MHC Library Quotes #2

Another discussion that was heard in the Vera Bracken Library:

"I can't get it up. I'm 2 or 3 inches too short." - female staffer
"That's supposed to be the man's excuse." - male staffer

This discourse took place as the female staffer attempted to hoist a box to a tall shelf.

OPAC and Database Updates

There are a few things to let you know about in this bulletin. Among them are OPAC and database updates.

OPAC

The Spell Check feature is active in the staging catalogue. You can view it at: http://eureka.uleth.ca:2082/search~S2/X [NOTE: This page can only be viewed on campus.] The UofL has activated in in their live catalogue (http://eureka.uleth.ca/search~S1/X), but I am not fond of a particular "Go" button that accompanies the feature - it really does not fit into the overall aesthetic of either OPAC. I changed this in the staging server, but I cannot make this change in the live side until my UofL contacts return from vacation to discuss this. I will design some alternative buttons for deployment if they do not approve of my alterations in the staging server. View each and try making multiple misspellings and see what happens. It is a really cool feature.

DATABASES

EBSCO made some alterations to its database URLs - moving from epnet.com to ebscohost.com. The links from our pages to EBSCO databases have been altered to reflect this change. The news release can be found at: http://support.epnet.com/support_news/detail.php?id=222&page=.

Additionally, the Clinical Pharmacology database has been discontinued by EBSCO. Health Source (Consumer Edition and Nursing/Academic Edition) databases have been upgraded with equivalent content. You can read the press release from EBSCO at: http://support.epnet.com/support_news/detail.php?id=359&page=.

Ms. Stackman - A Library Game?!

You can either curse or thank Anne as you play Ms. Stackman - the only game, that I am aware of, for library staffers.

As Ms. Stackman, you must lead patrons to computer terminals to assist them, however, neither you nor the patron are allowed to occupy the same square at any time. So avoid occupying the same space as a patron, collect misshelved books, and use coffee brakes and tokens to buy yourself some space.

As proof of my prowess at this game, I have posted a screen capture of my high score.

Click for a larger image:









The gauntlet has been thrown down to my coworkers. Beat that! Previously I scored 1975 points in round 19. It is only now that I see how sad this accomplishment is.

You can locate and play Ms. Stackman at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/aboutus/game/. You will see that it was worth shipping her to the Canadian Library Association's annual conference to discover this gem. Enjoy.

First IT Professional

Information technology (IT) people sometimes get a bad rap about being discourteous, but there are cases when they are very patient with some of us. View the following video and see how the IT professional first handled a trouble call: [NOTE: Press the play button, otherwise you will be redirected to the clip's YouTube page.]



Thanks to Reni for bring this video to my attention.

Goodbye LibraryBurner Folder

For the last 3 years-or-so the LibraryBurner folder that sits on the desktop of the Vera Bracken Library's patron computers will soon become defunct. There are two principle reasons for this: (a) the Phoenix server that it sits on is dying and a replacement is not expected in the immediate future, and (b) students will have personal storage space on the network that can be accessed via personal computer logins - this negates the need for the temporary storage that LibraryBurner offers.

With personal logins, the need for the generic logins that are currently being used by students and community members is also at an end. This means that the logins that are currently used (i.e., dropin_XX, libinet_XX, and reference_XX) will be gone. Library management is coordinating with Computer Services to determine how community patrons will be served under the new scheme.

Other network storage folders that are used by staff will be unaffected. So the Relais application that is housed on a network folder will be untouched. The latter is the biggest relief for myself - I was not looking forward to having to reinstall Relais and I am sure the ILL staff was not keen on retesting the configuration.

OPAC Upgrades Near Completion

The light at the end of the tunnel is quickly nearing for the WebPAC Pro upgrade. The principle features are installed and activated. I will be refining some of the Spell Check features before posting it in the live interface.

If you are on either of the campuses, navigate your Web browser of choice to: http://eureka.uleth.ca:2082/search~S2/X, type: testr [yes, it is an intentional misspelling], and see what happens. Though it is not quite Google, it is a nifty new feature with lots of promise.

A formal announcement of the WebPAC Pro launch should be made by the end of the week.

MHC Library Quotes #5

With the Curriculum Collection (for Education students) comes some unique challenges to maintaining the integrity of the collection. Some items are "toys" and you need to have the right number of pieces to "play" properly. To this end, some staffers have to mark/tag the individual pieces - whether there are 10, 100, or 1000. This is a conversion that took place around such "tagging."

The scene: a female staffer begins the tagging colourful plastic tiles at a desk. Two male staffers take notice, and do what guys do with colourful blocks: they start to build thing [blame Lego]. After a while they ask, "What are these used for?", and so it begins...
"Well, you take a group of 12 tiles and you play math games with them." - female staffer
[One male staffer has 12.]
"Okay and now what?" - male staffer #1
"Well, if you have 12 and split them into 3 groups, how many do you have in each group?"
"4." [Both male staffers respond simultaneously.]
"Nooo."
[A look of befuddlement is expressed by each male.] "Huh?"
"Oh! No! Wait...! [A look of shock followed by laughter.] Sorry." [An extreme look of embarrassment.]
[Laughing] "Uh, yeah, I was going to say...."
The second male staffer breathes a sigh of relief that he wasn't wrong.

MHC Library Quotes #1

We all say some goofy things once in a while. Some real gems fly around here, so I cannot help but record some of the things that I have heard or said. In all cases, including my own, the identity of the speaker(s) is confidential with the exception of the gender. Additionally, these are not exact quotes, but very close paraphrases.

Case #1:

"I don't like putting hard things in my mouth. No, wait, that's not true." - a female staffer discussing her preference of candy

Stay tuned for more.

AAQ - Child and Youth Care Counselor Program Requirements

Hello and thank you for using the “Ask A Question” service.

You are inquiring about what requirements are necessary to enter the “Child and Youth Care Counselor” diploma program at the Medicine Hat College as a mature student.

To meet the minimum admission requirements of this program as mature student, you must: have a minimum of 60% in English Language Arts (ELA) 30-1 or ELA 30-2, and you must have one 30-level academic subject (including Applied Math 30). This information is from page 15 of the MHC Calendar 2007/2008.

The college calendar is free and you can get a copy from the Vera Bracken Library at the Medicine Hat campus. If you do not have a high school diploma or need to make further inquiries, contact the Dean of Students/Registrar at (403) 529-3821 [long distance: 1 (866) 282-8394, ext. 3821], or the Coordinator, Admissions and Advising at (403) 529-3825 [long distance: 1 (866) 282-8394, ext. 3825]. Either of these departments will be happy to assist you.

Thank you again for using the “Ask A Question” service. If you need more help, please use the service again or see the Information Desk in the Medicine Hat College Library (phone #: (403) 529-3867).

AAQ#: 31641

Relais and TAL's 'Find It'

TAL's Online Support was able to have its Find It/SFX service successfully propagate Relais's interlibrary loan article request form. Jason and I performed some tests from off and on campus locations to confirm its functionality. We should be ready to switchover the Find It service's targeting link once we have established patron login methods/procedures.

As with the current system, Find It does not push information from book/monograph citations properly into the default article request form. As ever, ILL staff will be ever vigilant of those odd instances.