SpringerLink ebooks Update

The SpringerLink ebooks should be working again. Please let Emily know right away if you continue to experience any problems accessing them.

SpringerLink ebooks

We do not currently have access to the great majority of the SpringerLink ebook titles. These are the ebooks that users can find in CardinalCat and that have the Call Number of Electronic Book SpringerLink. You can see an example in CardinalCat at http://vufind.carli.illinois.edu/vf-ncc/Record/ncc_177896. You can click the link in CardinalCat to go to the ebook, but users can view only a limited amount of each book and are being prompted to pay for access to the PDF. If anyone asks, please strongly encourage them not to pay for access and direct them to I-Share or, if necessary, to the Interlibrary Loan form.

This problem has been reported to both Springer and CARLI, and we hope to have access restored soon.

Survey for Student Assistants

Three students in an upper level CSC class are working on a project for class using our Voyager circulation module as its basis. Emily and I have met with them and given them the general background of how circulation works. (Note the word "general" in that sentence. We are not able to give them detailed information about the system, as we do not want to break our contract with Ex Libris in giving out information about this proprietary system.) These students now have put together a short survey of questions that they would like to ask some of our student workers. Emily and I have reviewed the questions, and we feel that they are generic enough that the student assistants will not be breeching our Ex Libris contract by answering them. So, any of the following three students may come by at various times to talk to the student assistant at the desk. Please encourage the student assistant to take the time to help them out. The three students are Max Damske, Matt Adorjan, or Suzanne Wrobleski.

Full Text option

As we all know, students are reluctant to use any periodical resources that are not full text online. Because of this, they are often tempted to use the "limit to full text" options in our databases. Please do not encourage them in this action! Instead, teach them how to use the "Get Article" button to see if we have the article available in some other place. As the librarians work with classes on information literacy skills, we all try to let students know that there's a lot more available to them than just the full text in the database that they are currently searching. We need to make sure that those of us working at the ISD are supporting that philosophy/teaching as we work with students one-on-one.

Tutorials, LibGuides and Videos for Instruction

There are a number of tutorials, LibGuides and a video that are being used for a variety of groups this fall. Here's a list... and notes about where you'll find them on our website:

English 115 and English 125 Library Services Tutorial: This can be accessed from the "Citing Sources, Research Tips and Tutorials>Online Tutorials" link on the left hand side of the website.

What is Information Literacy?: This video is being used in the FYE classes. It can be found from the same link as the above tutorial.

Oesterle Library's guide to Excellence, the City, & the Good Life: This LibGuide is designed for use by the FYE classes. It can be found on the 1st tab of the rotating articles in the lower/middle section of the website.

Zeitoun LibGuide: This guide to accompany the first year summer reading selection may be used by FYE, English and other first year classes. It can be found on the 2nd tab of the rotating articles in the lower/middle section of the website.

Global Environmental Change: India LibGuide: This is the campus-wide focus of the Office of International Programs for the 2010-2011 academic year. It can be found on the 4th tab of the rotating articles in the lower/middle section of the website.

Hopefully this information will help you lead patrons to the appropriate resources for these classes and programs. Please let me know if you have questions!

Updated: I-Share Universal Catalog Search

Update: The CARLI System Status blog reports that the keyword searching problem has been resolved.

According to the CARLI System Status blog, keyword (Any Word Anywhere) searching in the I-Share Universal Catalog is currently experiencing issues. Supposedly Author, Title and Subject searches are still functioning properly. I'll post an update as soon as I see more information posted.

Feel free to check the CARLI System Status blog for further information or add it to your RSS feed reader. Note that there is also a feed located in the Blogs section of the staff site.

Scantron Machine

The Scantron Machine has moved. It is still in the Tyson Curriculum Center workroom, but it is now over on the shelves on the south wall. There is a small, but loyal, group of faculty who use this regularly. I think they should be able to see it/find it on their own, but if not, you now know where to direct them.

Desensitizer

The desensitizer at the ISD has been having some problems lately. If you notice that it is not "clunking" when you desensitize a book, then it is not working! Simply unplugging it and plugging it back in will usually get it working again. If that fails to work, or if it becomes a frequent problem, please let me know!

Color Printer Part 2

We have just gotten a new fuser for the color printer, which means that people can now print a full page of ink. So disregard what I wrote earlier.

Thanks!

Color Printer

Hello! Just wanted to tell everyone that our color printer cannot print if the entire page is ink. So, if a person wants to print pictures they need to have at least a 2 inch margin on all sides. If they do not do this, the printer will jam!

11x17 Photocopier Paper

There have been some conflicting opinions on our policies regarding the availability of 11x17 paper for student use in the photocopiers. The new policy, as it stands, is that there will be 11x17 paper for students to use in the photocopiers. The 11x17 trays will be refilled as any other photocopier tray if they run out.

As rarely as it may get used, it will definitely be a nice option for our students that are trying to copy larger items.

Updated: SmartBoard & Clickers

ITS has completed installing SmartNotebook (the Smartboard software) and Turning Point (the clickers software) on all of the 97 Lab computers. SmartNotebook should be available on the desktop of every computer and Turning Point 2008 is listed in Programs in the Start Menu under Turning Technologies. So at this point any students that wish to experiment with SmartBoard and/or clickers can create, view and work with presentations on any 97 Lab computer.

We will now be promoting these services on the blog and the featured content section of the homepage. I have created a guide to help students, faculty and all of us become more familiar with using these technologies. Please take a look at it and let me know if you have any questions.

Also, please review Belinda's post on the process of checking out the Clicker set that is on reserve.

Aimee

Lion Heads will once again be in use for Chinese New Year celebrations

As the Chinese New Year approaches, students in the Chinese program will once again be using the lion heads for various practices and events. Students will be coming mainly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning on Tuesday, January 19. All they really need is to have the cases opened. The key for the cases is in the key box on a yellow tab, #46. Whoever is on desk when the students arrive on Tuesday will need to unlock the cases for them. Once they take the lion heads, just re-lock the empty cases and put the key back in the key box. When they return with the Lion Heads, they will again need to have the cases opened - but they will be responsible for "arranging" the Lion Heads in the cases.

Clickers

There are now clickers on reserve. These are intended primarily for students who would like to learn how to use them and to practice using them in the '97 lab. At this time, the software is loaded only on the "instructor's" computer, but we have requested that ITS load it (and the SmartBoard software) on all computers in that lab.

We have placed the clickers on reserve as two sets:

The smaller set is in a see through plastic pouch. This set contains the transmitter and 3 clickers. It is intended for those who are just learning to use the system and only need a few clickers to practice. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WHEN THIS POUCH IS RETURNED, THE STUDENT ASSISTANT OR STAFF MEMBER CHECKING IT IN MAKES SURE THAT THE TRANSMITTER IS WITH THE SET!

The other set is in a black carry case. This contains the rest of the clickers (37) and would be used, in addition to the pouch, by those who are actually using the set with a full class.

Both sets are "cataloged" individually, and when someone checks out both, you need to be sure to check out both sets in Voyager.

Finally, we have marked these as "in house use." However, there may be situations where a faculty member (or even a student) may need to take them out of the building for use in another classroom. This is fine, as long as they understand that these are intended for short-term use. If a set is needed for a longer period of time, the faculty/student should contact Tom in IM.

Please let me know if you have questions/suggestions.

HST 111 assignment

I did an instruction session with the HST 111 class today, and I wanted to make you aware of the resources that they may need in order to complete their "annotation assignment." Dr. Keating has given them links to three online primary source documents, and they are to select a piece of that document and complete an annotation on it. The annotation will consist of checking a fact (historical figure, date, place, action, event, etc.) and writing about it specifically and then in the general context of the history they are studying. What they might be looking for your help with is finding a reference resource that helps them verify the fact that they have selected from the document. I have put together a LibGuide listing all of the resources I talked about in the session this morning. It is a tab on the History subject guide, and it's labeled "HST 111." As I pointed out to them, I'm sure that there are other sources in our collection that might help them as well, but these are some good starting places. One of the main considerations is selecting a reliable/authoritative source (not Wikipedia!). Please let me know if you have questions/suggestions.

Harvard Business School Case Studies

I'm recycling a post from last year. It appears this issue, or one similar to it, is popping back up again. The two cases I've been asked about refer to a Wii and Starbucks. We assume they are available in the bookstore as the ones in the past were, but haven't received conformation on that. All we know is that we don't have access to them and they are not available through ILL.

As happens periodically, we are getting questions from Prof. Woodruff's students about accessing/borrowing Harvard Business School Case Studies. These are not available through Oesterle Library, and we cannot borrow them via interlibrary loan. These are materials that the students need to purchase, and they are available from the NCC Bookstore. If you get questions from these students, please direct them to the bookstore.