WML Tech Updates

If you were  unable to attend the presentation today that Hilary Rudsenske and I did for the Heard Library System, then check out this presentation.  If you’d like to create an account for use in your library here at Vanderbilt, please contact LITS (specifically, Dale Poulter).

I just saw Darlene Fichter’s SirsiDynix Institute presentation: Mashups: A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That. It was wonderful! Darlene is the Head of the Indigenous Studies Portal and Coordinator of Data Library Services at the University of Saskatchewan Library and obviously has lots of experience playing with and building some mashups. She also has a cool Blog.

Prior to the presentation, I was walking across campus and between my office and the classroom where the webcast was being shone, I got asked by 2 different people who were also headed to the webcast what a mashup is. This tells me that many of my colleagues aren’t aware of the trends in social networking and the proliferation of new tools being used by, and sometimes even being created by, librarians. Only 8 people in our library system showed up for the webcast, so I hope that this post will help inform those that were unable to attend.

What is a mashup anyway? It’s a web application that uses content from more than one source to create a new service. Mashups can be created by expert programmers as well as people with fewer technology skills. Mashups have a lot of potential for self-service to the end user. Also, mashups can usually be done online and can be integrated into one’s browser, although some require something to be installed client-side.

The Mashup Ecosystem, or things needed in order to create a mashup:

• open data
• open set of services
• small pieces loosely joined
• you

A little background: The term mashup originally goes back to the musical genre of songs that consist entirely of parts of other songs - you might take the vocals from one song and overlay them on the melody of another.

Today, most mashups are based around maps, and in particular, Google Maps.

Darlene went on to talk about several examples of mashups, some of which I have highlighted here:

• Newsmaps
• Book Carousel
• Flickr and Flickr Toys
  
• HousingMaps - combines Craigslist and Google Maps API
• Placeopedia
• Frappr
• Superglu
• Blogging Librarians
• http://www.frappr.com/mashups
• LivePlasma - uses Amazon API
• Programmable Web

Typology of the Mashup (Dion Hinchcliffe)

Where to start? There are some mashups that you can create where all you have to do is “point, click, and publish.” Some, you can “clone” by looking at the source code of a mashup that you like and making adjustments to suite your needs. And some, you will just need to do some heavy programming (or find a friend who is a programmer).

You need to:

1. Get an idea.
2. Sign up at the developer’s site (Amazon, Google, Yahoo, etc.) to get a developer token/code.
3. Read the fine print about any possible usage restrictions.

More examples (many of which would definitely need a programmer):

• Lib-web-cats (Marshall Breeding’s worldwide directory of library catalogs, mashed up with Google Maps)
• Communitywalk
• Yourgmap
• Mapbuilder
• Yahoo Pipes - very powerful, and you can easily clone other people’s pipes.
• Dapper
• Teqlo
• QEDwiki
• Google Maps Mania

Want more info? Look at the archive of Darlene’s presentation at the SirsiDynix Institute where you can view the presentation, view additional handouts, listen to her speak, etc. It’s all there.

The SFX team, in response to numerous requests to understand better how SFX and our ‘find it@VU’ service work, has scheduled an informative presentation to cover any and/or all your questions. Library staff who work with patrons in finding information on our many web-based services should plan to attend. The ‘find it@VU’ service is critical to our users in allowing them to easily find our e-resources, and the importance of understanding how it works will only heighten with our implementation of Primo.

Title:  Findit@VU: What YOU need to know
Date:  November 2, 2006
Time:  2-3:30pm
Location:  Frist Nursing Annex Room 161

1. VUprint - Bill Hook has added to the VUprint website more detailed information on how alumni are to get cards, get a username and password (which is their registered email address and assigned PIN), and how to put money on their card. He also reassured me that he would talk to Randy Crafton and the staff at the Card Office regarding consistency and providing accuracy in the information they are telling their patrons.

The information that Bill only recently learned was that the PIN users receive when they go to the card office is their password for VUprint. That PIN DOES NOT work as the password for the web interface. There is an overnight delay is in their EMAIL address being added to the web login. After registering their email with the card office, they must then ALSO register on the web site, but can not do so earlier than the day after going to the card office. So it is all the more important that users be instructed to add money to their account when they go to the card office initially. Clear as mud, right?

I have included the link below to step-by-step directions that Bill complied for Alumni. We may want to print out this page and give it to alumni when they come into the library who haven’t encountered VUprint since its implementation. http://vuprint.vanderbilt.edu/index.php/Main/Alums

Also, see the page for LUC users: http://vuprint.vanderbilt.edu/index.php/Main/Access

2. Blackboard - Blackboard and WebCT recently announced their agreement to merge. The combined companies have over 3,700 academic clients. “Under terms of the agreement, Blackboard will acquire WebCT in a cash transaction for $180 million, which values the offer at approximately $154 million, net of WebCT’s August 31, 2005 cash balance of $26 million. The ultimate value of the offer will vary depending on WebCT’s cash balance at closing. The transaction will combine two pioneering academic e-Learning organizations into a single company with the client base, resources and expertise to uniquely meet the rapidly evolving needs of educators around the world.”

http://investor.blackboard.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=177018&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=767025&highlight=

In addition, Blackboard has launched a new portion of its Web site, http://www.blackboard.com/webct, where anyone can track the latest news and information about the merger.

3. Numbers - Rachel recently numbered the public workstations, the one upstairs, and the 3 student workstations. This will not only make it easier to report which computer is malfunctioning if there are problems, but it also makes it easier for Rachel to manage the frozen computers.

4. Database Update - The Information Services team recently tested new databases, but due to an already maxed out electronic resources budget, it seems that no new resources will be considered the rest of this fiscal year. Upgrades might still be considered, however.

5. Public Workstations - They have been re-reimaged and seem to be very happy. However, on the occasional reboot, the background is white and on the desktop is a message wanting to know if you want to restore your active desktop. Click on the button that says “Restore Active Desktop” and all will be back to normal. Rachel is looking into why this occasionally happens.

6. Digital Suggestion Box - Just a reminder that it exists and that it if for casual discussion of library topics (and the occasional silliness that inevitably occurs). But do remember that what is said there is seen by the world!

7. GIS Brown Bag - Rachel and 2 other members of the GIS Task Force will be doing a Brown Bag session on GIS later next month. This information will be advertised again in the November Staff newsletter (in it’s new form). But you are the first to hear about it!

Brown Bag: GIS, Vanderbilt, and You
Have you ever heard of GIS? Want to know why it’s increasingly being included in the curriculum and how it aids in research? Then come to this session on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) on Wednesday, November 16, 2005, from 12-1 pm in the GLB Room 612A. Three members of the GIS Task Force (Rick Stringer-Hye, Rachel Vacek, and Brian Christens, Director of Vanderbilt’s Census Information Center) will introduce the fundamental principles of GIS, cover how GIS services are being utilized in peer libraries, and highlight resources already available at Vanderbilt, such as data repositories, GIS labs, and the various GIS services that are currently being provided.

8. Acorn Upgrade - This is just a reminder that LITS plans to upgrade Acorn from U2003.1.4.5 to GL3.0.1.1 beginning October 24th at 12:01 am and finishing by October 24th at approximately 6:00 am. This upgrade will also require rebuilding some indexes and a client update. We will not be upgrading to the new Workflows java client (http://staffweb.library.vanderbilt.edu/WFJava/newfeatures2.htm) at this time, although this upgrade will enable us to begin using the new Workflows java client for testing in our production environment.

Rachel has a copy of the Workflows updates on CD-Rom in her office in case the upgrade doesn’t go a smoothly as planned. Webcat will be unavailable to the public between 12:00 am and 6:00am on that Monday morning. Should anyone attempt access during these times, a maintenance notification with contact email address will be presented. Reports should finish by 9:00am on Monday morning.

9. Heard Library Staff Newsletter Format - You should have heard by now that the Heard Library Staff Newsletter is changing format starting November 1st. It will no longer be just a plain, boring, HTML page, but will be more robust and give Celia Walker more features than she ever imagined. There will be daily digests, more links, committee meeting agendas and summaries, pictures, as well as an RSS feed. Below are 3 feeds that you can already subscribe to. If you have questions, just ask Rachel!

Heard Library Staff Newsletter feed: http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/newspub/jKwZYA/rss
LITS feed: http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/newspub/hYPrPi/rss
Vanderbilt University Daily Register feed: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases/rss

10. New WML Website - Rachel is making slow progress on the new website and the Staffweb.

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

1. New VU website - Vanderbilt University has a new look! Check it out!
2. Public Workstations - Rachel conducted a little orientation to the public workstations at the end of the staff meeting on August 10. She will be numbering them soon, and is working with the Datastream database vendor to correctly configure the database so it will work. Everything else seems to be working smoothly. Yeah!
3. VUprint - The CSprint software is installed and currently working correctly (amazingly enough) on all 8 public workstations. Students will not get charged for it until it is working in all the libraries and computer labs across campus, and everyone is ready to go. The original date to start charging was August 15, but as that date is Monday, and several places still are having difficulty with getting consistent results, or they haven’t even installed the client software yet, charging patrons has been delayed. It was decided to just announce to the students instead that “VUprint is coming!” and not provide a definite date.Oddities about VUprint: Items that are sent to the printer remain in the printer queue for 20 minutes WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE BEEN PRINTED. This means, even after you printed and picked up your document, that individual job remains visible in the printer queue for 20 minutes. This will probably cause much confusion to the user. And every time you hit print, you must authenticate with your VUnet ID and password. Jody Combs said that in the next upgrade of the product, this lingering print queue issue and many other quirks and oddities hope to be fixed.Another thing to be aware of the VUprint system is that it may slow the printing process, but is estimated to cut the volume of printing by approximately 30%. If the user is experiencing difficulty printing, look at the status bar of the VUprint window that is open. After putting in a username/password, it will either say that the user is denied access or their information has been accepted. If they are continuously experiencing problems with their password, point out the bookmark in the browser that goes to the VUnet ID page, or direct them to the VUprint page. This site is maintained by the library and is still be updated and things about the program are being discovered and policies are being developed.

   Actually, Rachel encourages you to read through the VUprint wiki site, but especially the Who Can Print page which discusses who can and cannot print.

   Also, Bill Hook, who has been leading the implementation of VUprint on campus and has done an amazing job coordinating with the huge team involved in this task, has also set up a VUprint Open House which will take place August 17th, from 2:00 - 4:30pm in the GLB’s electronic classroom. Rachel plans on attending, and although she did a brief demo, she strongly encourages as many of the Access Services team to attend if possible. Being here in Owen makes us special when it comes to technology, but the VUprint team should still be able to answer your toughest questions. Please make suggestions too!

4. Databases Update
   • Thomson ONE Banker and Thomson ONE Analytics – These both have 5 simultaneous users, but Dale said that setting them up is trickier than he thought. Rachel is still discussing this with Dale.
   • Adcritic.com – Dale is still working on this one.
   • FARS – Dale is still working on this one.
   • MultexNet is now officially Reuters Research On-Demand. It is cross referenced in the drop-down menu on the databases page of the WML website.
   • Datamonitor is now officially MarketLine Business Information Centre. It is cross referenced in the drop-down menu on the databases page of the WML website.
5. Tech Support Coordinators - On Tuesday, August 9, Rachel attended the Technology Support Coordinators meeting. They met in the newly renovated Baker Building LITS suite. There were lots of announcements:
   • Dennis Boswell is the new guy in LITS. He has replaced Mill’s position, which was mostly deployment of new workstations and dealing with Deep Freeze. He has working in the VU medical system for 5 years and said he is already enjoying the less chaotic, more casual atmosphere of LITS.
   • Jody provided some statistics on printing: in 2005-2005 school year, the library spent $115,000 on paper and toner alone, and said that with the steady growth in printing over the years, every 2 years that number doubles. So 2 years from now, the estimated cost of paper and toner will be a quarter million dollar, and 4 years from now, about a half a million dollars. The library cannot keep up, obviously, with these growing costs. And it has taken a little over 4 years to come to a campus-wide consensus and commit to implementing a pay-for-print system. Anyway, out of all the libraries, the amount of paper used this past school year is equivalent to about 260 trees. Jody said we’ll save about 60 trees a year, and joked about planting 60 trees and putting little plaques on them.
   • Dale announced that the upgrade to Sirsi’s Unicorn (the new Java client version) will take place in either October or November.
6. Brown Bag - On Wednesday, August 10, Rachel and Rahn attended the Brown Bag session on LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe). It was very informative and the potential for the project to grow is enormous.
7. New WML Website - Rachel is making slow BUT STEADY progress on the new website. She thanks everyone that has contributed content and provided feedback thus far.

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

1. Recent Technology Trends - This is a list of trends, new technologies, and innovations that are affecting libraries internationally and on the minds of many librarians and technologists. Things are changing fast, and these are the hottest topics being discussed. This is merely an FYI.
   • Storage Blogs (It’s short for weblog, and is a public website where users post informal journals of their thoughts, comments, and philosophies. It’s updated frequently and normally reflects the views of the blog’s creator.)
   • RSS (This is short for Rich Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication. It’s XML-based and is a commonly used protocol for the syndication and sharing of content, originally developed to facilitate the syndication of news articles, now widely used to share the contents of blogs.)
   • Citizen Journalists (Blogs and RSS Feeds are creating these “citizen journalists,” and this is a concern for authenticity for many people.)
   • Wikis (These are webpages that are editable by visitors to the website, as opposed to conventional websites which can only be changed by the webmaster. They are usually used for community or technical sites to allow for joint authoring and ownership.)
   • E-Books
   • OPACs
   • FRBR (That’s short for Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. It uses an entity-relationship model of metadata for information objects, instead of the single flat record concept underlying current cataloging standards. People typically pronounce it “ferber.”)
   • Interface Design
   • WiFi
   • Broadband and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, which is basically telephone over the Internet)
   • Google Print, Google Scholar, and MetaSearching (like MetaLib)
   • Folksonomies
   • Digital Rights Management
2. Proxy Migration - All of the proxy migrations are done! Owen students and alumni will no longer have to authenticate with their VUnet ID/password, but only with their Owen ID/password. Jason Reusch, Jason Battles, and Rachel collaborated to make this work.
3. Electronic Resource Usage Statement splash page - The next step to improving the electronic resources in Rachel’s eyes is to work with the Information Services team to create a standard electronic resource usage statement that would be a page that users have to click through before entering a database about ethical usage of that database, and who has access privileges to that database. Rachel hasn’t talked to LITS about this possibility yet, nor has she really discussed it in detail with the IS team yet. But she believes that there is interest among librarians to have something like this!
4. Databases Update - Thomson ONE Banker is up and running. If you experience any problems with a popup window asking you about cookies, please disregard it at the moment. Dale Poulter is fixing it. Also, Multexnet will soon be Reuter’s Research on Demand. Dale ran across several problems and is still working with Reuter’s IT people to configure it correctly. It should be up by early next week at the latest.
5. New Computers - As you are probably aware, the new computers are in, and one is in Rachel’s office being configured. Danny will be taking the image Rachel helped set up and putting that image on all the public workstations. Danny and Rachel will hopefully be setting them up next week when he returns to work. Laura, Sylvia, Marie, and the scanning station at circulation all have new computers. These computers are awesome because they are easy to open to get to the guts of the computer, they each have a CD/DVD burner, USB plugs are on the front of the computer making it easy for people with portable flash drives to plug in, and microphone and headphone plugs are also on the front of the computer. They are also lightening speed! To give you an idea of how fast these things are changing:

   Computer Speed Memory
   Old desktops 1.29 GHz 256 MB of RAM
   Current laptops 1.6 GHz 512 MB of RAM
   New desktops 3.4 GHz 1.0 GB of RAM

6. Pay-for-Print - At this time, it is undetermined if Owen students will be paying for their printing or not. No matter what decision is made, public workstations will still have pay-for-print software on them to charge non-Owen patrons who enter the library. Deb or Rachel will let you know as soon as they hear something from Dean Bradford.
7. CDROM server databases and public workstation databases - This is referring to public workstation #9 (which has FARS, Proquest ABI Inform/Periodicals Ondisc, and Simmons Choices 3 accessible on it) and to the three databases all installed on the public workstations that aren’t accessible remotely (SDC Platinum 3.2, Datastream Advance 4.0, and the Lexis-Nexis Research Software 7.2). So, what about them? Well, recently, Deb, Rachel, and Jason Reusch met to discuss the possibility of putting these on an Owen server so as to make them more accessible. After some examination of the high cost involved in doing so, it was decided that it would be better to wait and see which of the databases are going to be coming out in Web form, and to investigate how other business libraries are dealing with these more complicated databases.
   In summary, Public Workstation #9 will remain, and the three databases will be on the new public workstations when they are deployed.
8. Java Client - LITS is STILL doing some beta testing on a new Java Client for our current and upcoming Sirsi products. It is coming soon, though!
9. Webcasts - On June 15, Rachel attended the webcast: Google’s Library Digitization Project: Reports from Michigan and Oxford. On July 21, Sylvia and Rachel attended the webcast: Narrowcasting 101: Using Blogs, Podcasts, and Videoblogs in Higher Education.
10. GIS Task Force - On Wednesday, June 22, Rachel and Rahn and the rest of the GIS Task Force presented Paul Gherman and other LMC members with a final report. It summarized the current use of GIS on VU’s campus, included an overview of what is being done with GIS at comparable institutions, and gave recommendations for the future of GIS at VU and within the library system. It was decided that the task force will continue on (possibly with additional new members) and further investigate what the Heard Library can do with the various GIS resources in existence, and proceed on to the next level.
11. Presentation - On July 14, 2005, Rachel was one of the presenters at the following Brown Bag Session. Her focus was on the importance and impact of RSS in libraries.

Wikis, Blogs, RSS, Etc.: New Tools for the New Library?
With the recent implementation of the Heard Library’s new strategic plan, we are all investigating ways to be more innovative. Fortunately, there are many new open source technologies that will help us improve communication, expand cross-library collaboration, and enable us to reach many of our goals. Come and learn more about these technologies, how they are currently being used in libraries, and how they could and are being implemented here at Vanderbilt. Join Rick Stringer-Hye, Suellen Stringer-Hye, Dale Poulter, and Rachel Vacek, who are leading this brown bag discussion based on what they discovered at the LITA National Forum earlier this year and other conferences that they have recently attended.

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

Grab a cup of’ coffee. This is another long one. :)

1. Rachel attended the monthly Technology Training Coordinators meeting over in Baker. The group has been looking at usage statistics for New Horizons, the online, self-paced training modules, and doing research on other various training tools and opportunities. Additionally, Rachel is working with Julie Loder to develop a website to aid library staff in adjusting accessibility features in Windows XP . The group hasn’t been doing much as of late due to the anticipation of the Heard Library Strategic Plan, and the hope that it will give the group more direction.
2. The monthly Technology Support Coordinators meeting was also held:
   • There have been many problems with the campus-wide email system, so be glad we are on Owen’s network! Jody is working close with VU IT Services to remedy this major problem.
   • An announcement: If you need to send an email to the entire Library Staff, you must have approval from any LMC member before doing so.
   • The Print Management Project (Pay-for-Print) is coming along. All the libraries, the deans of all the schools, student government, the VU card office, and others have been consulted regarding the implementation of the pay-for-print system. At this time, Rachel is is unaware if there was a final decision made on Owen students paying for print jobs. Nevertheless, Implementation will begin in May, and we should have about 2 months to “work out the kinks” before anyone on campus starts charging.
   • Malware and phishing has been on the rise, and the spam that you are getting is getting better at coming in disguised. For example, someone in LITS received an email that was localized (talked about Nashville and the TN Titans) and had his name on the attached .zip file. There was also a message and a McAfee logo within the email saying that the email had been run through your virus scanner and was clean. All in all, this attachment was a worm that would wreck your computer and find its way into the network. This “phish” would only be “caught” if your virus software was up-to-date.
   • LITS already has a pool of candidates and will begin interviewing soon for Mill’s position.
   • Jason Battles, one of LITS’s newest members, will be doing a lot more of the proxy server set-up and maintenance, as well as working closely with Dale on other projects. He has server, programming, and system admin experience. He also used to work for Sirsi, and since he’s from Alabama, he gets a “Roll Tide!“
3. On March 3, Rachel attended a presentation from SIRSI on some new products the Heard system will be investigating for possible purchase. One is an Electronic Resources Management System (ERMS) tool, and the other is their Director’s Station product (which would collect tons of statistics and data for management). Both sound very promising!
4. On March 10, Rachel attended the first program of ACRL’s virtual 12th National Conference. Lynch and Keller discussed issues like googlization, digital repositories, distance education, and privacy. Clifford Lynch was very insightful as usual, but this audio only program had lots of room for improvement.
5. On March 18, Rachel and Amia attended the Library as Place: Where People Want to Be Webcast. Very informative, and Rachel and Amia took great notes and got some good ideas.
6. Also on Friday, March 18, Rachel, Amia, Deborah, and Dale Poulter met to discuss new proxy configurations, database management issues, and answer many access and proxy questions. Many things have evolved as a result of this meeting:
   • We are beginning to migrate some databases that used a special proxy server over to the same one that the rest of campus uses, making it easier for Dale to manage.
   • We are confirming which databases are indeed Owen only, and which are not. Deb is assisting in this process as well.
   • We are trying to get the same configurations of databases on both the Heard page and the Walker page so there are no discrepancies and it’s easier for the students.
7. We subscribe to many print journals and magazines, and some give free online access to the electronic version via a username and password. Dale is trying to make it accessible to the Owen community with an automatic login so users don’t have to stop by the Reference desk and ask for login information.
8. Jody Combs reported that LITS is seeing an increase in staff members bringing service requests and problem reports directly to LITS staff members or reporting them through LITS email addresses rather than through NetFix. As you know, this causes several problems for LITS and for the Library. Follow up reporting can be done through email, phone, or in person–but if the request doesn’t initially get into the NetFix system, they cannot track or manage it efficiently.
9. Rachel and Amia taught a workshop on Thursday, March 24 in collaboration with the Business & Technology Club on Electronic Networking and Job Search Resources.
10. LITS is now participating in The LOCKSS Program , (for “Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe”). What is it, and why is it important?
    • The evolution of web technology is disrupting the critical library role of libraries as one of society’s most important memory organizations. Libraries without collections have no memory; they are not libraries. LOCKSS restores to libraries the ability to collect, to preserve, and to provide access to web-based materials.
    • The software provides libraries with a tool they can use to ensure that current and future generations have access to scholarly content.
    • The system is an open-source, peer-to-peer persistent access preservation system for web-based information.
    • Through the LOCKSS Program, libraries can own content they currently lease or access on the Web. Each library instructs its LOCKSS machine to preserve the content it considers important to its collection; the LOCKSS then machine collects and preserves an authoritative copy. Publishers grant libraries’ institutional users the right to access the preserved content in perpetuity. Readers see the publishers’ content, unless it is unavailable for any reason (canceled subscription, network outage, etc.) in which case they see the preserved content.
    • This is very good indeed!
11. Rachel attended a live Webcast: Teaching, Learning, & Research: Libraries and Their Role in the Academic Institution on Tuesday, March 1 from 2:00 to 3:30 pm in the Central Library Classroom . Very good webcast.
12. Through March and April, Rachel and Marie worked with Jim Toplin and Dale Poulter to get Illiad up and running on the main circulation computer. Marie will announce when we are ready for training and or launch!
13. Rachel has also been working with Mills (before he left) and Jim Toplin to figure out why Ariel wasn’t connecting with the Ariel server. Additionally, Rahn is talking with copyright experts regarding posting scanned articles to the web in a secure, password protected location. Rachel and Laura are meeting again next week to get Ariel up and running.
14. On Tuesday, April 5, Rachel and Laura attended a panel discussion on Open Access. Roberta Winjum spoke about the VU e-Archive , Vanderbilt’s institutional repository, and the other 2 panelists were faculty and editors of journals, one of which was not open access, and the other being AmeriQuests, Vanderbilt’s first online peer-reviewed Open Access journal. Laura always takes excellent notes, so if you are interested in this, please see her.
15. Rachel is working on the Staffweb and incorporating your ideas and documents to be linked. She’ll have something to show by next week’s Staff Meeting.
16. Rachel is also working on a wiki for us to use eventually. She originally wanted a wiki for the Staffweb, but she’s got a lot to learn about wikis and is not ready to show a URL for that one yet.
17. Implementation of the new Pay-for Print system should begin in May, and we will have the summer to work the kinks out. We will not begin charging until the start of classes in Fall 2005. Rachel will keep you (and Danny) updated.
18. Databases. Just the typical breaks, fixes, and horrible customer service from Ebsco. Rachel typically updates the Info Services Staff of the changes at the Tuesday Reference Meetings, which are also put in the minutes.
19. Password Management is a good thing. Hilary and Rachel are leading up the effort to gather all the usernames and passwords used within the library (not personal usernames and passwords) for things like database, workstation, and software access.
20. The new WML Website is coming along slowly. Hopefully next week, Rachel will schedule and meet with the Website Planning & Implementation Team (Rachel, Amia, Marie) and plan the goals for the site for the rest of the summe r and for August implementation. Also, the Information Services team is working hard at sprucing up and developing more comprehensive Research Guides for the new site. It’ll be exciting when they are done!
21. Public workstations. You may have noticed some changes.
    • Seven of the eight computers have been ghosted and Deep Frozen. This is good. But DataStream and SDC are not working properly on all of them, due to restrictions Danny and I put on the computer to not let the normal wmlpublic login have administrative rights. This is bad. Rachel is working hard to fix the problem and will keep the librarians informed of her progress.
    • They shouldn’t be turned off at night as that is when they will run Windows updates. Marie will be noting this in the opening/closing procedures in due time.
    • Rachel will create a list of all the programs/resources on the public workstations.

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

1. Database Updates: Accounting & Tax: You can now go into the database and search just that database and not all the Proquest databases simultaneously. It works both on and off campus, and without a username. Waiting to hear back from Dale about access to EconLit from off campus, and the configuration of EconLibrary.com (formerly the Economic Literature Database on Public Workstation #9). He has been “out”.
2. Rachel attended the Technology Support Coordinators (TSC) Meeting (February 8th).
   • Acorn will be updated near the end of February LMC has approved the move for e-reserves from Prometheus to Blackboard/OAK There was a Firefox (web browser) deployment among library staff, and plans are being made for it to be added to public workstations as well.
   • LITS created a wiki and has asked the TSC to “play” with it and see all that it does and doesn’t do.
   • Rick Stringer-Hye is gathering info on the libraries to create a page for users looking for info on any computer lab/library workstations (such as software, # of computers, hours, etc.), which will be linked from the various ITS and computer lab pages.
   • The Heard Library System (or at least LITS) has now gotten involved in LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe), which works collaboratively around the world with other institutions and multiple servers to preserve and keep accessible online resources.
3. Last week, Danny came across some problems with his boot disks, and the finishing up of the public workstations has come to a screeching halt until Danny figures out how to fix the problem. Cross your fingers.
4. Mills came over here last week and configured Ariel. Rachel is in communication with Jim Toplin about training using Ariel. Rachel needs to know who all needs to have Ariel training so arrangements can be made. Please contact her by MONDAY afternoon if interested.
5. Rachel did a 30 minute presentation to WML staff on Netfix on Thursday, February 17 for those people who expressed interest in learning how to report library-related technology problems (not Owen/hardware/network-related technology problems). There were 3 in attendance.
6. Rachel will be attending the “midnight pizza party at LITS” Sunday night to observe (and satisfy her curious nature) the upgrade of Acorn and other server maintenance. Rumors have it that she’s a bit crazy to do this.
7. Rachel attended on Friday, February 18, the weekly MetaLib meeting. Developing a usability test is in the progress, as well as determining what databases are going to be included in the test. The trial is probably going to take place in mid May.
8. Rachel, Deb, and Amia attended a live Webcast today: Library Marketing: Tips & Techniques

More info: Friday, February 18, 2005 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Central Classroom, 612A. This will be a discussion on techniques being used by innovative librarians to promote their libraries and services. Listen to the success stories of fellow librarians as they share their personal experiences in finding interesting and effective ways to mass-communicate and promote the value of their libraries. Panelists: Buff Hirko, Statewide Virtual Reference Project Coordinator at Washington State Library; Howard McGinn, Dean of Libraries at Seton Hall University; Linda Wallace, Library Communication Strategies, Inc., formerly head of ALA’s Public Information Office.

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