Follow-up from meeting

Just to follow up on a few items from our meeting:

I talked with the circulation folks about possibly extending our hours of coverage on the desk during the extended hours at the end of the semester. They thought that would be great! So at our mid-semester meeting we'll know when the Spring extended hours will be and I'll recruit volunteers to work extra shifts on the desk that week or two.

Circ staff also expressed how happy they are to have our help at the beginning of Summer B and Fall when so many brand new students will be coming in too. So we'll endeavor to extend our coverage of the desk during those few weeks too.

About the sign for the Information Point: while there are no plans for permanent signage there, I did get permission to recreate the paper sign for the plastic holder. The old sign must have gone missing at some point, so I'll make a new one and have it up in time for Spring.

On the silver boxes, I brought up all the points we discussed and the Access Services managers are compiling a proposal on what we'd like to have at the desk. The proposal should be going to the directors in January. Hopefully we'll have those silver boxes gone sometime in Spring!

I'm working this week on the Spring schedule. So far I've added Cathy Martyniak back in the schedule - welcome back Cathy! I've had a few other nibbles but nothing concrete yet. If you know of anyone interested in spending one hour on the Infopoint a week, send them my way!

Have a safe and happy holiday everyone!

Minutes from December Meeting

We held our December Team Meeting on Tuesday, Dec 4th. Here's a synopsis of the meeting:

Scheduling
We will staff the Infopoint up through Thursday, Dec 13th. That will take us up through the end of finals. We'll start back on the Infopoint on 1/7/08, the first day of Spring classes. We'll only staff the Infopoint 11-3pm M-F in the Spring, but for Summer B and Fall semester we'll arrange 8am-8pm triage coverage for the first few weeks. An interesting suggestion was that we offer to provide extra hours at the end of the semester instead of only at the start. I'll bring this up with Access Services. It sounds like a good idea- it's been really busy this past week!

Spring Schedule Changes
So far it looks like most everyone is willing to stay on the Information Point for Spring. I do have one empty spot (we'll miss you Angie!) and we have four people who have 2 hour shifts now. I'll be sending out a call for volunteers to fill the 1-5 hours we could fill with new volunteers soon. If anyone would like to change their shift for Spring please let me know.

Moving to the other end of the desk?
We talked about the possibility of moving to the other end of the desk (near the lost and found, reserves, holds and keys) but the unanimous decision was to stay where we are (closer to the entrance, ILL items, and laptops). Looks like we'll stay put!

Silver Boxes
You know there was a lot to say about these! We considered ways to hide the wires (cable tunnels), the desensitizer (bookmark/brochure holder), and whether we needed the dual monitors (they're not used as intended because of privacy issues, so what about getting a large overhead monitor like Marston?) I've passed our suggestions on to the Access Services Managers and they're sending the proposals up to the directors. Let's hope we lose the big silver boxes soon!

Other stuff
Naomi had an issue come up when she called our desk to be transferred to the reference desk and instead was transferred to Paul M's voicemail. I doublechecked the numbers posted at the desk and they're typed correctly, but lucky Paul has a number really close to the ref desk number:
Paul M- 3-2655
Ref desk- 3-2665

I think that about covers the meeting. If you have any questions let me know.

GRE Test Prep- Available Online!

I know I've had many patrons come by checking out or returning GRE Test Prep books. Well I just found out that we have GRE Test Prep materials available online! Refer patrons to the Testing and Education Reference Center by Gale.

Ben Walker suggests this as the easiest way to access it: go to Databases, search by title, select "t" from the alphabetical list, and find Testing and Education Reference Center.

It looks like they can take the practice tests and look at the online test prep books for the following tests:
GRE
MCAT
LSAT
GMAT
MAT and more

I'm impressed!

Upcoming training on Ares

Ares (course reserves) training is available next week. Sign up online here.

This training will provide tips on how to better serve the patron when they come to the desk with Ares questions.

Training Dates, locations, and times:
Library West Room 211 (3:00-4:00PM)
December 12th and 19th

If you have questions please contact the Reserves staff at or call 273-2520.

Questions on Guitar Hero? I think that falls under "other"

There is a library event this Thursday on the 3rd floor. It looks like all patrons and staff are welcome to attend.

Guitar Hero this Thursday, December 6, from 2-4pm on the third floor of Library West in the InfoCommons presentation area.

Please contact: Stacey Ewing, Laura Jordan, or Laurie Taylor with any questions.

It sounds like fun!

Time to think about Spring

Our end of semester meeting is next week on Dec. 4th at 2:30 in West 253.

Topics for discussion include:

The upcoming Spring semester
How did it go having the triage for the first 3 weeks, should we do that for Spring?
Spring Schedule changes?
Discuss possibility of changing the location to the other end of the desk.

The big silver boxes
We have been asked for proposals on how to replace the big silver boxes. Our proposals are due on 12/5 so bring your ideas!

Wrap up the fall semester
Looking at the Fall Statistics
Your feedback from the desk

ILL down Friday

The ILLiad system will be down this Friday (Nov. 16^th) from 8:00am-noon for a server switch. During this time, no one will have access to ILLiad.

How to get emailed updates from this blog

If you would like to get an automatic email whenever there is a new post on this blog follow these instructions:

1. In the new box over to the right of this screen, enter your email address and click the subscribe button.

2. A pop-up window will come up. Enter the letters you see there and click "complete subscription request." (This is a word verification tool that assures the computer that you're either a human, a clever robot, or a erudite monkey, all of which are welcome to subscribe to this blog.)

3. Check your email (whatever one you entered in the box). There should be a message there from "confirmations@emailenfuego.net" with a link to click. Click this link to verify that the email you entered is a live address.

4. That's it. Now you should get an email every time there is an update on this blog. You should ONLY get an email from this service if there is a new post on this blog.

Since folks can choose to sign up for these automatic emails I'll stop emailing you myself when I update the blog. This new feature is new for me, so if you notice anything strange going on with it please let me know. I've subscribed myself so that I can test it also.

Ares training coming up

The course reserve unit is offering training once again on our new electronic system Ares. It has been about five months since they’ve implemented the system. It is markedly different from our old system and additional training sessions are available this fall. Many of you who have used the system will have questions after using the system on the desk.

Please mark your calendar to attend one of the Ares hands-on training session.
No sign-up is necessary.

Training Dates:
Library West Room 211
3:00-4:00PM
Wednesday, December 12th or 19th

If you have questions please contact the Reserves staff at eres@uflib.ufl.edu or call 273-2520

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.