New news

Since the Highway 80 exhibit is over, I've removed the link about it from the news box and replaced it with news of the new DBs we have. I've also removed the ad image from rotation on the right.

New links + Moodle

1)
There are 2 New DBs now added to the DB by name list:

Gale Virtual Reference Library

H.W. Wilson Art Suite

These will be added to the Quick Links and other pages soon. I have not confirmed if the GVRL link works off-campus.

Adding these DBs also shifted the order of the links in the DB by name list. The ever important EBSCOHost link is now in the lower left-hand

2)
The ULM Library has a Moodle page. Its layout will likely be simple. However, I would like to have a set of links at the top and perhaps a picture to "personalize" the page, and then the usual Moodle stuff below it. It is a WIP.
http://moodle.ulm.edu/course/view.php?id=5132

Hours update

On Friday I changed the hours to winter hours, and today I added "Have a safe and happy Holiday" to the news box.

Updated hours + news

I've changed the hours on the home page to show finals hours. I have also made a blog post about the broken DB links and placed a notice on the home page.

EDIT:
The DBs in question are working now, so I've removed the emergency links and the post from the news box.

Library Survey is up

The technology survey is up! Please let me know ASAP if something is wrong with it.

Added extended hours

I've added news of the extended pre-finals hours on the home page, the hours schedule PDF, and the blog. Do let me know if anything's wrong with them.

EZproxy Problems

It seems that the Ezproxy is down. And most of our major DBs are down as a result, even on campus. This is not good.

However, I have realized that simply removing the EZproxy Prefix from the URL lets the DBs that use it work just fine (on campus). So, I made a another list of alternative links to these DBs and put it on the DB list page:

http://www.ulm.edu/library/dbname.html

I can set it back to normal as soon as the problem is resolved.

I know that I have done this without consulting anyone, but I consider this to be an "emergency." It's a sunday and just after Thanksgiving break, so I don't see this problemn being resolved any time soon. If I'm wrong to have done this, do let me know.

I have also reset the hours on the home page to regular hours.

EDIT:
A day later, the normal links are working again, so I've returned the page to normal.

Thanksgiving Hours + survey coming

I've put the Thanksgiving hours on the home page.

Also, we are also hoping to run a survey with the help of the computing center about patron's computer literacy skills. Here are 2 possible versions of the home page that could promote it when it is completed:

http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/survey-home/index2.html

http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/survey-home/

Instruction and Tours

The link on the home page that used to be called "Tours and Instruction" is now called "Instruction and Tours." I don't think anyone will notice, but it was important enough to change.

Ask A Librarian page up

The new Ask A Librarian page is up; it is the same form that was there before, but with the new changes. It looks right in IE 6,7, and 8, which it didn't before.

I also realized that many of our web pages had the wrong link to the "Ask" page. I changed them, and now they all go to the form.

Small site changes

•There are some errors on the Ask A Librarian page. Dead links, the old footer, and the old banner. The form is on the webservices.ulm.edu domain, which I can't update. I have made and tested a replacement, and will soon send the file to them and ask them to upload it.


•This is one of those small things no one notices, but needed changed anyway: For a long time, the links in footer have been underlined in all pages except the home page and the database subject pages. This happened when I fixed the template a long time ago to underline links to make them easier to see. I've now set it so that the footer links are not underlined, but the others on the page are. They become underlined when you click them. They are no longer change color when you have visited them.

If anyone thinks these links looked better underlined, I can easily change it back.

I also made it so that the Databases by Name page doesn't have underlined links anymore. I thought it looked too busy with the underlining. If anyone disagrees, do let me know.

•A long time ago I made a test blog thinking that I would make a ULM-themed gov docs blog design for KC. I've kept it around thinking that I'd do something with it, but today I deleted it.

Polices link + more

Today I...

• added the "Polices" link I was talking about before to footers of all of our pages.

• added a message to the Passman Collection page saying that they are PDFs and added a link to get the Adobe reader

• tried some more things with the developing catalog interface

Another new catalog design

SirsiDynix is changing the catalog interface again, So I need to change the design a bit again to fit it. LOUIS has given us the ability to host our own CSS files so that they can be properly modified to fit the new appearance.

The "training" version of the site should show the progress:
http://ulm.beta.louislibraries.org/uhtbin/cgisirsi/UtndGLvOGF/ULM/57580005/60/69/X

New Pages...

I've added a page to archives about the new exhibit, with some pictures:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/highway80.html

A new FAQs page is up:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/FAQ.html

And I've added a link to the library polices on the home page and on the FAQs page. I'll add it to the rest of the site later.

Upcoming exhibit

I've added some things to the site concerning Highway 80 in Print, to promote it.

I've also mentioned on the blog that Bell Tower books is closing again, in hopes that someone may volunteer. I've replaced the image ad for it on the home page with one for the Highway exhibit:

FYI: Coporate Logos on the site

ULM now has a policy about using logos on all websites with in the "ulm.edu." The general rule seems to be not to use them, but there are exceptions. These exceptions seems to outline the reasonable decisions we have already been making regarding logo use, and it appears that there are no changes to be made to the site as a result.

" Certain ubiquitous third-party images may be incorporated within the ULM.EDU Web site only in the course of assisting the Web user in using the content provided on the ULM.EDU Web page. Examples of these types of exceptions may include (but not limited to):

• Adobe® Reader or PDF
• references Google® (when associated with Google’s search engines and appliances)
• Microsoft® and/or Apple® or affiliated applications (Word, iTunes, etc.)
• Approved Social Media outlets (Facebook®, Twitter®, etc).
• Web-based services which ULM has a contractual obligation with (Moodle®, uPortal®, Zimbra®, etc.)

In general, these images must link only to the Web service provided (i.e., to download Adobe® Reader) and not link to the third-party’s Home page. "

Do let me know if there is anything that looks out of place in regards to these policies.

You may review the Web Sponsorship Policy at the ULM Policy Web site (www.ulm.edu/policies). The direct link to the Web Sponsorship Policy is https://webservices.ulm.edu/policies/document.php?i=27523, which will open as a PDF.

New Pharmacy DBs

CH told me to add some new Pharmacy DBs to the list. But CA also told me that some of them were for Pharmacy students alone.

So CA and I talked about this (for a long time), and decided that it would be best to put the new Pharmacy links on the "by name" list as a single link leading to Pharmacy's own subject list. This way, it's still included but remains somewhat exclusive. It's listed as "ULM School of Pharmacy resources " here:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/dbname.html

And this is the Pharmacy Subject list it links to:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/subject/PHARMACY.html

Reference Peoples:
One of the new DBs in the Pharmacy list is StatRef! I remember it from library school, and is a very good reference resource, as you may know. So keep it in mind.

Special Collections Newsletter

I have put the new Special Collections newsletter online. This is the first issue, and it will be placed online for all subsequent issues.

It is here:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/newsletter/lsc-fall09.pdf

...mentioned it on the Archives web page here:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/

...and on the blog and home page here:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/
http://ulmlibraryreference.blogspot.com/2009/10/special-collections-newsletter.html

IE7... now IE8

If you give a mouse a cookie... changing the page for IE7 messed it up for IE8 (and only IE8, I should add). So I made the heights of the hours and announcements boxes a fixed height of 140 pixels, so it looks all right now. But then I thought today that 140 was too tall, so I made it 135 pixels. It looks fine in IE8 and IE7 and the others I test, but do let me know if anything else looks wrong.

Also, the only web browser on the computer in special collections is IE6 (until I installed FF). This is why IE6 just... won't... die.

IE7, Con Sarn It!

As I said, I changed the hours box. It looked fine in IE6, IE8, FF, Chrome, but yesterday I saw it on IE7, which is what the kiosk computers have. It didn't look right. Every browser works with that BUT IE7

It is now fixed.

At LUC 2009 I mentioned this browser problem, but said I would not get into it because we'd be there all day X-(

Also, Don reminded me to remove NW and FH from the directory.

New Hours file

I've re-done the Library's schedule file so that it now shows the hours for the departments. Do let me know if any of them are wrong:

http://www.ulm.edu/library/hours.pdf

I changed the hours text to say this too. While I was there, I changed the "Quickly Link to..." menu to now say "Database Quick Links...", so that now it's obvious what the menu is for.

News box update

I forgot to report that on Monday I changed the text in the news box because the special collections archaeology event had passed.

New Exhibit info

I've made a blog post and edited the news info to let everyone know about the special collections event on thurs. Too bad I will be in Baton Rouge.

The Nursing exhibit is gone, but I've left its page (in the past tense) on the site for posterity.

Distance access updates

•For the first time I can ever remmeber, a distance learning student asked for a LALINC card. After Susan went through the process, I added it to the distance learning page so that people can know about it:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/distance.html


•I have also placed additional information on the off-campus access page and the DBs by name page about ARSTOR, RIA Tax Services, and LearningExpress Library, which, like Netlibrary, require users to create accounts on campus. I will add that to the subject pages next.

•I've also changed the ARSTOR link on DBs by name page hoping that that will make off-campus access possible

Delta access

a)
I've heard that Delta off-campus access is working now, so the off-campus access page now says "Delta Students should enter a Delta Campus ID. " I also removed an erroneous phone number from this page.

Don also said that he will look into getting the wording changed on the off-campus log in pages that ask for SSNs (these ones).

b)
Last night I tried out the off-campus databases. They all worked or didn't work as expected, except for ARTSTOR, which shows a log in screen which times out before it connects. I'm not sure what can be done to correct it.

Google Analytics mentioned + delta

a)
I've added a statement disclosing our use of Google Analytics (it's there in the html code, so it's not a secret that we have it) to the privacy and confidentiality pages on the website. It says:

"The University Library and The University of Louisiana at Monroe are also using Google Analytics to collect statistical data on web traffic. Google Analytics collects this information anonymously. Visit the Google Analytics website to learn more."

ULM as a whole is also using Google Analytics, but as a library we need to be as clear as possible about these things.

b)
I've also added some information about the Delta off-campus access problems to the off-campus access page and the blog. I hope that this can soon be resolved.

c)
The site map has also been updated.

Gov Docs clean-up and more

a)
I do have access to the "ulm.edu/govdocs" domain. So do le tme know if anything needs to be done with it.

I've made a backup of the directory as it was before I did anything in case something needs to be undone.
I removed some dead links, and added the Google Analytics script so that statics may now be kept on that domain (or, I think it works that way, anyway. I'll imform Uni. Relations about the addition of the script.

b)
I had a look at the subject guides and the tutorials to see what was missing:
subject guides:
Only one:

Journalism
(electronic resources)


Tutorials:

Advanced Catalog Searching and Browsing Techniques
Software Resources in the University Library: EndNote X
Milking the Library: Or, How to Make the Most of the University Library


History
Doing History in the ULM University Library
Doing History in the ULM University Library Handout


Journalism
Selected Online Resources for Journalism


Also missing (Lowe):
ENGL 090
MUS 491 (for J. Boldin)
MUS 493 (for J. Boldin)


Moved to GovDocs domain:
Your Tax Dollars at Work: GOV-DOCS! Free Government Information & Resources Available Through the University Library
For some reason, this one file remained accessible, yet it's on the "kcook" account. Hmm.

c)
I also put the tutorials into two columns on the page so that people don't have to scroll down to see it all.

d)
I've added the Bell Tower Books picture to the Friends of the Library page, to make the page a bit more attractive:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/friends.html

e)
For Dinah, added "Access Pharmacy" to the DB lists for Psychology, Counseling, Marriage & Family Therapy

Labor Day dates added

I added the Labor Day hours in the grey box last night. This extended the size of the box vertically, but it looks all in FF, IE8, and IE6, so it should be all right for most browsers.

New Database changes...

EBSCOHost is now top center in the DB quick list and not the lower left-hand corner because I've just added AccessPharmacy to the list, and that shifted them. ARTSTOR is also supposed to work off-campus now, so I've removed its asterik and changed the URL to the EZProxy URL, which I hope works right.

I've added AccessPharmacy to the Health Sciences subject DB list, but if any of you can think of another place it should be, do let me know.

New Bell Tower Books "ad"

I've added another picture to the randomly-loading images on the home page to advertise the bookstore:



I tried to match the Times-spaced-closely-together font ULM seems to be using a lot.

Fall hours

Fall hours are online, with fall graphic

Welcome back!

• added a "Welcome back!" message to the home page in place of the message about database problems

• changed the subject librarians page to show new arrangement:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/subjectlibrarians.html

More updates + database problems

•removed all known instances of ARTSTOR being a 'trial' product
•On the staff pages, moved Lila to reference and removed 'acquisitions' where she was placed before
•Added a blog post about the database problems and mentioned it on the home page. It's been a while since we knew about this problem; it's been this way all day, and I think I overheard a faculty patron saying that she got up early to do research around 7am or so and couldn't. I don't know when/how it will be fixed.

I'll also change the subj. librarians page as so as I'm totally sure who's doing what. All I have to do is ask, I guess.

More updates

•By popular demand, a link to the upcoming Fall schedule has been posted alongside the current Summer one

•I've removed SB from the staff/dept. lists (I didn't realize that she...), and combined Media services with Gov. Docs. on the dept. page. I've also heard that these depts. and serials are going to merge into one location later.
http://www.ulm.edu/library/staffdept.html

Updates to site

•From the Faculty/Staff lists I've removed EL, WM, MM, DP, DG, KC, JH

•The Gov Docs blog isn't linked on the home page any more

•The 2009 Annual Report is now on the home page. I also moved all annual reports I know about into a directory called 'annualreports."

•Liaison librarian assignments have yet to be decided.

Hours + "govdocs"

a) I changed the hours on the home page to show the interim hours.

b) I've been given access to the "Gov Docs," directory, but I can't get in yet.

Also:
FAREWELL TO KAREN C. AND MIKE M.!!!!

Google Analytics and various other things

Here are various things I should mention:

1) Google Analytics

I just heard today from Don and Dinah that Google Analytics can now be used to analyze our web traffic (and for free). ULM has already been using it, and they've looked into the Terms of Service already; they know that GA anonymously shares browsing information. I'm also aware that libraries have special requirements in regards to sharing records; I am fairly certain that we are compliant with our own Statement of Confidentiality, and so is Don. So we're going ahead with this. I'll add the GA code (javascript) that University Relations gave to me. I have made a full backup of the directory just in case (which I periodically do anyway). I'll still add a message to the Confidentially page to disclose that we use GA, and a link to Google showing why it is O.K.

EDIT: The deed is done and the code has been added to most if not all of the HTML pages we have.

2) Google blog accounts:
Mike Magee has been removed from the list of ULM Library Blog (ULMLWPC + Reference) authors, and Dr.Cook will go next. They'll be missed.

As we will soon not have a Docs librarian, the Gov. Docs blog will be merged with the Reference Blog, meaning that anyone who knows about something interesting that is Docs or Govt. related can just post it on the main blog. It needs more posts anyway.

3) 404 Person Not Found

I haven't yet removed all instances of Mike's name and will soon set about removing Dr.Cook's contact info.

The Gov. Docs. page will also need to be ammended. I don't have access to the "http://www.ulm.edu/govdocs/" directory.

I've asked Don what to do about these.

4) Webfeat:

Its death is, as I've said before, not certain. But if we are to keep it, I'd really like to try and fix its color problems.
(Although I've said negative things about WF, I still do like using it for searching catalogs better than the Union Catalog and OCLC. It's very straightforward. But that's just me, and it's the only thing I like.)

5) Web tour
I've updated the non-audio version of the library online tour, but I've been hesitant on the audio version because I suspect some changes will happen that would require me to do it again. I'll have it done before the Fall semester begins.

6) New copier/printer (not really web-related)

The reference dept. (actually, it's for ILL, I think) got a new copier can be a printer, but there is only one network wall jack. I've found that it is possible in a few different ways to split the jack and network both, and the computer center probably could, but I don't think it's necesary. If it's ever needed, a USB printer cable works just fine. If the Dell printer finally dies for good, then it could be worth thinking about.

There is an extra mechanical compotent for this model that can be added to make the copier capable of duplex printing. However, if we used it for printing all the time, we'd only have a photocopier part of the time.
It is also supposed to work as a scanner, which I haven't tested yet.

7) Fall's coming. Shocking, yes? Since we already had a graphic from R. Glaze, we'll be using that as we did last time.

8) Today I also changed the home page's catalog links to help with an upgrade. But they were done less than 5 min. later :-P
I also put the upcoming special collections exhibits in the news box.

New Exhibits posted

CR told me about and gave me copy for 2 new exhibits. I placed the announcements on the web site:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/exhibits.html

And I posted it on the blog:
http://ulmlibraryreference.blogspot.com/2009/08/upcoming-exhibits.html

Hours changed again

The hours have been changed to show the interim hours. On Thursday, I also changed them to let everyone know we'd be closed this weekend.

EDIT July 8:
And now it's back to summer again.

New tutorials

I've updated the tutorials in the FAQs section that show how to find databases and how to use the new catalog:

http://www.ulm.edu/library/faqfiles/catalog.swf

http://www.ulm.edu/library/faqfiles/articles.swf

I've also updated the Library Tutorial's (remember that?) "Subtitles only" and "Slideshow" versions to show the new catalog. The audio version will also have to be changed because what I need to say is different, and that will take longer.

I plan to update and produce more of these, too.

Google Chrome problem

Karen C. noticed that Google Chrome was rendering the home page incorrectly. For some reason, my older version of Chrome didn't show the same error, but when I updated it, then it was wrong. Strange. Anyway, fixing it was fairly easy after I changed library.css to show overflow in the menu containers. I checked other browsers again and they appear unchanged.

Also: Webfeat:
Apparently it is still working. I'm not sure when it will go away, but it's gone when it does. If it's still there before the fall semester, I'll remove it regardless. Its replacement will probably be... well, we haven't decided yet.

ARTSTOR Almost

The trial we have for ARTSTOR has been added to the database list, the pop-menu, and the Art subject list because we are apparently going to be getting it. (I hope)

ARTSTOR (trial)

Goodness, "My Lonesome Cowboy" is in here. Now that's modern art.

Summer Hours up

The summer hours are up, and the summer graphic (Maren's flower) went up on Friday.

Free ACRL Conference in Baton Rouge

I don't suppose it would hurt to promote...

Further OPAC changes

The catalog was successfully changed over on Monday. However, I did notice a need to make it easier to "restart" a search and to see the home page again. The logo now returns users to the basic search (previously it did nothing), what used to say "Search ULM" now says "Search/Home" (because it does actually "search ULM"), and there a link to the home page at the right.

Also, a new summer graphic will hopefully be selected and added by or before Monday.

New OPAC coming May 25th

I'm happy to report that the new OPAC will go online May 25th. New links have already been added to our current production version.

I've added this to the reference blog and the news box.

Hours name change

To make life more simple, I've re-named the hours file to 'hour.pdf' so that it can be linked to and will always be the correct hours file, and will be updated the same way each season. This came up as part of the new catalog, and the link would have to be changed seasonally otherwise.

I am leaving the old one, "summer09hours.pdf" online because some people may already be linking to it somewhere.

(this is one of those things I thought about a long time ago, and then forgot)

Downtime news

I forgot to mention that I added the LOUIS downtime problem to the news box yesterday.

Scifinder link + graphics

a) SciFinder's link has been updated thanks to Mike. I added it to the quick links on the database page menu as well.

b) I'm trying to find a good graphic for the summer semester. I'll have some candidates ready soon, hopefully.

c) some old files were deleted today:

entire "libraryimage" folder and its contents. Some were moved to "images."
entire "Image" folder and its contents
celebration.html
comments.html
constitution-day.html
credo.html
international.html
poverty.html
reserves1.html
survey.html
trials.html
library3a.css
(in spec. coll.):
archive.html
civilwar.html
helpfullinks.html
presidentalletters1.html
monroehistory.html
ulmhistory.html
library3a.css
archiveshome.htm
indexpage.htm
nowletterspersidental.htm
noepage.htm
indexpage_files folder + contents
archiveshome_files + contents


And these pages were changed to point to new image URLs:
computerlab.html
history.html
index.html

More Hours changes

I've changed the hours to the Summer semester, but I've still included May 7 because May 7th isn't over yet.
Here is the new Summer 09 Schedule; I decided to add months at the bottom.
http://www.ulm.edu/library/summer09hours.pdf

Naturally, we should want to have a summer graphic, but we only got fall and spring from Rob. I've asked him if he has anything he'd like for us to use, but if there isn't, I'll probably come up with something.

Hours changed again

I changed the hours again to fix an error and add all the hours for next week. I'll remove the current weekday hours on Friday.

Finals Hours + OPAC

The new hours for this week have been added to the home page in the news and hours boxes. I decided to put them directly on it this time. I removed the database trial that from the news box not only to make room, but because it doesn't work any more.

Also, the final version of the new OPAC interface is almost ready:
http://ulm.training.louislibraries.org/uhtbin/cgisirsi/DY5IXwevDE/ULM/168380005/60/69/X
It will look a bit different after the words "Training system" are removed (The text at the top may be made smaller and vertically centered a bit to compensate) but other than that, this is what it's going to be like. I'm quite pleased with the work Mary L.S. has done.

New Nursing Exhibit Page + more

I made a page for the new Evolution of Nursing display in special collections, added it to the site map, and added it to the news box along with the new Green Committee. The photos were taken by Mike, by the way, and thanks to him for that.

New Hours List

Dinah told me about some changes in the hours and gave me a file showing them. I made that into a new schedule file:

http://www.ulm.edu/library/spring09new.pdf

I put the daily hours at the top instead of the bottom because they apply most of the time. I also re-named its link on the home page "Full Spring Schedule (.pdf)"

New OPAC coming + more

•I've added some notices about what doesn't work off-campus to the databases by name page and subject pages, and moved the list to appear sooner on the off-campus access page. I used "*" to do this most often. Let me know if I missed anything:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/dbname.html
http://www.ulm.edu/library/subject/index.html (sub-pages)
http://www.ulm.edu/library/offcampus.html

• The new OPAC is coming along pretty well. I'm quite pleased that most of my design elements have made it into our current "training" version:

http://ulm.training.louislibraries.org/uhtbin/cgisirsi/OpHunLnJ4V/ULM/175150005/60/69/X

The logo is now a .GIF image after all, but I did find a way of making it look nice by added a maroon border that lets it blend in without the choppy edges.

However, the text displays dramatically differently in FF than in IE, and the text at the top wraps far too early. If you're not using IE, here's what that looks like:
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/ie6vff.jpg
This problem persists in not only our version, but in those of other libraries as well. So, finding a way to fix it would entirely be worth the time. I came up with a possible solution and emailed that to LOUIS:

Okay, I think I have something, now...

I can see that you've already made some good changes to the live training tempate that makes it work well in Firefox by not wrapping at all-- I did the same thing. I apologize if I mention other things you've already done. But the new one still looks all wrong in IE6, and likely IE7. I've made a new one that fixes that.

Here is my live test version:
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/elib-fin-final-2/search.html
I've only been able to test it in IE6 and Firefox, however, because I am now at home and not a work, where I have 7 browsers. Yet IE6 is the hardest to please, so that really means something.

Rather than apply these changes to the current files you have, I'll give it to you in pieces so that you may use it for other templates and so it will not interfere with the working parts of your current version. Just in case email formatting fouls up the code, here is a plain text version of this email:
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/banner-fix.txt

1)In the HTML of the page being displayed (which may mean the env files you were talking about):

1a) eliminate all heading tags such as

and

in the header and footer. (important)

{blogger won't display the HTML as tags, of course, so you can't see them here. I'm talking about "h2" and "h3" tags being used when they haven't been defined in the CSS, which forces the browser to sort of "guess" incorrectly --KN}

1b) "branding_container" repeats itself (it is place within another instance of itself). By removing one of those containers, it is better-behaved. I don't know what that has to do with the env file you were talking about, but fixing the containers is the key to getting the wrap to work right (!). So then the HTML for that part would be, starting from the beginning of "header_container" [ I anticipate that the words "Training System" won't be in the final product, but I've left them anyway]:

e-Library @
The University of Louisiana at Monroe

Training System

{blogger won't display the HTML as tags, of course --KN}



[Note that I didn't include the closing "

" that belongs to "

", that comes later.
...so " "branding_container" should only occur once within "header_container", and it has no other "div"s inside it, and it comes after "branding_image." I'm not yet sure how to make the env file work in this way, if it's the problem]

2) In elibrary.css:

2a) Now that those heading tags are gone, we can use the CSS to define the text appearance and the container's behavior. I have made it so that the container the text is in is sized properly and won't wrap until it has to. In Firefox, the text doesn't wrap at all and just stays stationary. I also increased the top margin for the text so that it's not so close to the top.

That's a lot of stuff, so to keep it simple, here is the CSS for the entire "Header" section of "elibrary.css," with your new image URLs already added, so it may be pasted in:

/*--- Header -----------------------------------------------------------------*/
.header_container {
color:#ffffff;
background-color:#5F0000;
border-bottom:2px solid #5F0000;
background-image:url(/WebCat_Images/Dstyle/header_container.jpg);
background-position:top left;
background-repeat:repeat-x;
overflow: hidden
}

.header_container a {
color:#ffffff;
}

.branding_container {
margin-top: 0px;
margin-top: 20px;
background-image:url();
background-position:top left;
background-repeat:no-repeat;
font-size: 1.7em;
color:#ffffff;
font-weight: bold;
vertical-align: middle;
overflow: hidden
}

.branding {
float:left;
display:inline;
display:none;
}

.branding_subheading {
margin-top:24px;
margin-left:20px;
font-style:italic;
display:none;
}

.login_button {
background-color:#45bddb;
border:1px solid #066b7d;
background-image:url(/WebCat_Images/Dstyle/login_button.jpg)
background-position:bottom left;
background-repeat:repeat-x;
color:#ffffff;
}


.module_language_choices {
float:right;
width:20%;
color:#ffffff;
}

.vreference {
float:right;
width:20%;
color:#ffffff;
}

.login_container a {
float:right;
text-align:right;
margin-top:8px;
}

2b)
There is also a small color error on our page; In "elibrary.css", the color #870101 should be changed to #5F0000. But I've already done that in the CSS code shown above.

3) In "sirsidynix.css" [This is the only change I've ever suggested for this file] the margin of "branding_image" should be reduced from 10 TO 4, because the logo is already big enough (line 266):

.branding_image {
display:inline;
float:left;
margin:4px;
}

4)
And that should do it, I think. My CSS/HTML validator is complaining of some things, and I'll fix those if I can but it seems to display right.

[ I spent a lot of time at home on Friday doing all of this, so again, if my venomous hatred of IE ever seems personal, that's because it is personal! :-P ]

• BTW, our catalog and EZproxy aren't getting along today. It is a mystery for now.

•I also today added a notice about the "American History in Video" database trial Mike posted about in the reference blog.

Off-campus access

Earlier this week I tested all the DBs, and here is my informal report:
http://bambam.info/webexp/offcamp/

These are the ones that don't work:
ACM
Annual Reviews
BioOne
College Catalogs
IEEE Digital Library
ISI Web of Knowledge
Communication & Mass Media Complete
Medline with Full Text

I've added this list to the Off-Campus Access page, and will later add notices or asterisks to other pages that mention them.

News box entries

I removed the bit in the news box about the LOUIS upgrade as it is over now (I think). Since the news box is so empty all the time, I added a reminder that IE8 is out. Not everyone may be aware of it, and having the latest software makes for better browsing. IE8 is better than IE7, but it still does a lot of things that annoy me and I really don't like it. Yet, people like my brother still insist on using IE despite all evidence that it's no good. So we might as well remind people to update it.

It won't be there for long, I think.

New IE8 + Upgrade to system

I suppose I should mention that the latest version of Internet Explorer is now 8, a Beta no longer:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

Also, I added something about the upcoming LOUIS system upgrade to the home page.

Fixing errors

Mike and others have pointed out to me some errors on the FAQs, computer lab, and copying pages, and they have been repaired. I also removed the opening sentence of the printer-copier page ("Need to make copies of your friend's biology notes from the class you missed yesterday? Need to print a copy of your paper for English, or print the study guide for chemistry? The Library can help!") as the page is large enough on its own now.

The computer lab page was still saying that it was on the 3rd floor in the main paragraph, but the bold heading was correct so my eyes (and everyone else's) must've skated right over it. :-/

EDIT:
I also removed the database trial from the home page, as it is over, and the old reference page on the /reference domain is gone for good.

Confidentiality page + OPAC design

•Don told me about some broken links on the Confidentiality page, so I've changed them to working links on the ALA site, and I've also changed the Louisiana Statute link to go to the state's web site:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/confident.html

•gave CH the files and information needed to explain the upcoming OPAC design (deadline unknown, but it's evidently soon). We'll see how it turns out. The only real difference since I last talked about it is that I've made the logo smaller (yet slightly bigger than it appears on the home page), and saved it as a PNG.



Those jagged aliased edges on the GIF were bothering me. IE6 can't show transparent PNGs and will display the logo in a grey box, but that's all right. My goodness, it's 2009, after all-- PNGs are much better, so I choose to not appease IE6 in favor of not having an ugly logo.

New Trial

Mike told me about a database trial for American History in Video, which I've added to the home page.

New OPAC design!

I heard from Chuck today that another page design is needed for the new OPAC that's coming (looks like "Enterprise" to me, but I don't think that's what it is... not that it matters). It is also needed very soon, he says. The current version still looks like regular "Enterprise" and needs to be customized for ULM:
http://ulm.training.louislibraries.org/uhtbin/webcat (this "works")

So, this is what I've done (this won't "work" because it's on my no-script-having webspace: this is all about looks);
Search page: http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/elib-test2/X2.html
Result page: http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/elib-test-result/y.html

(I've also made another with another gradient background for the "go back / logout" bar:
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/elib-test/X2.html
Frankly I don't like it as much, but if you-all do, we can use it)

I won't move on to tweaking the results page template (which has a bunch of blue-colored text and images I'll need to change also; do a search in the working OPAC and you'll see what I mean) if the main design is all right with you-all.

Here's a detailed explaination of what I've done (good gravy this is long; try downloading this text file):

0) All test pages and their CSS have been modified for design testing, including changing image URLs. They are not meant to be final products as-is. To see what has been changed if this guide does not suffice, here is the URL to the CSS:

http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/elib-test2/elibrary.css


1)
In the file "elibrary.css" :

a)
The bottom border of the containter called ".header_container" should be changed FROM #2D4C85 TO #870101

The background color of ".header_container" should be changed FROM #ffffff TO #870101

b)
In ".buttons_container" the background color should be changed FROM #a7ef8e TO #a39058 and this line should be added to create a new background image ("buttons_container-ulm.jpg"):

background-image:url(buttons_container-ulm.jpg);

(If the background image is unacceptable, just using the container background color works also)


c)
The link color (around line 17) should be #660000

d)
All instances of the color "#3662E0" should be changed TO "660000"
All instances of the color "#2860d0" should be changed TO "#cfad46"
All instances of the color "#0465A3" should be changed TO "#a39058"

e)
In "input.button," the text color should be changed FROM #ffffff TO #000000 to be read clearly with the new color version of the search buttom ("buttom-ulm.jpg"). Its border should also be changed FROM 0465a3 TO #8C8C8C

f)

Simiarly, #ffffff should be changed TO #000000 in all other buttons using the new button color. These are:

.itemdetails_button
.keep_button
.hold_button, .buynow_button, .reqorder_button
.tab


g)This line should be added to the top of the CSS file. It will make the background color the same as our home page:

body { background-color: #ececdb; }

h)
In "input:focus" (line 42), the border color should be changed FROM #8ef084 TO #FEA3A3 and the background color should be changed FROM #eaffe8 TO #FFE8E8

i) In ".branding_container" (about line 117) add this line to make a little bit more room in the container:

margin-top: 0px;


2)
In the html of the PHP form page (or whatever you're using) that is displayed:

a) for the text "training system," or anything else that is supposed to be light gold, the color "#cfad46" must be used, or the code won't work at all (also, this is official ULM gold)

b) Added "The" to our institution's name and a carriage return so that the name fits on one line. The markup is:

e-Library at
The University of Louisiana at Monroe

(Blogger will likely not display markup. Try downloading this text file)

Also changed e-Library's "at" to "@". This can be changed back to "at" if it is not appropriate.


3) Some images have been changed and given new names to indicate that they are different:

header_container.jpg --> header_container-ulm.jpg

searchsum.jpg --> searchsum-ulm.jpg

ulm.gif --> ulm.gif (Branding image. New file, same name for this one)

button.jpg --> button-ulm.jpg

buttons_container-ulm.jpg --> (a new creation)

The URLs in the files in which they appear will need to point to them wherever they are, obviously.


4)
sirsidynix.css was not changed

5 [Trivial])
I noticed an empty image URL in ".branding_container" (in elibrary.css) for a brand image, which is instead currently in the html reading the CSS instead. It is possible to add the ULM logo ("ulm.gif") as a non-repeating background image in one of the header containers. However, I am in no position to change something like that. It may display differently in different browsers. Such a change is likely not necessary.

Thanks,
Karen Niemla

Pictures are live

I've put the multiple picture version of the home page online. Do let me know if it's not working right.

Home page images

•I've been talking about it for a while, that random image thing. On page reload, the image changes. It works in all browsers I tested. As we are not able to get a better photographer, I took some pictures of the library and tried them out here:

http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/newimg-test/

Here are all of the images at once:
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/newimg-test/imgs.html

There are 10, and I would like to have that or less. Are there any I shouldn't use? Is there anything I should take a picture of? Does anyone have a better camera? Or some talent?

Or... perhaps there's another way to get pro quality at discount price...?

• I also today added some information to the site about GAs, as KC suggested...

http://www.ulm.edu/library/FAQ.html#ga

http://www.ulm.edu/library/forfaculty.html

Add info re grad student checkouts to faculty page?

I've a faculty member come to the desk to ask what procedure she can follow to enable her graduate assistant to check out materials for her (the professor).

I didn't know, and couldn't quickly find the answer on the library services for faculty page. Could this information be added?

Heather advises me that the requirements are simple: the professor just needs to send the student to circulation with the professor's ID, and a letter with his/her signature which identifies the student who is authorized to check out materials for the professor. The letter will be kept on file at circulation. (Obviously, this procedure will need to be repeated if/when the professor changes graduate assistants.)

Home page implemented

Goldie-Underline is now on the home page. While doing this, I also did some other things.

•Fixed the top grey search banner/bar so that it is the same size in most browsers. IE and Chrome used to show it far too big. There also used to be this weird thing where if you clicked either of the image links, little scroll bars would appear in the container. That doesn't happen anymore either. This is a surprise to me, because it's been a problem ever since we got the templates and I never really thought it could be fixed.

•added 15 pixels of padding to the left of the search box, so that it's not right up against the edge as before

•there is 5 pixel less space between the top banner and the grey search bar. It's hard to notice, though.

•removed the DB trial from last week, as I believe it's ended by now

The grey bar still has problems on the sub pages. I'll change those now that I know how to do it.

Reserves + Scanners

• added some information about reserves to the FAQ and faculty page.
Thanks to H.P. for the forms and for processing them also.

• The FAQ now has an entry about scanning and says that we don't have a scanner. Does anyone know where ULM does have a scanner?

• It appears that Goldie-Underline is the most-like category highlighter so far. I'll probably upload it on Monday.
Before I implement it, though, I think I'll try to fix the gray bar, which is much thicker in IE and Chrome for some reason.

Completed and upcoming changes...

•Added a "troubleshooting" section to the Off-campus access

•added a question to the FAQ about connection problems

•I'll add more to the site about reserves as soon as I'm sure which form should be used. The library site has 2 of them. (honestly I should've done this earlier)

•As we have no money for a pro photographer, I am with Don's permission going to take pictures of the library interior for random-loading picture on the site (you know, the thing I've been talking about for a year). I will try to make them look "nice."

•Even noticed how the top grey bar is fatter in IE and Chrome? I'd like to fix that. However, that's how it was when we got it from R.G., and if he couldn't fix it, maybe I can't either.

•To the tier2.css file, I have added this line:
#navlist li { list-style-type: square; }
This makes it possible to have square bullets in a bulleted list. I think square bullets are a better match to our site's geometic appearance, but it's not urgent (to say I cared deeply about bullets would almost literally be nitpicking).

•the "special needs" (handicapped) part of the FAQ has been expanded. This link can be added to other pages that need to mention Special Needs info.
http://www.ulm.edu/library/FAQ.html#How_do_I_use_the_library_if_I_have_a
I've now added it to "for students," "for faculty" and "Library Services to the Local Community"

highlight candidates

Based on responses on the blog (thanks for that by the way), I have choose 3 candidates...

A
Goldie

B
Goldie Underline

C
Goldie Underline II
(A mix of A and B; the line appears behind the bottom of the text rather than below it)

These are not set in stone. More like plaster. Some things about them can be changed, such as the color and thickness of the gradient line. For instance, this is what Goldie Underline II would be like if the line were 1 pixel thinner (I wouldn't make a "D" for a 1-pixel difference).


Trivia:
I also made a "strikethru" version; it's no good, so it's not a candidate.

New Trial

Mike informed me of a new Alexander Street Press trial, and I put it on the site.

The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960 to 1974
http://hosted.vresp.com/265372/f605612c53/1227001743/3233c0cee1/

Home page visibility fixes

Remember when I said I would make the group headings more visible? I've been thinking about that, and I have six demos for you all to choose from. If none of them are acceptable, then I'll start over. Please do let me know which you all like the best.

Shady
Goldie
Liney (the most simple)

Shady-underline
Goldie-underline
Liney-double (probably the worst)

Of these, my favorites are "Goldie-underline" and "Shady."

• Also, if anyone's wondering why the other old reference page is around, I have it there because I will make an example of it at my LLA presentation as something that "seemed like a good idea at the time," since I remember why I liked it and how I came to not like it anymore. After LLA, it will be gone forever.

Various things

•I asked the computing center to add the "site map link" in the footer of our Ask-A-Librarian form. The response was pleasingly prompt, I must say.

•Speaking of that, a bunch of links in the site map that were wrong and fixed them

•There was a finding aid for the Noe Collection that I was unaware of. It has been added:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/noe.html

(EDIT)
•These files were removed today:
Hoilday.html (Feb 19, actually)
instruction1.html
announcement001.html
announcement002.html
announcement003.html
announcementTEMPLETE.html
departments1.html
departments1a.html
RS44.html
originalindex.html
Reference33.html
"subject_img" folder and contents
forstudents1.htm
federal.html
reserves.html
reserve.html
Trial001.html
Trial002.html
(op1847.jpg moved to main "archives" folder)
"civilwar_files" folder in "archives"

Special Collections/Archives Uploaded

http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/
There may be more changes to make on it, but considering how it has more information that the old one did, I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead.

I also removed the "Records Management" link from the home page, as it resides on the Special Collections page now.

New ILL + etc

•I've updated the ILL page with new graphics and the Site Map link:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/ill.html

•I've removed the news items about the Mardi Gras hours and the heating system. The CWID message is actually just there to fill space.

Special Collections pages...

• For the Archives pages, I'm fairly happy with these. I will ask CR if they accomplish what she wants them to:
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/archives/
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/archives/exhibit.html
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/archives/noe.html
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/archives/passman.html
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/archives/presidentalletters.html

The "Records Management Forms" link on the home page is going away as soon as the new Special Collections pages go up (whatever they may be)

• Also, this is the latest demo version of the Gov Docs blog. I'm not entirely happy with it, but it's close:
http://test20xx2delete.blogspot.com/

Special Collections

I'm almost done re-making special collections. The changes are "dramatic" because I'm integrating and eliminating pages, so I'm keeping them on my directory for now:

http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/archives/
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/archives/exhibit.html

I may find a way to re-integrate pictures if I can get them to look all right.

While I was doing all this, I found some old defunct pages from Dr.Jordan's time:

http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/indexpage.htm
http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/archiveshome.htm
http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/noepage.htm
http://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/nowletterspersidental.htm

As ever, have a look at them now before I remove them, if you want to.

New tags, new deletions

• Upon KC's request, I've made 2 more headings for use on library web pages. They look like this:
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/h/lib.html

So that means:
h1- huge
h2 - big
h3 - normal
h4 - tiny

•Deleted today:
"holiday_files" folder
All older index page versions except "index1.html," which is for testing
state.html
staffnew.html
tutorials1.html
test.html
test.pdf
tier2NEWTEMPLATE.html
tours.pdf
tours.html
mappage1.html
library7.jpg
librarymap1a.html
librarymap1.html
karenposter1.psd
loggin2.GIF

(The more I do this, the more complicated it gets. I may have to ask some questions.)

Highlighting the home page groups

At out last meeting we decided to find some way to make category headings stand out more. There are some ways in which this could be done.

Some of you may remember that I often looked to the Uni. of North Florida's library site as the picture of what a great library site is like, and then they changed it. It didn't always have so much color, and it used to be plainer like our page. I would'nt do what they've done (I've fallen out of love with gradients; now I simply like them), but I don't think using images would be a bad idea.

New Distance Learning page

•I wrote a Distance Learning page which is different from the Off-Campus access page. Let me know if it's wrong:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/distance.html

•I also removed the EBSCOhost thing from Friday (about the maintenance).

Some things...

• Made update maps to show the new Career Connections & Experiential Education office (I didn't even know it was called that until I ran into Alberta Green yesterday!)

• Made a backup .zip archive of the old /library domain (from before I laid hands on it) for Cyndy.

Let me know if anyone else wants the link. I won't publish it here, so I'll email the link.

(truth be told I was mostly working on acrlla.org today)

Feb 13 Update

New Today:
•Finished fixing up the FAQ page. Maybe I missed something?
•Fixed computer lab page tags and added site map link. Removed 3rd floor photo
•Changed these sub-pages to the new template:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/faqfiles/popvscho.html
http://www.ulm.edu/library/faqfiles/webevaluate.htm

Moved today:
•I took all the "University Library Committee" Minutes and put them in thier own folder, "ULC minutes"

Deleted today:
FAQs Version 2.html
indexNEWTEMPLATE.html
asklibrary.html
librarymap.mhtml
dh.jpg
dh1.jpg (logo)
indexoldpage
page2.html
history1.html
"faqex" folder
"faqex1" folder
confident2.html
fallsched.JPG
fall2008.pdf
fall2007.pdf
webpage2.html
webpage.html
templatecss.html
indexsummer.html
hours.html
hours1.html
indexwithsurvey.htm;
vista.html
Electronic Sources 2.html
Electronic Sources.html
Electronic Resources.rtf
dwilliams.html
drivedirections.html
"departments1a_files" folder
google34ad872e25bfc42d.html
government1.html
generalinfo.html
"eresources" folder
0514index.html
collection.html
computerlab1.html
contact1.html
staff1.pdf
staff3.pdf
service1.html
service2.html
Spring08.pdf
"refimg" folder
(some old images from "faqfiles" folder)

(It's going to take a while to sift through all this stuff :-/ )


More "TO DO":
fix the flash files in the FAQs to show new home page

Some things are missing...

•Department Hours aren't kept on the home page any more. I suppose I should find a place for those to go?

• dept. list has no degrees on it. Should I make a third version of the list with degrees on it?

•Oh yeah, reserves. What about those?
http://www.ulm.edu/library/reserves1.html

Blast from the past

I found some old versions of the library home page. Enjoy a little "blast from the past" before I remove them?

http://www.ulm.edu/library/index1aa.html

http://www.ulm.edu/library/indexpermanent.html

http://www.ulm.edu/library/indexwebfeat.html

http://www.ulm.edu/library/templatestandard.html

I'll keep them until sometime next week.

Lots of changes today

Today I...

• Made the site map. It looks a little confusig, but most Site Maps I've met look like this. Site Maps are something that some people seem to like, but I personally never use. I tried to include everything we have. This list has also the purpose of keeping us organized.

• Thanks to Notepad++, changing all the pages to include the new "Site Map" link took about 20 seconds, all at the same time. However, since they all needed to be uploaded again, I inspected the code of each file for quality before uploading (using better tags, as discussed at the last meeting). Quite a few of them are re-done.

• I've re-named some pages. This means that any links to those pages that I might've missed won't work. I used Notepad++ to find and change all instances of these file names. However, that couldn't have worked in any files I didn't check. Please inform me if something is going wrong.

contact1.html ==> contact.html
tours.html ==> instruction.html
mappage1.html ==> mappage.html
service1.html ==> forstudents.html
staffnew.html ==> staffdept.html
FAQ3.html ==> FAQ.html
tutorials1.html ==> tutorials.html
history1.html ==> history.html


• On the Off-Campus Access page, I've added "(Remote Access)," because some people call it that.

• There will be times when underlined links won't look right on subpages. I've made an alternate set of link formatting for such times:
.altlink a:link { color: #600; text-decoration: none; }
.altlink a:visited { color: #a39058; text-decoration: none; }
.altlink a:hover { color: #660000; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;}
.altlink a:active { color: red }
It sits in the same CSS file. CSS allows as many link colors as you want.

• I've added a bit to the FAQ about the conference center. The formatting fixes aren't done yet because there is so much to do (it's basically the same document I made in 2007, so the markup is messed up) but I've been working on it.

• Not changed but will be: ILL, computerlab, Distance Learning, Special Collections, Ask a Librarian form (not mine, though). New map also coming.

• "/govdocs/" will need the site map link, which I'll soon provide

• I deleted these files also:
fac.png
handi.png
instico.png
acc.png
bannerq.jpg
refbg.png

Home page notices II

I've heard that the trials are over, so they've been removed.

Home page notices

I've added a warning about the upcoming EBSCO maintenance to the blog and home page. I also removed
Since the CWID notice was at the bottom, I dropped it off. As I mentioned during the meeting, the news text box should be allow to expand endlessly, and that I'd probably allow a maximum of 4 items. The fact that IE7 (and just IE7) still can't handle these things easily is another reason.

While I did that, I also removed this text from the home page html...

{ label = "Quickly Link To... "; selected = "YES"; }; 1 = { label = "ACM - Association for Computing Machinery"; url = "http://portal.acm.org/portal.cfm"; }; 2 = { label = "Annaul Reviews - a nonprofit scientific publisher"; url = "http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/action/showJournals"; }; 3 = { label = "Bayou State Periodical Index"; url = "http://www.libris.ca/bayou/"; }; 4 = { label = "BioOne - full text bioscience database"; url = "http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=index-html"; }; 5 = { label = "College Catalogs"; url = "http://www.collegesource.org/"; }; 6 = { label = "item to be linked"; url = "#"; }; 7 = { label = "item to be linked"; url = "#"; }; 8 = { label = "item to be linked..........................."; url = "#"; }; }" target="_top"

I don't know what it is, but the menu still functions without it (my text editor highlights markup this is functional, and it didn't appear to be doing anything).

photocopiers/printing page

Someone reminded me to change the photocopiers/printing page to reflect the room changes in the building. I also removed the part about using ID cards to pay, because apparently that isn't available anymore either.
http://www.ulm.edu/library/printing.html

I'll soon change the FAQs pages to say the same, and other things.

More Home Page Changes

•Webfeat's "Meta-Search Articles And More" is now "Search Multiple Resources," as there had been some concern that "meta" is too confusing
•Ebrary and Netlibrary site beside each other due thier similarity (Netlibrary goes first because it was here first)
•Bullets are square now
•blog link removed from "about the library" list
•As KC suggested, ""For more, see our Reference & Government Documents Blogs" is now being used as the blog sentence. I also bolded it and added some color.

(How am I doing this when the library is closed? There's this place called Masur hall... Anyway, I just had to finish those things today because I won't be here on Monday. Have a nice weekend.)

Home page changes

I thought I'd add the blog links to the news box. But I ran into a problem: There was barely enough room in Firefox, and it wouldn't fit at all in IE6 and IE7. I looked at the then current home page in those browsers and found that it barely had any room even then:

So I had to do something anyway.

•To fix the problem, I put the news in a bulleted list, which is as it is now:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/

•The phrase "For more see our library Blog and our Government Documents Blog" works for me because it mentions that they are "our" blogs and not someone else's.
•I also thought about removing the words "full story" and just making the headlines links, but although most people would understand that, some users might not. Maybe later.
•I also put up the latest maps pages... but they don't have the new Career Services room added because I only heard about that recently. I'll get on that soon.

If these changes aren't satisfactory, I can change them back.

New Gov Docs blog layout?

It's the Gov Docs blog's turn to change now...

http://test20xx2delete.blogspot.com/

The blog's title is too long for me to use the ULM library banner, so I made a look-alike gradient instead. Whether or not the template will actually work on Karen's blog has yet to be seen.

You may be wondering "Will this blog change?"Well... I can't do that, really. Because this blog is parked on my ULM server space, and not blogger.com, it won't allow me to change the template.

Latest Changes

•"Subject Librarians" now points to CSS file correctly
•"Staff And Departments" pages show correct room for KC
•Links are now underlined and turn ULM gold colors when visited or moused over

•New Reference Blog Layout
Long overdue, I reckon:
http://ulmlibraryreference.blogspot.com/

I know the the banner at the top is redundant, but Blogger won't let me get rid of it, even when I deleted it from the template myself. I got as close as I could by using colors and fonts from the library site, but Blogger's layouts can be restrictive.

Minutes for Feb 5, 2009

The ULMLWPC had a meeting on Feb.5th, 2009 which began at about 11:35 and ended at about 12:25pm. In attendance were:

CH
MMag
MW
KC
LJ
KN


These were the matters discussed and decisions made...

•the group headings on the home page should be made a bit bolder or easier to see in some fashion; indenting the links lists a little could help

•Future formatting should rely on CSS defined tags instead of using html all the time. This promotes uniformity.

•Is it possible to get blog usage stats? KN should look into it.

•change blogs colors to those on the new lib template [done-- KN]

•Hyperlink colors on subpages will be changes for better visibility

•News in the news box should link to a blog post (directly) (unless it really won't fit.) If it's not placed on the blog, an individual news page residing on the library domain should be made. Pages as they are forgotten Will get "lost" over time, while blog posts are saved, organized by date and tags, and are searchable.
So, the time not to use the blog would be when a) Your message, doesn't look right in the blog or b) the matter is temporaneous, and you would prefer that time to forgot it later on.

•KN should add info. about the dual building situation in the FAQ (conference center vs. library)

•Distance and off-campus should be separate pages. The Distance Ed. page should talk more about distance edu. problems and link to off-campus access.

•Records Management Forms, ...ask Cyndy? [This link will be moved to the Special Coll. pages after they are prepared --KN]

•Ebrary and NetLibrary shall be place side-by-side

•Pages will no longer be dated-stamped at the bottom, so that they will always look young.

•There will be a Site Map with a link placed at the footer of each page

•KN is to ask The Dean about asking Richard Lupo to let us use some interior shots

•move blogs links to thw news box. Will remove the single link in the top area.

•A blogs page may be created if many more ULM library blogs are later made

LOUIS' Electronic Resources Statistics

A couple weeks ago, Don told me about LOUIS' Electronic Resources Statistics.

I find these to be rather interesting. For example, we had access to CQ Researcher in 2007, but it was only accessed 4 times. O_o Whoa. But it was up to 75 in 2008. Now that it actually is in our database list, perhaps there will be more.

Site Map

Did I forget? No, I didn't actually. It will be done when it other issues with the site are take care of.

It is accomplished

Our new site is up:

http://www.ulm.edu/library/

There are plenty of issues to deal with, of course.

Testing in IE6 with IE7 already installed

My brother in law works for a major textiles company, and his company laptop still has IE6, even though it's XP, even though IE6 is quite dangerous, and even though their IT department maintains some control over its computers. This is why IE6's usage is still much higher that it deserves.

Now that I've found this, though, I don't have to wait until I go home to test on IE6:

http://dhtmldev.com/content/view/128/30/

Just unzip, and there you have a stand-alone IE6. How nostalgic.

More New Pages

Here a few more new pages that have been completed:

http://ulm.edu/~niemla/done-kn/subjectlibrarians.html

http://ulm.edu/~niemla/done-kn/reference.html

http://ulm.edu/~niemla/done-kn/friends.html (just light editing)

I've also made some small fixes on the database pages. Nothing major, really.