More on Monologues

Colleen commented on the monologue post below, and I wanted to make sure her comment was seen. This is great!

"The monologue books, also books on dialogs and play scenes, are generally shelved in the PN 2080's. We no longer have any of these books in the Reference collection. However, we do have a handy book in ready reference behind the desk, The ultimate scene and monologue sourcebook : an actor's guide to over 1,000 monologues and scenes from more than 300 contemporary plays (PN2080 .H661 1994)."

Thanks Colleen!

Alarm Procedures

When the gate alarm goes off, please make an effort to call the person who set it off back through the gate. There are a few common reasons the alarms go off:

1. The public library has switched over to RFID and isn't desensitizing their tattle-taped books anymore. So they might have a public library book setting off the alarm.

2. I've noticed that bookstore purchases sometimes need to be desensitized.

3. Blockbuster DVDs and videos might be the culprit, and we shouldn't desensitize those.

What I'll usually do is call over the patron and offer to help them figure out what keeps setting off the alarm. I'll ask if they have any new textbooks or videos at which point they'll start looking through their backpack. I'll desensitize books that are not library books and let them try to go through again. If they think it might be their IPod, blockbuster video or laptop I'll hold that at the desk and let them go through without it to see if that fixes it.

I approach the whole thing as I'm helping them figure out why the alarms going off so that we can fix it and save them the embarrassment of setting off alarms all over the place. They usually seem happy that I'm taking the time to help them. In my own experience it's been a purchased textbook that is setting off the alarm in all the cases I can recall. (Well, except for the poor patrons whose books I checked out myself and forgot to desensitize!)

Circulation will usually be the ones to handle the alarms, but if they're swamped and we can help that would be wonderful. And we definitely want to give every patron the impression that we consistently check all people setting off the alarm.

Trespassed!

We have a page in the circulation manual now that shows names, photos (if we have them) and descriptions of people trespassed from Library West or under observation. I've linked this on the Useful Links page on the Information Point website as well. You can find the page here: http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/ps/Circ/CircMan/trespassinformation.html

If you notice one of the trespassed people in the library, please call UPD at 2-1111 and alert the circulation staff person on the desk.

Meeting Minutes and More (a LOT more)

Meeting Minutes

Several things came up in our October Team Meeting on Tuesday. I ran them all by the Access Services managers on Wednesday, and have compiled a list here to bring everyone up to speed. Please email any questions or comments, or you can add a comment here on the blog.

Meetings - We decided to reduce the frequency of meetings from monthly to twice per semester. We'll meet once before each semester and once mid-semester. Our next meeting will be held in December before the break.

Veteran's Day - While the library will be open, most of us will have the day off and the library will be staffed by the folks who usually work on Sunday. Therefore the Information Point will be technically closed. Enjoy your three day weekend!

Laptops - We discussed the difficulties that are coming up with the heavy use of the laptops. This is an issue for all of the circulation folks, so I brought this up at the Access Services meeting also. There is no waiting list procedure that seems feasible, so the suggestions for everyone at the circulation desk are:
** Never "promise" that the next laptop will be for a certain patron.
** If you do have someone waiting for a laptop they'll need to be right in front of the desk waiting for someone to return a laptop. We can't promise to call them over when one comes in.
** Anyone who has a patron waiting for a laptop should be sure to communicate that to everyone else on the desk so that they know too.

Keyboard - Jody brought up that one of the feet that tilts the keyboard has been broken for a while. I've reported it to our system liaison and it should be replaced soon.

Emails and the Blog - you've undoubtedly noticed that this semester hasn't been nearly as busy with new blog posts. Before it seemed there were several updates to the blog each week, but now we might go a week or more between updates. It was suggested that I email a short message to everyone when the blog has been updated. Feel free to delete these messages if you're already checking the blog or have subscribed to an RSS feed reader. (I know there must be a way to allow folks to subscribe to a blog to be emailed updates, so I'll also look into that for a long term solution.)

Spring triage? - We talked about the possibility of trying the triage model for the first weeks of the spring semester like we did for fall. I'll be looking at the building and Infopoint statistics for spring last year to see if we can identify days/times where triage would be appropriate. The additional complication that was brought up was that ALA midwinter is going on the second week of the spring semester. That might complicate a search for volunteers to staff the desk for additional triage hours. More info on what we'll do will be forthcoming and we'll talk more at our December meeting too.

Outlook at the desk - If you haven't already set up Outlook to work on the Information Point computer, I'm putting together instructions on how to set up your email out there. It was pointed out that there are some things you can do in Outlook that aren't workable in Webmail, such as being able to view the calendars for the two instruction rooms (West 211 & 212). If you'd like me to email you these instructions just let me know. I'm hesitant to link them on the web in case the server information compromises server security.

How to know when Lisa or I are out - We talked about the possiblity of emailing all the Information Specialists when Lisa and I are out of the office. I usually try to email everyone when I'm out, but we thought it might be difficult to get eveyrone in Access Services to remember to email us when Lisa is out. Rather than try to do that, the Access Services managers suggested that if someone needs to talk with Lisa we can call the main library number (3-2525). We have a student receptionist who will know if Lisa is available that day. They'll also be able to tell you if I'm in or out that day in case I forget to tell everyone too.

The Big Ugly Silver Boxes (BUSBs- Pronounced BUS Bees)- Once again these were brought up in our meeting. (And I was encouraged to add in the word 'ugly' which makes a nice acronym I think.) I know we're all frustrated by these boxes, and I do make an effort to bring them up at every possible opportunity with the folks in charge. As of the meeting I hadn't heard anything more about the future of the BUSBs, but at the managers meeting I was informed that an all new incarnation of the future is on display at the other end of the circulation desk. Please stop by the desk and take a look at the new model. I would appreciate if you could all be sure to express your opinions about the new model to the appropriate folks. I don't know yet if they have a contact set up for this, but you may email me or Lori Driscoll. We'll compile all the comments (anonymously if you'd like) and send them up the chain. Please do continue to speak up about the BUSBs at every opportunity you have.

And More: Additional Notes from the Access Services managers meeting:

Faculty Laptops - Soon we will have 4 laptops available for UF faculty to check out. They will be stored in the same cart as the other laptops, but the batteries are NOT interchangeable. They'll just have to recharge in the laptop cart. You'll be able to tell they're the faculty laptops because they look different and we're planning to label them differently in some way. They'll still be 2 hour checkout, but they'll only be for faculty (this includes library faculty also). This is a good option for faculty who come to put something on reserve but need to enter the information into Ares since it's all done online now. (Faculty are unable to check out the student laptops.)

Ares Bookmarks - We've got bookmarks at every circ computer that tell students where and how to find their course reserves materials online. These bookmarks are to help students remember to bring the title and call number of the item when asking for course reserves in order to speed up their transactions. Hopefully handing these out with all course reserves items will help educate our students on using the Ares system and "help us help them" faster. I've just ordered another 2000 bookmarks, so we should have plenty to give out.

Headsets - You've probably noticed the signs above the BUSBs indicating that we're soon going to be out of headsets to lend. This is very true. The headsets are breaking at record rates and we don't have the money to replace them. Please point this out to everyone checking out headsets. We want them to get in the habit of bringing in their own as soon as possible. The headsets that are out there now are the only ones that will be available. Once they're gone, they're gone.

I think that wraps up the majority of the updates. Whew! Remember, I'll be out all next week and possibly the week after. If any concerns arise during that time please email or call Lori Driscoll or another of the Access Services managers.

Internet Access in Library West

The Graduate Carrels (and other desks around the building) have ports that look like you could connect to the internet. But these ports are not active. Likely they will never be active because the libraries have to pay a fee for every active port. Please let folks looking for Internet access know they can access the internet via the wireless access in the building. If they don't have a wireless capability on their laptop they can borrow a laptop from Circulation or they can log in to one of the library computers.

Referrals for reporters

Every once in a while on the desk I get requests from journalism students, reporters from the Alligator, and other people looking for an interview with/about the libraries. I used to refer them to Carol Turner, but I just received an email directing us to refer any questions like these to Barbara Hood. She can be reached at the number for Administration: 3-2505.

Drama in Library West today and tomorrow

There are a couple of parts for the library video under production now that still need actors. Therefore, Paul Victor and his team are holding a casting call on Thurs., Sept. 27 & Fri., Sept. 28 from 10-12pm. It will be in Library West, room 212. Paul Victor will be down there early to post signs and get the room open/set-up. But he wanted us to be aware of it in case we get questions.

Monologues

For a while folks were told that there were monologues up on the 3rd floor at the Reference Desk, but I just received a call from them that they do not have them up there. They said to do a catalog search for "monologue" and send the patron into the stacks with a few call numbers. If anyone has more information on a good way (or location) to find monologues, please leave a comment here or email the list. We seem to have a lot of students asking for them.

Thanks!

Study Carrels

If you have faculty or graduate students looking for their assigned study carrel keys please refer them to Circulation.

The New Shortened Schedule Starts Today

Today we start our shortened schedule on the Information Point. Please continue taking statistics as you have.

Thank you to everyone who helped fill out the schedule for the first three weeks of the Fall semester. I'm working on the statistics for August now, and it looks like we had a lot of questions during those first three weeks! We'll be able to see how the traffic this year compares to last year (when we'd just opened) soon.

I don't know yet if we will follow this same model during the first three weeks of spring, but keep your eyes open for a recruitment email sometime in December if we do!

Computer Assistance Available Now!

The Computer Assistance Desk is open and ready for business!

The desk is located on the west side of the 3rd floor of Library West (across from the Orange printer and next to room 317, which is the Information Technology Services Office).

This desk will be staffed full time by highly knowledgeable students and staff. The desk will be open from 10am until 5pm Monday through Friday.

Any and all technology related questions may be directed to the friendly staff at the Library West Computer Assistance Desk. They will be able to field questions ranging from frozen computers to activating Gator 1 cards and everything in between.

This desk is not only for our patrons but our faculty and staff as well! You can also give them a call with your questions at 273-2668.

Need Ares Training?

Additional training for Ares will be held on Tuesday, September 4th at 8:30am in MSL L107.

This training is specifically designed for desk staff who have to help patrons find their course reserve items in Ares. I know I've been getting a LOT of these questions on the desk since fall started.

Endeca request* Issue

At the moment in Endeca there are error messages associated with Storage items with a ‘request*’ link (notice the lowercase r and the asterisk).

When you try to request these items, you may encounter an error message that says ‘Patron does not have permission to place a hold request for this item’.

(You can all see for yourself with 843.91 K66r 1953).

FCLA is aware of this issue, and are trying to fix it. In the meantime when you encounter this error, please direct the patrons to use the alternate request form at: http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/Storage/StorageRequest.asp which they can access via the Retrieval Help link at the top of the page.

Please note: in Endeca clicking the Retrieval Help link will not open a separate window. You may want to force it to open in a new tab or window so that you can easily cut and paste information into the form.

Regular items with the normal ‘Request’ link should not be affected by this problem. (Note the capital R and there is no asterisk.)

Endeca

With the Endeca implementation this week I thought many folks would appreciate some sort of help getting used to this new system.

Matthew provided this link to the Endeca online tutorial. Please go through the tutorial on your own, and then try to use Endeca as much as possible in your normal daily work.

As you notice issues or run into questions please email them to me (with as much detail as possible) and I will compile all our questions and concerns to the appropriate folks for answers.

Also there is an online help guide accessed by clicking “help” next to the Endeca search bar.

One very important caveat though: when looking up items that are on course reserves check the Aleph OPAC instead. Endeca isn't showing the current status of these course reserves items "live." Instead it is updated once or twice a week (we're not sure of the exact schedule). So while you can trust the Available vs. Checked out status, you can't be sure about whether the item is on reserve yet or not based on Endeca's information.

Orientation Time

It's that time of the semester again. Orientations are available online at: http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/instruct3/orientation.html where they can find the listed times for the in-person sessions and the link to the online orientations.

For tours of the building you can refer them to the lovely map brochures to go on a self-guided tour. Or they can attend one of the orientations- I'm told they might do a tour if time allows at the end.

No reservations are needed for the orientations.

Returned Study Carrel Keys

If you have a patron returning a key for their study carrel (the ones that are assigned to Graduate or Faculty for the year) please refer this to circulation staff. The keys are overdue and their is a block that must be manually removed when the key is returned.

By the way, the Carrel Application website is active again. It came up by yesterday before noon.

Endeca is LIVE

We've officially switched over to the Endeca interface to the catalog. I anticipate that many folks might be interested in a hands on training, so I'll be working on setting something up soon.

An important piece of information in the notice is: If you are ever using the Endeca OPAC and need/want to go to the Aleph OPAC for any reason, there is a link in the lower left of every Endeca OPAC screen to "Previous Library Catalog".

I know that in the Endeca interface you can't search by call number, so you'll want to switch over to Aleph for that. (I know I end up doing a lot of those kinds of searches on the desk.)

Happy Monday everyone!

Weekly Calendar is online now too

Now you can check the weekly calendar online as well. This is the place where all trades are recorded. I think I've also put in all the holidays we'll be closed for too. But if you notice one I missed let me know.

Right now I have the reduced Fall schedule as continuing till Winter Break, but we may end up closing the desk after Finals. We'll look at that later in the semester.

See you Monday!

The Fall Schedules are UP!

So many folks were able to stay on for the first three weeks of Fall! Thank you all for volunteering! The Fall Triage Schedule is up, and we'll start Monday. Keep in mind that Monday-Wednesday next week we'll only be open until 6pm though since it's still technically intercession.

We'll continue with the full schedule until September 10th when we'll switch to the reduced Fall Schedule. Again though, so many folks were willing to take shifts during these busy times. Thank you all!

Those who were unable to fit the Info point into your schedule with the reduced time coverage, we'll miss you. Hopefully we'll see you again in the Spring. My guess right now is that we'll do the three weeks of Triage again in the Spring, but we'll see what happens.

I'm trying to keep up with the Email Distribution List, but if you find you're still on the list and you should be removed, please let me know. I'm also trying to keep our page of Information Specialists up to date as well.

See you on the desk!

Graduate and Faculty Study Carrels

It's that time of year again. Time for Graduate and Faculty to apply for their study carrels.

Applications are being accepted until August 31st. Applicants use the online form at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/cars/.

Assignments will not be made until the first week in September. Then all applicants will be notified via email to check their online account at the same URL.

The application form allows room for special notes or requests, so please ask patrons to enter those there rather than contacting Lori Driscoll directly. She's happy to answer any policy questions, but here are links to them as well:

Online Policies for:
Graduate Students
Faculty

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I just had a question from a student about what classification number they should choose (e.g. 7ED, 8EG, 9EN etc.) I found the information below to be very helpful. It's from the online Graduate Student Catalog.

Classification of Students

6 - Postbaccalaureate students: degree-holding students admitted to postbaccalaureate credits.

7 - Graduate students seeking a first master’s degree.

8 - Graduate students who have earned a master’s degree, or who have earned 36 or more credits while seeking a graduate degree, but who have not been admitted to doctoral candidacy.

9 - Graduate students admitted to doctoral candidacy.