One OPAC Bug Unmasked

Well, as I'm sure most of you know, we've been plagued by OPAC bugs for a while, and the folks at the server site are as stumped as we are. But, we have had one small ray of light peek through. The bug that causes the Item Status to display as "No Information Available" has been isolated. It is an issue with the current version of WebVoyage, and Ex Libris has been made aware of it. Apparently, it only occurs when you have exactly 15 unsuppressed holdings records (MFHDs) attached to one bib. Click on the image below for an example. (You'll just see one MFHD in this .jpg, not all 15.)


I imagine that this doesn't happen very often, but if you see it, please drop me a line and I'll patch on bubble gum and bailing wire in the back end to make it look purty in the OPAC. And, as always, thanks for your patience.

Free online classes

Interesting free online classes from SirsiDynix Institute

Trends in e-learning: What does it mean for libraries?
May 21, 2008 | 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern

Beyond Web 2.0: Taking the social read-write Web to the enterprise level
Jun 13, 2008 | 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern

Here is the link to register.

Weeding reference collection

As I weed Decatur reference collection I keep running in to the same issues over and over again:
- Print reference sources that are now available online (Congressional Quarterly Almanac, Facts-on-File Yearbook): should we replace print with online. Benefits are obvious: we’ll gain space by weeding print volumes; we’ll gain remote access that will be beneficial for both on-ground and distance learning students. Maybe we’ll get students to actually use reference sources because online is always more attractive to them than print. The main drawback of course is the possibility of loosing funding to maintain subscription or publisher going out of business. And the main question is: Do we need to keep the print volumes even if we have full-text online access?
- Print reference sources that have FREE full-text available online. The obvious examples are Statistical Abstract of the United States, Economic Report of the president, Official Congressional Directory, etc. It would be really nice to have links to these free resources in our OPAC. We can all feel better about retaining only current year because it will be obvious for both us and students how to access historical data.
- With those multi-volume monsters like Congressional Quarterly Almanac or Who’s Who maybe we can come up with some agreement about what campus retain historical volumes, so the rest of us can retain current edition only without feeling guilty about it.
I don’t know if any of it makes any sense to anybody, but I would really like to know how other librarians feel about weeding their reference collections and what decisions they make.

Britannica online training

Galileo is offering Britannica online training. Britannica sessions have been tailored for
individual audiences: academic, public, elementary, and middle/high
school libraries. To register for one or more of these sessions, please
visit:
http://www.usg.edu/galileo/help/library/training.

Britannica sessions
April 23, 10:00-11:15 a.m. (Middle and High School)
April 23, 2:00-3:15 p.m. (Elementary)
April 24, 10:00-11:15 a.m. (Academic Libraries)
April 24, 2:00-3:15 p.m. (Public Libraries)

If you have any questions or need more information, please use GALILEO's
Contact Us feature or contact OIIT Customer Services at helpdesk@usg.edu.

Changes to College Web Servers (And What That Means to Us)

OIT split the GPC web server into three distinct servers (www.gpc.edu, facstaff.gpc.edu, and student.gpc.edu) on Sunday, March 30th. This will have no affect on the library webpages, but, if you maintain an individual page, your URL will have changed to facstaff.gpc.edu/~yourname. For example, my webpage used to be:

http://www.gpc.edu/~tminchew

And now it is:

http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~tminchew

You'll need to make the necessary corrections to your links and images within your websites to point to the correct server.

Also you'll need to change the FTP host in Frontpage, Dreamweaver, CoreFTP, etc. from www.gpc.edu to facstaff.gpc.edu.

OIT will be doing automatic redirections until April 29th. Redirections will be discontinued on April 30th. Therefore, any web sites not corrected prior to April 30th may contain broken images and links.

OIT has also prepared a handy document to help us with the transition.

Repeat: This does not affect the URLs of the library webpages, but it may affect links within those pages, so please report anything you see to that page's webmaster.

Thanks! Let me know if you have any questions.

New GALILEO Interface

Reminder that the new GALILEO interface goes live this coming Monday, March 17th.

I've written a little bit about the new interface on the Clarkston Reference Blog (see link on this blog page) trying to encourage input from others about how they plan to teach it either in one on one or classroom settings. So now, I'm encouraging the rest of you to add your input here.

Let the Database Trials Begin! (FY09 Edition)

Hi everyone. I just wanted to remind you that the official trial period for the databases has begun.

http://www.gpc.edu/library/technicalservices/db/databasetrials.htm

I checked them all when I got in this morning, and they all appear to be working properly, except for BioOne. It will let you do searches, and it seems to be recognizing our IP range, but it won't show you the full text of articles. This may just be the way their trials work, but I have a call in to the rep to confirm this.

You will also notice that the Proquest trials have a limited number of logins (700), it should be plenty for the month, but if you see we're running low, just let me know and I'll see if I can get a few more.

If you'd like to offer input on the databases, but won't be able to make the meeting (April 8, 10:00am, JCLRC-2220), please fill out an evaluation form for each database you'd like to comment on and give them to one of your colleagues who will be attending.

Please let me know if you have any questions or problems. Happy evaluating!

AcessScience Demo - Friday, March 7, 2008

Hi all. Our McGraw-Hill rep will be doing a Webex demo of AccessScience on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 2:00pm. It should take about an hour or so, and all interested parties are welcome to take part. Here's the info the rep sent me. Just drop me a line if you need help.
>
>
Topic: AccessScience Demo for GA Perimter College
Date: Friday, March 7, 2008
Time: 2:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (GMT -05:00, New York )
Meeting Number: 355 016 384
Meeting Password: science

Please click the link below to see more information, or to join the meeting.

-------------------------------------------------------
To join the online meeting
-------------------------------------------------------
1. Go to https://mheducation.webex.com/mheducation/
j.php?ED=106374532&UID=0
2. Enter your name and email address.
3. Enter the meeting password: science
4. Click "Join".

-------------------------------------------------------
To join the teleconference only
-------------------------------------------------------
========================
CALL DATE: March 07, 2008 (Friday)
CALL TIME: 02:00 PM Eastern Time
CALL DURATION: 60
LEADER: CHRIS MCKERROW

Toll-Free Number: 888-323-2712

PASSCODE: 62094

For security reasons, the passcode and the leader's name will be
required to join your call.

-------------------------------------------------------
For assistance
-------------------------------------------------------
1. Go to https://mheducation.webex.com/mheducation/mc
2. Click "Assistance".
3. Click "Support".

Troubleshooting Problems with Off-Campus Database Access

If you get a call from a patron saying that they're not able to access our databases from off-campus, unless EZproxy went down at that very second, it's highly likely that the problem resides with the patron's computer or network, not with us.

Of course, if you get these calls, please feel free to just refer folks to me, by phone or email. But, if it's after my office hours and they don't want to wait to talk to me, first get their contact info so I can get back in touch with them if I need to.

Then, ask them where they're trying to connect from. 9 times out of 10, it's going to be their workplace, so it's probably a firewall thing. Most of the calls I've gotten were from students who couldn't connect from major corporations like Morgan Stanley and Comcast. After consulting with our EZproxy administrator, I learned that, for security reasons, many companies are restricting Internet traffic on anything other than port 80, but EZproxy uses another port, so our databases are blocked. We just have to tell folks that, until something changes, they won't be able to access the database from their workplace.

If they're trying to connect from home, and they're not running some major firewall, the next most likely scenario is that their browser isn't set to accept cookies. Gotta accept cookies for EZproxy to work correctly. Have them set that up and see if it works.

If it's neither of those two things, have them clear the cache and try again. It's highly unlikely that it would go further than that, but, if it still doesn't work it may be a genuine problem with the DB and I'll need to speak to the vendor.

Again, you don't have to do any of this. If it's during my office hours, or they don't mind waiting until I am back in the office, just send them my way, but I thought you all might like a little more background info too.

NetLibrary Issues Resolved!

For quite some time now, we've had issues with NetLibrary not recognizing random computers as logging in from Georgia Perimeter College. GALILEO has contacted them about this in the past, and they claimed to have our complete IP range, so we were all stumped.

Well, Katie at GALILEO gave it another go recently, and it turns out that NetLibrary was was missing one IP address out of our range of IPs. (This most likely explains why the problem was so random.) She has requested that they add the missing IP and that ought to fix it. Yay, Katie!

If the problem should crop up again, Katie has also requested that we submit a comment through the "Contact Us" feature on the GALILEO website, from the machine that is actually experiencing the problem, at the time the problem actually occurred. That way, GALILEO can capture information about the IP address during the session. (Of course, this is good practice for problems you might be having with any GALILEO database. Not sure which databases are GPC and which ones are GALILEO? See my post on that very topic.)

Odd Block Behavior in Voyager

I've learned a couple of things about the way blocks behave in Voyager, and I wanted to share with everyone.

1.) Occasionally, in a patron's web account, you may see that they are blocked, but it doesn't say why. Under the "Patron Blocks" section, it will say "Block Reason," then fail to elaborate. If you come across this, please let me know. (I'll need the patron's name and 900#.) This is a bug, and our server site can often fix it, making the block reason appear.

2.) Patrons will be blocked in their web accounts simply for reaching their charge limit in a particular item type. This is the only way that limits can work in Voyager. Sad, but true. For example, if a student has 3 DVDs charged out (the limit for the GPC STUDENT patron group), they will be blocked in their web account and will be unable to renew any charged items online, regardless of item type. However, they can still request items in the catalog, charge other item types, and staff with Circulation Supervisor privileges in Voyager can renew items for them in the Circulation module. (Unfortunately, I think the system would let them request another DVD, but it won't let them check it out until they return one of the 3 they have charged.)

If anyone has any questions about this, please just let me know.

Database Selection Meeting Tomorrow

The Reference Committee will be meeting tomorrow to compile the list of databases to be evaluated for addition in FY09. You can find the agenda and the database calendar on the Reference Committee website.

http://www.gpc.edu/library/committees/reference/

If you have a database you'd like to be considered for trial, but will be unable to attend the meeting, please email it to the committee chair, Lora Mirza, or send it along with someone from your campus who will be attending.

As always, you can drop me a line with questions, suggestions, etc.

Voyager Upgrade '08

Just wanted to let you know that I've just received confirmation of our Voyager upgrade schedule. The server will be upgraded during the evening of Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008. Which means that, when you come in on the morning of Monday, Jan 7, 2008, the Voyager clients will be down. I'll be working with OIT to remotely push out the upgrade, like I have in the past, and I'm striving for the minimum down-time possible, but just to be on the safe side, please be prepared to be down for the first few hours of the day.

Please remember to leave your PCs on over the weekend, this is crucial if you won't be in on Monday morning. You can log out of your profile (Usually, Start > Log Off > Log Off on XP machines) but the computer MUST BE POWERED ON when I start the upgrades on Monday morning. If it isn't, then I have to get the liaison to power it on, which may involve tracking down office keys, and it always makes for an aggravating morning for everyone involved.

I'd like to issue a hearty thanks to the upgrade liaisons for providing their assistance. They will be visiting you all on Monday morning, letting you know when I'm about to start your campus's upgrade, at which time you'll need to stay off of your computers. When the upgrade is over, they'll let you know and check to see that Voyager was successfully upgraded on your machine. Please report any problems with the upgrade to your liaison as soon as possible.

Clarkston: Amy Yang
Decatur: Adrienne Graham
Dunwoody: Pete Bursi
Newton: Rebecca Rose
Technical Services, Media Services, and NonPrint: Tessa Minchew

If you have any questions about this process, please just let me know.

Update on OPAC Bugs

Hi all. I just wanted to let you know that I've been sending your OPAC bug reports to Bob at the server site, and he informed me today that he's used this info to make a configuration change that he thinks will help with the weirdness we've been experiencing.

If you have the opportunity, please make a note of any odd OPAC behavior you encounter and let me know if you feel like it's gotten better, worse, or (fingers crossed) ceased completely.

As always, if you have any questions, just drop me a line.

GPC Databases vs. GALILEO Databases

Hi all. I've had a lot of questions recently about where to report problems with certain databases, so I just wanted to take the opportunity to review the whole procedure.

Problems with GPC databases should be reported to me, if they're very detailed problems, an email is better. If you just want to say, "Hey, Tessa. JSTOR is down," of course, you can just give me a jingle.

Problems with GALILEO-managed databases should be reported to GALILEO. I am not able to correct problems with non-GPC databases, and don't even have contact information for those vendors, so I would just have to forward your problem report to GALILEO, and that is not GALILEO's preferred method. They want you to report problems directly to them using the Contact Us form at the top right of their webpages. Make sure you report the problem from the computer you're actually experiencing it on. The form will collect information about that computer and your session which could be very helpful to the GALILEO folks trying to diagnose the problem.

Now, how can you tell what's a GPC database and what's a GALILEO database?

If you're on the library website, GPC databases are those listed on the following page (except the GALILEO link, natch):

http://www.gpc.edu/library/articles.htm

Anything not on this page is a GALILEO-managed database.

If you're in GALILEO, GPC databases are those that have the little GPC orb to the right of their names (in the Databases, A-Z list) and state, in red type, "Subscription provided by Georgia Perimeter College."

Please just let me know if you have any more questions about this procedure. Thanks everyone!

NonPrint Recommendations

Hi again, everyone. I just wanted to let you know that Michael and I have been working on a form for patrons to recommend purchases for the NonPrint collection, and it's live now, at the following link.

http://www.gpc.edu/library/technicalservices/
nonprint/nprecommend.htm

If you encounter patrons who might be interested in this, please feel free to refer them to this page. There is also a link for it on the main NonPrint page.

http://www.gpc.edu/library/technicalservices/
nonprint/index.html

Of course, library faculty and staff are welcome to use the form as well, or just send slips directly to Michael if you prefer.

Thanks!

Problems with Opposing Viewpoints

Hi everyone. Just wanted to update you all on some off-campus database access issues. Yesterday, it was brought to my attention that one of our students was having trouble accessing Opposing Viewpoints through GALILEO, from home. He could use the GALILEO password to get in, but was booted out whenever he tried a search, and was then being prompted for a password other than the GALILEO password.

I tried it from home last night and experienced similar results, whether I entered through GALILEO or through the database page on the website. I was booted out after a few clicks and taken to a page with 2 hyper links, one for the library's homepage and one to start a new session. Either link took me to the page prompting me for a mystery password.

Our EZproxy administrator confirmed that it wasn't a problem on our end. I just got off of the phone with Gale tech support and they think that they have corrected the problem, but I'm going to try it from home one more time, just to be sure.

If you hear of anyone experiencing these, or other difficulties with a GPC database, please don't hesitate to let me know and I'll get it fixed as soon as possible. GPC databases are those listed on the following page (except the GALILEO link):

http://www.gpc.edu/library/articles.htm

Anything not on this page is a GALILEO-managed database, and problems with them should be reported directly to GALILEO using the Contact Us form on their website.

Thanks everyone! Please let me know if you have any questions.

IMPORTANT: Change to Voyager Upgrade Date

To accommodate the schedule of my gracious OIT contact, I have to upgrade the Voyager clients beginning around 2:00pm on Tuesday, August 7. Since the server is being upgraded that evening, Voyager will be inaccessible after I do our upgrade. Circulation & Media Services should be prepared to do manual check outs from 2:00pm until closing, and anyone else who has any work to do in Voyager should try to do it before 2:00pm. If you are leaving the office before 2:00pm, please leave your computer on, just log off of your profile.

When you come in on the morning of August 8, our server will have been upgraded and the clients should work just fine. Your upgrade liaisons will be giving you a heads-up before the upgrade begins.

Clarkston: Amy Yang
Decatur: Adrienne Graham
Dunwoody: Carmel Chaille
Newton: Rebecca Rose
Tech Serv, Media Serv, NonPrint: Tessa Minchew

Please let me know if you have any questions, and thanks in advance for your patience during the upgrade.

Voyager Upgrade Date Set

Hi everyone. Just wanted to let you know the date of the Voyager upgrade has been set. Our server will be upgraded on the evening of Tuesday, August 7. This means I will be upgrading Voyager clients on the morning of Wednesday, August 8. This process will work much as it has the last few times. I will be performing the upgrades remotely, and each campus will have an upgrade liaison to facilitate the process and report problems to me. Here are the folks who have graciously agreed to be your upgrade liaisons.

Clarkston: Amy Yang
Decatur: Adrienne Graham
Dunwoody: Carmel Chaille
Newton: Rebecca Rose

I'll be handling the liaison duties for Technical Services, Media Services, and NonPrint.

Remember, when the server is upgraded, the Voyager clients will not work until they are also upgraded to the new version. So, Circulation, especially, should be braced for a little downtime, but I will do my best to turn the upgrades over as quickly as possible, and, on that note, there are a couple of things that you can all do to help me achieve that goal.

1.) This week, your liaison will be checking the IP address of every computer requiring a Voyager client, and reporting that information to me. If you need the client, make sure you make it on this list.

2.) Please remember to leave your PCs on on Tuesday evening, this is especially important if you won't be in on Wednesday morning. You can log out of your profile (Start > Log Off > Log Off on XP machines) but the PC must be POWERED ON when I start the upgrades on Wednesday morning. If it isn't, then I have to get your liaison to power it on, which may involve getting office keys, and always fouls up my workflow.

If anyone has any questions about the upgrade, please just let me know. And thanks in advance for your patience!

Finally Getting Around to Tweaking Blogger

Hi all. Guess you've noticed that things are a little different here. In its recent upgrade, Blogger added a lot of new features that I just haven't had time to take advantage of, but I did get to hack at it a little bit today.

First thing that you will notice is a new template. This one seems to go with the library style sheet a little bit better, and it's available for free through Blogger. So, no coding for me! Yay! Now, in order to convert to it, we did lose a bit of our sidebar content, but I'm not sure how much we were using that anyway. The RSS feeds section went away, but there's a link to an Atom feed at the bottom, which should work fine in most major feed readers.

Is anyone particularly attached to the "Library Blogs" section? I'd like to build it up a bit or get rid of it altogether. Please let me know how you feel about that, and if you'd like to add anything else in the sidebar.

Next, we now have the ability to tag our posts! Blogger calls them "labels" for some reason, but they act like tags. When you are editing a post, you will see a field in the lower right called "Labels for this post." Just type your tags in there, separated by commas. I've gone back and tagged the last few months worth of posts, and will try to tag it back to the beginning eventually. If you click the "Show all" link next to the right of the "Labels for this post" field, you will see the tags that I've already used. Click on the ones you like and they'll appear in the field, no typing. I recommend doing this, so we can class like posts somewhat together.

I can add a category list in the sidebar, and put links to the most used tags, if you all want. However, you can also just click on a tag in any post and see all the posts that share that tags.

I'll try to keep an eye on the new posts, and tag the ones that need it. So, if you don't like tagging, or just don't want to do it, no worries. I'll take care of it for you.

So, tell me how you feel about all this new blogginess, by email or in the comments.