).

Add-On Modules

    To amplify features of the software and to more easily disseminate the collection, add-on modules are available. The Multimedia Module ($370) allows users to attach, view, print images, and link multimedia documents to records. These documents can be digital audio or visual, web page, Microsoft Word,
Excel and pdf files. PastPerfect also will allow the user to acquire images through most digital cameras and scanner directly into the software. The Virtual Exhibit add-on module is $375.00 and produces HTML webpages from selected records or the entire website with search capability. It can then be hosted on the user's server or a hosting service is available. The hosting service, PastPefect Online, has a $248 set-up fee and charges $410 for annual hosting. An additional 10,000 online records sell for $236. MWeb software supports the online collection and features advanced search capabilities and Click-and-Search, an alphabetic browsing feature. Strategic Planning is the company that has developed MWeb, a proprietary software they would not share information about, but they provide a list of examples of websites using their search software (MWeb, 2007). Barcode printing is available in a module selling for $79 that includes the most common barcode formats, Code 128 and Code 39. It also supports Codabar, Interleaved 2/5, UPC (both EAN and JAN), and UPC A and E. The EZ-MARC module is $95 and allows the import and export of MARC data to library catalogs. Scatter-Gather is an essential add-on for situations where a user is working off-site so that the data can be merged with the parent site. This would be useful for field work and for working at home (Pastime Software, 2007).

Technical Requirements

    The data-entry station requirements are unremarkable using a 600 MHz Pentium 3 or equivalent CPU with a Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP operating system of 128 MB RAM. Forty megabytes of storage space is needed for the program and 5 MB is needed for every 1,000 records. The local area network (LAN) can be Windows NT, Novell, or the Network Neighborhood that comes with the Windows operating system. The software is a simple self-installation.

Technical Standards

    Metadata can be added using the Dublin Core standard and it can be exported to XML for viewing and sharing. To describe man-made objects, the software uses Chenhall' s Revised Nomenclature, a museum standard that is a hierarchical classification system published by the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) (Canadian Heritage Information Network, 2007b). The software uses the Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphical Materials for Subjects, a thesaurus of over 6,300 terms for indexing visual materials (Library of Congress, 2007). To describe photographs, a thesaurus from the Bishop Museum of Honolulu, based on their experience with over one million photographs, is used to assign content (Bishop Museum, 2007). There are over 100 pre-inserted authority files to help with data-entry for author, classification, collection, content, creator, material medium, object name, people, photographer, places, print size, storage location, and subject fields. Authority files are also user-defined as data is entered into the records, such as the Contacts file. Many of these files are pull-down menus for easy data entry. MARC data can be imported and exported to aid in data entry and dissemination.

The Archives are compatible with International Council on Archives ISAD(G) standards. Relational, hierarchical, network, and object oriented data structures are featured. Underlying the database management software is Microsoft Visual FoxPro SQL handles the query language. The character sets are Extended ASCII and image formats supported are TIFF, JPEG, and BMP. Data can be imported from ASCII-comma delimited, tab delimited, DBase, Excel, FoxPro. Data can be exported to ASCII-comma delimited, tab delimited, DBase, Excel, FoxPro, Excel/HTML, XML, Dublin Core XML, Microtext, MARC21 (with the add-on module mentioned earlier)(Museum Documentation Association, 2007). The maximum number of concurrent users of the system is not set by the software, with 78 recorded from the largest installed system. The largest record can have 255 maximum fields and the largest installed system has 200,000 records but is, again, not limited by the software. Recommendations for data backup are outlined in the software documentation and a button on the Main Menu accesses the options available.

Functionalities

    In addition to the functions of each main module, data for PastPerfect can be converted from Access, Argus, ASCII, dBase, DIF, Excel, Filemaker Pro, Foxpro, MARC, MCMS, Mimsy, Minaret, Paradox, Q&A, Snap for DOS, and Snap for Windows. Each catalog record has an update history including the date, time, and the user who last made changes in the record. Records can be noted for approval of a supervisor. User-defined function keys can cut down the time used to input today's date, name of the institution or collection, or any other data phrase that is used regularly. In acquisition management, registering an item develops and maintains an immediate brief and permanent means of identifying an object. It also establishes the right of ownership. All associations with a person, place, and event are preserved. A numbering system assures that each item has a unique identification number to track that item through all the processes of the software. Temporary custody status of an item can be converted easily to a permanently owned item, a loan, or an item to be returned to the owner. All of these end results triggers a donor letter to the owner reflecting the status of the item. Up to four donors can be linked to a single item. De-accessions are tracked as well. People biographies may be established to ascertain the relationships of donors, the subjects of photographs, or the creator of documents. Catalog records can be associated with that person's biography.

    The interface is clean with links clearly marked for the various functions of the software and the four main modules. The data entry screens are surprisingly neat considering how much information is organized in each screen and the amount of resources and links used to help catalog the item. Navigation is clear and consistent from screen to screen, module to module. Exits are clearly marked and warning messages are appropriately given for permanent changes to items, such as watermarking a photograph. Searching is called "Research" and is accomplished by choosing all catalogs, keyword, lexicon, people, and search term as parameters. Boolean logic is used to search through the catalogs, one by one or collectively, and by keyword. The keyword search includes a "sounds like" parameter.

    The Reports function includes over 200 built-in customizable reports and also includes a Report Maker utility for designing your own reports. Print previews are available. There is also a place to store any custom reports that the user may have commissioned from the software developer.

    Indispensable for public library, museums, and historical associations is the Contact and Campaigns functions of PastPerfect. The Contact database tracks members, donors, pledges, memberships, volunteer hours, planned giving, giving history, and contact information. A contact's email address is linked to the computer's email program for quick messages. The Campaigns function tracks the goals, membership, and pledges of fund-raising programs, complete with a thermometer to indicate progress. Initial pledge and reminder letters are found here as is an Excel spreadsheet for managing campaign expenditures. From these areas, contacts can be assigned to an array of lists for specific letters and for printing mailing labels.

    A small feature, but one that points to the developer's understanding of how people work, is the small icon for the "To Do" found in the main modules and on the Main Menu. Many workers work in environments fraught with interruptions. The sticky note function allows workers to communicate among themselves or to leave notes for themselves. In the four main modules, the sticky note has a pull-down menu to flag that record for special treatment, such as items that need to be checked by a supervisor or to have dates verified.

Technical Support

    There is a free thirty-day support period after purchase but PastTime Software, Inc. also offers a first-year support option for $299 for a single license and $372 for network users. Customization of the software and for reports is arranged by one percent of the clients. Custom forms and reports cost $50 an hour for development and the typical job runs from $50 to $250. Data conversion rates are also $50 an hour with the typical conversion costing $400 to $800. Training modules are available for $119 per module for management training, membership, reports and the Report Maker, and Virtual Exhibit with a per diem of $300 per day plus expenses. The user guide is a free online download and the bound volume is $20. It is well-written with useful screen shots and helpful discussion on the practical aspects of setting up systems and how to save time in data-entry. The manual narrative is a clear explanation in layman terms about classification systems, lexicons and what they do, search functions, and various other terms and processes that volunteers may not have encountered before working in a cataloging environment. There is a newsletter that is produced six times a year and also a discussion forum is online for users' to contribute tips and ask questions. Free upgrades are posted monthly. Versions are offered for no charge but the newest major upgrade to Version 4.0 was $300. The telephone and email response is excellent in content and timeliness (Canadian Heritage Information Network, 2007a).

 

Observation and Comments

    After training for two days and working with the evaluative copy of the software for a few weeks, the software gets high marks for its integration, usability, and consistency. The screens are all organized to make sense and are kept consistent from module to module. Great care has been taken to reduce the data-entry time that is instrumental in keeping volunteers and data-entry workers from becoming fatigued. It is easy to learn and remember. Recoverability is an issue to be considered (McCray & Gallagher, 2001). With the data export functions featured in this software, the raw data can be exported to other management systems if the company falls apart and there is no more support of the product. Since the data is structured to professional standards, the issue of proprietary restrictions of the item descriptions is addressed. In terms of the security of the data, users are assigned various layers of security by the supervisor so as to protect sensitive data (pledges and personal contact information, for example) and to keep a volunteer in an area for which they have been trained.

    PastPerfect is a package that would get an institution up and running with an aesthetically-pleasing interface and solid user services for retrieval of data with a minimum investment of time and expense. The cost of the software in terms of the range of functionality and ease of operation is a value. Larger institutions who have their own technical staff could adapt the HTML code to customize the interface and add some user services to the online presence. Provisions for purchasing a copy of original photographs might be one service to add. Examples of online collections powered by MWeb and PastPerfect are found at http://pastperfect-online.com to illustrate that the standard look and feel can be branded to look unique. The Amelia Island Museum (http://ameliaisland.pastperfect-online.com/30803cgi/mweb.exe?request=advform) is a nice example of how the search engine works.

    Although there are few reviews in the library literature about this product, an unscientific study in our region shows that most of the libraries, museums, and historical societies in this part of Oregon are writing grants to secure funds or outright purchasing PastPerfect software to manage their collections. Given the extensive range of types of mediums and materials that are addressed in the development of this product, the software can adapt to tasks of institutions small and large, with experienced cataloging staff or not. With a well-planned workflow and timeline, this product would enable a library to produce a digital library with a minimum of training and frustration. The results of the cataloging and description of the items produces data that brings resources to the end user in an efficient and pleasing manner.

 

Bishop Museum. (2007). Archives: Photo Collection. Retrieved February 27, 2007, from http://www.bishopmuseum.org/research/cultstud/libarch/archphoto.html

 

Canadian Heritage Information Network. (2007a). Collections Management Software Review: Product Reports-Pastime Software Company, Inc. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http://www.chin.gc.ca/CMSR/index.cfm?fuseaction=SoftwareDetail&SoftwareID=14

 

Canadian Heritage Information Network. (2007b). Vocabulary and classification. Retrieved February 26, 2007, from http://www.chin.gc.ca/English/Standards/vocabulary_classification.html

 

Getty Museum. (2007). Getty Vocabulary Program (Research at the Getty). Retrieved February 26, 2007, from http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/

 

Library of Congress. (2007). Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I: Subject Terms (TGM I). Retrieved February 27, 2007, from http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/tgm1

 

McCray, A. T., & Gallagher, M. E. (2001). Principles of digital library development. Communications of the ACM, 44(5), 49-54.

 

Museum Documentation Association. (2007). MDA Software Survey: PastPerfect. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http://www.mda.org.uk/pstperf.htm

 

MWeb. (2007). PastPerfect Online. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from http://pastperfect-online.com/

 

Parr, M., Hilton, R., & Danner, J. (2004). PastPerfect Software for Museum Collections. Exton, PA: Pastime Software Company, Inc.

 

Pastime Software. (2007). PastPerfect 4 Features. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from http://www.museumsoftware.com/features_pp4.htm

 

 

Foo-Foo La Roo---go easy on the perfume!

Some ladies and gentlemen are wearing WAYYYYYYYYYY too much perfume and cologne. One patron just about knocked me silly a few weeks back. I could hardly catch my breath. She asked me for help and I think I did not treat with my usual exuberance because I could not breathe! Musk is so hard on some folks that often doctors have it posted in their offices asking patients not to wear it.

A little goes a long way! Go easy!

ERC Printer cannibalized itself!

Holy Moley! The printer in the ERC has huge ISH! As it turns out, the fuser turned on itself and tried to eat its way out. Not a pretty sight. So, strategies to cope may be:
--research but send the articles to yourself by email
--save them to a flash drive
--print out your papers in the lab on the third floor
--send them to me and I will print them out for you (sporter@eou.edu)
--realize that being a Luddite is not all bad!

The part will be in tomorrow so Koby, our brave repair person will have it snapped back into shape on Wednesday.

Thank you for your patience. This is the first time this printer has been down in two years.

It's crying time again! Pitfalls!

Two calamitous items this week:

1. We only support Microsoft Word here in the library. If you expect to print it here and you do not have Word at home, save as "RTF" or cut and paste it into an email to yourself. Some word processors even let you "Save As" and Word is in the list. Or...try an online word processor like Zoho Writer that is just like Word only it is online and you can save your work online to print out wherever you find yourself working next. Too cool!

2. Files cannot be saved on the library computer. They will disappear by the next day. Buy a flash drive, email docs to yourself, access your EOU server space....just don't depend on saving to our hard drives.

Bonkin' Biblio! Espresso Machine for Books!

Now, I have seen everything! An ATM or a coffee machine approach to getting a paperback book. There are machines now (at $50,000 each--let's buy two!) that access a database for the book (usually in the public domain) , print it, glue and bind it and spit it out at you! Here's the Fortune Magazine article that talks all about it!

Just think....no more being on a long flight with only the SkyMall Magazine to read. Or, needing Huck Finn for a paper and the library does not open until 9 AM! Or Aunt Tessie's birthday is tomorrow and she really loves poems of Emily Dickinson. You can even print and bind your own private musings or the latest Great American novel you wrote last week!

Historical stock quotes- The Skinny !

So, you missed the stock quote that you need for a project? A quick source is found at cnnmoney.com

Type in your stock's symbol in the "Get Quotes" search box (there is a look-up feature there if you do not know it) and the page will refresh with your company's current stock prices. There is a link to "historical quotes" and you can pull-down the menu to the date you wish, Voila---step back in time and find the opening price, daily high, closing price and volumes traded. Very cool!

Quick and Dirty SIC Codes

We've been working a mile a minute these days! Ordering time! But, in all the crazy stuff, I noticed many students asking for SIC codes to do an assignment for a business class. We have a book in the library titled Standard Industrial Classification Manual and it is located in the Reading Room HF1042 .S73 1987. There is also a link to it on the internet at: http://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/iscsearch.html

SIC'em!

Zip through research with Zotero!

Zotero is a great new web browser helper that allows a student to collect, manage and cite research sources from the browser itself. There is a cool demo available at: http://www.zotero.org/documentation/screencasts/intro

Check it out! The best feature: it is FREE!!!!!

Slow Learner--Knives on Board

Just returned from a stressful trip to Ohio. Once I got there, I had a great time with family. Getting there was the problem. The first flight didn't and so we were asked to come back the next day to Portland airport. By the next day, all the parking lots were full and we had to park in the last remaining area- the airport terminal parking at $24 a day! Nothing like jacking up the trip expenses by paying triple rates to park and having to buy another night in a hotel.

Then, the real fun began. I was"'selected" for special security screening again. I say, again, because this happens to me almost every time I fly now. i have a habit of having multi-tools in my purse. Last time the TSA got my very expensive USB data drive Swiss Army Knife. I had heard on NPR that blades less than three inches were permitted...wrong. So, I lost that one last Christmas. I carry multi-tools because I am a musician and computer nut and need tools from time to time. This time, I had searched my purse and carry-on for banned items. As a knitter, I had many tools and several sets of knitting needles with me. Lo, and behold....there was a Swiss Army multi-tool so deep in my purse that even I could not find it. TSA did. So, the inquisition continued with me having to step into a glass chamber and just as I was setting my feet in the correct positions as directed, the machine went off jetting air in all directions at my body. I was caught off-guard and almost shrieked. I was so angry by then that I started crying. They examined all my arms and legs and the compression garments that I wear were a concern. Then my bag of gels was not the right size--I had grabbed a gallon size one at home and they have to be quart size Ziplocs. I wonder if Haliburton owns ZipLoc. Emerging from the security area, i was a mess.

Aside from wearing a bathrobe through airport security, you just have to keep up with the newest level of paranoia before you fly. So, I got busy doing some research and found a Leatherman Fuse that has no knife!!!!!!! It is on my birthday list! Here's a link to it!

Happy Traveling...do I feel any safer? Absolutely not. The rules are arbitrary and only provide the drama of security.

Visual Search in the EBSCO databases

Need to find more synonyms for a research topic? Not sure how your research topic applies to other related aspects? Just wanna find out about a topic in general?

Try using the Visual Search tab in any EBSCO database. Type in your subject and watch the grokker-powered search engine do its thing! It is interactive so you can click as deep or as shallow as you wish. The window on the right opens to the article you have chosen to examine. From that window you can print, save, or email the article.

It is Microsoft Word, Folks!

Yes, monopoly or not...Microsoft Word is the standard word processor for sharing files with others and for printing in public labs. Several times this week, I have had to disappoint students when I tell them we only have Word.

Can't afford it? (It is SPENDY!!!!!!) Here are some inexpensive options...like in FREE!

Zoho Writer is an online word processor that stores your files for you in the sky somewhere so that you can move from computer to computer with impunity.

OpenOffice is the complete suite that produces compatible files with Word and the other parts of the suite.

Not free, but somewhat manageable:

ThinkFree is $49.95 and is also available for online access.

Color Commentary-Stay REALLY local!

Need color copies? This reporter can tell you that you will find a bargain by getting color copies made in our Bookstore! It is $.69 per 8.5 by 11 inches paper. There are larger sizes that increase in cost. (Hint...it costs more downtown.)

Just bring your document on a flash drive into the Copy Center at the Bookstore and Mac will help you! And remember...an emergency on your part does not constitute one for their part. In other words, don't wait until the last minute!

Google Notebook! Now I can study anywhere!

This is what geeks do at Thanksgiving.....they sit around burping turkey and talking about RSS feeds, coding language, and Google anything! I learned about Google Notebook. It has changed this grad student's life! I can highlight something online and by right-clicking, add it to my online Google notebook. I can organize the notebooks by topic, and organize them within the notebook into sections. I can search them (where was that stat on user searches using word cloud software?) I can access my notebook from any internet-connected computer so my notes are with me whereever! Go to Google and sign up for the free gmail account and get started today!

On a similar line...you can customize your homepage to add content like news, comics, reference aids...you name it. You can organize all the content under tabs along the top!!!! VERY COOl!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Be careful on the road! Here are links to the cameras on top of Cabbage Hill and Ladd Canyon! Be safe and see you on Sunday. We are open from 2 PM until midnight as we approach Tenth Week and Finals. Best of luck to all of you!

Solidarity! I am SOOOOO with you students!

I earned the worst grade of my graduate school career (another Masters and this one!) yesterday on an assignment. I went into a psychological tailspin and felt pretty crummy. I moped and whined for a day about it. I probably lost friends who are tired of it all! But....I did what I needed to to make myself feel better...played bass in a bar last night. Nothing like singing the blues to cure them!

My point...I DO empathize with your struggles. It will make me a more understanding worker in the library as I assist you.

Practice that test for free!!!!

Need to practice a test looming in your future? Like the TOEFL, nursing, real estate, grammar....you name it---we got it! Go to www.unioncountylibraries.info and follow the links to eShelf and Research, then Magazines and Databases and Learning Express Library is toward the bottom of the page. You will need a username and password. Call me at 962.3780 or drop by your local public library for a bookmark with the information printed on it. This is offered through Pierce Library and the Union County Library District Demonstration Project with funds from their LSTA grant of the Oregon State Library. Your tax dollars at work to make you a more successful citizen! Try Learning Express Library!

Library Thing!

Maybe this is a library student/librarian thing but.....I have a need to know what is in my personal library at home. I want to be able to search through my books and see if I already own that used knitting book I saw at Powell's. I am also searching for away to catalog my CDs. So, I found this thing called Library Thing and if you have less than 200 items, it is free! It takes the title you input (they even sell barcode readers!) and compares it to databases of your choice and returns the record back to you into your library. People even contribute cover art if the database you chose does not list that title with cover art. It is very cool!!!!! You can even check your holdings remotely if you have wireless internet access with your cellphone or PDA. Just plain ol' bibliographic fun!

Library Toolbar

I KNOW most of you are as busy as me! I see you frantically searching for just the right article to make your paper stellar, the best quote to use for a flyer, the website you need to see that baby picture of Barack Obama!

Wouldn't it be cool to have a library toolbar that was specific to Pierce? You could search the catalog, find out about your ILLs, use a search engine, renew your books, and find out about new materials in the library! (Plus a whole lot more.)

Check out what Harris County Public Library (TX) is doing!

I'm Baaaaack!

And it feels good!!!!! What a wonderful day I had working with patrons and just finding my desk!!! Thank you all for your patience and numerous kindnesses! I am, as in TheTale of Two Cities--"recalled to life!"

searchmash.com brought to you by Google

Remember playing in the sandbox when you were little? Well, so do the people at Google. They have their very own, very expensive one at http://www.searchmash.com

At this website, they are experimenting with ways for the search engine to deliver results and are toying with the way the pages expands to show you more results, includes images on your topic, and who knows what by tomorrow? If you want to check out some of their ideas, go look!

Welcome Back!

Ooooh, I missed you all today! It was the first day of classes and my favorite time of year. Sure, it will take some adjustment to get into the internet now with your email username and password. Yeah, you will have to turn over your student ID to retrieve your barcode. Those little bumps in the road will not keep you from discovering all the print and electronic resources at Pierce and better yet...the fine Pierce staff who are dedicated in making your school year as successful as possible. Stop by and introduce yourself!

Three Particular Things We Do Right!

I have been visiting a lot of libraries this past two weeks. There are so many to visit in this area and I am picking up ideas. However, in my poking around I discovered three particular things that we do at Pierce that I am really proud of:

1. We give access to our databases and OPAC to guests. Some libraries offer these resources to their patrons only.
2. We have a printer server in the ERC. This is a huge benefit that I took for granted until I had to plow through several other patrons' documents to find the articles I printed out. It is also a matter of privacy. I don't want to know what Joe Cool is reading or writing!
3. This is huge-customer service! We are just downright more friendly than other libraries. I am REALLY proud of us for being interested in our patrons and smiling at them.

Later....I am off to discover more! (Radiation is going well but I am getting sore and a bit more tired.)

7 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do at the Library

Tasha, clever thing!, discovered this article outlining some new services offered by libraries. While we don't offer them all, we come close! We still want to see faces in here, though! Come visit...we are so nice here! We will bend over backwards to serve you!

On the Road-Whitman College's Penrose Library

Wow! What a pretty place to study. I love oak so the decor is extremely pleasing to me. I visited the IT department to set up using my laptop here in the library. I got a bookmark from them that helps their students access their personal space on the campus servers. I will make one up for us. All is a go so here I am posting! It is quiet. So far, I found all that I need but will be scrambling more when my classes start next Tuesday. Like finding out how to secure a copy card, ILL, etc.

I got a library card from the public library today. They were friendly and very helpful and I even got the business card from a library worker who is getting her MLS online, too. She is attending Drexel. We are going to meet and compare notes regarding our classwork. Fun!

There is wireless in the Herring House where I am staying across from the hospital. I am set! Radiation started yesterday and I asked a lot of questions and learned a lot of science. Fascinating!

Nuke-ville!

Pardon the personal nature of this post. I don't use this forum for my personal story very much but.....I will be absent from the desk in the ERC for 7 weeks to have radiation therapy in Walla Walla. This luxury is all thanks to the generous contribution of my classified staff colleagues who donated their vacation time to my recovery. The daily four hour drive to Walla Walla (plus the gas prices today) was not something we were looking forward to as a family. Staying in Walla Walla relieves both of us from being exhausted from the driving. I pushed very hard during chemo so this time to heal is quite a gift. I again thank them for their care and support! You may see me playing music in bands around town and environs during this time. That is the best medicine of all for me!

In the meantime, our student assistants will be here to answer questions and help you. Theresa, the reference librarian, will be on hand to assist you in your research. She is awesome!

I hope this all works out as everyone says-"It will be over before you know it." Now, if the hair would just grow back as fast!

Here's a link to news from the new Cancer Center at St. Mary's Hospital in Walla Walla. Not that I wish to EVER have chemotherapy again, the new facilities will be a lot more comfortable for new infusion patients. (And there are TOO many of them!)

Catch you on the flip side! I have a laptop-- so write!

Teamwork!

Sally strolled by my desk this morning and in one quality minute she set me straight on the Groupware distribution list option in Contacts! Yes! I now have my groups set up in the email system. Life is good!!

La Grande Public Library is moving!

The NEW!!!!!! La Grande Public Library is opening on September 19th! Town patrons are starting to wander in here in the interim. They are welcome to use our OPAC (online catalog) and our databases but internet access is restricted to students and faculty/staff at EOU. The students here pay a hefty technology fee and all our computers were paid for out of that budget. They were not financed by public funds.

We have our materials arranged using the Library of Congress classification system. This system does not have a fiction section that is popular in the Dewey Decimal classification scheme found in public libraries. Therefore, browsing for fiction is not easy unless you know the author or title of a book. Libraries are arranged to accomodate the patrons that they serve so there are understandable and necessary differences between public and academic libraries.

Groupware ....gotta love it!

Okay...I am as smart as the average bear but forgot how to make a distribution list out of my Contacts list. Yikes! I accessed the Help menu and it was vague. Guess I will humble myself by asking the IT folks.

Gearing up! Even the weather speaks 'fall'

I don't know about you but I am gearing up for Fall 2006. At Southern Connecticut I am taking Public Libraries, Library Management, and Cataloguing. Full course load and full-time worker! When my textbooks arrived, I started to get excited. The cataloguing class will be my Waterloo! Should be interesting.

We are starting to see students drift back. Some from the soccer team, some from other schools on their way to their own institutions. We got trained in our new Groupware software last week and that will be a fun thing to learn. Getting it to talk to my Axim handheld is a struggle. The Axim will talk to Groupware but I haven't figured out how to get the Groupware to talk to the Axim.

I will be in Walla Walla for radiation treatments when school starts here at Eastern. I am very sorry about that. It is the busiest, most fun, time of the year! I will miss meeting the new students and greeting students from last year. I have developed a fondness for many of them and will enjoy hearing about their summers. The new access to internet procedure will be tripping up some at first. The barcode and PIN issues will be an issue for the distance students. Oh, well. When I get back I will work hard at getting re/acquainted!

Color Printing-Upstairs in the Computer Lab

Since our color printer died, we often get asked for access to color printing. There is one upstairs in the Computer Lab. They charge 10 cents a page to print copies. The cost is not for actually using the printer but for the paper they use for that printer. It is a special dustless paper that aids in not clogging the printer. Maybe, that is why ours bit the dust!

Heartaches! Save attachments first!!!

Sometimes a person will send you a document attached to an email for you to revise or to have for your own. We have seen so many students lose work by editing that document without saving it first. When you open a document from the email system, it is a temporary file. You must SAVE it to your hard drive, or thumb drive (key drive, flash drive, etc.) and then edit it as yours. It breaks our hearts to see good work go down the drain in a temporary document that is not retrievable later.

Save it as yours first. Then, edit away!

Change in plans! Username and Password

Effective July 5th, 2006, Pierce Library will provide electronic access to our library online catalog and databases to all patrons on campus. Access to the Internet will be extended to students, faculty, and staff to meet the University's mission and limited resources. We will be using your username and password that you use for your university email acount to access the internet.

If you are not sure about that username and password, you will want to visit the Computing Center in Inlow Hall. Here is the link to the student email page for help online:
http://www.eou.edu/comp/student/email/index.html

Bottom line: if you are an EOU student, faculty or staff member, you will have access to the internet in the ERC. Town patrons will be directed to the La Grande Public Library on Penn Street (soon to open at their new digs on Fourth Street on September 19th!!!!!)

Wise Up to the Web- Internet Detective

Ever wonder who is REALLY writing the web site youa re getting ready to use in your research? What about improving the quality of your internet searches? Don't know a URL from a WMD?

Try this one-hour tutorial at:
http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/

When you master this material, you are set for any class research project!

Spend some time with your barcode!

Summertime is an excellent time for memorizing your barcode. We are planning to have authentication (What? Verifying that you are a student or faculty/staff person) on the computers in the library. The verification will likely include knowing your barcode. So, as soon as you ace those exams--start memorizing!

It Ain't Always Easy! Using your USB Drive in the ERC

Sometimes, a key/thumb/USB drive will try to install software on the computers in the ERC in order for it to work. The manufacturer has set it up that way to automatically install software on the host computer. This does not work in here because the work stations do not extend administrative privileges to users. So, if that happens and you get an error message, you are out of luck. You will have to then find a computer that extends privileges to load that software onto the computer to get the key drive to run.

Consumer beware: Purchase key/thumb/USB drives that are "plug 'n play" requiring no software to be installed to run them.

What do YOU want?!

On our Pierce Library home page, we have a link for you to recommend books and videos for purchase. That is not just for faculty and staff----students have thoughts, too! And they are valued. Just click on the "Suggest Title for Purchase" (see below) and let us know your ideas.

Playin' Around

Uptight about a test? Just finished a humungous project? Just plain not focused? Well, there are chess sets and a mah-jongg outfit ready for service in the Reading Room. They are over by the windows on the bookcase. Have at it!

Thinking about graduation? Checklists!

A student was looking for graduate requirements this morning. I wasn't sure where to look-probably by department. But no! She found them at: http://www.eou.edu/advising/checklist/checklist.htm and there are checklists of the majors and minors on campus in pdf or Word format. How cool is that????

Looking for what magazines we hold?

When using the OPAC to find a periodical (magazine) title, you are confronted with a long list of choices that has the name of the periodical in it. For example: let's try Newsweek Magazine. Here is what the first screen brings us as a result of searching by title:











I would choose the second entry as it has the word "magazine" as part of its title. If I choose entry #2, I get this screen:I can then see in what form the periodical is available in (print, microform, online) and what years that form covers.

Someday, we are hoping that changes in cataloging rules will make these screens more useable for you.

Don't get spacey on us!

When entering your barcode to access your library account or to use a database, do not use the spaces in the number as they appear on your student ID. Just enter the number, one digit after another.