The ULM Library Web Page Committee

Staff changes + Wilson Web

2012-01-30T16:39:00.000-08:00

Today...

ML informed me of what changes need to be made to the site concerning staff/faculty. For the time being, CR is double-listed, and I'll make more changes as things develop.
In the meantime, subjects without a librarian, or other places where DW used to be, will be replaced with "TBA" and the reference email address, so that there will be someone to help with those
Since Wilson Web is going away at the start of Feb., I've removed its links from the site. Again, here are the details from EBSCO on that if you didn't get it:

Dear H.W. Wilson Database Subscribers,
As has been communicated several times recently, WilsonWeb will not be available as of February 1, 2012. This means that WilsonWeb folders will no longer be available at that time, so if you arestill using WilsonWeb and have not planned for the conversion, this is a final reminder to please do so as soon as possible.
Important: Please be sure to download your WilsonWeb statistics before the cutover on February 1, 2012, to avoid losing access to this information.
A reminder from the December 16, 2011 and November 3, 2011 announcements: There are some databases that will no longer be made available, and as such, customers will receive automatic upgrades to the more comprehensive versions, as they become available. For example, customers subscribing to Book Review Digestwill automatically receive Book Review Digest Plus, and customers of Education Index will be upgraded to Education Abstracts. There are several other examples which can be found in the “EBSCOhost Transition Plan” document located at www.ebscohost.com/wilson.
If you have questions or would like assistance with setting up the authentication URLs to your H.W. Wilsondatabases on EBSCOhost, please contact us via the EBSCO support site at http://support.ebsco.com or call (800) 758-5995. Both WilsonWeb and EBSCOhost support will continue to be provided by EBSCO’s Technical Support Team, and we remain focused on providing strong support to successfully guideyou through the transition process.

Sincerely,

Marcie Brown,Technical Communications Manager
EBSCOPublishing

Product Launch Analytics gone + Hours

2012-01-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

The database "Datamonitor Product Launch Analytics" has been removed from the website, its subscription expired (it had been a part of a deal with Datamonitor temporarily). The main Datamonitor 360 database is still here, however.

The hours for the library have been set to the Spring 2012 normal hours, also.

Hours, Mergent, Special Collections....

2012-01-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

This week:

Removed holiday hours and put up Wintersession/Intersession hours
removed all instances of Mergent Online from the library web site since our subscription ran out.
Uploaded new Special collections newsletter, and uploaded an appended version of the Spring 2011 issue for CR
Changed the location of the ULM police dept. on the Community page. Thanks to Mr.Glaze for finding it

Hours & Friends of the Library

2011-12-20T14:53:00.001-08:00

I've changed the hours on the site to show the Wintersession/Holiday hours.

I also found out today that Friends of the Library cards cost $20. So I have added that cost to the pages on the site that discuss the card.

Finals hours

2011-12-04T10:26:00.001-08:00

The finals hours have been posted on the home page and the reference blog. The Facebook page should copy from the blog automatically.

Hours, new home page demo...

2011-11-29T17:14:00.001-08:00

The Thanksgiving hours have been returned to normal.

Also, I'm thinking of adding icons for the blog and facebook page. This is what I have in mind:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/index-FB.html

I won't proceed without approval, of course.

MW has said that she connect the Blog's RSS feed to the Facebook page, so blog stories appear on the Facebook, but they are not the same thing, so still think it's necessary to link both and not Facebook alone.

EDIT:
I have since added small icons to the home page for the blog, Facebook, and YouTube accounts, with DS's approval.

changes, DB pages, Facebook, Credo

2011-11-22T16:06:00.001-08:00

This week, I have...

added Thanksgiving hours
suggested new changes to the catalog (to open LOUIS footprints request):
· Replace NetLibrary with EBSCO eBooks direct link http://ezproxy.ulm.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=nlebk
· Have the Interlibrary Loan link go to our main ILL page instead of directly to IILIAD itself (people who don't know ILL might need an explanation) http://www.ulm.edu/library/ill.html
· Add ULM Library Facebook account to the "General Information" page, facebook.com/ULM.Library
· Add ULM Library Blog as "Library News" to the "General Information" page, ulmlibraryreference.blogspot.com
Added to Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, which was recently moved from WilsonWeb to EBSCO, to Art and Construction subject DB lists. There will probably be more WilsonWeb items coming.
Re-arranged the DBs in the DB lists so that all the EBSCO ones appear under EBSCOhost in a separate sub-list. EBSCO eBooks remains alone because of its importance.

Also, Maren has been managing the official ULM Library Facebook account recently. It can read the reference blog's RSS feed well enough for now, but Facebook might remove support for RSS in the future. But I think there will be other RSS apps we can use. Later I might try to find a place for a link to Facebook on our home page, but not without ULMLWPC approval.

The new Credo reference Literati database is in Beta stage, and we're one of the sites testing it. Various problems have been reported, but it is more or less functional, on and off campus. The link for it on all of our DB pages refer to the new interface, but the linked Credo reference titles in the Catalog use the old interface because the new instant links to the titles haven't been completed in the new one yet. Credo says it will be done some time soon.

Map Change

2011-10-19T13:13:00.001-07:00

The Office of Sponsored Research was moved to Hannah Hall and Public Affairs moved in where it used to be. Added this to the library map.

EDIT:
On Oct. 20 I found out that it's actually the "Office of Public Information." I've since changed it to that instead.

Hours, Credo Reference

2011-10-17T14:47:00.001-07:00

Today,

· changed the hours back to normal

· added Credo reference to the library pages. It's not ready for off-campus access yet, but when we do get it, it'll probably be through the LOUIS EZ Proxy

This link should work for off-campus access:
http://ezproxy.louislibraries.org:2048/login?url=http://www.credoreference.com
But I haven't test it yet. I'll do it at home later today.

· The trial period for "Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism" is over, so I've removed it and replaced it with news about Credo Reference, which I posted to the blog

Fall Holiday Hours

2011-10-14T07:44:00.001-07:00

Even though I'm at the LUC conference, I was able to change the hours to show that we're closed today and Sat. for Fall break using a SSH FTP program.

Also, last week I put a tutorial for Gerontology on the ulm.edu/reference space because there wasn't enough room on mine. It also uses the YouTube account.

MRI+, off campus issues

2011-09-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

This week I added a new resource called MRI+, which the CBA pays for. I made an etry page for it because its log in instrucions are very specific:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/mri.html

Also, made a video about how EBSCOhost works not-so-well off-campus, and how to get around that, and embedded on the special EBSCO links page:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/ebsco-special.html

I've asked about merging the LOUIS and ULM EZ Proxies again. That's still going to happen eventually.

Subject librarians

2011-09-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

CA asked me to add "Medical Laboratory Science" to her subject librarian entry:

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

Retired Faculty and FAQs

2011-09-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

a)
Since a new retired faculty card has been created, I re-did it's information on the site.
However, this card is actually not that new; it's very similar to what the retired faculty rights had been before. But apart from the FAQ, the existence of such a card wasn't mention on the site much. So, I've added it and re-done the list of non-student/employee cards that we have on these pages:

Visitor Information
For The Community
FAQs

b) FAQs page...

Removed old FAQ information about the hardware and software in the computer lab, and removed the question about the library being close on weekends.

Updated information about hold and recalls:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/FAQ.html#Can_I_get_a_book_that_is_already_checked

Since we don't need it anymore thanks to CH's changes in the catalog, I've removed this whole question from the FAQ page:

What are materials in the library catalog that say See Electronic Address?

See Electronic Address means that the specified item(s) is inelectronic text. This could mean that it's a government document, anitem in a database, or an e-book. Click on the “URL” in the record tolink to the text of the item. Please askthe reference librarian for assistance if you have any trouble.

Various updates...

2011-09-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have...

Changed the library Hours back to normal
Fixed a broken database link for Datamonitor on the subject pages
Added the EBSCO eBooks link to the Special EBSCO links page, even though I don't use it as the link to eBooks, and added eBooks to the EBSCO sub-list on the DB name page
Updated the library floorplan to show the Internal Auditor office

Hours

2011-09-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

CR asked me to change the departmental hours on the hours printable sign from 1pm to 11:30am:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/hours.pdf
I was never really sure exactly what to write on that part ever since the hours were extended, because I didn't know if those were supposed to be extended also. So if CR says it's 11:30am, like the rest of the University, then it's 11:30am.

I also updated the hours for the weekend to show the labor day closing from Sept. 3-5.

ProQuest, Annual Report, etc

2011-08-31T15:05:00.000-07:00

a)
ProQuest has a new interface, and LOUIS in the process of changing it over. As soon as the new links are confirmed, I'll add it to the site.

The new interface is already set up to appear in our catalog and EBSCO A to Z.

b)
A new Annual Report of the library is out, and I've added that to the site (library, reference, and gov docs. It's in the footer of all of those). Like others before it, it is a scan and the text can't be read by screen readers or searched. I'd like to try and fix that.

To limit confusion about what year it is on various web pages, I've changed the foot to only say "Annual Report" without a year, and made a copy named "ULAR-current.pdf" which will always be the most current version of the file if it's updated by me later. That way, only changing that one file changes them all.
I made a post about the new report to the library blog, but didn't put it on the home page as there are other pertinent things already taking up room there.

EDIT: I also asked someone at the Computing Center to update it on the Ask-a-librarian form, since I don't control that, and it was updated promptly:
https://webservices.ulm.edu/wsforms/library_ask.php

c)
I found a strange error in an EBSCO database, Nursing Reference Center, that only appears under certain circumstances. It's not happening on the link we have been using, but there's different version of this link, which is supposed to be the right one, that doesn't work right off-campus. Here's what I said about it in an email with CH:

While communicating with EBSCO support on a separate issue, the representative gave me a link to a page showing what correct direct database links. However, one of them doesn't work because of a problem with the LOUIS branding image.

If I enter the Nursing Reference Center off-campus through this URL:
http://atoz.ebsco.com/link.asp?id=1412&rid=1519770
It looks like this:
http://www.ulm.edu/reference/louis-vs-nrc-normal.jpg

But if I enter the Nursing Reference Center off-campus through this URL:
http://ezproxy.louislibraries.org:2048/login?url=http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,url,uid&profile=nrc
It looks like this:
http://www.ulm.edu/reference/louis-vs-nrc.jpg

d)
We may soon starting the process to integrate the ULM and LOUIS EZ Proxies. I think that we might want to talk about customizing the log in page again as soon as I can figure out how the page is actually generated, and what is possible.

URLs and eBooks fracas

2011-08-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

On Friday I realized that the EBSCO eBooks really weeren't working off-campus at all, but would work if you entered EBSCOhost from the ULM EZ Proxy and then chose it as a database-- It was a complicated process. So I changed the links and made and uploaded and video and image instructions for that on Friday so that the books would be available.

On Mon. morning, EBSCO support gave me the working link to the eBooks, as well as a better link for the Nursing Reference Center, which I have never been able to get working off-campus. If it works, I'll put it on the site. So I took down the instructions I had made on Friday.

I suspect that moving to the ULM EZ Proxy would help. Or I hope it would.

Also updated was the library floor plan; do let me know if I missed anything.
http://www.ulm.edu/library/mappage.html

Various changes...

2011-08-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend and today I...

adjusted the new Fall hours
Added a bit to the FAQ about EBSCO eBooks: http://www.ulm.edu/library/FAQ.html#ebsco-ebooks
added news about the extended hours to the blog and home page
posted the new Special Collections newsletter to the home page and blog
Shortened the FAQ bit about ILL to a link to the ILL page, which has tutorials
Added links to the latest Special Collections newsletters to the archives pages
Added "International Business" to the subject guides and edited my other guides

As for the consolidation of the all the EZ Proxy from LOUIS to our server, I will ask about that next week. The log-in itself will be the same but the custom page we will get will change.

Do let me know of any problems.

Hours & OED

2011-08-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

I changed the hours to show intersession and added a news post about the return of the OED. I will put the OED link throughout the site after I return to the office.

August 16th edit:
I 've since then added the OED to the site by looking at an older backup of the site when we still had the OED and putting it back in the pages it used to be on.

Also, the Fall 2011 schedule is ready and shows the new weekend hours. I'll announce it as news and print it out after it is confirmed to be correct.
http://www.ulm.edu/library/hours.pdf

New access to databases

2011-07-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

I've added the new links to the site for the databases that now work on-campus, and made a blog news post about it.
Do let me know of any problems you encounter.

For ARTSTOR and NetLibrary, I've eliminated all mention of needing to create accounts. That was confusing for patrons before, and NetLibrary's integration inot EBSCOhost is likely going to destroy all those accounts anyway.

As for LearningExpress Library, I believe it still needs an account made on campus because that's a LOUIS resource, and those haven't been changed (yet).

EZ Proxy: better than ever

2011-07-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

The problems with SciFinder's EZ Proxy connection has apparently been fixed! but that's not all that it did!

Here is a video showing a successful off campus log-in to SciFinder, 23 MB:
http://www.ulm.edu/reference/scifinder-SUCCESS!.zip
My first try in SciFinder gave me an error message, but I tried it again and then it worked. I did not need to change the URL on the web page to get in.

I'm very, very pleased with the results, for the change has not only fixed access to SciFinder, but has fixed access for several other databases we were having problems with for a long time, even before the Computing Center became directly involved in library operations (2009?). Classical Music Library, for instance, stopped working off-campus after they upgraded their interface. With the addition of SSL, they work now.

ACM
ARTSTOR (only works off-campus with on-campus account creation at this time, but worked in the proxy w/o an account. You can still use accounts to access personal customizations)
BioOne
Classical Music Library
NetLibrary (only works off-campus with on-campus account creation at this time, but worked in the proxy w/o an account. You can still use accounts to access personal customizations)

I also did run-down of all the databases we have to see if the SSL change affected them. It seems to be OK, but access to Datamonitor 360 is a little goofy. It at first didn't work, but then I tried something else and it did work. Maybe it was a "hiccup" but I'll look at it again today. RIA Tax Services is meant to be a on-campus creation only for off-campus sort of database. I left it alone for now, but I'll look into it again later.

And he is a complete set of all the videos I recorded while looking at various aspects of the databases. It's 486 MB (!). The videos are long because in most of them I tried to do a quick search and actually view a document-- sometimes it looks like you're logged in, but you're really not and you run into a paywall when you try to see full text. The file names inside indicate what they are about.
http://www.ulm.edu/reference/july14-2011-dbtests.zip

It's not exiting to watch and I made it so that I don't have to rely on memory, so here's a list of the important things learned:
· Changing the URL links themselves from "http" to "httpS" causes them to not work at all. So we won't need to change them to "https"
· I now have working URLs for the newly enabled databases
· Some databases listed in the https://ezproxy.ulm.edu pages don't actually allow access to documents (???)

Next steps:

Putting up new off-campus links for the resources that work off-campus (I'll do that later today)
consolidating EZ Proxy so that all the DBs work on one connection, and getting a customized log-in page with log-in instructions...
figuring out what other resources should be working off-campus and fixing them to do that

LOUIS, AccessScience, EZ Proxy

2011-07-13T15:34:00.001-07:00

a)
Today I added the AccessScience Database trial to the home page news and blog

b)
I've update the ULM library LOUIS page to show Sara Zimmerman's statement about it:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/louis/

c)
Since it's been a while and some good things have happened, I've asked LOUIS if it's OK to remove the database "intercept" pages. The answer was yes, so I'm now going to take them all down. I doubt that anyone bookmarked them, but in case they did and they ask you "why won't this link work?"just tell them we didn't need the intercept anymore.

The LOUIS logo has been added to the database pages so that LOUIS' branding is where it deserves to be.

d)
We're getting closer to solving the EZ Proxy problem with SciFinder (I hope). The connection needed to be a secure SSL connection, and we need a "certificate" to do that. Getting on should allow the connection to work.

However, the old "michael1" server it used to work on wasn't secure either. We don't know why it ever worked, although I believe that it did.

Hours + LOUIS logo

2011-07-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend I changed the hours to show the 4th of July closing, and now I'm changing it back to normal.

With DS's approval, I've also asked RG and Uni. Relations if it's all right to add the LOUIS logo to the website's DB pages. It's one of those demo pages I showed the ULMLWPC some time ago:
http://ulm.edu/~niemla/louis-test/dbname.html

The SciFinder EZ Proxy problems still haven't been resolved, and I don't know when they will be.

College Source maybe + EZ Proxy

2011-06-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today DS told me that College Source is back and to put it back on the website. I did, and it working earlier today, but now it's not working. I'm not sure why.

Also, the computing center is now in talks with OCLC to try to fix the SciFinder database problem.

ILL page + new databases + EZ Proxy

2011-06-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

a)

MW brought it to my attention that the latest upgrade of Iliad also included a re-design. I'm delighted to see that, because the ILL interface has looked very 1994 for a long time and I often wished it was better. However, that also means that our tutorial pictures are outdated.

I've been considering doing video for the ILL page before, but now that it really needs to be changed, I made some today and put them on the library YouTube to embed them:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/ill.html

ML and MW and I all agree that having pictures on the page as well would be a good idea. Those will be added before the end of today, if not this afternoon.

b)
2 new databases for business (or other things, if you think it's pertinent):

Datamonitor 360
Datamonitor Product Launch Analytics

Product Launch analytics is working great, but the URL for DM 360 looks strange. But as long as it does work, it's the one we'll use.

c)
EZ Proxy is being difficult in general, but SciFinder in particular is giving us trouble about IP addresses, while other DBs seem to have little trouble with the new Proxy. Troubleshooting it has been hard because we can't tell if it's us, LOUIS, OCLC, or SciFinder having the problem or all of these things at once.
I could go on and on, but it's all rather technical.

But as I see it, EZ Proxy has been temperamental for a long time, and it's worth the trouble to get it under control.

hours + EZ Proxy

2011-06-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

The summer hours are now up, since the summer schedule begins on June 8th.

We are also experiencing problems with EZ Proxy, so we will investigate that more.

EZ Proxy update + CollegeSource

2011-05-26T10:40:00.001-07:00

a)
Yesterday, Chance E., Chuck H., LOUIS and myself had a telephone conference to discuss the EZ Proxy.

The EZ Proxy has been moved to a different server in the Admin. building, and has been re-named "ezproxy.ulm.edu" because it makes more sense than "michael1.ulm.edu" But this also means that all these links need to be changed.

I have already changed all the "michael1" to "ezproxy" on the webpages. The catalog is set up so that the proxy only has to be changed in one place and the links in the catalog will automatically change for the user. Chuck will do that.

The next step is to switch over all the LOUIS DBs next so that they will authetnicate on our new "ezproxy.ulm.edu" instead of on LOUIS' log-in page. This will allow us to edit it and perhaps add branding.
But the appearance of the log-in page will be worked on more after the new EZ Proxy is ready for all the DBs, rather than right now.

I've made a post on the library blog showing what DBs have been affected:
http://ulmlibraryreference.blogspot.com/2011/05/database-changes.html
Do let me know if any are missing.

b)
Our subscription to College Source is expired. I have removed it from the library website.

Summer hours

2011-05-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

The intersession hours are on the home page, and I've put up the new hours PDF covering now and the summer semester.

The EZ Proxy project is still going on, and we'll probably be working on it more this summer. The computing center seems to be handling things the most right now, but if our needs aren't met, we'll need to look into other solutions.

Hours for finals

2011-05-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last week I changed the hours to show that we'd be open today (Sunday) and I've adjusted the home page hours to show the upcoming finals hours, and made a blog post about it, showing all the finals hours: http://ulmlibraryreference.blogspot.com/2011/05/extended-hours-for-finals.html
And the hours PDF sheet: http://www.ulm.edu/library/hours.pdf

I'll add more of those hours to the home page as space becomes available.

Hours, EX Proxy, LOUIS...

2011-04-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

This week, I put up intercept pages for the databases to increase awareness about LOUIS. These pages do not interfere with database use.

Work is also continuing on a custom interface for EZProxy, which might mean moving all proxied sites to the ULM server. This might need new hardware later on.
At this time, the ULM server does not appear to be working; cause is unknown.

Also, I have changed the home page hours to show the Easter weekend hours (called "spring holiday")

No more GPO survey

2011-03-28T16:27:00.001-07:00

I've heard that the GPO survey is over with. So I've removed the icon from the page and went back to the old version of the home page (I had to alter it slightly to fit the icon in there).

Since the survey isn't in the "news" anymore, I needed to put something in there, and put in a link to our YouTube channel. Do let me know if that's a problem.

We ought to have news about LOUIS there sometime. I'll ask about that and how to do it before I try that.

new pictures, hours, and IE 6

2011-03-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

a)
The new home page pictures have been added to the website.

b)
The library's hours have been reset to normal.

c)
Also, someone made a website counting down the days to Internet Explorer 6's official death date! Its goal is to end IE 6 usage worldwide.

http://www.ie6countdown.com/

Take that, Microsoft! ... Wait, Microsoft made this page? O_o

Mardi Gras + pictures

2011-03-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

I've put the hours for Mardi Gras break on the home page.

Also, here some some possible candidates for new home page pictures:
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/gggg/new-pics/

myULM, Home page, mobile apps

2011-03-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

a)
A link to the Library is now on the Students' myULM page, and I've mentioned this on the home page because we haven't had much new news to report in a while.

b)
We might be able to get access to Gale's mobile reference apps, and I'll post them on the website as soon as we can confirm that it actually works. ML is the only person I know of with mobile access at this time.

If anyone else wants to try it (for Apple and Android) here is the main page link, which has a barcode you can scan, if yours does that:
http://www.gale.cengage.com/apps/aml/CollegeStudent/#

c)
Tomorrow I plan to borrow special collections' camera, which CR has kindly lent out, and take some hopefully better pictures for the home page.

New off-campus page

2011-03-01T14:12:00.001-08:00

The off-campus access page has been re-done to include a video, and I did some tidying:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/offcampus.html

site changes + YouTube

2011-02-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

a)
The task of adding a link to the off-campus page with the various DB pages is complete, as far as I can tell. Each DB page should have a link that says Off-Campus Instructions here

b)
LOUISLibraries has a YouTube account now: youtube.com/louislibraries
So I've added their video to favorites and sent friend request, to do the Web 2.0 connection thing. Do let me know if that's not a good idea.

c)
ULM has changed its site-wide favicon. However, when this happened, it somehow affect the catalog, which is now showing LOUIS' logo and not ours:
https://ulm.louislibraries.org:6803/uhtbin/cgisirsi/zUuvd2lTqY/ULM/81930015/60/69/X
I really don't remember if it ever had our favicon before, but the Blue LA state is new. I don't want to change it, though-- LOUIS needs all the PR it can get. Users won't be confused by that favicon being there. Or will they?

No underlined footers

2011-02-24T13:33:00.001-08:00

I recently changed the site's CSS files for sub-pages so that the links in the footer do not have lines under them (I went ahead with that because that's how it is on the home page, and it should be consistent).

I've asked the ULMLWPC about other changes to the site; if you're a member and you missed that email, let me know and I'll re-send it.

weather messages + pictures

2011-02-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

Last week and this week, the hours were updated to show university closings.

I am thinking again of putting in some new pictures for the home page and removing others. I've talked about that before, but this time I will do it. I'll show the committee all the picture I want to use before I use them, and I'm open to suggestions.

EDIT:
Now things are back to normal. --Fri, Feb 11

Hours + newletter

2011-01-13T16:35:00.001-08:00

I've adjusted the hours to Spring, and put up the new Spring Schedule & Dept. hours. The Spring 2011 Special Collections newsletter has also been added.

tutorials + hours

2010-12-13T08:58:00.001-08:00

Last week, ML helped me fix the tutorials page, and I removed some old ones and added some new ones.

She also let me know that the PDF version of the hours also had Friday the 10th as a day when we'd be closing at 1am, so I amended the one online and the printed ones in the library (rather than printing them for a third time).

The hours on the home page now show the "(W)intersession" hours.

hours

2010-12-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I changed the closing hour from 12am to 1am for Mon-Thurs.

New image link "ad"

2010-12-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

I figured out how to get a linked image to sit on top of the main picture on the home page. We can use this to place special links and announcements on the page without interfering with operational parts of the page. It's on the home page now, for a GPO survey DS asked me to put on the page. If you click it, it goes to the survey.
I have removed Criminal Justice Abstracts and Communication Abstracts from the web pages because their trials expired.
I also have not heard much about the off-campus access page, but I do know that students are still having problems. I will try to initiate changes with LOUIS; we were able to get changes with them before.
Also: returned the hours to normal after Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T12:33:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving hours are now up on the home page. Happy Thanksgiving!

Special Collections Fax + scanner

2010-11-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

This week I added information about the scanners the library has to the Computer Lab page and
FAQ. I also added Special Collections' new fax number to the Special Collections/Archives page and the Staff And Departments page.

I also put the library fax number on the Contact page.

As for the progress with the new off-campus access authentication page, I have not heard anything but it has been submitted.

Why HTTPS matters

2010-10-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, our catalog was switched over to HTTPS. Why bother to do that? Because it's very, very easy to steal log-ins now. So easy that even a luddite could do it, now that the Firefox add-on "Firesheep" makes it that simple.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/208773/firesheeps_a_huge_hit_with_amateur_hackers.htm l

Off-campus log-ins, home page image....

2010-10-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

Last week I deployed the special links for Medline w/ Full Text and Comm. & Mass Media Comp. to all places they appear on the site (that I know of). It appears to be working so far.

Today I removed the robot from the home page. I can put it back if anyone wanted it there.

I am also working on getting a new off-campus login page for both proxy servers we use, to reduce confusion about using them. I will soon send another email about this to ULMLWPC members.

Hours

2010-10-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

I fixed the hours on on Fri. to show the break closing, and today I changed it back to normal.

I also suggested that we change the off-campus log-in pages to include directions to help users, and if possible, eliminate the term "PIN" as to not confuse anyone anymore.

As for the BBW robot... I'll remove it later. The display is still up, after all.

Banned books week

2010-09-27T16:49:00.001-07:00

Currently Chuck and I are trying to figure our whether or not the Nursing Reference Center can be made to work off campus.

Also, with DDS's permission, I've put a banned books week icon on the home page. It uses the image hosted on ala.org, and links to a page about BBW.

Tarbutton collection + Nursing Reference Center

2010-09-23T13:07:00.001-07:00

So far this week I've made a Blog post and home page image for Special Collection's Tarbutton collection presentation on Friday, and added the Nursing Reference Center to the website. It will not work off campus until it has been added to EZ Proxy, though.

I wasn't getting any numbers from my Google Analysitcs JavaScript, so I asked Uni. Relations if I had the right script. Some there did, and I've uploaded it. So we'll see if that works.

Google Analytics + videos +more

2010-09-09T17:36:00.000-07:00

a)
Google Analytics as it is on our site can only record stats on links within our domain. I can't use it to know who clicks on what database links.

http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=55527

I've applied that JavaScript to the database by name page, and after it gets some time to collect information, I'll look at the GA stats page to see if they are working.

If they don't work, the next option is to make html entry pages for each database. That may be inconvenient, but if we want stats badly enough, it may be worth it.

b)
Megan gave a presentation about plagiarism this week, and I made it available on the web here, with its slides in the video:
http://www.ulm.edu/reference/video/plagiarism.html

I couldn't use YouTube for this because the videos are just too long. But we can host them ourselves because we have Flash, which I can use to make the embedded players.

c)
Also today, updated the library map and library hours.

Hours fix + Mergent fix

2010-09-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

The library hours were changed this week, so that fall break is a day shorter for the library.

Also, today I noticed that Mergent Online link was broken, even though it was working earlier this week. I've changed it to a different link that does work. After I get home, I'll check it again to make sure the off-campus access is working.

As for the library tours, new video content are in the works.

New tour + updates

2010-08-31T15:52:00.000-07:00

I've updated the contact list on the site...
http://www.ulm.edu/library/staffdept.html

And I've added the new library tour video.
http://www.ulm.edu/reference/ssclib.html
It's... the best I can do so far. The reference dept. will make an improved version sometime soon.

After writing about it in the main ULM Library blog, the publisher of the Classical music library database we have contacted us to let us know what the correct URL and EZProxy for their database is. That was nice of them :-)
I've changed the URL on the pages where it appears. However, it still doesn't work off campus yet. The EZ Proxy needs to be updated.

Database problems, map, tour...

2010-08-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

Today I added some emergency links that made it possible to use the EZProxy databases, but now that they working again, they are gone. I also made some blog posts talking about this.

I also updated one of the rooms on the library map: The Garden Study League room is empty again.

The library tour is half done. I completed the physical library facilities tour, and was going to record some things about the databases yesterday and today... but the databases weren't working. Perhaps I'll do something today.

Wireless Info

2010-08-26T10:19:00.001-07:00

DW asked me earlier this week if there was any specific information about the wireless network and how to use it. I did find a computing center page, and I added it to the FAQ and computer lab page.
http://www.ulm.edu/computingcenter/hardware/wireless

As for the library tour, that's still coming...

New map page + Annual report

2010-08-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

I've updated the library map, in Flash and PDF. Do let me know if I missed anything:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/mappage.html

Also, the new Annual Report 2010 has been added to the bottom of every page.

Since there's no reason not to, the new hours are also going to be posted.

I'm also working on the new library tour, which I hope to complete this weekend.

new newsletter + hours

2010-08-19T17:07:00.001-07:00

There's a new Special Collections newsletter, and I've added the Fall Hours to the hours box just in case anyone needs them right now.

Gov. Docs. pages

2010-08-12T08:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I removed many extra words and some outdated things from the main Gov. Docs. page, and moved the information about Docs to the bottom so the item location info would be at the top. I added USA.GOV at the top as it is now a very good starting place for people unfamiliar with the concept of Gov. Publications.

The other pages that have annotated bibliographies are more detailed and I haven't changed them. I will ask MW about, as I've heard that she is handling Docs matters now.

Plain English + etc

2010-08-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

a)
On Friday I uploaded all the new pages I've recieved and made. Almost every page was changed in some way, although it might not be obvious.

When I saw them, I removed references to Delta and also fixed parts saying that reference is on the right as you enter the library.

b)
The Gov Docs page is different, however.
http://www.ulm.edu/govdocs/

I will maybe shave it down a little and update some things, but it's probably going to remain mostly the same. KC covered it rather well.

c)
Today I fixed a problem that's been bothering me-- the link to the "advanced search" in the grey bar on the site hasn't been working right for a while, ever since the catalogs URLs were changed from "http" to "https." I've fixed that, and now the link should take you right to the advanced search.

"New" "databases"

2010-07-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

a)
Megan told me to add the Directory of Open Access Journals and Project Gutenberg to the site (and that the latter might get indexed in the catalog too). Just because something doesn't cost anything doesn't mean that it's any less useful or trusted, so I've placed them alongside everything else.

I put Project Gutenberg on the Home pages next to NetLibrary, so that they are equal (and because it fits).

And I put both on the DB list page, with symbols to indicate that they are free:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/dbname.html
I also moved the short list of "database tools" to a little box near the top, because I don't think anyone ever scrolls to the bottom to see it. Some of the links in that list were in the repeated Quick List too, so now I keep them in "tools" only, as both lists are now visible.

These have also been added to the subject guides; the DOAJ is on all of them, and Project Gutenberg is on most of them.
http://www.ulm.edu/library/subject/index.html

b)
Barbara is no longer on the staff list:
http://www.ulm.edu/library/staffdept.html

July 4th hours + video development

2010-07-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

a)
I've put the July 4th weekend hours on the home page, so people don't think we're open.

b)
I don't mean to blow my own horn, but some of you may have seen my pro-LOUIS video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOjP3lMhCJ8

I made this in a short amount of time at the library and at home (but it's not in color, and is only a min. and a half long, after all). The most tedious (tedious, tedious) part of working with flash is making the subtitles. But YouTube automates that process. I was shocked at how easy and fast it was. So it would not be unreasonable to do something like it with pictures or video to replace the now-outdated library tour.

As LJ suggested, we could also make a video commercial at the same time.

Farewell to Delta...

2010-06-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

I posted about Delta's departure to the reference blog, and I also know I need to update the site. This time, I'm going to search all the site files I have for the word "delta" to make sure I get all mentions of it.

I may re-do the library tour in order to get it up to date.

Karen C. isn't around here

2010-06-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

ML found Karen C.'s name and contact information on the instruction and tours page. I've updated that, and I did a search of all the pages, and it seems that it was the last one.

"Plain English Project"

2010-06-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

Well, Google/Blogger has updated its available designs, so I changed the look for no reason. This isn't a critical blog meant for public use.

A while ago I was talking about the idea of streamlining the langugage of the library web pages. I suppose it's about time I got on with that. To reiterate, the idea is to, basically, make papes easier to read by making them less wordy and more clear. How do you know something is too wordy and unclear? How do you fix it? Lynell S. Buckley's (a librarian at Tech) LLA 2010 presentation slides provide an excellent explanation, if you've never seen it:
http://www.latech.edu/library/tutorials/others/dejavu.pdf

I don't think this warrants a meeting, but we do need to decide who's willing to do which pages. Here is the old list of who was assigned what page (yes, the blog looks different now): http://ulmlwpc.blogspot.com/2008/10/informal-status-report.html These need to be re-assigned too, of course. If you don't want to do a page, perhaps someone else will. I will take some of Karen C.'s, and since I have access to the FTP for the Gov Docs domain, ulm.edu/govdocs/, I will work on all of that.

As an example, I have already done the "for students" page (there were some things I needed to update).
New: http://www.ulm.edu/library/forstudents.html
Old: http://www.ulm.edu/library/forstudents-OLDVERSION.html

Here is a visual comparison:
http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/students.PNG
The difference isn't huge because I wrote it with students in mind to start with, but there is a difference. Small changes such as this one add up:

Before: "Speaking of that... we at the Library have produced a number of
presentations for classes and the web that explain not only the library
but particular subjects."
After: "The Library has a number of presentations for classes and the web."
Why: Redundant. We would've have bothered to make these if they didn't explain anything useful, so I don't need to say that again. "Produced"? Gosh.

There is no rubric for this. Just make the pages smaller. You can submit to the blog like before, or email a file to me. Don't worry too much about HTML and things like that; Since most of the program you-all use will affect the HTML markup, I will need to re-do the markup on all of them regardless. If you know how to edit HTML with a text editor, you can use that but don't use one that permanently wraps the text just because it wants to (SeaMonkey does).

If you add a new link to the page that isn't already on the page, please tell me specifically, because I'm probably going to convert everything to plain text before I put it back and use the previous text to put the URLs back. If you had a new URL in a hyperlink, I might not notice it.

Is July 30th a reasonable due date for the new copies?

databases working now...

2010-06-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Since friday, the databases that weren't working are OK now, so I've removed the emergency links.

Various things that happened this week...

2010-06-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

1) EZProxy not working

It appears that EZProxy is down. I've placed some links that work on-campus but not off-campus on the DB page, and I've put something about it in the news box so that people are aware of this problem.

2) Hours

The summer hours sheet is complete.

3) Viruses

Well, I got a virus. My first virus in about 6 years. Apparently, you don't have to install junk or go to bad sites to get them anymore. They can be hidden in ads on otherwise completely legit sites. Trend Micro OfficeScan didn't find this, either.

I worked for hours trying to get rid of this, and in the end, I put everything right by restoring an image of the hard drive as it had been at a better time. I didn't lose anything. I used a program called DriveImage XML to do this, and it's free. If you'd like to know how to use this program, let me know and I'll show it to you.

4) WilsonWeb

A new database was added this week... http://ulmlibraryreference.blogspot.com/2010/06/new-database-hw-wilson.html

News + summer updates

2010-05-27T09:22:00.000-07:00

I made a blog post about the new desk, and put it in the news box. I also added its picture to the home page, making this the first time a home page image has had a person in it (Maren). Let me know if it needs to go.

Is there any more news to report?

Also, I think I will pursue the idea of reducing the word count of the library web pages in June, so that's coming up.

Hours, halfway...

2010-05-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

Since the weekend is coming and we are closed then and we have normal hours on Friday, I've changed the hours on the home page to show that.

Finals Hours

2010-05-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

I've put the finals hours for Fri, Sat, Sun, and will put the weekdays up on Friday (because it's still the current week)

MarketLine Database Trial

2010-04-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

We have a MarketLine Database Trial, so I put that on the blog, home page, and I've emailed business faculty.

Extended Hours + Plain English

2010-04-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

I put the Extended Finals Hours on the home page, blog, and the hours.pdf file for all to see.

Also, I've revisted my idea to maybe re-write the library's web pages to be easier and faster to read, and asked ULMLWPC members what they think.

Visitors and Friends

2010-04-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

MW pointed out some errors to me on these pages, so I fixed them. I also added a Google Map to the "Visitors" page:

http://www.ulm.edu/library/visitor.html
http://www.ulm.edu/library/community.html

And CR asked for a link to the community page to be put on the Friends page, and it may get a form for people to fill out so they can join.

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

The Hours, Part IV

2010-04-09T07:53:00.001-07:00

The Library is not open on Sunday the 11th after all. I've put everything back as it was before.

EDIT:

April 12th - No sense in making another post about it-- I've changed the hours to normal now that Spring Semester is back.

The Hours, Part III

2010-04-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

I've changed the hours.pdf schedule and the home page to show that we will be open on Sunday, Apr. 11. Tomorrow I will change it to show regular hours.

The Hours, Part II

2010-04-05T20:14:00.001-07:00

I've changed the hours again to show that we are open this week, but not this weekend.

Hours + Mergent

2010-04-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

a)
Yesterday I fixed the catalog search boxes on the site after some changes to E-library were made.

The link to the advanced search in the grey bar doesn't work so well, however. If you've already been in the catalog recently, it will make you start over. I hope to solve that.

b)
Today I changed the hours listed on the home page.

c)
Mergent Online's interface is going to change on May 1. I've tried to change it early, but the link won't work. In fact, the link to the new interface in the old interface won't work off-campus at all. I'll ask someone if that will be a problem come May 1.

Webfeat home page link gone

2010-03-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

The link for Webfeat is gone from the home page. As was decided at the last meeting, it has not been replaced by anything.

There have always been links for it in the DB Name list, and in the Quick Links menu, so it still is around if anyone really wants to use it.

Webfeat problems

2010-03-23T14:48:00.001-07:00

Webfeat embarrassed me again today (why do I keep using it? Because it's right there on the home page and it's just so darned easy to get to, just like our patrons might think too). I searched for a book title in webfeat with zero results, but I did the same search again in both the LOUIS Union Catalog and OCLC Worldcat and did get 3 results in both. Just to be sure, I later did the same search in Webfeat, and did get 1 result that time (but not 3).

I will make another attempt to remove it.

Minutes for Mar. 18, 2010

2010-03-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here are the ULMLWPC meeting Minutes for Mar. 18, 2010:

In attendance:
CH
LJ
ML
CA
MW
KN

• Webfeat shall be removed from the library home page for various reasons. It will also not be replaced by a similar resource. When its official replacement is revealed by LOUIS, that new product will be judged on its own merit and given or not given a place on the home page accordingly.

Note: After discussing the matter with DDS, it was decided that the Webfeat link will remain as it is, as it is a very popular resource. It could be moved later. There is still no word on the new "360" search engine LOUIS will get. --KN

• Tightening web site language is probably not necesary, as this was already done when the site was re-made. KN saw a good presentation about this subject at LLA 2009, and will try to find its slides.

NOTE: Looking back at the LLA '09 list, that sessions was:
"Clear as Mud and Full of Weasels: How to Write Library Policies, Reports,
etc. in Plain English
Friday, 1:30 pm – 2:50 pm
Sponsor: LaSSAL Section
Guidelines, examples, and exercises in writing clear, concise, and unambiguous
library policies, proposals, reports, etc. Track: Adult/ User Services."
I have an idea as to who did it. --KN

• The ULM Library has no interest in Second Life in its present form

• The ULM Library will have a Facebook page. It already has one, and has for a while; MW has been its Admin for a while also. Using Facebook for the library will have a high rate of ROI because the investment needed to do this is negligible.

• EBSCOHost Mobile could become available to students soon. We will use the link ASAP.

In other news:

I got this email from EBSCO:

Dear EBSCOhost Customers:

If you currently purchase eBooks or have considered adding eBooks to your collection, we hope this email comes as exciting news to you. Effective Wednesday, March 17^th, EBSCO Publishing and OCLC finalized an agreement whereby EBSCO has acquired NetLibrary, a leading eBook platform and service. It has been a pleasure working with OCLC, who saw EBSCO as the ideal candidate to continue to serve NetLibrary customers, and take the service to new heights.

EBSCO’s goal is to better serve research by offering the strongest possible collection of materials and the greatest accessibility and usability. As eBooks become more prominently used and relied upon by libraries, they are an ideal addition to the EBSCO suite of resources. As EBSCOhost is the single most-used premium research platform in libraries worldwide, and overall usage continues to steadily increase, it follows logically that searching databases and eBooks on a single platform would create a more complete, fruitful one-stop research experience for end users. Many librarians have requested we move in this direction, and we are pleased to be doing so.

At present, EBSCO will continue to support and enhance the NetLibrary platform, with the goal of enabling EBSCOhost to appropriately incorporate eBook availability in the near future. In the coming months, we will be conducting focus groups, advisory sessions and usability testing to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of eBook platforms, and investigate the various models for accessibility and purchase. We will provide updates on our progress as we move forward. Additionally, we plan to maintain the dark archive of eBooks to ensure accessibility for customers who have purchased and will continue to purchase NetLibrary eBooks. MARC records for these eBooks will also continue to be provided (at no cost).

Thank you for your patronage and support of EBSCO resources. We are excited about what the future holds for EBSCOhost users. If you have any questions regarding your current NetLibrary account, or would like to explore eBooks in subject sets or on a title by title level, please contact your EBSCO representative.

So... yes. EBSCO bought NetLibrary. I don't think "Whoa" is a professional thing to say, but I will say it:

Whoa.

LexisNexis has a new look

2010-03-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

I first mentioned quite a while ago, so it's about time I finally did it. All links to LexisNexis Academic should now lead to the new interface.

It looks very different, but it's really the same, I say.

This blog has moved

2010-03-16T10:11:00.001-07:00

This blog is now located at http://ulmlwpc.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://ulmlwpc.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

test

2010-03-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is a test post for migrating the blog back to blogger...

computer lab page

2010-03-16T08:14:00.001-07:00

Maren found some typos on the computer lab page, and also suggested that make it clearer that the computer center is responsible for the computer lab, as not to confuse anyone (I mentioned it before, but not prominently).

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

I have also installed a spell check in the plain text program I most frequently use to edit HTML. Hopefully this will help.

Moving the blog again, perhaps

2010-02-26T09:10:00.001-08:00

Google/Blogger will be discontinuing its FTP publication option on the basis that few people use it.

I only tried it as an experiment in the first place, and I agree. If someone needs to run a blog from a specific domain, installing a blog app like Wordpress makes so much more sense.

So, I'll probably move this blog back to its "blogspot" location. I'm not sure what the result will be, though.

Catalog Problem fixed

2010-02-26T08:15:00.001-08:00

The IE8 error messages have been solved, after LOUIS moved all of our design elements to their own server. I also fixed a small button color problem in the CSS. Please let me know ASAP if anything goes wrong.

Just to let you know I'm aware of them, there are also 2 things I'd like to fix, except they aren't CSS-related so I can't do anything about them myself. These are:

a)
When you get an error screen from the catalog about a search, the screen that appears has a stray HTML comment tag on it " --> " and our logo disappears. The easiest way to trigger it is to try doing a search without entering anything.

b)
I'd like to make the text in the top banner click-able so that it restarts the search (goes "home", if you will) because many websites behave this way.

Small probelm with OPAC

2010-02-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

There's a low-satus problem with the catalog. When you try to enter "my account" in IE, the browser asks about displaying "non-secure" items (you know the kind). However, the obvious thing to do is click "yes," and doing this stops the custom CSS template and images from loading.

It doesn't affect actually using the site in itself, but it is a problem. The error breaks up the browsing experience and makes the page look and feel "broken." Error messages about security suggest unpleasantry, also. But, of course, I am the sort of person who gets too 'excited' over these things. Most internet users are IE users, so that's the browser people experience our web pages with the most. I suppose I can't blame IE or anyone else for the "problem," but it's just one of those things that happens and you can't do anything about it, like a tornado.

It is helpful that not everyone uses the account feature. In fact, I did not know about it until people from LOUIS told me. So things should be all right while we try to get this resolved.

Historical Newspaper DBs

2010-01-24T13:52:00.000-08:00

I've added the 2 new historical newspaper DBs to the DB list, and I've placed them other appropriate places too (the Quick List pop-up, the site map, History subject DB list)

African American Newspapers

America's Historical Newspapers

Edited tour, Gale links, etc

2010-01-20T15:23:00.001-08:00

Today CH told me that our links to Gale resources needed to be changes so that they could collect statistics. I did it, and the links should behave exactly as they did before. Let me know if they don't.

I've edited the reference collection out of the library tour. It still says that the McNaughton collection is "near reference," but that's not entirely untrue; it's near the side of the building where reference is (right???).
I'll make more changes to it when more changes happen to the library.

I also fixed some links on the site map.

New hours + Louisiana Digital Library

2010-01-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

Last night before I went to bed, I added the new hours to the home page. Do let me know if anything is wrong with it.

I also added the Louisiana Digital Library to the DB list. It probably should've been there sooner, but I thought it was a Special Collections thing then. If anyone thinks it doesn't belong in the list, do let me know.

EDIT:
I've also changed a few room names on the library map. I am also aware that some pop-up info boxes get covered up by other text. It doesn't hurt, but it looks messy. I may change that someday.

(I'M WITH COCO)

new newsletter, new news, new catalog

2010-01-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

A new Special Collections Newsletter is out so I placed that on the home page in the news box, removing the holiday message also.

The catalog's upgrade appears to be complete. If anyone has any problems with it, contact me and I'll see what can be done about it.

New look for the catalog

2010-01-10T16:10:00.001-08:00

The new appearance for the catalog should be something like this:

http://ulm.training.louislibraries.org/uhtbin/cgisirsi/GnwstyO8na/ULM/101130006/60/69/X

If anyone has any objections, please let me know ASAP. The deadline for making changes for the template is Monday (tomorrow, Jan 11).

The code from Sirsi was different from before. It looks similar to our current catalog, but it took a long time to make it look this way. I just hope it works when it become the catalog design this week.

New map, new hours, new catalog

2010-01-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

New hours:
I added the new hours file for the spring this week. It is subject to change all semester.

New map:
I've made a clearer map from an original PDF made from a CAD program years ago. It is much sharper than before, but also smaller.
http://www.ulm.edu/library/mappage.html

I also added that original PDF to the page as the new print version for the map and removed the HTML one I had before, because it is much easier to read. It also has floors 6-8 too. So I guess we have 8 floors.

I have not yet added any room changes. I'll add them as soon as I know about them.

And trhe new catalog design is due on monday. I'm still working on it.

New news

2009-12-18T08:35:00.001-08:00

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

2009-12-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-02T16:04:00.001-08:00

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

Added extended hours

2009-11-30T14:13:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-25T07:21:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

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.