Career Transitions July 14, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Trial Databases.Tags: careers, job hunting
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At a time when the need to re-evaluate, alter or develop careers is greater than ever, Gale has developed a new electronic resource offering a comprehensive guide to career change.
Career Transitions is a complete, guided, self-paced application that walks the individual through the process — taking stock of the current situation, assessing strengths and interests, exploring new opportunities, improving chances of getting a job and finally taking the plunge and pursuing the next opportunity.
Over the past year the number of unemployed in the United States has increased by over 5 million people. The introduction of Career Transitions comes at a time when people need help making life-changing career choices.
Learn more -
http://www.gale.cengage.com/careertransitions/
Vote for a trial:
Serial Solutions is Coming! July 7, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - New.Tags: Serial Solutions
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At the Virtual Library we are hard at work setting up Serial Solutions. This takes some time but we hope to have something for staff to look at by mid-August.
Databases Going Going Gone July 7, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates.Tags: deleted database
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Go Soar (Grolier): end 5-29-09
Mergent: end 7-31-09
Tutor.com: end 7-31-09
Literature Criticism eBooks July 7, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates.Tags: literature criticism
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Titles
Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol 270
Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol 271
Drama Criticism Vol 034
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism Vol 210
Poetry Criticism Vol 095
Short Story Criticism Vol 121
Short Story Criticism Vol 122
Short Story Criticism Vol 123
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism Vol 216
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism Vol 217
Ebony Issue July 6, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Did you know?.Tags: Michael jackson
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This was posted on one of my listservs:
Yesterday one of our patrons pulled out our special issue of Ebony Magazine (Vol. 63, Iss. 2) for December, 2007 that focuses on Michael Jackson and warned us that we needed to pull it from circulation. Apparently this issue is now worth over $200.00 on Ebay. I thought some of you might like to know this information.
Dr. John Jaeger
Doctoral Research and
Reference Librarian
Dallas Baptist University
Books In Print 2.0 June 29, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates.Tags: Books in print
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Your are welcome to try out the new version of Books In Print. Please be sure to leave comments about the new version. This update will go live in July
and Bowker is offering staff training. If you are interested please let me know and I will be happy to schedule sessions.
MorningStar Patron Online Training June 29, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Training - Patrons.Tags: database training, Morningstar
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On September 30, Morningstar will host another online patron training class. Attached is a PDF promoting the session. Please feel free to use the flyer to hand out to your patons.
Morningstar – September Online Training Session MorningstarSept
Lexis/Nexis Letter June 26, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates.Tags: Lexis/Nexis
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Last week at home I received a letter from Lexis/Nexis [database vendor] about the possiblity of my personal information being stolen. If any patrons who also received this letter and wonder if it was because they used any of our databases, the answer is no. Lexis/Nexis does background check for companies around the country (mostly insurance, police, fire, local government etc) and a person in one of these companies looked at info he wasn’t supposed to. He is in custody awaiting trial.
You may tell patrons:
In the letter you received from Lexis Nexis, they are offering free credit monitoring to anyone who’s information he MIGHT have viewed as well. If your information had been looked at particularly, you would have also gotten a letter from the FBI. However, this has nothing to do with your access the article databases via the library system here. It is just a fluke that you also used their article databases during the course of your research and now are getting a letter from them. I recommend you call the number on your letter to get more information to get your account monitored just in case.
New Gale Literature Volumes June 26, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in GVRL.Tags: Literature, literature criticism
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Titles
Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol 269
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism Vol 209
Gale Power Search 2.0 June 25, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates.Tags: gale databases
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PowerSearch 2.0, an enhanced version of the original PowerSearch platform, brings greater “power to the user.”
Beginning in July, PowerSearch 2.0 will be fully implemented for all customers. Libraries can get a head start on learning how to use the new design by clicking on the “Find Out More” link on the PowerSearch website: www.gale.com/powersearch. (If link does not work call Jon and ask him to contact Gale to have it turned on).
Enhancements –
PowerSearch 2.0 simplifies browsing through Gale’s more than 20,000 publications, providing the ability to search across more than 150 million documents.
More customization options for the user, allowing them to create their own custom profile. Users can modify the home page so that the topics and publications are fed through RSS feeds directly to the page at login.
Web 2.0 sharing tools including Del.icio.us, MySpace, Reddit, Digg, Facebook, Newsvine, Twitter and others to connect users with their community. These tools allow users to push interesting articles out to the Web to share with others.
ReadSpeaker (text-to-speech technology), allowing users to have all articles available from within the platform read aloud. All articles are fully downloadable in MP3 file format and can be played on an iPod or other audio devices.
Addition of “named user” functionality, allowing researchers to create custom profiles, name and save any search and modify RSS feed on the product’s homepage, thus facilitating ongoing research and supporting user’s interests.
Search results that incorporate portals of context sensitive multimedia (images, video and podcasts).
On-demand translation of documents into 11 different languages, helping institutions support a global community of users.
Patron Training Ideas from Orange County – From Morningstar June 22, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates, Training - Patrons, Uncategorized.Tags: investments, Morningstar, program ideas
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From Morningstar Library Notes:
Many libraries took part in our first virtual patron training session earlier this year. In an attempt to help provide you with some marketing ideas for the next patron training session in September, I talked with longtime client Orange County Library System, which is located in the Orlando, Fla., area, which took part in the first session.
Through various marketing activities, Orange County had an excellent number of registered patrons for our virtual tour. Librarians such as Jane Tracy put a lot of work into getting the word out. Tracy remarked, “As a librarian with a strong interest in the Morningstar Investment Research Center I was thrilled to offer patrons the opportunity for training directly from Morningstar.”
The librarians’ enthusiasm paid dividends in the form of registered patrons. A brief list of marketing efforts by OCLS includes:
The Business Team partnered with IT staff to market the event to online customers, specifically targeting those interested in business and investment.
OCLS posted an ad on its Twitter account: Improve Your Finances! Sign up for the free Morningstar Personal Finance Web Training, April 29, 4 p.m.
April’s Web site promotion featured Morningstar Live Web Training in the News box in the center of the OCLS home page, http://www.ocls.info.
The Web training was also listed on the Advanced Classes/Programs Calendar and highlighted on the database description page.
The Community Relations Department put an ad in the OCLS eNewsletter, and our Computer Resource staff promoted the event in the electronic Tech Newsletter.
Library branch staff used Morningstar personalized posters to create bookmarks and flyers to promote the event at branches.
IT staff sent out 630 e-mails promoting the event to people who dropped off business cards at library promotional tables at business conferences.
E-mails were also sent to customers who recently checked out materials on investing.
Questline, the library’s call center, promoted the event directly to customers throughout the month of April.
Whether your library is big or small, there are a number of ways you can promote events, classes, and training. Hopefully, you can incorporate some of these ideas and come up with similar creative ways to spread the word about training classes in the future.
Visit the Client Site (http://library.morningstar.com/tracking) for posters, table tents, training announcements, and more.
If you would like further marketing ideas or material to help promote Morningstar Investment Research Center at your library, please do not hesitate to contact us at libraryservices@morningstar.com.
The next patron online training session is Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009, at 3 p.m. Central Time (1pm Pacific Time). Any patron can sign up by simply sending an e-mail to librarytraining@morningstar.com. The session will be similar to April’s session, with audio by phone and online viewing. The signup link is also available on The Librarian’s Brain starting June 22, 2009.
Library User Experience June 18, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Meeting Notes.Tags: experience, library patrons, library users
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I attented a very interesting audio conference on Wednesday. The discussion was on The Future of the Library User Experience. Here are a couple key points I came away with:
- People before systems
- Logical is not intuitive
- It takes 10 years in the lab before technology is moved into general use and then it takes 10 years in general use to be fully adopted. The example given was electronic ink. It has been in the lab for 10 years and just now moving into general use by being integrated into physical devices.
- Never ask people what they think instead watch how they use it – focus on behavior not opinions.
- All books will be in digital format in 30 years – how will this affect people’s use of them?
- Databases by Topic is internal organizational language not users language – try something like Find Information – what else could we use?
- LibraryThing is a great value. It helps users find things in the catalog they normally would not find.
- Use museum type programming – programming where there is always something happening. Charlotte, NC library is doing short children’s programs (20 minutes) every hour. One program which repeats for the day. Patrons don’t have to juggle their schedule around the program offerings. When they come to the library they are sure of a program occurring shortly.
Visit ULC webinar to see the tweets which occurred during the session and read more about the topic or listen to the audio presentation for yourself.
Biography Reference Bank – From Wilson June 18, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates.Tags: deleted database
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The database Biography Reference Bank will be dropped from the database collection on August 1. This database received very little use and tended to run very slow. We have renewed the Core Collection database which is heavily used by Collection Development.
Lexi-PALS Drug Guide June 18, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Featured.Tags: drug guide, drug_information
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Coming Soon – Gale Directory Library Enhancements June 18, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates.Tags: directories, Gale Directory Library
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Coming Soon…
With expanded data and state-of-the-art search and export features, Gale Directory Library will allows you to select the directories you want and make them available to your users any time, from anywhere.
Here are some of the search and export features that will create a better experience for your users, making Gale Directory Library the preferred go-to resource:
- Landing pages – Each directory will have its own landing page and MARC records will point to them. This will also allow for seamless OPAC integration and will let users hone in on specific directories.
- Faceted search refinement – Users can build queries as they go, refining or expanding on the current criteria
- Did You Mean functionality – With alternate suggestions for typos and misspellings, users will find more relevant search results
- People list export – Users can export lists of contacts as well as company information
Look for the enhancements in the next 2-3 weeks.
Find out more about the Gale Directory Library product enhancements:
Questions About OverDrive Downloads? June 17, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Training.Tags: OverDrive
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September is OverDrive Training month. If you are interested in participating in any of the sessions please leave a comment of which area(s) you are interested in.
The curriculum covers each area of our download service: Collection Development, User Experience, Patron Assistance, Community Outreach, and Reports. Plus, don’t miss OverDrive’s 2009 Partner Update to learn what’s new for your download library!
Online sessions will be offered five days a week throughout September with open enrollment for individuals and groups.
OverDrive Media Console™ v3.2 for Windows! June 16, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates, Techology Update.Tags: eaudio books, iPhones, ipod, OverDrive
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It’s here! The new version of OverDrive® Media Console. Nearly all WMA Audiobooks in the download collection are now compatible with the iPod®, iPhoneT, iPod touch®, and iPod nano®, as well as Zune® and thousands of other portable devices, with a simple upgrade of OverDrive Media Console to version 3.2 on Windows® PCs.
With OMC v3.2 for Windows®, users can…
Did You Know? June 15, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Did you know?.Tags: ebooks to go, emedia, OverDrive
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In OverDrive patrons can set their own personal lending periods. Back in April, we added the feature of allowing patrons to select their own lending – example: 7, 14, or 21 days for books. This was added because there is no “Return” feature available. Patrons who read or listen to books quickly can choose a shorter lending period so they don’t have to wait should they reach their limited of items checked out. When we added this feature, we also added in their “eMedia Account” the default setting feature. Each patron can set their default lending period to what works best for them.
It’s easy to do.
- Go to eMedia Catalog
- Click eMedia Account
- Login
- Select Lending Periods
- Change your defaults
- Click Done
Library Catalog Tweaking June 12, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Library Catalog.Tags: catalog updates
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As you may have noticed there has been a sightly changes in the Library Catalog. When we upgraded to III 2007 they provided new catalog pages. Our old catalog pages worked in most cases. However, there were some small issues which needed to be addressed. I’m in the process of addressing those issues, hence the small changes which include:
- The Advance search page, should now be functioning in the English version of the catalog.
- The cursor is placed in the search box when the page opens.
- Navigation buttons on the Bib display page have been brought down below the search box to make it easier to “Return to list”.
- The cover art, ratings and reviews have been placed on the same side as they appear in Encore.
- Details section (below the holdings) has been cleaned up and moved to the left.
- Number of holds on an item has been restored to the bib record.
- The main page of the catalog floats. This makes it display better on mobile screens such as iPhones.
I’m still working on a revised version of the Spanish Catalog and hope to be finished next week.
WebFeat Tweaks June 12, 2009
Posted by virtualnotes in Databases - Updates, Reference Work.Tags: federated search engines, webfeat
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After reviewing the usage of our federated search – WebFeat the Virtual Library made a few minor tweaks to help improve the results patrons get when they use it to search the databases.
- Changed the ranking of articles to Relevancy ranking from grouped. (This was done to both Kids and Adult webfeat). Previous results we presented by database groups. This grouping was random as it depended on how fast the database responded to the query. Our current Library Catalog uses relevancy ranking so now it will more consistent as well as providing the information the patron wants without having to do so much digging. Depending on the search this usually brings the most recent articles to the top of the list. A good example to try is Sonia Sotomayor searching Magazine and Journal articles and Newspaper and Current Events.
- Changed some of the default selections under the subject headings. Patrons should notice a better refined results set.
- Added and deleted a few databases from the Subject areas.
- Encyclopedia Articles – WorldBook was added
- Informacion en Espanol – added Hispanic Saber
- Something Good To Read – added Read the Books and Reader’s Advisor; NetLibrary eBooks deleted.
- General Reference – Added Historical Statistics of the U.S. and Discover
- Arts & Entertainment – added Credo Reference, OverDrive Movies and Music links; deleted Crossword Puzzle Solver (found in Credo Reference)
- Careers and Education – added Gale Virtual Reference Library
- History – added American Revolutionary Digital Archives, Slavery Digital Archive; deleted Proquest Obits.
- Lands and Culture – added African American Experience and Daily Life Through History; deleted the CIA World Factbook, State Geography, Encyclopedia Americana, Encyclopedia of States and Encyclopedia of Nations (these are found in the Gale subcollection of Society and Culture so they were being searched twice.)
- Literature and Poetry – deleted netLibrary and Readers Advisor
- Science and Technology added InfoTrac OneFile and Today’s Science; deleted New Book of Knowledge
Hopefully, these refinements will make it easier for patrons to find what the information they are looking for in the databases.
