I created a tutorial for using Simmons on Powerpoint and printed a few copies to place by the workstation.
There is a link to this guide included in the Libdata entry. Here is an example from the A-Z list of business databases:
http://courses.lib.umn.edu/page.phtml?page_id=1235#toc44458
--Van
This CD, Industrial Statistics Database, 3-digit level of ISIC Code (rev.2)-2005, is here in GPL along with Industrial Statistics Database, 4-digit level of ISIC Code (rev.2-3)-2005 and Industrial Demand-Supply Balance Database - 2005. Back-up copies have been made and they are in the locked CD cabinet, ready for use. Note that we now have standing orders for all three. - Daniel & Julie
We now have 2 Fillmore CPUs, but one monitor, keyboard and mouse for both.
To use them, start up each CPU and login into each. Shutdown is the reverse - shut down each one separately. You view each CPU independently by using the toggle button on the black box behind the monitor.
As a matter of policy, we'll only start up the NewFillmore each day. If a user needs FBIS, then we'll start up OldFillmore and the patron can wait a few minutes. Unless FBIS has been in use on a given day, there should be no need to use the toggle button on the black box.
Currently, even though the old Fillmore is no longer connected to the Novell network, there's still a login screen for it. Jaime will remove it, but until then, make sure to check the "Workstation Only" box before logging in. If you forget it's no problem - just say "No" to the dialog box that comes up and then check it.
--Amy
The 87 and 92 Economic Census disks on NewFillmore aren't working right now. I have a request for help out to autosys. Should be resolved in the next few days. The same disks installed on Jefferson and Madison work just fine. -- Amy
CDs now fixed.
Posted by: Amy West at November 10, 2005 04:50 PMThe 2004 Unctad Handbook of Statistics, which doesn't circulate, is now installed on the NewFillmore. You do have to get the disk, which is in the back of of the manual, which is shelved in the UN section with call number UNCTAD.TD/STAT.29/CD and put the disk in the disk drive of the computer. There is a link to the program on the desktop. --Amy
The UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2004 provides a comprehensive collection of statistical data relevant to the analysis of international trade, investment and development, for individual countries and for economic and trade groupings. The publication presents consolidated reference statistics considered of particular importance for describing how developing countries have evolved in the context of globalization. Data are presented in an analytical way, through the use of rank orderings, growth rates and other special calculations, in order to facilitate their interpretation. The printed edition of the Handbook is a valuable tool for research, policy making and education, which can also be used in conjunction with the CD-ROM or the Internet version of the publication. The latter two contain the full time series of data.
The UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2004 provides users with reliable coherent data on the following subjects:
International merchandise trade: values, trends and regional trade zones;
Export and import structure by products and by regions of origin and destination, and related concentration and diversification indices;
Volume and terms of trade indices;
Commodity prices and relevant price indices;
Trade in services: total trade and trade by sector;
International financial data: current accounts, capital and financial accounts, foreign direct investment, external indebtedness, workers´ remittances, etc.;
Selected indicators of development: GDP, area and various social and telecommunications indicators;
Average applied import tariff rates;
Maritime transport: world merchant fleet.
Stands for...United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD
--Van
Posted by: Van at November 8, 2005 02:24 PMOnly the most recent edition of this is on reference (it is in the UN section of our Reference Collection, low shelving Row D.) The earlier ones all circulate (and they are all out today!!) They are also in the pockets of the small sized booklets accompanying them. We also have in paper the more extensive publications with the same title. The call numbers differ only in the addition of a /CD for the ones with a CD in them...e.g. 2004 in paper is UNCTAD.TD/STAT/29 and the 2004 with CD is UNCTAD.TD/STAT/29/CD
Julie
Posted by: Julie at November 8, 2005 03:22 PMThe CD-ROM workstations are out now. We have gone from 4 machines to 2. There are substantially fewer titles installed than before because of web availability and our overall move to make CDs circulate unless we decide otherwise.
1. What's on them?
Now installed on BOTH Madison and Jefferson are:
British Parliamentary Papers (Readex)
" " " (Bunsei)
Eurocat
UKOP / UK Catalog of Publications - we cancelled a while back so this is not current.
WISTAT
1987 Economic Census
1992 " "
" " " / Zip Code level
For the moment,
ONLY on Madison: Stat-USA
ONLY on Jefferson: USA Trade Online
2. What can we do with the machines?
-save to / burn floppies, USB drives, CD/DVDs
-ftp
-print to uniprint
3. What's up w/Fillmore?
FBIS disks 13-22 will not function on current versions of Windows. Until the disks are re-issued by GPO in a form that will work with currnt versions of Windows, there will be 2 boxes next to the Fillmore monitor. One is the current (and about to be old) Fillmore that will nothing but FBIS on it. No internet, no printing, nothing. The other will be the new Fillmore which will have the standard staff configuration.
4. Any quirks we should know about?
- Ideally, these machines should also support search and retrieval from Libraries' licensed resources. However, we have a blanket "block .coms" block list to minimize non-research use of the computers and many of our licensed resources are .coms. UNRESOLVED
- The monitors go into hibernation and appear to be off. The hibernation settings will be changed. IN PROCESS
I have no explanation for why we lost all the necessary info. and file organization for the FBIS disks on Fillmore; perhaps there was an update to the operating system that I didn't know about. Regardless, they now work. All 96-98 disks that we have are functional. If for some reason, there are problems again next Tuesday - when our user will be returning - I am going to update the information at http://govpubs.lib.umn.edu/cd/fbis_guide.phtml to indicate *exactly* what I did tonight so that it can be replicated. -- Amy
I have modified the menus in the 96-98 FBIS disks to preclude cut/copy/paste/print functions in order to better facilitate compliance with the usage rules on these disks. We can't modify the programs on 99-forward disks, so we'll just have to remind any users we get to behave as described in the FBIS guide.
Posted by: Amy West at April 6, 2005 02:24 PMWe now have the Fall 2001 full year study loaded on the Business Reference CDROM stations. This is a survey covering Oct 2000 - Sept 2001 of populations and households. I have made it the default survey on the computers.
You can still use "Change Survey" to load other survey data, like the Fall 2001 month (April 2001- Sept 2001) or the Teen Study, etc. This may be needed when searching Simmons for a particular product (Kia Sedona) that you are not finding in the current default survey.
-- Van
OK, this is useful A couple of thoughts - this message says the BusRef CDROM stations, which is very clear. In the BusRef A-Z list it just says work stations, not quite as clear to me. Also, the year is now wrong in the A-Z.
Julie
Posted by: Julie at February 14, 2005 07:40 PMGPL has withdrawn the CANSIM CD-ROM. It was very old data (1991 and earlier) and old software which could no longer be used. Amy was unable to get the disk to run. Canada has much later statistical databases on the web. Unfortunately, we do not have access - we would need to pay, or to have a faculty member in Canadian Studies. But in any case, there was no remaining use for CANSIM, and it is gone. Record of this decision is in Aleph staff side.
Julie
Miguel is unable to install Compact D on busref4 workstation. Most current CD (Sept 2004) has been installed on busref5 and busref6.
FYI: Prof. Jeff Broadbent came in this a.m. asking about intl. statistical resources that would allow data to be shown graphically and as a result of our conversation, I lent him for a few hours the 04 WDI. I did take down his name and put his info in the little gray charge box, but on scrap paper as we appear to be out of proper forms...--Amy
Ok, the PA5521 class that wanted to use the WDI CD wanted the Economic Time Series (ETS) tables, which are Excel files that put together about 30 years of data and mean you can skip using the database.
However, the 2004 edition doesn't include them (presumably because they ceased updating the tables in 2001), although it does, of course, have the database from which they were created.
So, I've added an Economic Times Series folder to the WDI folder on Lincoln and copied all of the tables into it. Patrons just open the folder and click on a file to view it. Much simpler than trying to gather all the data series by series from the database.
I've also made the WDI folder (with the ETS files) visible for about the next two weeks on all of the Mt.Rushmore computers. On all but Lincoln, it's in the upper right hand corner. The ETSs also have been added to Fillmore.
This class will be back once more tomorrow between 12.30 and 1pm. --Amy
Jaime has gotten these drives enabled on all the public terminals in GPL and BusRef. On GPL CD workstations, the plug for the USB drives is in the back of the CPU, slightly blocked from view by two small cords (one white, one green). It's not hard to find though.
This means users have options other than Zip disks or FTP on GPL computers for saving. In BusRef, it offers a simpler alternative to burning a CD.
For more info. on these devices, see http://www.usbflashdrive.org/usbfd_overview.html --Amy
Ok, the UNIDO CDs: Industrial Statistics Database at the ISIC 4-Digit Level (2001), Industrial Statistics Database at the ISIC 3-Digit Level (2001) and Industrial Demand-Supply Balance Database (2003) are all installed on Fillmore, although not via VirtualCD. To use them (they're reference btw), you'll need to retrieve the disk from the cabinets.
I did it this way because a) its faster to install, b) they aren't heavily used and c) they're really wonky & will require staff intervention anyway.
ISD 4-Digit: *seems* to work ok; I didn't generate any errors. However, if you don't check the availability of the data, when you export there's no alert to say "this file will be empty". So, after the fact, it may look like the disk isn't working. It is, just not with any user-friendliness.
ISD 3-Digit: does work - *however* if you select a place/data/year combo that is empty (and don't check availability and therefore don't know it's empty) and try to save, you get what looks like a serious error. It's not - it's just that the program can't (apparently) save an empty set. Moral: check availability first!
IDSB (2003): when exporting, you will sometimes find that neither the text nor the comma-separated export options work. I can't find a pattern for it. Excel seems to always work, so choose that whenever possible.
I've now put the CDs back in the cabinet. --Amy
How can I get CD UNIDOS?
Posted by: Francisco Silva at February 24, 2005 12:16 PMA 2004 Harris Directory of Manufacturing companies is now installed on the Business Reference CDROM workstations. To use the 2003 or the 2004 directory this requires inserting the CDROMs from the notebook in the Business Reference desk. This source IS NOT on Virtual CDROM. Here is the link for a description of the Harris Directory from the producer.
Jamie has reinstalled MediaMark 2002 on all 3 BusRef CDROM stations and they work perfectly. The problems and errors messages we previously had in searching for studies and displaying data no longer occur.
Although the actually causes for all the problems are unknown. we suspect that MediaMark will likely need ongoing maintenace every several months. For unknown reasons, it generates numerous temp files for every search and every display of data. One workstation had over 18,000 temp files which Jamie deleted and believes might have been causing error messages.
Jaime finished converting Fillmore to the new configuration yesterday. That means that today while I'm on the desk I'll be putting back onto it the Patents software, the ADAMS link and the NSA software. I *hope* to get started working on a guide for the NSA software today, but no guarantees. --Amy
Update 4.28.04:
NSA Index and Guide installed on Fillmore only; patron notified.
Patents disk installing right now... --Amy
So far, ADAMS, JEFFERSON and LINCOLN have been converted to the new image. (see the previous note for details).
MADISON is coming soon and FILLMORE will be last.
I made some changes to the Economic Census Guides - please take a look at 1987-1992 and 1997 and let me know if they seem ok.
I'm giving everybody a short (less than 5 minutes) tour of the machines as each person is available. --Amy
Probably about mid-week next week, Jaime will be replacing the existing GPL CD-ROM terminals with a new configuration. This means: Fillmore & Mount Rushmore (Adams, Madison, Jefferson, Lincoln).
Please use the comments function here to let me know what works, what doesn't etc.
You can see the guides at http://govpubs.lib.umn.edu/cd/ - only the ones ending *.html are guides.
For details, see the extended version of this entry.
--Amy
This means we will gain:
-up to date installations of software, including all 4 Census Summary Files
-up to date guides, with pictures
-up to date links
-a looser block list: I've only excluded *.com sites, so you can search the catalog, use the databases, etc. from those computers.
-An FAQ for the computers right on the desktop. (see FAQ).
-a simpler interface: titles loaded on the computers will have their own folders inside of which will be an icon for the title and a link to the guide.
-a folder for previously-well-known CDs that we're not installing b/c the web is as good or better; in that folder will be shortcuts to guides to the web sites that include the loc/call no. for the disks should a patron want them.
-an easier way to tell what's on each computer: if there's no folder/shortcut for it, it's not on that machine; we'll maintain the monitor signs also.
-USA Trade and Stat-USA will be shortcuts that are on the desktop next to or near the folders. They'll only appear on the machines that are dedicated to them.
We will lose (until I return 3/22):
-the ADAMS link on Fillmore; not a big deal: see ADAMS.
-Proquest Tax software
-Patent Software; you can use the web though: USPTO.gov
We will lose for an indefinite period:
-use of Eurocat - it's just not compatible w/Windows 2000; I'm working w/Proquest on this...
For those of us still shaky on reading the MediaMark tables, see Interpreting the Data. --Amy
The software for the Accounting & Tax Index on CD ROM has been loaded on Fillmore. We subscribed to the CD ROMs from approximately 1990 to 1996. Find the cd's in a 3ring binder (marked w/title) on the shelves inside the Business Library staff office. The cd's, while only available for limited years, do allow for greater search flexibility.
Remember, we also have the complete run of this title in print:
Accounting & Tax Index:
TC Wilson Library Business Reference Quarto HF5601 .A36x
Thanks, Mary
1. Problem w/Eurocat on CD-ROM Workstations
Van discovered that there are some problems with Eurocat as installed on the current iteration of the GPL CD Workstations. Some searches (for reasons that aren't clear) generate errors. In this case it was a title search w/seven or eight words in the title. It would do the search, turn up an error box and then close the program when you click "ok" on the error box.
This *does not* always happen - you can get that title if you do short, roundabout searches, e.g. a couple of title words and the year and there's no errors.
Moral: try searches more than one way...
2. Access to Eurocat on new configuration of CD-ROM Workstations.
I have been unable to install Eurocat on the new CD-ROM configuration and am pursuing this with Proquest.
However, once we switch to the new CD config. out in the ref. area, then we'll have no access to Eurocat, as the new operating system for the CD Workstations (Windows 2000) won't read the CD, nor will the operating system (Windows XP) for our desk computers, until I get things worked out w/Proquest. --Amy
The Harris CDROM directory is not working on the Virtual CD workstations in Business Reference - I have called autosys about this.-- Van