Help is needed! Information Specialists to the Rescue!

Remember a few days ago when we got an email about Library West being closed for Intersession and that we wouldn’t staff the Infopoint?

Well scratch that.

Details will be forthcoming on how we’re going to provide services exactly, but we will somehow be providing library services from West during the flooring construction and we can really use the help of the Information Specialists!

I’ll know more about exactly what and where we’ll be during our shifts soon, but let’s all mark our calendars and plan on working our regular hours for intersession. If you need coverage for your shift that week, please send a call out to the list.

Thank you all so much for your flexibility!

Also, please remember if you have any extra availability during the extended hours April 19- May 1 from 8am to 4am your help on the desk would be appreciated. We’re especially having trouble filling the late night spots, but help anytime after 3pm would be wonderful! If you are interested, in working on the desk after 3pm anytime during the next two weeks, please contact Chris McHale at chrmcha at uflib.ufl.edu with your interest and availability.

Library Appreciation Month

Governor Crist has declared April to be Library Appreciation Month. The PR & Marketing Committee is putting together a display over at MSL and they've created bookmarks to gather patron comments about why they love their libraries.

These have been placed at the circulation desk of each branch. Please encourage patrons to take a bookmark, fill it in, and drop it off at any circulation desk. When you have any turned in, give them to the circulation staff person on duty so they can put it in Angela's mailbox. I’ll be transcribing them to be placed on a webpage linked to the library homepage.

If you’re running low on bookmarks, please let Angela know and she’ll request more.

Stress Reduction event upstairs Wednesday

There is a “Stress Reduction Before Finals” event in the InfoCommons tomorrow, Wednesday, April 9 from Noon – 1pm.

A speaker from GatorWell will be going over stress reduction tips including some breathing and visualization techniques.

Meeting Minutes

We had our mid-semester Team Meeting last week. We discussed the future of the Information Point along with a few other topics. Here are the minutes of the meeting:

With the budget crunch, Circulation could really use our help on the desk over Finals, Intersession and the Summer. Angela asked how many folks would still be able to continue to volunteer on the Information Point, and was pleased to hear that everyone in the meeting could stay. With this in mind, an email will be sent out to all the Information Specialists to ask if they are able to stay over summer on the same schedule or if they would like to modify their schedule. We anticipate keeping our same schedule of coverage (11am-3pm) through finals, intersession and Summer C.

There is a new handout to help patrons with the Wireless Network. Angela has only had 50 printed so far. If you find you're handing these out pretty regularly please let her know so she can request more.

New key fobs for the group study keys are being ordered. These will be larger and hopefully the barcode will be easier to scan. They'll also have the group study guidelines in the key fob itself so you will no longer have to write down the due time each time you check out a key. Angela mentioned she would handle this the same way she handles the laptops now that they have the laptop policy attached to them. She asks each patron if they would like the due time written down. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. (Several folks stated that they refer any group study questions or check out requests to Circulation, and this is fine too. But if you are checking out the keys, soon you'll see the new key fobs.)

Faculty laptops were briefly discussed. There are 4 faculty laptops on the bottom of the laptop cart that can only be checked out to faculty. They haven't seen a lot of circulation yet, but Angela encouraged folks to promote them to faculty, especially if they need to place Course Reserves or ILL requests. The student laptops can only be checked out to students, so these 4 are the only ones faculty can check out.

Self-check is coming soon. We will be getting one machine from FCLA in the next few weeks. (Later I found out it will most likely be installed during intersession.) We will hold several training sessions so that everyone gets a chance to practice with it. It will be installed right next to the Information Point, so we'll likely be the first responders for patrons with questions. Later there will be two more purchased for West and they will probably be placed on the other end of the desk near the lost and found.

Laptop batteries- it came up that folks haven't known what procedure to follow for changing the laptop batteries. Do you change them when they're checked in or when they're checked out? Angela went to Jim Stevens after the meeting and asked. He said, while they do charge faster being plugged into the cart, the procedure is to change out the battery when the laptop is checked in. Still, do check the battery status when you're checking out a laptop to a patron, but take the extra 30 seconds to change out the battery to a fresh one when you're returning a laptop.

Several folks brought up that they've noticed student assistants keeping a stash of laptops at their seats for easy access. This observation has been forwarded to the circulation staff so they can talk with their students about promptly returning the laptops to the cart. We talked about how, during busy times, you might have a few laptops handed to you as you're helping someone else, and that's understandable, but that we'll return them to the cart as soon as we can.

It was noticed that one of the keyboard feet went missing again. It has now been fixed. If you notice anything like this when at the desk, please email Angela so it can be repaired right away.

We also talked about how the monitor changes hue when moved. Angela has reported this to the system liaison.

These were my notes from the meeting. Did I miss anything? Thanks for coming!

New handout available!

Evan put together a Wireless Network Troubleshooting Guide to help folks having problems logging on to the wireless network.

He spoke with CNS and CNS has asked us to refer any patrons with wireless issues to their department- either via their website or Help Desk hotline at 392-HELP (this contact info is also contained within the handout).

Since students might have a hard time using the Help Desk website (especially if they are already having wireless connectivity issues) and because they also might not have a way to call the Help Desk hotline, Evan pulled troubleshooting information directly from the CNS website and compiled it into this handout.

Copies have been placed in the handout carts behind the circulation desk for easy access. I only initially ordered 50 copies. If you find you're handing these out a lot and running low, please let me know and I'll order more! This handout, along with many others, is linked to the Handouts page under Useful Links on the Information Point website.

Next Infopoint Team Meeting coming up

It's a good time for us to meet for our mid-semester check up and to talk about how all these budget cuts may affect the Information Point.

We'll meet in West 253 from 3-4pm on April 1st. I know it's April Fools' Day, but this time seems best for most folks. A few may need to leave a little early, but that should be fine.

And who knows, maybe some April Fools' humor will help us keep our chins up in these tight budget times.

(I know I've already got my April Fools' joke all ready to go for my spouse. I can't wait!)

Back to regular statistics

Our three weeks of the special self-check stats are finished. Thank you everyone for keeping those! We'll be back to our normal, easy reference statistics starting Sunday, March 2nd.

Have a great week!

The Pilot of the Week

This week Circulation is doing a pilot escort service. (I just couldn't resist)

Effective immediately, at the request of the directors, Circulation staff will be sending a staff member (or student) with each group when they check out a key in order to check the room for vandalism. They will also maintain a list of patrons who have checked out the rooms.

To manage this, there will be one station specifically designated for group study rooms only. This station will not be the Information Point. So during this week's pilot, if a patron is interested in checking out a room they will need to go to the designated station.

The revised policy soon will be placed online at:
http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ps/circ/studyroompolicy.html

Please encourage students to fill out a comment card about the new policy/procedure.

"I just want something fun to read"

With the idea of promoting recreational reading, we have designed 8 bookmarks that highlight some "classic" books students might enjoy reading for fun. Even if students don't find that particular book on the shelf, they might find other items in that area that they would enjoy reading.

The bookmarks are in the acrylic brochure holders between the escalators and on either side of the New Books shelves. Feel free to grab some and distribute them as you like. If you notice they're running out or you think of other ways to use them let Angela know.

New Laptops for Faculty

You'll notice there are three new laptops in the laptop cart this week. These are for faculty to check out. The old laptops are only able to be checked out by students, and these new ones are only able to be checked out by faculty.

If you have a faculty member who needs to submit reserves requests or ILL requests you can suggest they can check out a laptop as an option. The faculty laptops have bright orange copies of the policy taped to the top.

That reminds me, late last week we also attached copies of the laptop policies (in white) to the student laptops. This way you no longer have to enclose a copy of the policy every time they check out a laptop. Still, do make sure to tell them the due time and offer to write it down on a scrap piece of paper (or the policy sheets we have left).

A new tidbit I learned at the ILL training

Maybe you knew this already, but I was happy to learn this at the recent ILL training and thought I'd share.

We have a lot of things that show up in our catalog that are not located in the Smathers libraries. Sometimes a patron is looking for something that is only at Mead, Law or an IFAS station. I found out that if that is the case, they CAN ILL the item. The only exception is Health Science. If the item is at HSCL they'll have to go there to check it out. But if the item is only at Law, Mead, one of the IFAS centers or somewhere else, we can suggest they use ILL. Good to know!

Sample Statistics for SelfCheck

Starting Sunday, February 10th you'll notice a new statistics sheet at the circulation desk.

These statistics are to show how many circulation transactions could be handled by a SelfCheck machine and how many would still require a staff person's help. We also need to continue tracking each Reference Question we answer for other library-wide statistics.

Basically for any customer coming to the desk, first ask yourself if they needed a person at all. If not, mark as "NO staff needed." If they did need a person, tally mark once in the "ANY staff needed" column AND tally mark as needed to indicate how many reference questions they had (if any).

Each stats sheet is for just one day, so there will be a new one each day. we're keeping these stats for 3 weeks only and then we'll be back to our normal ones. Thanks so much for helping us gather these sample statistics! If you have any questions please ask the circ staff on duty, or you can call back or email Angela also.

Ergonomic seating at the Information Point

So do you guys think this new kind of seating would be worth having on the Information Point? One hour a week could make all the difference!

(If the link above isn't showing the video clip try here.)

Thanks to Cool Librarian for the link.

Microfilm on Reserve

I've had two students already looking for microfilm put on reserve for Professor Ziegler's history class. The microfilm is NOT in Ares. It's shelved back next to the professor owned books by newspaper title and issue. The student will tell you the title, month and year and you'll find it on the shelf.

Clarifications on the new stats sheets

I've had some questions about what kinds of transactions/questions we record on the new statistics sheets and which ones we don't. I asked the Access Services managers and the clarifications are below. Please ask if you have more questions, I know it's hard for me to remember what to record and what to skip after over a year of using the old sheets!

Do we record ILL transactions? Nope. If it's a simple checkout or return of an ILL item we don't record it as a question. If they ask questions about the survey bookmark, the due date, renewals, etc. be sure to count those though.

Do we record reserves transactions? Not if it's a simple one. If they have the call number and you are just checking it out it doesn't count. BUT if you're having to go into Ares to find the class and call number please do count that! That's a lot of work and should be reflected on the stats.

Other departments might record their desk statistics differently, so if you have questions please ask. The way Lisa explained it to me was if the circ transaction didn't really require any questions or answers then they don't record it.

I hope this helps clarify things. You can always ask one of the circ staff or students if you have a question too.

Ever heard of a Transparency Copier in the Libraries?

A student came in on the first day of classes with a hand-out (presumably from her instructor) that listed resources, and under Library West it said that we had a transparency copier for $.15 a page.

I've checked with the Reference Desk and with Colleen and I can't find any information about any equipment that would allow printing onto transparencies (for use on an overhead projector) if that is what is meant by "transparency copier." Our Xerox printers and copiers don't allow alternate paper sources, no bypass trays, so they can't just insert printable transparencies either.

If anyone knows differently, please share! In the meantime, if you get this question on the desk, try to get the instructor and course number and I'll try to clarify this with the instructor.

Spring Schedule & Upcoming Training Opportunity

You'll notice the Spring Schedule and The Weekly Schedule are now linked up and all set to go. Welcome to Suzanne Brown, our newest Information Specialist! and Welcome Back to Cathy Martyniak!

See you all on the desk next week!

With only one new person starting on the desk this semester I hesitate to offer the plethora of training opportunities we've had in past semesters. If anyone thinks a refresher training would be helpful though please let me know and I'm happy to set it up!

Right now there is one training coming up soon that would be great for us to attend. It's the staff ILLiad training and it's set for Wednesday, January 23rd in West 211. There are two sessions available to choose from: 11-12pm and 3-4pm. I hope to make it there myself!

When the website goes down

If the website goes down while you're on the desk, Rich Bennett sent a handy link that will help out.

Direct Link to the Catalog - Use this link when the Smathers website is down to access the catalog. If you click on "FCLA" in the grey bar (footer) you will find links to the Library Catalog, Research Gateway, E-Journal Locator, Course Reserve, ILLiad, etc. It also has direct links to ALL databases included on the "Databases A-Z" page normally available on the Smathers "Find Databases" page.

You might want to bookmark that link now, just in case.

New Simplified Statistics Sheets

Starting with the Spring semester we'll use the same statistics sheets as the other public service desks. There are only two categories of questions: Reference Questions and Other Questions.

Reference Questions are those that require you to use resources to find the answer. I would include questions that require the catalog, databases, an internet search, etc.

Other Questions are things that are informational, easy to find, or directional. Things like where a call number is located, who is librarian for a particular subject, when we close, how to get a job at the library, etc. would be Other. I would include policy questions here too.

If you relate these two new categories with our old stats sheets, anything that you used to put under Reference is a Reference Question. Anything you put under Directional, Policy, Equipment, Referred, or Other is probably an Other Question.

What about all those Circulation transactions though? Well if you are doing something in Aleph, you do NOT have to count it at all. These transactions will be tracked in Aleph. This includes checking things out, returning things, and activating cards. BUT for those questions that require you to USE Aleph but aren't really transactions, would still count as Other Questions- I'm thinking of questions like: How many books do I have checked out? How much was I fined? When is my book due? etc. Those would all be more informational kinds of questions and would count as "Other" on our new stats sheets.

Hopefully that helps explain the difference. If you have questions you can call me, or ask one of the folks on the circ desk. These are the same sheets they've been filling out since July so they'll have a good idea of what kinds of questions count as each type.

The other important change is that we'll all share the same stats sheet now. Each week there will be a new sheet on a clipboard at the Information Point. There is a pen chained to the clipboard too. This sheet will be used by everyone who sits at the information point for that entire week. (Think of all the trees we'll be saving!)

The reason behind this switch is that our stats have been really consistent for the last year in showing the ratio of question types that we answer. We still have to track total questions for ARL stats and administration, but if we do need more information on types of questions we can run a sample for a week or two instead of doing the more complex stats sheets all the time.

Please ask if you have questions. And I'll see you on the desk!

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!