JOURNAL TITLE COUNTING ON FOR Nov. 29-Dec. 21
--Several Important Reminders--
Please, ALL READ, Pages AND Deskers:

For the next three weeks-plus (Sunday, Nov. 29-Monday, Dec. 21) we will be recording the number of volumes and issues of journals that we handle in shelving by title in online databases. Except for three of you, we've done this before--but everyone, including the desk staff, should understand this process and desk staff may need to help out, especially now that we have fewer pages --so I will put the bulk of this memo below the cut, where anyone who needs a refresher should read.

Please record your initials as an indication that you've read and understand this memo. (IF you're not sure how to do that, come and ask me or another staff member to show you how to do so. Any of the desk students probably knows how to do this as well). This is also a good opportunity to record any questions or comments you have about this process.

Hi all,

We going to start a temporary log of wireless connection failures. As you know, we've been having difficulty with access for several weeks now and need to be able to provide a paper trail. We'll keep the log just to the right of the main Reference Desk.

Post to the blog!

Thanks,
Emily

Folks,

There seems to be a developing problem with one of the wireless access points on the second floor. Being located on the pillar next to the row of Macs in the public computing area, you could draw a line from Room 274 to the service desk and then head toward the glass wall and stairway to the 3rd floor to indicate the general area it's affecting.

Mac laptop users have been primarily affected, some Windows users also have had problems. We will be addressing this with NTS, but I have no ETA in terms of resolution. My suggestion would be for laptop users to head for the 3rd floor, or the tables closest to the private study room entrance. If you have any questions, give me a call.

Peter

Peter Weinhold
IT Manager
Health Sciences Libraries

Hi gang,

We had another Interlibrary Loan that was supposed to be put on the hold shelf end up getting immediately returned to Wilson (and then its originating library) instead. Please be diligent and attentive when checking in or out materials of all kinds, but pay special attention to ILLs. It takes a fair amount of works on many people's part to provide this service, and it's disheartening to see it all go down the drain... :( Let's not let this happen again.

If you have any questions - at all - about when or how to process materials, please don't hesitate to ask a supervisor. Post to the blog so I know you've read and understood this message.

Thanks,
Emily

OIT will be continuing their work on a critical networking component this Sunday, November 15, from 5am to 9am. Several important Libraries systems will be affected. Please review the list below for information on specific services.

Systems unavailable from 5am - 9am:

• Find It / E-Journals A-Z / Citation Finder (SFX)


• OneSearch / article search box (MetaLib)


• UThink Blogs

Systems that will have limited functionality:

• Libraries Web Site(s) -- the Twin Cities University Libraries main website www.lib.umn.edu will again be a minimized version presenting most-frequently used links only, including access to Indexes and MNCAT (Plus and Classic).


• Unit and departmental web sites (*.lib.umn.edu), such as busref.lib.umn.edu or sciweb.lib.umn.edu, and the Bio-Medical Library web site www.biomed.lib.umn.edu will remain completely available.


• MNCAT Plus (Primo, QuickSearch in Duluth): Searching the local catalog will be available. However, the Articles tab, E-Journal access via SFX, and any feature requiring authentication (e.g., eShelf, Get It, Your Account) will be unavailable from 5am - 9am


• MNCAT Classic (OPACs for all campuses): Searching the local catalog will be available. However, E-Journal access via SFX and any feature requiring authentication (e.g., Get It, Recalls, Renewals, Your Account) will be unavailable from 5am - 9am

Notes are being posted in all systems affected by this work, on the System Status page at http://systemstatus.umn.edu and on a special downtime message on the TC Libraries web site at https://www.lib.umn.edu/downtime.phtml. Thank you for your support while OIT makes improvements to their infrastructure.

Heather and Shane

Periodic Hourly Counts will run all week -- Sunday, November 8 - Saturday, November 14. Remember to check the gate count at both gates and record it on the sheet every hour on the hour, open to close!

Please post your initials in a comment to indicate you've read this post.

Do you have questions, comments, feedback? Let me know :)

Thanks,
Melissa

Hi All,

This week we (Emily and I) will be reviewing the Emergency Procedures with everyone!

Melissa

State Of Minnesota Too Polite To Ask For Federal Funding

PubMed

PubMed, the web interface to the MEDLINE database, has unveiled a new redesign of the site today (10-27-2009). While we don't generally expect you to use PubMed, you may get questions about the redesign during hours when Reference staff isn't available.

Here's a short video tutorial from the University of Manitoba outlining the differences between the two interfaces: http://davidrothman.net/2009/10/23/new-pubmed-video-u-of-manitoba/

Please refer patrons with questions to medref@umn.edu or 612-626-3260 during M-F, 8am-5pm and S, 12-5pm.

Coupons

Have you ever wondered what to do when our equipment messes up when a patron is using a U Card or copy card to pay for prints or copies? The answer is - give them a coupon! Please use common sense when issuing coupons and make sure to fill out the coupon form completely. Coupons can be found in the Forms Binder.

Also, please review the forms in the binder. If you don't know what a form is for, it's your responsibility to find out from a supervisor, a co-worker, or by reading the Student Guide.

Questions? Concerns? Let us know! Please post a comment so that we know you've read this post.

Thanks,
Emily

Make sure to check out and IN 2-hour materials such as headphones and markers along with the other exception of all reserve materials.

From Friday evening until Monday morning various library systems, including the staff side of Aleph, will be offline. Some of you may not have used the Aleph Stand Alone Offline Circulation module before, so I'm uploading the instructions here. You should also expect to see a printed copy at the desk.

Here are some key points:

*Beginning Saturday morning, check out library materials using the Offline Circulation module.

*Load the module ONLY on HSL-Circdsk-1 (the leftmost computer).

*Do NOT check library materials in using the module.
**Exception: Reserve materials should be returned using the Offline Circulation module.

*Put regular returns on a truck clearly labeled, "Items to be checked in." Leave the items for a library supervisor to return once Aleph is back online.

*Continue using the offline module until given the all-clear by a supervisor on Monday morning.
Please read Melissa's blog post of Oct. 19 for information on additional systems that will be unavailable.

Questions or concerns? Please let us know!

Thanks,
Emily

Hi All,

Starting Friday please expect Aleph and other computer database issues. We will be using Aleph offline circulation until Monday.

Here is what is happening:

- Access to all Aleph modules and OPACs will be terminated at 4pm on
Friday afternoon, October 23. We expect that this downtime will last
approximately 3 hours. Primo (MNCAT Plus and QuickSearch) will be
available for searching during this time, although the links into Aleph
will not be functional while Aleph is down. We anticipate that the Aleph
"search-only" OPAC environment will become available around 7pm on Friday.

- Find It / E-Journals A-Z / Citation Finder (SFX) will be unavailable
for a brief period between 7pm and 8pm on Friday, October 23.

- Libraries OneSearch / article search box will be taken down for the
weekend beginning at 7pm, Friday, October 23.

- MNCAT Plus (Primo, QuickSearch in Duluth) will be taken down no
earlier than 7pm, Friday, October 23, and only after the Aleph
"search-only" OPAC system is functional.

- UThink blogs may experience a short downtime of 2-5 minutes the
afternoon of Friday, October 23, but we expect the service to remain up
and functional during the entirety of the downtime.

- The Twin Cities University Libraries main web site (www.lib.umn.edu)
will change late afternoon, Friday, October 23 and will be a minimized
version of the site presenting only the most frequently used links.
These links will include MNCAT Classic, Indexes A-Z, and E-Journals, as
well as other services not affected by the downtime.

We are anticipating a fairly seamless return to our production systems
early on Sunday morning, October 25. However, staff should continue to
use Aleph offline circulation until they receive communication on Monday
morning asking them to switch back to the regular circulation system.

Please post to the blog!
Melissa