Thursday, January 27, 2011
Placing holds on Reserves material
A question that comes up often at the desk and on Ask A Librarian is how can a patron place a hold ahead of time on a book that is on Reserve. A patron can place a hold up to a day in advance on a Reserve item, but only in person. They can also take a Reserve item out overnight if they place a hold 2.5 hours before we close in person (so for example 9:30pm for M-Th) and then it has to be back 1 hour after we open the next day.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Grateful Dead Research Guide
There is a new guide to help students, or anyone, with questions about researching the Grateful Dead phenomenon. It is located both in the subject guide list and the how to list:
http://library.ucsc.edu/help/howto/grateful-dead-research-guide
The Grateful Dead Archive is being processed and will not be available for researchers until spring 2012.
http://library.ucsc.edu/help/howto/grateful-dead-research-guide
The Grateful Dead Archive is being processed and will not be available for researchers until spring 2012.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Canon printer/copier in the Interlibrary Loan Student Room
Hi,
Toward the end of the day on Monday, 1/10/11, the color printer/copier in the ILL student room was having trouble. We have placed a service call and at this point have turned off the machine in anticipation of tomorrow morning's power outage. I will send a message when this machine is up and running again.
-Josh, ILL
Toward the end of the day on Monday, 1/10/11, the color printer/copier in the ILL student room was having trouble. We have placed a service call and at this point have turned off the machine in anticipation of tomorrow morning's power outage. I will send a message when this machine is up and running again.
-Josh, ILL
Monday, January 10, 2011
Ref weeding project
I wanted to catch you up on a few things having to do with the McHenry Ref weeding project.
1. There are about 15 book trucks lined up along the back wall/fence labeled Ref Weeding Project Jan 2011. These are the trucks we'll be using for the pull
2. The two SAIV students (one of whom started working on it today) will be doing the pull (under my guidance) and the plan is to have this project done by the end of Jan of this year.
If you have any questions about how this is going please let me know.
Many thanks.
-- Molly
1. There are about 15 book trucks lined up along the back wall/fence labeled Ref Weeding Project Jan 2011. These are the trucks we'll be using for the pull
2. The two SAIV students (one of whom started working on it today) will be doing the pull (under my guidance) and the plan is to have this project done by the end of Jan of this year.
If you have any questions about how this is going please let me know.
Many thanks.
-- Molly
Monday, January 3, 2011
Special Collections NRLF request form link
This is the link for Special Collections NRLF requests:
http://library.ucsc.edu/speccoll/special-collections-nrlf-request-form
http://library.ucsc.edu/speccoll/special-collections-nrlf-request-form
Gifts or donation requests until January 13th
While Paul Machlis is away (he'll be out January 3rd-January 12th), please refer any gifts or donation questions to Beth Remak, 459-2459 or remak@ucsc.edu.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Encore/Worldcat local update
I just wanted to let you all that I've had a few tweaks done to Encore.
The LOCATIONS facet now lists many more discreet locations . One of these locations that people may find particularly useful is the INTERNET location...this allows people to limit their search to items available online.
The other enhancement is the addition of the Worldcat Local database link on the right-hand side of the screen from the search results screen. Although not immediately apparent due to the generic Worldcat Local image, this is the link to Next Gen MELVYL. I would have liked to use an image that reflected this, but unfortunately, Encore doesn't support changing this image yet. :( You'll see once you've done a search in Encore, the Worldcat Local link appears on the right with the numbers of items that match your search. Clicking on that takes you to MELVYL's search results. This link only appears from the results list. It will not appear when you've clicked through to a specific title. This is an enhancement we are eagerly awaiting.
David
The LOCATIONS facet now lists many more discreet locations . One of these locations that people may find particularly useful is the INTERNET location...this allows people to limit their search to items available online.
The other enhancement is the addition of the Worldcat Local database link on the right-hand side of the screen from the search results screen. Although not immediately apparent due to the generic Worldcat Local image, this is the link to Next Gen MELVYL. I would have liked to use an image that reflected this, but unfortunately, Encore doesn't support changing this image yet. :( You'll see once you've done a search in Encore, the Worldcat Local link appears on the right with the numbers of items that match your search. Clicking on that takes you to MELVYL's search results. This link only appears from the results list. It will not appear when you've clicked through to a specific title. This is an enhancement we are eagerly awaiting.
David
New music research guide
Many thanks to Paul Machlis for his new guide, How to Find Music in the Library.
It's a great review for helping patrons find music sources on the desk.
It's a great review for helping patrons find music sources on the desk.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Phone books
Laura's recent post on pay phones pushed the notion of phones to the front of my reference brain so my attention was quickly captured by Leah Garchik's December 13th column in the San Francisco Chronicle highlighting a unique reference work:
In his new "The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads," historian Ammon Shea writes that for a few decades at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th, there was a hand-lettered Chinese phone book in San Francisco. This was for Chinese customers of Pacific Bell who used the only foreign-language phone exchange in the country.
Chinatown's first phone, in a Bush Street office, was in operation in the 1880s, and was much used by "farmers selling produce or looking for laborers." Beginning in 1890, residents had access to a public phone in the offices of a Chinese-language newspaper. By 1894, a Chinatown switchboard linked 37 phones; in 1898, they became part of Pacific Telephone and Telegraph.
Because Chinese characters are based on ideas rather than letters, the "directory" system was not alphabetic, and most operators would spend a great deal of their first months on the job trying to memorize phone numbers.
UCSC doesn't have The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book that Everyone Used but No One Reads, but the section describing this distinctive San Francisco phone directory in more detail is included in the Google Books preview here.
In his new "The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads," historian Ammon Shea writes that for a few decades at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th, there was a hand-lettered Chinese phone book in San Francisco. This was for Chinese customers of Pacific Bell who used the only foreign-language phone exchange in the country.
Chinatown's first phone, in a Bush Street office, was in operation in the 1880s, and was much used by "farmers selling produce or looking for laborers." Beginning in 1890, residents had access to a public phone in the offices of a Chinese-language newspaper. By 1894, a Chinatown switchboard linked 37 phones; in 1898, they became part of Pacific Telephone and Telegraph.
Because Chinese characters are based on ideas rather than letters, the "directory" system was not alphabetic, and most operators would spend a great deal of their first months on the job trying to memorize phone numbers.
While Santa Cruz may not have such a distinctive history of telephone directories our Special Collections Department does have a small collection of phone directories from as far back as 1918. The collection is in NRLF and more details about its scope can be found here.
Other historical directories more readily available include Polk and Haines directories which can be found in Cruzcat. A detailed list of historical collections of local telephone directories held in various repositories throughout the county can be found on page 65 of Every Structure Tells a Story: How to Research the History of a Property in Santa Cruz County.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Pay Phones at UCSC
We have a list of pay phones on campus, but it is dated 2007. They may still be there, but this is unverified. I will update this entry if I get around to them to see if they are still operational.
Two closest to McHenry Library: Bay Tree Bookstore and Theater Arts ticket booth
Closest to Science & Engineering Library: Health Center
Complete list (**with TDD):
Bay Tree Bookstore 831-425-9245**
Performing Arts (ticket booth, near bldg 3) 831-425-9877
Health Center (back lobby near rear door) 831-425-9241
Kresge Town Hall (in front of the coffee house) 831-425-9073
College 9/10 (under stairwell of College 9) 831-425-9320
College 8 (entry porch DL building) 831-425-9403
College 8 (apt bldg 6 outside) 831-425-9846
College 8 (apt bldg 2 outside) 831-425-9849
Crown College (admin bldg gatehouse) 831-425-9645
Porter College (bldg C, outside dining hall) 831-425-9295**
The map below does incorrectly say UCSF, but it isn't. ;)
Two closest to McHenry Library: Bay Tree Bookstore and Theater Arts ticket booth
Closest to Science & Engineering Library: Health Center
Complete list (**with TDD):
Bay Tree Bookstore 831-425-9245**
Performing Arts (ticket booth, near bldg 3) 831-425-9877
Health Center (back lobby near rear door) 831-425-9241
Kresge Town Hall (in front of the coffee house) 831-425-9073
College 9/10 (under stairwell of College 9) 831-425-9320
College 8 (entry porch DL building) 831-425-9403
College 8 (apt bldg 6 outside) 831-425-9846
College 8 (apt bldg 2 outside) 831-425-9849
Crown College (admin bldg gatehouse) 831-425-9645
Porter College (bldg C, outside dining hall) 831-425-9295**
The map below does incorrectly say UCSF, but it isn't. ;)
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
International census questions
We've had several questions about census statistics and demographics for countries around the world. As a reminder the U.S. Census Dept. maintains a list of International Statistical Agencies here. Many of these agencies provide English language versions. For example, yesterday a patron and I were able to find a report, in English, from the Swedish census bureau about the demographics of immigrants from Iraq to Sweden.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Ref College and Careers collection
Hi all,
As part of the reference reduction I'm planning to do some heavy weeding in the college and careers collection outside of the BI room. Much of the material can obviously be withdrawn or moved into the ref collection under its call number. If there is anything questionable I'll consult with the appropriate bibliographer, but if you have questions or concerns about this collection or the material in contains please let me know. Once I've cleared it I will ask cataloging to remove that location from Cruzcat.
thanks, Frank
As part of the reference reduction I'm planning to do some heavy weeding in the college and careers collection outside of the BI room. Much of the material can obviously be withdrawn or moved into the ref collection under its call number. If there is anything questionable I'll consult with the appropriate bibliographer, but if you have questions or concerns about this collection or the material in contains please let me know. Once I've cleared it I will ask cataloging to remove that location from Cruzcat.
thanks, Frank
My ILL Requests update
Hi All,
This is to inform you that a fix is being put in place that might affect patrons who are trying to access the 'My ILL Requests' service OR might affect when they go to place interlibrary loan requests. We are having CDL change the field where patrons enter their barcode in request and 'My ILL Requests' so that they will no longer be able to put hyphens or spaces between the numbers of their barcode. Patrons were supposed to be putting their barcodes in like this all along, however, the entry field would allow all sorts of variations which would go on to create a distinct account in the interlibrary loan system.
Basically, over the next few days/weeks/months, if you encounter a patron who is having difficulty logging into ILL services you may want to ask how they are going about entering their barcode.
Barcodes should be entered as one continuous string of numbers.
ie: 2210600642878X
AND NOT
22106-0064287-8X OR any other variation like this.
If the patron continues to have trouble please refer him directly to us (call, or e-mail ill@library.ucsc.edu). This fix should be in place sometime on Monday Nov. 15th.
Feel free to write back for any clarification!
-Josh, Interlibrary Loan
This is to inform you that a fix is being put in place that might affect patrons who are trying to access the 'My ILL Requests' service OR might affect when they go to place interlibrary loan requests. We are having CDL change the field where patrons enter their barcode in request and 'My ILL Requests' so that they will no longer be able to put hyphens or spaces between the numbers of their barcode. Patrons were supposed to be putting their barcodes in like this all along, however, the entry field would allow all sorts of variations which would go on to create a distinct account in the interlibrary loan system.
Basically, over the next few days/weeks/months, if you encounter a patron who is having difficulty logging into ILL services you may want to ask how they are going about entering their barcode.
Barcodes should be entered as one continuous string of numbers.
ie: 2210600642878X
AND NOT
22106-0064287-8X OR any other variation like this.
If the patron continues to have trouble please refer him directly to us (call, or e-mail ill@library.ucsc.edu). This fix should be in place sometime on Monday Nov. 15th.
Feel free to write back for any clarification!
-Josh, Interlibrary Loan
Monday, November 1, 2010
What to do if a 1994+ UCSC dissertation does not appear in Digital Dissertations online
Although we archive the paper copies of all UCSC master theses and doctoral dissertations in Special Collections, they do not handle the submission of files to Digital Dissertations. We can make an inquiry of the UCSC Graduate Division about the student and title and they will verify that the dissertation was produced. They do not have information about its submission to Pro Quest (the company that produces the electronic files and supports Digital Dissertations). It is not mandatory for students to have their dissertations made electronically available so in some cases it may be that the student decided not to make it accessible in this format. The Graduate Division can check and verify if this is the case.
If you encounter an incorrect record in Cruzcat, where a link to Digital Dissertations is provided but does not work, please let Cataloging know and they can correct the record.
If you encounter an incorrect record in Cruzcat, where a link to Digital Dissertations is provided but does not work, please let Cataloging know and they can correct the record.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Articles & Databases link missing on home page
The Articles & Databases link on the left side of the library home page is missing and it has been reported.
In the meantime, use the Articles link in the center and then click on "More article databases."
Best, Laura
In the meantime, use the Articles link in the center and then click on "More article databases."
Best, Laura
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
EBSCO changes requirements for using search tags in command line searching
EBSCO reports:
Dear EBSCO Customer,
Please note that over the next few days, we will begin migrating toward a new command line search requirement that all search tags be entered in upper-case ONLY, from the current lower, mixed and upper-case options. Here are the details of this change:
Search Tag Changes
Effective with a software release due this week, EBSCO will treat a short list of command line search tags (when entered in lower or mixed case) as text. Only UPPER CASE instances of these tags will be treated as search tags. The tags that will undergo this change are: AN, AS, AU, BE, DE, DO, DR, GI, IN, IP, IS, LA, RN, SO.
The EBSCOhost search engine will place quotation marks around the tags listed above, whenever they are entered in lower or mixed case. Therefore, a user will see the quotes in search history and saved searches going forward.
For example: if the user enters an american tragedy, they will see "an" american tragedy in their search history.
Please note: While users must only enter these specific tags in UPPER CASE with this software release (so that they will be treated as tags and not text), we highly recommend that all users become accustomed to entering ALL command line search tags in UPPER CASE to accommodate future additions to the short list of affected tags. The current list of tags that will be changed is made up of tags that are not frequently used, to cause the least amount of impact on "super" users who are the most likely to employ command line searching.
Dear EBSCO Customer,
Please note that over the next few days, we will begin migrating toward a new command line search requirement that all search tags be entered in upper-case ONLY, from the current lower, mixed and upper-case options. Here are the details of this change:
Search Tag Changes
Effective with a software release due this week, EBSCO will treat a short list of command line search tags (when entered in lower or mixed case) as text. Only UPPER CASE instances of these tags will be treated as search tags. The tags that will undergo this change are: AN, AS, AU, BE, DE, DO, DR, GI, IN, IP, IS, LA, RN, SO.
The EBSCOhost search engine will place quotation marks around the tags listed above, whenever they are entered in lower or mixed case. Therefore, a user will see the quotes in search history and saved searches going forward.
For example: if the user enters an american tragedy, they will see "an" american tragedy in their search history.
Please note: While users must only enter these specific tags in UPPER CASE with this software release (so that they will be treated as tags and not text), we highly recommend that all users become accustomed to entering ALL command line search tags in UPPER CASE to accommodate future additions to the short list of affected tags. The current list of tags that will be changed is made up of tags that are not frequently used, to cause the least amount of impact on "super" users who are the most likely to employ command line searching.
Monday, October 25, 2010
CruzID manager web pg down tonight
New laptops/iPads/calculators/headphones checkout policy
Hi all,
In order to bring our laptop and other equipment lending policies in line with the iPad pilot we have made some changes effective this morning. All laptops, iPads, and calculators can now be checked out for 4 hours at a time. This equipment can be taken outside of the library and may be checked out overnight after 8:30pm. Headphones may also be checked out for 4 hours, but patrons may not take them outside of the library and they cannot be checked out overnight.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Nicole
In order to bring our laptop and other equipment lending policies in line with the iPad pilot we have made some changes effective this morning. All laptops, iPads, and calculators can now be checked out for 4 hours at a time. This equipment can be taken outside of the library and may be checked out overnight after 8:30pm. Headphones may also be checked out for 4 hours, but patrons may not take them outside of the library and they cannot be checked out overnight.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Nicole
Friday, October 22, 2010
Problem with public copiers - extra charges when using bypass tray
Frank Dang reports:
Public Services staff,
I wanted to alert you to an intermittent copier issue. McHenry Infocommons copiers and Cowell Room Copiers.
Sometimes when using the bypass the new copiers are double charging patrons. On Monday I tested this with the copier services staff and we were double charged. Pat True when back and tested it again with the copier technician and could not re-create the problem.
If you have a patron using the bypass tray on the new copiers in either building and they complain of double charging please notify ps_copiers@ucsc.edu and fdang@ucsc.edu with the time, date, copier number and a small explanation of problem.
If a patron is charged incorrectly the Circulation desks have refund forms, and the McHenry circ desk has cards for refunds.
Thanks,
-Frank
Public Services staff,
I wanted to alert you to an intermittent copier issue. McHenry Infocommons copiers and Cowell Room Copiers.
Sometimes when using the bypass the new copiers are double charging patrons. On Monday I tested this with the copier services staff and we were double charged. Pat True when back and tested it again with the copier technician and could not re-create the problem.
If you have a patron using the bypass tray on the new copiers in either building and they complain of double charging please notify ps_copiers@ucsc.edu and fdang@ucsc.edu with the time, date, copier number and a small explanation of problem.
If a patron is charged incorrectly the Circulation desks have refund forms, and the McHenry circ desk has cards for refunds.
Thanks,
-Frank
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Update on Morton Marcus Poetry Reading tickets
McHenry Library's Circ desk is a distribution site for the free tickets to the 1st annual Morton Marcus Memorial Poetry Reading featuring Robert Hass on Nov. 6th. at the Cabrillo College Music Recital Hall.
Unfortunately, all the tickets have now been given out-- this is turning out to be a VERY popular event.
If those of you working at the Circ desk (or at other public service desks) end up with complaints about ticket availability please refer those folk to me. As of today noon there are still 20 tickets left at Bookshop Santa Cruz, and if there are cancellations it is possible there may be some at the door before the event.
Thanks for your assistance and patience .
-Christine Bunting
Unfortunately, all the tickets have now been given out-- this is turning out to be a VERY popular event.
If those of you working at the Circ desk (or at other public service desks) end up with complaints about ticket availability please refer those folk to me. As of today noon there are still 20 tickets left at Bookshop Santa Cruz, and if there are cancellations it is possible there may be some at the door before the event.
Thanks for your assistance and patience .
-Christine Bunting
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