WML Tech Updates

1. Rachel attended MetaLib Task Force meetings on Friday, January 7 and January 21. What is MetaLib? “The MetaLib library portal from Ex Libris enables users to access their institution’s e-collections, obtain relevant services, and work in a personalized environment.” It primarily brings together all resources in one interface through federated searching (sort of like meta-searching).
2. The GIS Task Force will be attending a ARL and ESRI Geographic Information System (GIS) live broadcast on Libraries and Digital Mapping in the 21st Century. It’s on Thursday, January 27, from 2-3:30 pm in the Electronic classroom in Central Library. It is open to all librarians who think knowing a little bit more about GIS might be helpful in future reference interactions. Rachel and Rahn will be attending, as they are current members on this Task Force. However, Rahn will be continuing on with the team and Rachel will be an ad hoc member.
3. Brent and Rachel are still colloborating on logo development for the website and other resources.
4. Rachel attended a Pay-for-Print meeting on December 15, and it seems like it has been decided that Diebold is the system of choice. The committee, headed by Bill Hook (Divinity Library), is in communication with the VU card office, the people who maintain the copiers, ITS, the student government, and of course, the deans of the various schools, in order to come to some agreement on price. Rachel will keep you informed as she hears more. For those that are out of the loop, Pay-for-Print should be implemented by the start of Fall Semester 2005.
5. Public Workstation #4 is back in Rachel’s office. Danny did his magic on it, and now it’s in Rachel’s hands again. The public workstations will be ready to go (with Deep Freeze on them to ensure security and a constant setup across workstations) SOON.
6. Laura and Rachel are still getting Ariel set up correctly. Some initial tests were successful, while others failed miserable. Finding the time to fidget with it is their biggest impairment to a successful setup.
7. The Technology Training Coordinators and the Technology Support Coordinators didn’t meet in December due to the holidays, but we should be meeting again regularly soon (January). The direction that these groups go in also depends on some of the outcomes from the Heard Library’s strategic plan.
8. On Wednesday, January 19, Rachel attended the first Journal Club meeting, organized and administrated by Sharon Weiner (Director of Peabody Library). They talked about Google Scholar and Google Print, and its implications and affects on libraries and the academic world. If you are still interested in participating, email Sharon an just let her know you’d like to join the group. It’s not too late, and you are guaranteed an engaging and thought-provoking conversation.
9. Also on January 19, Amia attended a demonstration on RefWorks, an online bibliographic citation software system (similar to the client side versions of EndNote and ProCite). The Library was considering if there was enough interest in getting a site license for RefWorks, and to see which of the databases we currently subscribe to are compatible with RefWorks. Apparently, RefWorks doesn’t work with the Ebsco databases, and more than likely, it wouldn’t work with most of the other Business databases we subscribe to as they are quite “unique.” In short, it doesn’t look like a good investment, especially for the Walker Management Library.
10. Amia, Rachel, and Flo (as well as about 6 other Vanderbilt Librarians) attended the 2005 ALA Midwinter Conference in Boston, MA. Top Technology Trends, Business Database Updates, Sirsi Updates, and any other information worth reporting will be in a separate newsletter after Rachel and Amia consult one another next week.
11. New databases that have been purchased over the past 2 months are now up and running! Please check out the following databases (located in the dropdown menu), and let Rachel know ASAP if something doesn’t look right or is not working properly (other than her comments). Once all URLs are working correctly, I’ll add them below to their respective categories as well. Here is a status of new and current databases:
    • Accounting & Tax (From Proquest) – Currently, this is working great. However, it isn’t just searching just the Accounting and Tax database, but all other Proquest databases simultaneously. Dale has been contacted to correct this.
    • MarketReseach.com – Works and looks great!
    • Thomson One Analytics – Works, but there is a slight problem. Currently, students will have to ask a librarian for username and password. Again, I have asked Dale to set this up similar to Factiva, where we only have 5 seats, but all the username/password stuff takes place in the background.
    • Datamonitor – Works great! Rachel loves this database.
    • CareerSearch – Seems to work fine, but Rachel thinks some things are sort of fishy, so she has asked Dale to check them out.
    • Livedgar – It isn’t working on our site, but is on the Law site, so in the meantime, direct users through there. Dale and the the Livedgar rep have been notified.

Have a good weekend, everyone! Thanks for your attention and time!