E-resources blog

New blog for electronic resources

Electronic Resources @ McGill: http://liblog.mcgill.ca/cs/

We have created a blog to post information about our electronic resources and databases, including new resources, maintenance, trials, etc. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or comments.

Thanks, Joseph Hafner, Associate Director, Collection Services

Copy Service

McGill Copy Service in Redpath street level is now open on Saturdays from noon to 5 pm.

VPN Instructions

In case the ICS Knowledge Base site is down, I've pasted the VPN instructions for each operating system into a Word document and saved them on the U drive:
U:\McLref\Common\Reference\VPNInstructions.

Megan

Government info microfilms

The Gov Info microfilms are being reclassed to LC, so Elizabeth Gibson has left us a shelf list in case users have trouble finding them. It is a 23 page legal-sized printout which will be in the drawer behind the info desk.

Key for laptop cabinet

From Anna:

Key for “Laptop” Computer Cabinets at the Loans Desk

There’s a spare key in the Emergency drawer at the Main Info Desk to open all the computer cabinets at the Loans desk
Key is labeled “Computer Cabinets” Loans Desk.
INFO DESK : When giving out this key make sure it is brought back immediately.

Weekend support for photocopiers

From Anna:

“On weekends when the copy service counter is closed , Essam (person in charge) will try to be available for emergencies.

If you call 398-3252 the number is forwarded to his cell phone number (514)702-0447 and if you leave a message describing the problem, he will do his best to repair it.

Remember Ancillary fixes the following problems:

• Printers: paper jams and toner refills
• Card readers on copiers ONLY
• Card dispensers (weekdays only as it requires 2 people)”

Lost and found

From Lonnie:

People reporting lost items should not be automatically referred to the Loans desk.

All valuables reported lost (USB keys, wallets, etc) should be:

• If lost the same day, we should call Security.
• If lost previously, we send client to Campus Lost and Found.

Please refer to the following instructions regarding Lost & Found

http://www.mcgill.ca/hssl/services/lost/

and the person should be encouraged to complete the Lost & Found form:

http://www.mcgill.ca/security/services/forms/report/

Overdues Fines for Headphones

The overdue fine for the headphones lent out by the Loans & Reserves Desk is $2.00 per day.

*New* walkie-talkie default: channel 3

As some of you may already be aware, employing channel '2' as the default for walkie-talkie communications--as per my previous instructions (below)--results in interference with local police communications. Therefore, be sure to set your walkie-talkies to channel '3' from now on. You may subsequently switch to channel '4' (if you encounter interference).

Please let me know if you have any questions about the use of the walkie-talkies. Your questions and feedback about/on the SN program are/is welcome!

Regards,


Adam Lauder
Humanities and Social Sciences Library

Lexis-Nexis Academic

Although the catalogue still says “on order” we now have access to this version of Lexis.

Access is via the catalogue. Click on the title. You will find the link and the login bypass instructions in the URL field.

Please note that this version is totally different and we all need to familiarize ourselves with it.

A tip for the Undergrad Economy class: If they have a specific country in mind, start in the Source Directory, by country.

Thank you.

Juanita
Information/Reference Service

eScholarship

I will be off on maternity leave as of tomorrow, September 25, 2008. I do not yet have a replacement as Coordinator of eScholarship@McGill, and so I thought I should leave you with some information just in case you get any questions (or perhaps this is more of a warning you that you may be getting questions because of me!) This will be of interest to Liaison Librarians in particular:
- The eScholarship email account is instructing people to get in touch with their Liaison Librarian if they need more information about the repository and the deposit process. If you need a refresher or more information about the repository, I have created a Toolkit for Liaison Librarians which can be accessed from http://wikisites.mcgill.ca/lts (you will have to log in and return to the Main Page to access it). Obviously, you will not be able to deposit articles yourselves, but if you could just let anyone interested know that we are waiting for my replacement and also provide an explanation of how the process works in general, that would be very helpful.
- If people need help converting their theses to PDF/A, we are now instructing them to contact the ICS Service Desk. If they are having trouble converting their LaTeX theses to PDF/A, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies will accept PDFs (rather than PDF/As) because of complications with the LaTeX format.

Wishing you all the best,

Gen
Genevieve Gore Coordinator, eScholarship@McGill

Russian books

Students may be asking questions at the info desk about vandalized Russian books. Please tell them that Library Administration and I are doing everything possible to return things back to normal within the shortest period of time. If they ask more questions, please ask them to contact me.

Thank you,
Tatiana

Walkie-talkies, roving, etc.&

I am writing to announce that, starting today, librarians-on-duty will have the ability to communicate with ours SNs using walkie-talkies. Two pairs of walkie-talkies will be stored in the reference area at all times (when not in use, please ensure that walkie-talkies are securely docked in their cradles [on the table adjoining Pam’s desk, across from the mailboxes]; it is the responsibility of the librarian-on-duty to ensure that W-Ts are charged and ready for use). Please find instructions on the use of W-Ts below. If you require further information or training, do not hesitate to contact me (I have the official Cobra microTALK owner’s manual in my possession).

I would encourage all of you to take this opportunity to experiment with the W-Ts to ensure that you are comfortable using them: you may be called upon to provide supplementary training to the SNs (I will be training the SNs on the use of W-Ts starting today), and, in any case, you will be using the W-Ts to communicate with the rovers.

Walkie-talkie instructions.

1.1 There are 4 walkie-talkie units (2 blue and 2 grey);
1.2 Rotating the ‘On/Off Volume’ knob at top will activate/deactivate your unit and can be used to control its volume;
1.3 All 4 units will communicate with each other provided that they are tuned to the same channel;
1.4 Select a channel using the ‘up’ and ‘down’ arrows on the dial/face;
1.41 In order to combat interference it is recommended that channel ‘2’ be selected as the default; if interference is encountered in the field select a higher
channel (e.g. ‘4’, etc.& );
1.5 Paging another operator :
1.51 Press and hold the ‘Talk’ button (located on the left-hand side of the device);
1.52 With the microphone about five cm (two inches) from your mouth, speak in a normal voice;
1.53 Release the ‘Talk’ button when you are finished talking and listen for a response, etc.&;
1.6 Listening for a response: release the ‘Talk’ button to receive incoming transmissions (the device sounds something like a pager;
1.61 When receiving and transmitting communications, try to move into open areas such as the lobby to avoid interference;
1.7 Please remember to return units to their cradles in the reference area in order to recharge for reuse.

Please let me know if you have any questions and please experiment.

Be bold and the forces of the universe will come to your aid,


Adam Lauder
Liaison Librarian

SN hours

From Adam's e-mail message:

Student Navigator Hours:
M-F: 8am - 10am (Cybertheque)
M-F: 5pm - 8pm (Roving support throughout HSSL. Supporting the Info Desk Librarian)
M: 6pm - 12:45am (Cybertheque)
T-F: 9pm - 12:45am (Cybertheque)
S-S: 2pm - 5pm (Roving support throughout HSSL. Supporting the Info Desk Librarian)
Sat: 6pm - 12:45am (Cybertheque)
Sun: 10am - 1pm, 5pm - 12:45am (Cybertheque)

More information about the SN program, including training documents, is here:
U:\Common\Student Navigators 2008-09

Guest logins for visiting scholars

Hi All,

Cornelia's understanding is correct.

Procedure is - we sign the guest name in the account sheet(s).

Process is - we do not throw out the sheets. Bruce collects and retains them.

I recall using last year's sheets to look at guest status and "busy" period.

Regards,

Lonnie

________________________________________
From: Cornelia Penner
Sent: Sat 9/13/2008 12:41 PM
Subject: Guest logins for visiting scholars
Hello,
My understanding is that when we give full computer access to visiting scholars, we take down the information on the clipboard, walk over to the computer and sign them in, rather than providing them with the information to log in themselves. This is what we agreed to do in the summer of 2006 when the computers first required logging in, and to my knowledge this never changed. I would just like to make sure we are all still on the same page, because inconsistency between staff members is frustrating to users.
Cornelia

Guest Account Dell 620's " / é " keyboard problem

Hi folks,

This is a rather bizarre and minor problem, but I thought I would share it in case you get questions about it at the info desk.

Last Sunday, a client using a guest/guest account on the main floor of McLennan noticed that when he hit the slash / key, an é appeared. ICS investigated and has created a script to fix the problem. If a client encounters this problem, the computer should be rebooted, and then the keys will work properly. The full message of the ICS response to the problem appears below.

Megan

-----Original Message-----
From: ICS Customer Support
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 10:12 AM
To: Megan Fitzgibbons
Subject: Your Call Ticket #00509967 "The GUEST accounts keyboard is not displaying the right keys. Like the "/"." has been Closed

*************************
* Solution Below *
*************************

The problem seems to only affect the dell 620's. I wrote a startup script to update the keyboard layout for the guest account. Once a user signs on as a guest, they will have to reboot the pc to fix the problem. Only one reboot is required after the guest signs on. I have only installed the script on pc's in the McLennan reference area but I plan to include other areas as well. I also updated the image so that the problem wont re-appear.

Charles Phelan
ICS - Library Group


The "/" key gives the french é, but changing the language to Japanesse gives the right"/". Something is up with the keyboard layout in the guest account. The same thing on our image here on the test machines. Research required.
Pending.


Closed Date & Time : 2008-09-11 at 10:10:08

Book Fair

Just a reminder that the Book Fair has a sign up saying that they won't accept donations after September 30.

McGill Book Fair Dates
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008

Copy Service hours - Fall 2008

The hours of the Copy Service in Redpath are:

Monday-Friday: 9:00-7:00

Saturday and Sunday: closed

No weekend service whatsoever.

FAX machines

The ILL fax machine is irreparably broken and will not be replaced in the short-term.

The ILL fax line (-7184) has been forwarded to the fax machine in Collections Services.

HSSL staff who need to send a fax have access to the HSSL fax line -6273 connected to the Cannon 3220 photocopier (Press Display) in Redpath Rm-31.

EDRS and RBD also appear to have a fax lines.

Please inform relevant staff in Info Services, Lending & Access Services & GovInfo, who have been regular users of the ILL fax machine, that it is no longer available.

With thanks,

Sincerely

Valerie

Valerie Mayman, Librarian
Interlibrary Loan Service

Guest Accounts

Hello All,

Two reminders to the Princesses and Princes of the Info Desk:

1. please ensure that there are sufficient "day" sheets for guest account passes.

I'm told that that the account is activated one hour after creation. The evening person should make sure that at least one account is

available for possible early morning use.

2. reminder that our policy is not to provide lap-top users with a day guest account. Security issues.

please inform users that the account is a service offered to them but that use of the account is restricted to library computers.

(Apologies if I've forgotten someone from the distribution list)

Thanks and regards,

Lonnie

Library laptop lending update

Requests to book laptopsSome locations have received requests to book laptops, mostly made by members of faculty and part-time lecturers. Please explain that the library lends laptops on a first-come, first-served basis, and refer them back to their faculty or department for their laptop needs. ICS has confirmed to me that regular members of faculty are covered by the academic laptop programme, and all faculties as well as Continuing Education have been given additional floater laptops for use by sessional lecturers or faculty members who are not covered under the academic laptop programme. It’s possible that the persons making the request are not aware of this.

Requests for additional equipment or technical advice to be provided with laptopsThe library lends only what is in the laptop bag. ICS provides technical support for the laptops. Please advise borrowers to speak with the ICS Help Desk if they have requests for additional equipment such as power bars or a monitors, or require technical advice or set-up of equipment.

You may give my name and number to anyone who is not satisfied with your explanations, or who insists on a booking a laptop. We are occasionally allowing a small number of laptops to be set aside for events such as training sessions, but this would be an exception which should be approved by me.


This message will be saved in the laptop lending information folder in U:Common\Library-ITSOC\1-Laptop Lending.

Thank you to library staff at HSSL, Law, Music, Macdonald, Management and Schulich for making this valuable service work as well as it has so far. Questions? Call Louise.

Louise O'Neill
Associate Director
Library Technology Services
McGill University Library
3459 McTavish Street
Montreal, QC, H3A 1Y1
514-398-5898

Classroom A/V Support

For all librarians who give presentations in classrooms on campus, here is a useful announcement from ICS:

Classroom A/V Instructions is a new tool that allows faculty and staff to identify and get instructions for audiovisual equipment in McGill classrooms and meeting rooms. You can find the link to on myMcGill, under the IT Tools tab.

To use it, sign in to myMcGill, click on IT Tools, click on Classroom A/V Instructions (left side of the screen). Select the appropriate building and room. You can view images and details of each piece of audiovisual equipment present, along with operating instructions for its use.

(The announcement is posted here:
http://www.mcgill.ca/channels/announcements/item/?item_id=101382).


Megan

IST Customer Service Fall 2008 Hours

After hour and week-end support will resume stating this week-end.

Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm.
*** For support, call ICS Service Desk at extension 3398 or email support.ist@mcgill.ca.

Monday to Friday from 5:00pm - 8:00pm.
*** For support, call 514-609-2700 or page 514-540-4881.

Saturday and Sunday, from 12:00pm - 5:00pm.
*** For support, call 514-609-2700 or page 514-540-4881.


Thanks,

Ante Rokov
IST Customer Services

Office 2007 compatibility

Library users who save a file in an Office 2007 format can open the item with earlier versions of the software by installing the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en.

Laptop lending at HSSL

Library users can now borrow laptops at the HSSL Loans desk. Here is the full announcement:

http://www.mcgill.ca/library-using/computers/

Students and staff can borrow a laptop for up to two days.

The laptops feature the same software that is installed on the public computers found in the Library and many also include MATLAB. They are also be equipped with software that erases everything that the user has saved or done the moment they logoff, except for files the user chooses to save on the D: drive.

Laptops can be borrowed from:

• Howard Ross Management
• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Macdonald Campus
• Marvin Duchow Music
• Nahum Gelber Law
• Schulich Science and Engineering

Users can also save files on USB drives or burn them to CD. An icon which when clicked offers instructions on how to connect to the P: drive are available on the desktop. Instructions on how to access the wireless network is provided right on the laptop screen.

Some library branches have been lending laptops for some time prior to this initiative, often with specialized software installed for students within a specific discipline. At this time, there is no change to current borrowing practices for those laptops.

See our borrowers' guides for students and staff for information on borrowing period, renewals, fines.

---

And a message from Louise O'Neill:

"Requests to book laptops

Some locations have received requests to book laptops, mostly made by members of faculty and part-time lecturers. Please explain that the library lends laptops on a first-come, first-served basis, and refer them back to their faculty or department for their laptop needs. ICS has confirmed to me that regular members of faculty are covered by the academic laptop programme, and all faculties as well as Continuing Education have been given additional floater laptops for use by sessional lecturers or faculty members who are not covered under the academic laptop programme. It’s possible that the persons making the request are not aware of this.

Requests for additional equipment or technical advice to be provided with laptops

The library lends only what is in the laptop bag. ICS provides technical support for the laptops. Please advise borrowers to speak with the ICS Help Desk if they have requests for additional equipment such as power bars or a monitors, or require technical advice or set-up of equipment.

You may give my name and number to anyone who is not satisfied with your explanations, or who insists on a booking a laptop. We are occasionally allowing a small number of laptops to be set aside for events such as training sessions, but this would be an exception which should be approved by me.

This message will be saved in the laptop lending information folder in U:Common\Library-ITSOC\1-Laptop Lending.

Thank you to library staff at HSSL, Law, Music, Macdonald, Management and Schulich for making this valuable service work as well as it has so far. Questions? Call Louise."

Microform shifting

We are now re-organizing all of the Humanities and Social Sciences microforms so that they are shelved by call number instead of by title or main entry. We are also taking this time to arrange them into one set.

The project will go on over the next couple of months and during this time patrons may need assistance finding material as some of it will be organized by call number and some of it will still be organized by title or main entry. Patrons requesting assistance should still be sent to Government Information, but evenings and weekends the information desk will be able to help.

All of the films from the 1st row have been temporarily moved to row 18 (the sorting shelves for the CJK collection) and these are still arranged by title -the shelf marker has also been moved.

Microfilms now in the first row will be arranged in call number order. The full first row will actually be taken up by Early English books.

Signs will be changed as we go along.

Laptops

Lending and Access Services Staff:

As you know there have been delays and we are not quite ready to begin lending out laptops from the HSSL Loans Desk. The exact date when the service will be launched is unclear, although it should be sometime soon.

In the meantime, for students that come to the desk asking to borrow laptops , please direct them to either the Schulich Library or to the Marvin Duchow Music Library. Actually students can call over to either branch in advance of walking over to make sure that there are laptops available. The numbers to call:

Music:
Tel: 514-398-4695

Schulich:
Tel: 514-398-4769

If for some reason borrowing a laptop from one of these branches is not possible, please put the student in contact with me and I should be able to arrange the lending of a HSSL laptop.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,
Jared

_________________________
Jared Wiercinski
Coordinator, Lending and Access ServicesMcGill University Library

Humanities and Social Sciences Library
McLennan Library Building
3459 McTavish
Montréal, Québec H3A 1Y1 T. (514) 398-4728

Laptop Support provided by McGill ICS

From: LIS [mailto:LIS@LISTS.MCGILL.CA] On Behalf Of Fiona Tam, Ms.
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2008 11:15 AM
To: LIS@LISTS.MCGILL.CA
Subject: [LIS] Laptop Support provided by McGill ICS
> Hi all,
>
> This is to clarify what the ICS Service Desk supports in terms of
> laptops:
>
> 1) For laptops/tablet PCs purchased through the Academic Laptop
> Program, ICS provides support for software and hardware, subject to
> the conditions of the manufacturer's warranty.
>
> 2) For all students, faculty and staff, ICS Service Desk can help with
> connectivity issues and provide anti-virus software. Please make an
> appointment by calling 398-3398 or attend one of our free iCare
> clinics (http://knowledgebase/it/icareclinics).
>
> 3) The Laptop Computer Repair service
> (http://knowledgebase/it/laptop-repairs) supports hardware repairs for
> Lenovo (IBM) and Toshiba laptops, subject to the conditions of the
> manufacturer's warranty.
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> ICS Service Desk, Training and Communication
> 514-398-3398
> Support.IST@mcgill.ca

ICS Service desk announcement

As of June 16, ICS Service Desk walk-in support will be located in :
Redpath Library, 3459 McTavish, Room 22
Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm, except during holidays.

Note: walk-in support will be closed for la Fête Nationale on Monday & Tuesday, June 23-24 and for Canada Day on Monday & Tuesday, June 30 - July 1. Telephone and email support will be available during those Mondays.

For self-service, you can search the IT Knowledge Base 24X7 at http://knowledgebase.mcgill.ca/it.

MAF

Bouchard-Taylor Report

Here is the link for the (abridged) Bouchard-Taylor Report in English:
http://www.accommodements.qc.ca/index-en.html

The full report and an abridged version in French are here:
http://www.ccpardc.qc.ca/

posted by AM

Copy Service summer hours

During the summer, the hours for the McGill Copy Service (on the Redpath ground floor) are:

Monday - Friday, 10:00 - 18:00
Saturday - Sunday, closed

http://www.mcgill.ca/library-using/copying/copyservice/

Local ICS support for the Library Summer 2008

Starting Monday, May 5th, summer hours are in effect. Local ICS support for the Library will be Monday to Friday, from 9:00am to 5:00pm. After hour and weekend support will be suspended until Monday, August 25th.

ICS Service Desk hours are Monday to Thursday, from 8:00am - 6:30pm and Friday, from 8:00am to 5:00pm.
Support is through email (support.ist@mcgill.ca) or phone (3398).
On Summer Fridays, walk in support at the ICS Service Desk start at 9:00am.

Thanks,
Ante Rokov
IST Customer Services

Graduating students and Library privileges

For those who are graduating this term, student IDs are valid until the end of August.

Microform Scanners

Due to mounting frustration with the microform machines on the 2nd floor, I met with Danny from ICS to see what we could do about the software problems we have been having. As a result, we will be removing the Paperport software (which came bundled with the machines). Clients will now scan using the much simpler Microsoft Office Document Scanning. This will cut the number of steps needed to scan a document in half. The new software is on all machines now, though the Paperport still has to be removed from two. I have created new signage with step by step instructions, but would be more than happy to give a demonstration to anyone who would like one. From now on, the default location for saving scanned images is C:\Scans, though obviously one can direct the file to go to a USB key or a networked drive.



If anyone has any questions, just let me know.



Eamon

Wheelchair Access Procedures (Cyberthèque)

Wheelchair Access to the Cybertheque

Security (-3731) will accommodate wheel-chair bound individuals.

Security has keys to
1) the elevators adjacent to Lending and Access Services (#77 and #78) permitting access to the basement-level Cybertheque and
2) the magnetically-operated security doors leading from the basement corridor to the Cybertheque entrance




Although Security response is rapid, if immediate access to the Cybertheque is warranted the following have access keys to the elevators and the security doors:


Bruna Ceccolini -4677

Steve Blaise -4771

Francisco Oliva -4678

No cell phones in the lobby

This evening (April 2) security informed me that there is a new rule: users are no longer allowed to talk on their cell phones in the lobby area. Security agents will ask users to go outside of the gates.
AM

CREPUQ cards for undergraduates

A message from Jared:

"I have just updated our website to reflect a recent change in our policy on CREPUQ cards for undergraduate students. Previously, undergraduates had to apply for a CREPUQ card through an application form on our website. However, we no longer require undergraduate students to apply. The website has been updated to reflect this change:
http://www.mcgill.ca/library-using/otherloans/crepuq/"

The CREPUQ card allows McGill University undergraduate students borrowing privileges at participating Quebec libraries subject to restrictions determined by individual libraries. This agreement allows undergraduates to borrow up to three volumes for a maximum of 14 days, non-renewable.

The policy on CREPUQ cards for graduate students, faculty and staff remains unchanged.

Megan

Directing Students to the Cybertheque

By request of Diane Koen: when explaining to students how to get to the Cybertheque, direct them to the entrance near Tim Horton's rather than the stairwell before the Loans Desk. This will help ensure that they check out their books at the Loans Desk before proceeding downstairs. Diane also asks us to be proactive about food and drink both in the Cybertheque and elsewhere.

CP