Bio-Med Library Access Services Blog

J Sedlak from Minneapolis Public library dropped off some M&M's for the students here at Bio-Med. I'm gonna leave these in the fridge for us. Take some and make sure everyone gets at least a bite.

-LTN

Posted by Tiffanie Clark at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

FYI...

Yesterday (10/29), Wilson library staff encountered a patron who seemed drunk or high. He wasn't threatening, but seemed incoherent. The natural reaction of staff was to help him out of the building. Instead, they called 911. When the police showed up, after questioning the patron for a time, it was determined the patron was having a diabetic episode. Paramedics were called and the patron was treated.

Remember: Always call 911 when a patron is acting oddly, even if the patron is non-threatening. This is the appropriate response rather than trying to assist the individual. Let the police decide how to deal with the situation.

Posted by Melissa Aho at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Library Policy!!

Starting Monday, November 12 anyone that wants to checkout headphones will be required to show a UM UCard. Headphones will be just like any other circulating library item. Remember that everyone must present a UCard to check out library materials. If there is a student from another college/university with their college/university ID please see Melissa, David, Pat, Emily or Steve.

I have posted a sign at the Circ Desk and until Monday November 12, please give a handout to anyone that requests headphones (this is so people learn about our new policy before November 12).

Also the computers in the lower 'pit' area will require UM authentication to login.

Finally, the internal speakers in all Dell PCs have been disabled. Headphones on the Dells will work.

Please respond in a comment with your initials with any feedback or questions you have so I can confirm you've read this post.

Thanks,
Melissa

Posted by Melissa Aho at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Some of you may have noticed that the computers sometimes shut themselves off.

Here are the times this happens:

For the pit the the freeze period is from - 11 pm - 2:30 am
For the Blue PCs ( and some Green PCs outside the PIT) - 2 am - 5:30 am

Posted by Melissa Aho at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ALEPH and all the public catalogs will be down for about an hour beginning at 6:00 a.m. this Sunday October 28, so that the latest Service Pack updates to ALEPH.

Posted by Melissa Aho at 08:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Open House 2007 - Join Us! When & Where: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 10:00am-2:00pm 555 Diehl Hall

Come investigate library resources, consult library staff and get your questions answered, enjoy refreshments and giveaways, and win fabulous prizes (including t-shirts, gift certificates, a printer, books, tickets to sporting and entertainment events, and more).

Plus, if you investigate the evidence by participating in our LSI: Library Scene Investigation online contest, you'll be entered for a special grand prize drawing.

A new contest will be posted each week during the rest of October, which just happens to be National Medical Librarians Month. The more you participate in the contest, the more times you'll be entered in the grand prize drawing. Don't worry-the online contest includes plenty of hints to help you investigate the evidence.

The LSI: Library Scene Investigation online contest is only for current University of Minnesota students, staff and faculty.

We look forward to seeing you at one (or both!) of our fall open houses and hope you'll also investigate the evidence with our online contest.

Posted by Emily Reimer at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have you completed the Safety Worksheet and looked at the U of MN Emergency Preparedness web page (the link is on the Safety Worksheet)? If not please turn it in ASAP.

Thanks,
Melissa

Posted by Melissa Aho at 06:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The PubMed Link issue has been fixed.

It seems that PubMed no longer supports the URL we were using in EZ Proxy and elsewhere.

Posted by Melissa Aho at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the meantime, we will need to assist people who have need to access the 5th floor and are unable to use the stairs by helping them on the internal elevator. Escort anyone needing help up to the 5th Floor using the ML/Key to the Universe key.

People who are on 5th floor and need to come down inside the library will need help from either Wangensteen staff or call Admin for assistance (6-0998).

If you are alone at the desk and cannot leave to assist someone, call 6-0998 and Admin staff will come and help out. Also, access to 5th floor ends at 5PM on weekdays and is not available on weekends.

Posted by Emily Reimer at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to one of the librarians who has been troubleshooting offsite access to PubMed Find It Links, there may be a solution. Users should be instructed to access PubMed by clicking on the PubMed icon in the center of our homepage. For some reason, this appears to fix the problem for some people. Woohoo!

Posted by Emily Reimer at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For the next few weeks I will be conducting a study of the people that use the computers on the 2nd floor.

So if you work Friday, Saturday and Sunday I need your help. I will leave a spread sheet for you to fill out the following data for Friday 3-7 and all day on Saturday and Sunday. The numbers I am looking for are: the total number of people on the 2nd floor computers (dont forget the ones outside the door by the stacks), the number of non-University of Minnesota people using the 2nd floor computers, the number of people in the pit on computers (both U people and non-U people).

If you have any questions please ask.

Thank you for your help,
Melissa

Posted by Melissa Aho at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's what we know:

1. PubMed Find It links are down.
2. There is no estimated time frame for a fix.
3. Both PubMed and Ovid Medline search the Medline database. Let the patrons know that the Ovid Medline database's Find It Links are working.
4. The scripting error is on the PubMed side and is affecting multiple campuses across the country.

We'll let you know as soon as anything changes.

Thanks,
Emily

Posted by Emily Reimer at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Don't forget to attend one of the meetings this week: Thursday at 7:00PM in Room 555 or Friday at 4:00PM in Room 450A. Attendance is mandatory, but we'll have treats! (And if you've never been there, check out despair.com. It's demoralizing, in a good way.) See you there, Emily

Posted by Emily Reimer at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi everyone,

If you are closing at night please note that starting today (Thursday October 4, 2007) I am moving the cash box. The new home for the cash box will be adjacent to the old home (in other words in the big drawer to the right). There is also a new key (it sometimes sticks a little but it does work).

Please post your initials and any questions or comments you may have, so I know you've read this post.

If you need help with the key or have any questions please let me know.

Thanks,
Melissa

Posted by Melissa Aho at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

...read the blog!

Okay, so this partly my fault, because some of you don't yet know, and I also changed the post below to make posting you initials mandatory AFTER some of you probably read the post.

At any rate, you're expected to read the blog on a daily basis and complete any instructions contained in posts.

Questions, complaints, outrage? Post a comment with your thoughts!

Thanks,
Emily

Posted by Emily Reimer at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Hi everyone,

Unfortunately, there was a serious incident in Wilson Library today involving an assault on a patron. It appears she was not seriously injured, but this is a good time to review our general safety and security procedures. Here's the gist:

1. Never endanger your personal safety.
2. Call 911 if you feel threatened or concerned about the behavior of someone in the library. (If you're not sure whether to call, do it. The police have explicitly told us they would rather be called out for a non-event than fail to be called for something significant.)
3. Always submit an incident report to report disruptive behavior or events (i.e. stolen items, behavior that requires a patron to be asked to leave, etc.).

Please read the Peggy Johnson's email below, as well as the Staff Guidelines for Dealing with Problem Situations in the Libraries. Post your initials and any questions or comments you may have, so I know you've read this post.

Thanks,
Emily

I'm very sorry to report that a female student patron was assaulted on Wilson Library at approximately 1:30 PM today (Monday) in a stairway. Library staff and users immediately went to her assistance and the assailant ran out of the building. The young woman is not injured except for scrapes and bruises. Campus police arrived quickly and collected information from several witnesses. Paramedics examined the young woman and determined that she did not need further medical attention. The police have already retrieved the film from the Wilson Library surveillance cameras.

Libraries employees should be alert to all situations that make them uncomfortable and move to a public, populated area. Please remember to report all incidents to your supervisor and complete an incident report. http://staff.lib.umn.edu/security/icf.phtml In the case of emergencies, call 911 immediately.

Peggy Johnson, Associate University Librarian
Editor, Library Resources & Technical Services
Editor, Technicalities
University of Minnesota Libraries voice: 612-624-2312
499 Wilson Library fax: 612-626-9353
309 19th Ave. So. m-john@tc.umn.edu
Minneapolis MN 55455 http://www.lib.umn.edu/about/profiles/m-john.html

Posted by Emily Reimer at 03:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)