tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16599356871643386732024-03-14T08:04:02.101-07:00TNguyenTnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-64944573767771086962011-05-04T13:24:00.000-07:002011-05-04T13:36:49.544-07:00Cosugi 2011: The ConclusionCosugi 2011 is the most exciting conference for me so far. The topics were more relevant to me as a systems administrator. It was also exciting to meet SirsiDynix staffs. I see their names on listserves and phone conferences all the time but this is the firt time that I had a chance to see how they look like. I am very thankful to Rochester Public Library for this conference. After this conference, I feel much more confident in SirsiDynix and its products as well because it shows me that this company is much more of an innovator than others. It puts money and resources into development and is constantly releasing updates. <br />While at the conference, I was also surprised to find out that our director, Audrey Betcher was a classmate or colleague of Sirsi's Anne Arthur at St. Louis? What a small world.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-25847938166901976152011-05-04T13:13:00.000-07:002011-05-04T13:24:03.701-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 3-Session 5-Discover User Search Characteristics with WeblogsPresenter: Tao You, Vanderbilt University<br />She analyzed SirsiDynix weblogs and system access logs and developed a tool to help provide reports and statistics about library visitor's search activities. She discussed where Symphony saves search queries, and how to read and transfer search logs to a database, which becomes the source data for future visual display and further statistical analyzis. <br /><br />I did something similar to what the presenter did a while ago for RPL. I wrote a program to parse thru the Sirsi transaction logs and transfer these statistics to our SQL server and save it there for analysis. An advantage to doing this is that once transfered to SQL, it stays there long term. Staffs can go back to it years after the transaction happened.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-51312200309121533302011-05-04T13:05:00.000-07:002011-05-04T13:09:22.228-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 3: Session 4-Web Services : a light of traditionProduct Manager, Nathan Quinn discussed about Web Services: what they are, real life applications, current capabilities and what's up next. More like an advertisement for web services so I didn't pick up much information from this session. Nathan did give me his card just in case I have problems with web services though.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-29294740434398335202011-05-04T12:52:00.000-07:002011-05-04T13:04:24.612-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 3: Session 3-Mapping your library with web services and google mapsPresenter: John Wohlers, Waubonsee Community College<br />The presenter uses the new web services API in combination with Google Maps to create an interactive library floor map that displays the locations of items directly in the OPAC<br /><br />Technology Used:<br />*SirsiDynix Web Services API<br />*SirsiDynix E-Library<br />*PHP<br />*MySQL<br />*Google Maps API V3<br />*Google Earth<br />*QR Codes<br />*Adobe Photoshop / Fireworks<br /><br />I think this is a very nice feature for patrons. Currently, a new patron would have no clue where in the library an item is located based on the call number that we provide. With this program, it would point to the shelf and patrons can just walk there to get it. As a programmer, I would love to implement this at RPL someday.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-38577941820803830332011-05-04T12:23:00.000-07:002011-05-04T12:51:30.421-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 3:Session 2-Got SaaS? Take Full Advantage of It!What is SaaS?<br />It is a software development where an application is hosted as a service and provided to customers across the internet. <br />Advantages to using SaaS:<br />1. replace end of life hardware<br />2. maintain expensive maintenance contracts<br />3. Staff 24x7 monitoring of system<br />4. Focus employees on staff and patrons<br />5. Experience reduced implementation time<br /><br />Library Still Controls:<br />1. Policies, gateways, etc<br />2. Circulation and collection management<br />3. Cataloging and technical services<br />4. Reports<br />5. Scheduling application upgrades with SaaS Solutions<br /><br />Personally, I think it is an option that we should take into consideration in the future. Of course we would have to look at it's disadvantages too. For example,<br />* This is over the internet so it may not be as safe or reliable.<br />* Only 10 Sirsi staffs are currently running about 400+ Saas customers worldwide. If something happens at once there is no way they can help to get back quickly.<br />* It is costly to do this option. Ask for a quote. You will find out. We did!<br />* We have limited access to the production server.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-52748650637544303962011-05-04T12:03:00.000-07:002011-05-04T12:20:22.665-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 3:Session 1-Symphony Now and the Future:3.4, 3.4.1 and BeyondSymphony 3.4 has been released and libraries already know what features were added already so I am going to jump to 3.4.1 and 3.5<br /><br />3.4.1 Updates<br />1. Bug fixes and minor enhancements<br />2. Usability enhancements for Workflows staff client:Tabbed windows for wizards, expandable boxes,etc.<br />3. Performance Improvements for Collection Exchange<br />4. Support for local requirements: danMARC2, Chinese call numbers, multilingual MARC holding records,...<br />5. Updated language files for Spanish, French, Chinese, and Arabic<br />6. Other fixes submitted by Client Care<br /><br />3.5 Updates<br />1.Updates for RDA<br />2. Symphony Anywhere: Bookmobile and small library support<br />3. Enhancements to StaffWeb client: Reserve room support, K12 updatesTnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-71324678111025487462011-05-04T11:54:00.000-07:002011-05-04T12:01:28.229-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 2:After the Sessions-Sirsi Organized a PartyAfter many long sessions on Wednesday, we attended a party organized by Sirsi. It was a buffet style. The steak was good if you are willing to wait for one hour. The drink line was much shorter. Maybe that's their intent? Get people to drink so they would dance? Even Anne Arthur and Berit Nelson danced! Too bad I was too busy dancing with them otherwise I would have taken a picture to post here. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyjHJBAeYU33WBpB7a-guFmdtSvfNjCaWr0aPobzKtsx_ghTT8t6N2VSuVJtn8MIFSqZULPVv510ZTevkO_0t-AcPOGXNrojsf0fJJE2STaxZpA7ksHNu7OCtrrdtGlZrY1892iWWEQ/s1600/IMG_2833.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkyjHJBAeYU33WBpB7a-guFmdtSvfNjCaWr0aPobzKtsx_ghTT8t6N2VSuVJtn8MIFSqZULPVv510ZTevkO_0t-AcPOGXNrojsf0fJJE2STaxZpA7ksHNu7OCtrrdtGlZrY1892iWWEQ/s320/IMG_2833.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602937836052562402" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HnatKnSnppzlwn27sgLKdjE7kY9QUnTXIG1gHWsqicj5lrDMRTgVxXniA9fqw62YeqX0NivMtUWXvBjPD1xqvl-aovOlZXP0rHF279KdcDj4Ksu0ilLYMAmhyphenhypheno86MKdIQTo-gJxnLA/s1600/IMG_2832.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HnatKnSnppzlwn27sgLKdjE7kY9QUnTXIG1gHWsqicj5lrDMRTgVxXniA9fqw62YeqX0NivMtUWXvBjPD1xqvl-aovOlZXP0rHF279KdcDj4Ksu0ilLYMAmhyphenhypheno86MKdIQTo-gJxnLA/s320/IMG_2832.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602937828235488770" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCWfnFuGxb7x8NhmQu52AbLYd_dO_kZ-iTlfurYLqWZaQyrYfc7iNfBYQbRwUSPD29M2TLvhnUg_NS4TWOYOKBf3HJPbFR2T9grA-RNyiqro8kCbs-aE-BFTMurMjmYFjDxFGrFU8zA/s1600/IMG_2831.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCWfnFuGxb7x8NhmQu52AbLYd_dO_kZ-iTlfurYLqWZaQyrYfc7iNfBYQbRwUSPD29M2TLvhnUg_NS4TWOYOKBf3HJPbFR2T9grA-RNyiqro8kCbs-aE-BFTMurMjmYFjDxFGrFU8zA/s320/IMG_2831.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602937821639569826" /></a>Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-81702517877532126332011-05-04T10:23:00.001-07:002011-05-04T11:53:20.620-07:00Cosugi 2011:Day 2- After the Sessions-Phoenix Public Library<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LG_4SvXXNbykCobn9GUvUkAAOw2JuB9QYgF2dZwfD9z5n6xvi4Za8nCh_taC8B3IjE-_d_P7u-l8fQqtFMQuKFjNq6k4yA07cu0X3zK1pk0guB9yACs-li_RntpGa-m7KUBQxK-pYw/s1600/IMG_2820.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LG_4SvXXNbykCobn9GUvUkAAOw2JuB9QYgF2dZwfD9z5n6xvi4Za8nCh_taC8B3IjE-_d_P7u-l8fQqtFMQuKFjNq6k4yA07cu0X3zK1pk0guB9yACs-li_RntpGa-m7KUBQxK-pYw/s320/IMG_2820.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602915115993468594" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRo8J9Cu9WxWOzc9jA3eU1X-UOJ0GWv-I_JUZRpdevygHfypnNXBClcw-Zb5YhJza5UK6vhZZadsNi0QXfywsUqMnjY4prLY-yZ1frfMhOg81ICLK1pcU9LVUYzNJ9KNyR9_CRc38Iqw/s1600/IMG_2819.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRo8J9Cu9WxWOzc9jA3eU1X-UOJ0GWv-I_JUZRpdevygHfypnNXBClcw-Zb5YhJza5UK6vhZZadsNi0QXfywsUqMnjY4prLY-yZ1frfMhOg81ICLK1pcU9LVUYzNJ9KNyR9_CRc38Iqw/s320/IMG_2819.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602914677869979090" /></a><br />After the session on Day 2, Steve and I walked to Phoenix Public Library. That was a very long walk for 1.5 miles. I wouldn't want to do that again in a 90 degree desert weather. We were so glad to get into an air conditioned library when we got there. I was shocked to see how big the library was. The picture is at the right. It has 5 stories and the space was huge inside. The building was built as if it were a company instead of the library. Of course I did ask a librarian about that. Her answer was that it was built as an industrial complex because it costs less than it were to build a library. Maybe the builder's expertise was more industrial?<br />Steve is admiring how big the library is! <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7pHl8beyYh66VTwj4z_hMlAanwIZjulEYeHc0W-vDIpTc_jG5n3_VCo47-5aU5LHG4Gr8zJixfpvgWEvg6oKdK-mD9fU_hL4tueA2kkxfP6QWwGta5E7ZZCbrcKBNjDDj1fzbErRCOQ/s1600/IMG_2823.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7pHl8beyYh66VTwj4z_hMlAanwIZjulEYeHc0W-vDIpTc_jG5n3_VCo47-5aU5LHG4Gr8zJixfpvgWEvg6oKdK-mD9fU_hL4tueA2kkxfP6QWwGta5E7ZZCbrcKBNjDDj1fzbErRCOQ/s320/IMG_2823.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602916354507563938" /></a><br />These are express internet stations. How many do we have at RPL? One?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdyruz-xxtevdClA4n0Qy8cEewEvtvRarH1sbSijrk83vC62QDIW8QwnCICbGtve-FUzQy8JTm0MCUb_qF5iQpVgCmYKnlIPsrSWgyVmGYwSwT-qu7WwBCVLvnFTvymZ9M-Y66C8HwA/s1600/IMG_2824.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdyruz-xxtevdClA4n0Qy8cEewEvtvRarH1sbSijrk83vC62QDIW8QwnCICbGtve-FUzQy8JTm0MCUb_qF5iQpVgCmYKnlIPsrSWgyVmGYwSwT-qu7WwBCVLvnFTvymZ9M-Y66C8HwA/s320/IMG_2824.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602917386309218658" /></a><br />Phoenix's DVD Collections<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTgu17bNRFIdKwKVtpJylaBBJmn-64EMsxleX0HGymU5Iu1zSnK_yijVuoAoGwUa76RPJzLtp5fPduPOnUfmrlzbjwHSQ7Vveq3TKHjEI0D1iMyrOOiRhmP97TSLEi2k4kG3JFL13GQ/s1600/IMG_2825.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTgu17bNRFIdKwKVtpJylaBBJmn-64EMsxleX0HGymU5Iu1zSnK_yijVuoAoGwUa76RPJzLtp5fPduPOnUfmrlzbjwHSQ7Vveq3TKHjEI0D1iMyrOOiRhmP97TSLEi2k4kG3JFL13GQ/s320/IMG_2825.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602934922876650114" /></a><br />Instead of Walking Back to the Hotel, We Took the Lightrail<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCf04tF3ybcVdXRKspZ6UxQIPjtXtCi8BlVGl4yf9jBb2Mn_1JhzaIPK84iV0bs4dxW-wFL6eKVz2Al4o27cJIpm10FKO7jOL2BFQBdAX_JRR6OYuE5eDxij17B2pMep5diZyNauPf-g/s1600/IMG_2829.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCf04tF3ybcVdXRKspZ6UxQIPjtXtCi8BlVGl4yf9jBb2Mn_1JhzaIPK84iV0bs4dxW-wFL6eKVz2Al4o27cJIpm10FKO7jOL2BFQBdAX_JRR6OYuE5eDxij17B2pMep5diZyNauPf-g/s320/IMG_2829.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602935619381819874" /></a>Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-44446308230069966212011-05-04T10:11:00.001-07:002011-05-04T10:18:14.556-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 2:Session 5-Web Services 3.0I was hoping to pick up something from this session because I am using web services for our catalog. However, I was kind of disappointed that I didn't pick up much from this session. The session lasted only 30 minutes. The presentor mainly explain how he used web services 3.0 to do display information for for library. I already knew the features so I didn't pick up much. I think Sirsi's web services is such a new thing that most people do not have a chance to do anything yet. In fact, we didn't get the licence until April 20th which is while I attended this session.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-45261853501684496952011-05-04T10:06:00.000-07:002011-05-04T10:10:57.905-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 2:Session 4-API Sharing SessionThe audiences were the ones driving this session. Joel Hahn from Niles Public Library was there to answer any questions that we may have relating to the tradtional API programming.I didn't have any question so I sat there the whole time listening to other people's issues. Didn't pick up much neither as they were not related to our issues. :(Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-24315289210200534202011-05-04T09:34:00.000-07:002011-05-04T10:04:44.143-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 2:Session 3-Introducing:Sirsi Customer Support-It's All About YouThe director of ClientCare had a presentation on the new Customer Support(formerly Client Care). Satisfaction has been reportedly up since this new model was rolled out in February. The model is: Once a case is done, an email is sent with a few options. 1. Close, 2. Talk to the person who provide the resolution, 3. Leave the case open, 4. Provide comment on the case.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-58194133927615291552011-05-04T09:08:00.000-07:002011-05-04T09:27:58.529-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 2:Session 2-Mobilize! On the Go Options in Horizon and SymphonyAccording to Sirsi, BookMyne and PocketCirc are just the start of the mobile applications. This is an exciting news because according to a new study, by the end of 2011, half our the users will be using smartphones while the other half uses the traditional feature phones. However, there isn't much library related applications available. Which way is Sirsi moving in the mobile area?<br />1. BookMyne for androids will be released at the end of August 2011<br />2. Analytics will be on the new web services that they will be releasing soon. Programmer can use this function to extract data.<br />3.On June 30, an application will come out for facebook. The app resides on the library's Facebook page for patron to use. It is similar to that of the MyAccount feature except that it is on Facebook.<br />4. Sirsi is moving away from PocketCirc to Ipad and phone devices.<br />5. Sirsi is developing an application for smart phones so that patrons can just checkout books on their phones instead of using the checkout stations.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-76148090495797713182011-05-04T08:42:00.000-07:002011-05-04T09:07:18.418-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 2:Session 1-How Far Can You Go?Tools to Extend Your Symphony SystemMargaret Pelfrey and Nathan Quinn mainly talked about 3 tools in traditional APIs and Sirsi's web services. This session is mainly for programmers who are looking to see if there is anything new that can help them with developments. <br />1. SERFTools<br />2. Apiserver: Batch receive items in transit between libraries, batch edit call numbers, pay bills in batch. <br />3. Dataloading Tools:Insert a MARC tag into selected bib records, extract user data, and globally remove a MARC tag from bib records<br />4. Web services: Nathan Quinn talked about the functionalities of web services and costs:<br />Webservices:<br />*A web Services class is offered every other month with no cost to their customers.I am excited about this a I have been downloading and learning on my own to write the MyAccount feature for our library. I will for sure want to take this class soon.<br />*Costs $600 for big libraries or consortium<br />*Costs $250 for medium libraris<br />*Costs $199 for small libraries<br />*No cost to customers who have API Subscription. Yay, RPL falls into this group<br />*WS 3.1 will be released on June 30th,2011 to include more features.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-82628862334236720422011-05-04T08:28:00.000-07:002011-05-04T08:39:38.522-07:00Cosugi 2011:Session 3-Integrating Personal Services and Social Media into E-libraryMargaret Pelfrey from Sirsi had a nice presentation on using API to email patron's PINs directly from Elibrary, allow patrons to edit their email in real time through an Elibrary interface and how to add Social Media links in elibrary. <br />We do not use Elibrary but I attended this session anyway mainly because there wasn't any other interesting session for this time slot. LOL. In my opinion, this is too much work. With the emergent of Sirsi's web services things could be done quicker and more efficient.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-11082169875550284782011-05-04T08:08:00.000-07:002011-05-04T08:20:20.214-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 1: A Vendor's boothThere was an interesting booth from Unique Integrated Communncations. Our library could use their services to off-load commom account questions and issues. They can help relieve time-pressured staffs. Incoming calls are rounted from the library to UIC, and their Patron Services Specialists answer as an extension of the library. UIC maintains real-time integration with our ILS. <br />They can handle: <br />•Account Verification<br />•Item Renewals<br />•Hold Placement<br />•Hold Cancellation<br />•Fine Payment<br />•Debt Collection Issues<br />•Library hours/locations/directions<br />•Event / Class information & registration<br />•Conduit for common inventory issues<br />•Switchboard<br /><br />The service is invoiced solely on usage and we can choose to turn on this feature when ever we want. I can see our library turn on this feature only when staffs have their hands full at the desk. The cost is $1.25 per minutes. According to the sale representative, the average call is around 2 minutes. UIC's website is www.uniqueic.comTnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-8715826572382126542011-05-04T07:34:00.000-07:002011-05-04T08:01:58.589-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 1: Session 2-Executive Forum: Top Technology Trends and SirsiDynixThe road map of SirsiDynix's products will be published on the portal at the end of May 2011 but here is an overview. I am sure I didn't get all of them but a presentation is not posted on the Cosugi 2011 archive. <br />*Sirsi is working on Web services 4.0 to add functionalities to the existing 3.0 version. <br />*Web services and BookMyne 2.1 for horizon is now available. <br />*A new Symphony will be rolled out in the third quarter.<br />*A new Enterprise version was released and they are working on the next version. It has a lot of features similar to that of the Endeca search engine.<br />*A BookMyne version for androids is coming out soon.<br />*Sirsi is developing an application native to that of facebook to allow patrons to place holds, review checkouts, pay fines, ect.. Similar to MyAccount application.<br />* Sirsi is working on enhancements for Bookmyne, Pocketcirc on tablets, SMS&PDA push notifications<br />*Sirsi is working on importing ebooks from different vendors into the ILS. This is going to be a nice thing to have as most libraries are struggle with the ebook issue.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-72421502059836300372011-05-04T07:05:00.000-07:002011-05-04T07:33:06.405-07:00Cosugi 2011 Day 1: Session 1-Making Our Catalogue UsableUniversity of Manitoba Libraries did an extensive testing with the help of an outside consultant on the usability of their website, including the catalogue. They had Web2 and Unicorn GL 3.1. There wasn't much to learn from this session that could be applied to Rochester Public Library except learning the process for future referencens. Basically their patrons didn't like their catalogue search so they hired a consultant to improve it.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-74854610417049040102011-05-03T14:24:00.000-07:002011-05-04T13:37:52.840-07:00COSUGI Conference 2011<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokGKhyHi-AOhnuMRn1Qj56BKWvLVpXTuM3RYy9uH5owHi9-koMVN5Mhh5aWyOtHxc_dWv1rFP4Y-x01jWPCYv7FJsdifO0UUXuEa0_VeCADYfbR9c8X8BppZZNxuGALbFgcEkyHAqWg/s1600/IMG_2813.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokGKhyHi-AOhnuMRn1Qj56BKWvLVpXTuM3RYy9uH5owHi9-koMVN5Mhh5aWyOtHxc_dWv1rFP4Y-x01jWPCYv7FJsdifO0UUXuEa0_VeCADYfbR9c8X8BppZZNxuGALbFgcEkyHAqWg/s320/IMG_2813.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602860859068503746" /></a><br />The conference was held at Phoenix this year. Steve Mosing, my colleague and I attended. A picture of us is above. It was one of the most exciting conference for me so far. The topics were much more relevant to our library and my position than anything I have ever attended. It was also fun to meet the Sirsi staffs. I see their names on listserves or during phone conferences but had not met any of them before this event so it was fun and exciting. Now I can kind of imagine how they look like while talking to them on the phone or seeing their names. LOL. The most important thing about this trip was that I learned a lot and some of the ideas will probably get implemented at Rochester Public Library if approved. The conference lasted 3 days and I had the privilege to attend all. My next posts will be about the sessions that I attended.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-72068721243707937802008-12-08T18:38:00.000-08:002008-12-08T19:40:03.272-08:00Productivity ToolsThese are really use productivity tools that I found on Computers In Libraries page s4. I am going to list all of them here. Just scan through the list to if there are any tools you my be interest to you.<br /><br />1. Microsoft Maps-Live Search<br />http://maps.live.com<br />This site can find directions, businesses by category, and maps for areas. Easy to use and an all in one site for the SMB.<br /><br />2. TinyURL<br />http://tinyurl.com<br />Long URLs become managable, tiny ones.<br /><br />3. Trip Advisor<br />http://www.tripadvisor.com<br />Helpful for planning business trips. <br /><br />4. Seat Selection<br />http://www.seatguru.com<br />If you travel a great deal and want to understand seat selection, airline travel rules, and other amenities, start here.<br /><br />5. Hot Spot Finder<br />http://www.jiwire.com<br />Find wireless connects for 150,000 plus hotspots in approximately 135 countries. I know that Dunn Brother's Cafe also provide free wireless. <br /><br />6. Data Visualization<br />http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/08/02/data-visualization-modern-approaches<br />Smashing Magazine shows different ways to present data visually. Some powerful approaches to displaying information as visual images appear on this link.<br /><br />7. Panimages.com<br />http://panimages.com<br />When you want images but don't want to pay for them or at least not much, try this site.<br /><br />8. Time Zone<br />http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock<br />Time zones around the world.<br /><br />9. Weather<br />http://weather.com<br />Heads up on weather conditions hour by hour.<br /><br />10. Conference Calls<br />http://www.budgetconferencing.com<br />Set upa conference call quickly and cost-effectively from this site.<br /><br />11. Melissa's Lookups<br />http://www.melissadata.com/lookups/index.htm<br />This site allows you to look up a variety of information for free as long as you register. In addition, it offers sources for direct mailings and other products for a fee.<br /><br />12. Widgets/Gadgets<br />http://widgets.yahoo.com<br />The tag line of "Save Time, Waste Time, Have Fun!" sums it up. Find some useful gadgets here, but watch out that you don't end up wasting too much time looking for timesavers.<br /><br />13. Who Called Us<br />http://whocalled.us<br />This site logs call from phone numbers that appear to be unknown. Sometimes ou can find a company name. <br /><br />14. Google Search Tip<br />http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_reference.html<br />Everyone wants to search google more productively.<br /><br />15. Google Usability<br />http://More links to make Google searching more productive and profitable.<br /> <br />16. Travel.State.Gov<br />http://travel.state.gov<br />This site from the U.S. State Department gives good advice for those traveling internationally, e.g. passport information, danger zones,ect.<br /><br />17. LookSmart's Furl<br />http://furl.net/home.jsp<br />With this site the SMB can save a copy of any webpage with one click, share the webpage or mark it as private, and organize and store the information with tags the SMB creates. Additionally, this site allows the SMB to read and save other information "furled" by other users.<br /><br />18. Zotero<br />http://www.zotero.org<br />This site has some of the same elements as Furl but with more academic feel. <br /><br />19. Snagit<br />http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp<br />This site provides a low cost yet easy way to capture information on a screen.<br /><br />20. PDF Creator<br />http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator<br />Download software here that can convert other document formats into PDFs. <br /><br />21. You Sent It<br />http://www.yousendit.com<br />When you have a file larger than your email service can handle, try this site.<br /><br />22. DropSend<br />http://www.dropsend.com<br />Another site that can handle large files up to 1GB and store files too. <br /><br />23. Format conversions<br />http://docmorph.nlm.nih.gov/docmorph<br />Fifty document conversion tools from the National Library of Medicine.<br /><br />24. File Extensions<br />http://filetext.com<br />This site helps identify unknown file extensions.<br /><br />25. Transfer applications on a USB device or ipod<br />http://mojopac.com/portal/content/products/index.jsp<br />mojopac has a free software download (currently 1MB) that allow you to transfer key software applications onto a USB device or ipod and run it on a host PC using Windows XP with the look the SMB owner would have on his or her PC back home. Mojopac "transforms your ipod or USB Hard Drive or flash drive into a portable and private PC."<br /><br />26. Iron Monuntain<br />http://www.ironmountain.com/digital/pc/backup.asp<br />this company uses connected.com to automatically back up files on an SMB's PC for a fee. <br /><br />27. Carbonite<br />http://www.carbonite.com<br />This company will also automatically back up files on a PC for a low annual cost.<br /><br />28. Copyscape<br />http://www.copyscape.com<br />This site lets the UMB owner see if anyone has copied portions of it's company website.<br /><br />29. Domain Tools<br />http://whois.domaintools.com<br />SMBs can use this site to keep updated on their website status and to make sure it does not expire. <br /><br />30. TrendMicro<br />http://housecall.trendmicro.com<br />This site can do analyis of a user's computers to see if it has been infected by viruses, spyware, or other malware. There is information on donating to schools if the user wants to express his or her appreciation.<br /><br />31. Belarc<br />http://www.belarc.com<br />This site does a PC audit of hardware and software.<br /><br />32. ScanSafe<br />http://www.scandoo.com <br />This site rates the safety of websites.<br /><br />33. Open Office Suite<br />http://www.openoffice.org<br />This site offers a downloadable free office suite and includes desktop applications such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentaion manager, and drawing program. <br /><br />34. Zamzar<br />http://zamzar.com<br />This site helps when you need files converted. It has online conversions for documents, videos, music, and images plus other miscellaneous file extentions for free. <br /><br />35. Stuffbak<br />http://www.stuffbak.com/sb/default.aspx <br />This site has information that can potentially help a business recover lost electronic asset and at a very low cost. <br /><br />36. Inc Mazagine<br />http://technology.inc.com/internet/articles/200707/campbell.html<br />In the technology section, you will find several sources of information for technology related issues. For example, the link discusses 10 tips for choosing a domain name. <br /><br />37. Copernic Tracker<br />http://www.copernic.com/en/products/tracker<br />For a mominal fee, this site provides software to monitor changes of content on webpages that have a business interest. <br /><br />38. University of Minnesota, Duluth<br />http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/support/Training/Online/webdesign<br />This site provides information and resources on web design.<br /><br />26.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-34197136189296650022008-12-01T10:44:00.000-08:002008-12-01T11:58:56.968-08:00Tips to help you with the next set of more things on a stickWhile attending a Webjunction session at an MLA conference in Bloomington,MN this month, I learned that there are more things on a stick to come January 20, 2008. From the reaction that I noticed, not all of them are excited (-_-) about the new Things. From observation as an IT person from the Rochester Public Library and the conversations I got from the people at MLA, the main reason some people are not excited about these "Things" is because they are time consuming. As a systems administrator I can tell you that you can save a lot of time on these "Things" and save a lot of time at work if your computer skills are a little bit up to date. While reading Computers In Libraries October 2008 I found this article on page 54 that may help you with the next set of Library on a Stick Things.<br /><br />Thing 1 Reboot, Reboot, Reboot. <br />Just so you know it is perfection ok to reboot the computer when it gets sick. We IT people expect you to do that when first. Instead of taking Tylenol when we get sick, rebooting the computer can cure the computer's sickness 95% of the times.<br /> <br />Thing 2 Minor reboot troubleshoot<br />Both patrons and staff are prone to leaving floppy disks in drives and flash drives in USB ports, leading to the dreaded "non-system disk" error on boot. Before rebooting the machine, please take your floppy disk out first. <br /><br />Thing 3 Copy /Paste<br />Copy and Paste is a very useful tool that everybody should know how to do and use as often as posible. To copy, just highlight the text or URL then "CTRL +C". To paste, position your mouse at the place you want to paste then "CTRL + V" . Right click on the mouse to Copy, Paste, and Delete can do the same trick. I like this better because it is faster. You can copy folders, URL, Text,ect. I recently showed a staff how to use the right mouse click and he loved it. <br /><br />Thing 4 Save, Move, and Copy files<br />Make sure you know how to save, move and copy files. If you don't know how to save a file to a location that you like and don't know how to find a file where you saved, that is going to be very difficult on everything that you do. Get these basic skills down quickly. Make sure you save the files on one of the network drives so that they are backed up regularly if you have a network. <br /><br />Thing 5 Ask questions<br />If you are confused or don't khow how to use some functionalities, ask your IT personnels or co-workers. We IT people won't laugh at you for asking basic computer questions so call. You shouldn't wait until one of us walk by your desk then ask.<br /><br />Thing 6 Deal with Printer Pressure.<br />You know how to load paper into the library's printers, change cartridges, and clear paper jams? Where does each printer open up? Where is most likely for paper to jam? Do you know that you have to remove the protective plastic covering before installing a cartrigde? Don't waste patron's or staff's time by waiting for an IT staff to come to clear a paper jam or other small things.<br /><br />Thing 7 Decide among printer options<br />Make sure you know how to change paper from portrait to lanscape, change from color to black-and-white, and how to print multiple copies. You should know how to select printers if you have multiple printers installed. <br /><br />Thing 8 How do you print frames, how do you print selected text?<br />Do you know how to print a given frame or selected text off any page? Can you show patrons how to do it? Some times you don't want to print the whole website just to get a selected few text.<br /><br />Thing 9 Master basic word processing functions<br />What do the buttons on top of the page do? How do you make text bold or italic? Change font? text color? insert and image? Your blogging skills can improve significanly if you know these basic word processing functions.<br /><br />Thing 10 Is everything plugged in?<br />Monitor cables, power cables, they all have an annoying habit of getting loose especially in the public in Children's area and Young Adult area. If a particular mahcine or peripheral doesn't turn on, which cable to check? These are level one technical support questions that we IT staff always look for first before anything else.<br /><br />Thing 11 Are you on the network? Is that website really down?<br />Am I the only one having this problem or is it just me? If a patron complain that that his/her favorite website is down, make sure everyone is having the same problem. The cute little icon in the bottom of the computer can tell you something too. An X means bad, no connection. You can try to reconnect to the network or fall back to reboot, reboot, and reboot. One more thing, if you can't find the network drives that you usually find under the "My Computer" icon, make sure you are logged onto the network but just the computer itself. It doesn't hurt to try and log in again. <br /><br />Thing 12 What's the good password<br />Please try not to leave password on sticky notes in plain view or next to the computer. Store it in a place that you or your staff have access to easily. Does all staffs know what the new password is? A safe network will ask you to change your password once in a few months. Make sure you change it when it asks you to, write them down somewhere and memorize them quickly.<br /><br />Thing 13 What's Open on my computer? <br />What programs are currently open? how do you switch between them? How do you maximize, minimize, and close windows? If your computer have many programs open, then tend to overload and crash often. They slow down your computer as well. Make sure the window is already open before launching again. <br /><br />These are just the basic skills that can help you significantly if you have a good handle on them. They will prepare you for the next set of 23 things on a stick. As an IT staff, I have so many other things that I would like to add to these basic 13 things but I will save it for other time. Have to go.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-15757123656525280192008-09-10T14:43:00.000-07:002008-09-10T14:53:27.074-07:00Thing 23 The EndI have to admit at the beginning of the 23 things I thought I couldn't have the time to complete this. I thought to myself how do people have the time to discover all these great tools and try to fit it in their busy schedules? After doing all these things, I still think it takes too much of our time but they are all worth it. I am very proud that I was able to complete it. I have a lot of fun generating the pictures and I am very happy to discover that there are lots of ways to be creative with the pictures. I will for sure go back to the "Things" and explore more for my personal use and for work then blog about them.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-16855615280455814692008-09-10T14:26:00.000-07:002008-09-10T14:33:40.109-07:00Thing 22 What Did I Learn Today?I will make an effort to incorporate what I learned while doing the 23 things to maintain the blog. I don't think I can put in 15 minutes per day like the program recommended but I will try to log into the blog to update things once in a while. And of course learning about online tools does not stop here for me. I am the systems adminstrator for the library so I have to keep learning new thing to apply to work. As I learn new things and apply them to work, I will write about on my blog.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-54628223243196507812008-09-10T13:56:00.000-07:002008-09-10T14:19:08.735-07:00Thing 21Wow I wasn't aware that there could be so many social networks out there. There is even one for 23 things on a stick which I joined. Now I am a member of that. I'm going to add the link here so that I can get back to it when I forget (http://23thingsonastick.ning.com). I guess I am a member of this online community now. After browing the social network sites, I really like gather.com. This site lets me actively participate in topics that I enjoy.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-76419341682126665872008-09-10T13:28:00.000-07:002008-09-10T13:43:36.075-07:00Thing 19 (Social Networks)Facebook is nothing new to me. I first joined it while I was in college. I find it so easy to use to get connected to my friends that I regularly log into facebook every week. It has been a long way for facebook to reach to this point. When I joined, only college students were allowed to join. Now aday every body can join. They added a lot of application on their interface as well. Recently they added Poker and Blackjack. They have tournanments on these games as well. With a facebook account, you don't even need email. I rarely use personal email because I can contact my friends easily using facebook. You can join groups or networks that connect you to that group. I joined John Marshal Senior High, Minnesota State University, Barack Obama, and other friend groups. Libraries can use these Social Network sites to get connected to young adults and this can encourage them to come to libraries more often.Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659935687164338673.post-7186604023216990472008-09-08T14:03:00.000-07:002008-09-08T14:24:37.776-07:00Thing 19 PodcastsBecause the election is coming soon in two months and I'm very concerned about the immigration issue, I listened to Minnesota Public Radio's Podcasts: "How do the candidates differ on Immigration?" to see where the candidate stands on the issue. After listening to it, I think both candidates have good plans to implement but enforcing it and passing the debate in congress is going to tough. <br /><br />I checked all the podcast directories, and liked them all. All of them are as simple as typing in a keyword search and clicked to listen. Even though I like the podcasts I will not sign up to be a regular listener but I will be listening more then I do now because of this "Thing".Tnguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13739901574455563658noreply@blogger.com0