Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Caring for the microfilm/fiche printers at McHenry



I'm working on a procedure for handling printer cartridges and paper needs in the Microfilm/fiche printers located near the McHenry Reference desk.

What I've done so far is this:

1. I've numbered and labeled the printers so that they are easy to identify (numbered 1-3). The numbers are big and right on top of the printer...easy to see and read.
2. I created a graphic showing the location of each of these printers. I will give a copy to the McH Circ desk and one to the Ref desk.

What I'm hoping is that this will make it easier for patrons to tell us (be it Ref or Access) which printer needs help and easier for folks at the Ref desk to notify Access of any problems.

Also, printer cartridges and paper for these printers are now located (and labeled) in Amy Chirman's old office. This will make it easier for Access staff to change cartridges and add paper.

The next step is for those of us in Access to fine-tune what we do once we're notified of a problem.

Please let me know if there are any problems with this or if you have questions and please let me know if I missed something...it's a work-in-progress.

Many thanks.

-- Molly

Monday, November 23, 2009

Google scanning in the McH Ref collection

Maric reports that the last bit of scanning of material from the McHenry Reference Collection will take place over the next few weeks. Here are the dates and call number ranges.

We're going to begin pulling reference materials this week. The first batch will be sent out next Wednesday 12/02/09, to be returned on 12/16 and reshelved before the break. The second batch will be sent on 12/09/09 and return on 01/13/2010, to be reshelved by 01/15. We hope to finish our pull from the reference collection between these two shipments, so the call numbers that will be gone will range from HA to Z (excepting HT168 to ML156.5, which has already been pulled).

Please let me know if you have any questions.

thanks, Frank

Friday, November 20, 2009

Antidote to the A4 printing error problem

Frank Gravier gets a gold star for discovering the antidote to the A4 tray error printing problem. When you encounter that error and there is no staff at the IT Help Desk, press 7 (for plain letter) and then enter (next to the number 4 and a left arrow), and the job will print out. It may not stop the A4 error from occurring but at least it doesn't hold up everyone else's print job.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

"Linked full text" removed from EbscoHost

"Linked full text" as an option has been removed from EbscoHost. The reason being that it never worked.

It appeared as recently as last week, so it must have taken effect very recently.

Thanks to Tasha Keagan for following up on this. Please send any search anomalies (as she says) to ejournals@library.ucsc.edu; even is you have to wait it's totally worth it!

-Annette

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Campus publications: general catalog, schedule of classes, The Navigator, academic calendar

I asked the Registrar's publication editor to outline the print and electronic publication pattern for the four major campus publications. FYI, the information is given below. As we untangle this, Janet will attempt to amend the Cruzcat records.

-Christine

UCSC General Catalog:
Beginning with the 2004-2005 year, the General Catalog went to a biennial printing schedule. One year the catalog is printed, the next year it is updated online, with updates less encompassing than revisions for the printed year's catalog. In addition to the current General Catalog, previous year's catalogs, both online updates and printed catalogs dating back to 2003-04, are available online at http://reg.ucsc.edu/catalog/index.html. The printing status of the General Catalog for the upcoming year, 2010-11, is uncertain. No decision has been announced yet that we are or are not printing it. The current General Catalog is online athttp://reg.ucsc.edu/catalog/index.html.

Quarterly Schedule of Classes:
The Schedule of Classes was printed each quarter up to and including fall 2009. As of winter quarter 2010, the Schedule of Classes is no longer printed, but is available online at http://reg.ucsc.edu/soc.htm. In addition to not printing it, the winter 2010 Schedule of Classes includes several changes from previous quarters. One is that informational text that was duplicated in the Schedule of Classes and either the Navigator or General Catalog has been removed from the Schedule of Classes (with a few exceptions that are specific to a particular quarter). Additionally, previous Schedules included complete class listings that included all courses, sections, dates and times, locations, instructors, and requirements. That is no longer included in the Schedule of Classes as of winter 2010 because the online class search mechanism in AIS (Academic Information Systems) has been modified and greatly improved (https://pisa.ucsc.edu/class_search/). The search parameters are limited to the
current and immediately preceding quarter, however, so this is likely to impact anyone looking back to find whether a particular course was offered. The current Schedule of Classes is online at http://reg.ucsc.edu/soc.htm.

The Navigator Undergraduate Handbook:
This is a little less clear. The last officially printed copy of the Navigator we have dates to 2002-03. Subsequent year's Navigator's are not archived online since they are to be used by incoming undergraduates and are updated annually. If, however, you are missing years subsequent to 2002-03, we can get you an online address to print copies to bring your collection up to date. The current Navigator is online at http://reg.ucsc.edu/navigator/index.html.

The Academic and Administrative Calendar:
The calendar was printed through the 2008-09 academic year, but was not printed this year (2009-10). Printable PDF versions of the current and previous year's calendars dating back to 2004-05 are available online at http://reg.ucsc.edu/calendar/index.html.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Schedule of Classes will no longer be printed

FYI...

Beginning Winter 2010, the Schedule of Classes will no longer be printed.

http://reg.ucsc.edu/soc.htmhttp://reg.ucsc.edu/soc.htm

New online form for Spec Coll NRLF items

Thanks to Sue Perry Special Collections now has an online form that patrons can use to request Spec Coll books and other materials stored at NRLF. The form can be found here: http://library.ucsc.edu/speccoll/special-collections-nrlf-request-form and is also linked from our Access to Collections page (http://library.ucsc.edu/speccoll/access-to-collections) .

Feedback on the form and instructions would be appreciated.

As always, patrons can contact me directly about requesting ASK AT SPECCOLL books without using the form.

-Luisa

Error code on Info Commons printer

If the IT Desk is not yet open and the printer says "Load MBF A4 Plain" it means that the print job has a setting asking for the bypass "A4" tray. The only way around this problem is to delete that print job, because it will not let any others through. It effectively stops printing for everyone networked to that printer. You can call 9-2486 if no one is staffing the IT help desk and they can delete the print job.

Questions from weekend shift

Just a sampling of the kinds of questions we got at the desk this busy Sunday:

-need study room or space to practice Spanish
-need to find a court case and history; it was a Supreme Court case and needed to find out if it went through state court system (used Westlaw)
-how do I check out a book?
-need to find biographical info about anthropologist Michelle Habell-Pallan (her CV was online)
-what is "Request at ILL" and how do I get it?
-what is NRLF?
-the books I want are checked out, what can I do?
-just starting research on the topic of human sacrifice and offerings (used Cruzcat subject headings)
-how do I print?
-I need a pen
-need a book about prefixes and suffixes
-UC-eLinks not working (we owned the book)
-can I take Ref books to another floor?
-can't find call number RC
-need books and articles about Australian aboriginal dreams (used subject headings in Cruzcat and Ebsco)
-book checked out until December?
-where are the elevators?
-where are the HB call numbers?
-I don't understand how the moving stacks work
-I need Latin-English, Greek-English, legal, and medical dictionaries
-couldn't find book (it was on Reserve)
-having difficulty using UC-eLinks
-book is checked out, need by tomorrow (we found it at SCPL)
-where are the newspapers?
-need to do research on the history of American Sign Language
-about 5 more questions on not finding call numbers (they were looking in Ref Stacks)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Where to get change update

The Back Perch at the ARCenter is gone. According to Dining Services, the McHenry Library coffee cart is supposed to be staffed 10am-2pm, Monday-Friday.

McHenry Library change machine is gone

The McHenry Library change machine located on the second floor, near the copy machines, is gone. The costs associated with the change machine were excessive.

Thanks,
Sarah

Head of Access Services
University of California, Santa Cruz
(831) 459-3878

Other possible options for change:

-Library cafe (if you buy something you can get change)
-Hahn cashier (Window Hours: 9 am to 4 pm Monday-Friday)
-Bookstore
-Ask other students or staff

Stay tuned for an update "cash on campus" post....

Anthro 1 assignment

Anthro 1 book assignment

I wanted to alert you that students from Anthro 1 may come in looking for books located at S&E and McH respectively. The point of the assignment is to use the book as a jumping off point to explore broader themes, but they do have to be familar with the book. The instructor is encouraging students to look for these books in our libraries, local libraries and bookstores. The written assignment is due Nov. 24th, and students are looking for these items now.

As you may have guessed, most of these books are already checked out. I don't have a good solution for helping students, other than ILL. I'll see if I can catch the student I helped (and who sped off) for a copy of the assignment.

Here's a sample of some of the titles:

The old way : a story of the first people / Elizabeth Marshall Thomas McH Stacks DT1558.S38 T46 2006

Female fertility and the body fat connection / Rose E. Frisch S&E Stacks RG136 .F755 2002

Your inner fish : a journey into the 3.5-billion-year history of the human body / Neil Shubin S&E Reading QM26 .S58 2008

Thanks,

Lucia

XpressIt! in bookstore plaza will be moving 12/11/09

At the end of Fall 2009, XpressIt! next to the bookstore will be moving in with Print Services at the Baskin Engineering location. They will be open at their current location until 12/10/09 from 7:30am-6pm. They will re-open on 12/15/09 in their new location in the basement of Baskin Engineering B66. They will be offering new services such as a new online ordering system.

For more info: http://printing.ucsc.edu/xpressit

History 10 - primary source questions

We are getting more questions from History 10 students needing primary sources. Their assignment is to find a letter that is ideally from the time period of a historical event (ex. the Missouri Compromise), or at least not after 1877, and then write 5-7 pages about it's historical significance. I had luck with a Thomas Jefferson letter (on Library of Congress site) about the Missouri Compromise. Consult Kerry's class guide for more sources:

http://library.ucsc.edu/course-guides/history-10a-united-states-history-to-1877

Ref Desk hours during the upcoming holiday intersession

The Ref Desk hours, at both libraries, during the intersession are as follows:

December 14th - December 18th: 1-5pm
Monday, January 4, 2010: 10-5pm

Regular quarter hours resume on Tuesday, January 5th.


Friday, November 6, 2009

Online guides for Writing and Core classes

As we get used to our new website, it might be helpful to highlight a couple of ways to introduce Writing and Core students to research (thanks to Debbie and Annette):

Getting Started (linked on our home page)
-takes students step-by-step through constructing a research paper
http://library.ucsc.edu/content/constructing-your-research-paper

Writing subject guide (linked on home page under "Subjects" and "Course Materials & ERes")
-outlines research process steps with links
http://library.ucsc.edu/course-guides/writing

Class and assignment-specific guides

There are many class guides for this quarter. Take a look at either of these links when helping patrons at the desk:

Find research materials by subject
http://library.ucsc.edu/find-research-materials-by-subject

and

Course Materials & ERes
http://library.ucsc.edu/services/find-materials-for-courses

Serials review lists & letter out to faculty today


The serials review lists (titles proposed for
cancellation) and a letter to faculty announcing the
availability of the lists, have gone out to faculty.
If you get questions about where the lists are, they are available
here:http://library.ucsc.edu.oca.ucsc.edu/collections/budget-reduction-process
- Toward the bottom of the page there are links to each
division, click on those to see the title lists.
Faculty may submit comments through the survey/feedback
form on the page.

The feedback form is referenced several times on the page
but here is the link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=W_2b4gtNSaxnj9_2bJsDfypi5A_3d_3d

If you have any questions, please let me know and I'll do
my best to answer them.

Thanks very much,

Kerry

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Anthro 1 assignment

Students from Anthro 1 may come in looking for books located at S&E and McH respectively. The point of the assignment is to use the book as a jumping off point to explore broader themes, but they do have to be familar with the book. The instructor is encouraging students to look for these books in our libraries, local libraries and bookstores. The written assignment is due Nov. 24th, and students are looking for these items now.

As you may have guessed, most of these books are already checked out. I don't have a good solution for helping students, other than ILL. I'll see if I can catch the student I helped (and who sped off) for a copy of the assignment.

Here's a sample of some of the titles:

The old way : a story of the first people / Elizabeth Marshall Thomas McH Stacks DT1558.S38 T46 2006

Female fertility and the body fat connection / Rose E. Frisch S&E Stacks RG136 .F755 2002

Your inner fish : a journey into the 3.5-billion-year history of the human body / Neil Shubin S&E Reading QM26 .S58 2008

Thanks,

Lucia

Friday, October 30, 2009

New Visitor Guides

There are new campus Visitor Guides from Admissions at the Ref Desk, on the shelf under the UCSC catalog and schedule of classes. It has a large, easy-to-read campus map, that includes up-to-date construction areas and new buildings.