Archive for the ‘★ The Essentials’ CategoryPreview of Next Version of Shadowbox ThemeNovember 18th, 2009 by Alex ChapinI attended part of the LIS website team meeting today and gave a presentation of the ShadowBox theme and some of the new features that will be available in the next version including updates to author pages, more custom header options and most importantly, higher contrast text in comment fields. I also gave a preview of some new ShadowBox variations based on the new college website design. Below is a screencast from that meeting:
Library Book SaleNovember 16th, 2009 by Joseph Watson
Tuesday, November 17th – Sunday, November 22nd , Main Library Open at 9:00 AM on first day, continuing during regular library open hours thereafter. LIBRARY BOOK SALE– The Middlebury College Main Library will offer withdrawn and duplicate copies of books, VHS tapes, and other media for sale at great prices. Choose from a wide variety of items for scholarly work or recreational reading and viewing. All proceeds from the sale will be added to the library’s materials replacement fund. (Because the low price asked for materials is in part a service to the college community, anyone purchasing items on the first day of the sale will be required to show a Middlebury College ID. Book dealers are not welcome to purchase items for resale on Tuesday, Nov. 17th). FMI, contact Joseph Watson 443-5487 jwatson@middlebury.edu Towards a Unified Curricular Technology UXNovember 16th, 2009 by Alex ChapinI recently created a version of the ShadowBox theme for Measure, an instance of Moodle used at Middlebury for online assessments. As a starting point, I used the Anomaly Theme Pack, created by the Patrick Malley, the Themes Manager for Moodle.org and the Creative Director of the NewSchool Learning design shop. I merged some of the styles and markup Patrick had developed with code from the WordPress ShadowBox theme to create a similar look and feel to the WordPress version. This is a great example of the power of open source to build upon and synthesize the work of others (much of this theme designers current work in no longer open source…)
The goal is to create a more unified user experience (UX) and make it easy for faculty and students to move from one platform to another. You’ll noticed that Measure has links to WordPress and Segue in the upper right corner. These same links can be put in the same place on WordPress blogs that use ShadowBox. I’d also like to put these same links on all Segue sites to help with the transition away from Segue to other platforms.
For more information about Measure, see the Measure Blog. Seminar for Academic ProfessionalsNovember 13th, 2009 by Alex ChapinAs libraries and technology services merge, librarians and technologists also need to merge, at least what they know. Mike Roy and David Wedaman (Brandeis) have organized a seminar whose objective is to develop a curriculum for academic information professionals. Librarians and technologists from Middlebury, Brandeis and Mount Holyoke are currently defining that curriculum through a series of presentations that make up the MBMH Seminar. Joy Pile and I, along with Chrissa Godbout from Mount Holyoke and Karrie Peterson from Brandeis gave the first presentation of the seminar on “Blending Education and Entertainment” in late October. A summary of the presentation is posted on the MBMH Seminar blog and slides are available from Google Docs. Bryan Carson along with Mary Glackin from Mount Holyoke, gave a presentation this afternoon on the topic of “Do Students Learn Differently?” ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science CenterNovember 13th, 2009 by Elin WaagenPlanning a trip to the ECHO Center? Be sure to stop by the Main Library Circ Desk to borrow the Library Echo Pass. Show the pass to the Echo Front Desk and up to 2 adults and 3 youths will be admitted for just $2 each. New developments in on-demand purchasingNovember 13th, 2009 by Joy PileBelow is an article from LJ – published today. Please comment – but should we also schedule a “brown bag” discussion – and ask Joe for some hard figures about how much various ILL items cost? –Joy Time and Tools Are Ripe for On-Demand Acquisitions, Say Charleston Speakers Models removes guesswork and can save money over ILL, especially when the process is simplified for the end user Josh Hadro — Library Journal, 11/12/2009 Go back to the Collection development librarians: predicting use is ineffective While the notion of “just-in-time” acquisitions has generated buzz at professional meetings for some years, readily available pilot program data and maturing software tools are paving the way for more institutions to move away from the traditional “just-in-case” model. Demand-driven collection policies and procedures were the focus of five sessions over three days last week at the recent Charleston Conference <http://www.katina.info/conference/> (on “issues in book and serials acquisions”) and favorably mentioned in many others. With growing support from ebook, journal, and print monograph publishers, it’s become much easier for collection development librarians to let user requests drive purchases rather than rely on librarians’ predictive abilities. “We are not good predictors of use,” acknowledged University of Vermont <http://www.uvm.edu> acquisitions and preservation librarian Albert Joy, who, along with collection development librarian Peter Spitzform, described their library’s Order on Demand Project. The university has purchased more than 600 books since 2007 prompted directly by user requests. With records for readily available materials from a number of publishers—including Wiley, Oxford, and MacMillian—loaded into the catalog, graduate students and researchers can readily identify new works relevant to their research interest. Moreover, they can treat them as they would any other material not held locally by the university. In the mind of the end user, there is essentially no difference between “off-site” and “not-yet-purchased,” said Joy, especially now that e-access has come into its own, and it’s less likely that materials will go out of print. The materials purchased via the pilot program circulate, on average, more than twice as often as other monographs, the presenters said. GIST of Geneseo Tim Bowersox, Cyril Oberlander, Kate Pitcher, and Mark Sullivan of SUNY Geneseo’s Milne Library described the Getting It System Toolkit <http://idsproject.org/Tools/GIST.aspx> (GIST), a software package is designed to merge “acquisitions and ILL request workflow using one interface, enabling user-initiated requests, coordinated collection development and acquisitions.” <http://idsproject.org/Tools/GIST.aspx>The first version of GIST, released in August, combines ILL and purchase request options on a single interface for the user, and integrates on the back end with OCLC’s ILLiad resource sharing management software. The request screen, linked from the catalog or discovery interface, includes sections highlighting holdings, preview or full-text options from sources like Google and the Internet Archive if available, Amazon reviews, and pricing details from a variety of booksellers. Behind the scenes, the software directs the user’s request to a librarian and helps that librarian weigh whether to purchase the item or submit it as an ILL request; it displaysWorldCat holdings availability as well as the price of alternatives to ILL in case a purchase can save money and time over borrowing from another institution. Version one of the GIST software is available for download at the project’s site <http://toolkit.idsproject.org/doku.php?id=wiki:gist>. Version two will be a standalone application, and is expected to be released in August 2010. Contact the author: josh.hadro@reedbusiness.com <mailto:josh.hadro@reedbusiness.com> Holiday Food DriveNovember 13th, 2009 by Doreen Bernier
Once again it is time for our annual Holiday Food Drive
A collection box has been placed in the Main Library staff room for your contribution. Donations will be delivered to ACCAG at noon on Wednesday the 25th (the day before Thanksgiving)
Non-perishable foods only, please. Thank you all for your support Wireless access extended throughout Painter HallNovember 10th, 2009 by Jeffrey RehbachWorking together with Facilities (taking advantage of their project to upgrade fire alarm wiring), we have just installed a number of Wireless Access Points to give wireless service throughout all floors of Painter Hall. (from Howie McCausland) Capture Quick StartNovember 6th, 2009 by Alex ChapinThe Curricular Technology team is working on the figuring out how to document technology, no small task… We are all in agreement that it would be good to have some sort of “quick start” documentation that provides people with the basics to get started with a given tool or a given task/objective. Below is a screencast of a “quick start” demo I did for how to capture. See: Capture > Presentation > How to do it. This screencast is definitely too long for a quick start, but the idea of using a screencast in conjunction with step-by-step instructions for quick start documentation is appealing. For other examples of screencast quick starts and/or overviews see: Alas these screencasts are a lot of work and am not sure how effective they are or how they can be improved… Though I think generally they should be as short as possible. Go link for LIS BlogNovember 5th, 2009 by Elizabeth Whitaker-FreitasFind a PCNovember 4th, 2009 by Mary BackusPetar Mitrevski has added a cool feature to our current website that shows you which computers in public spaces are available. You can find it at go/findapc (this go link was suggested by one of the awesome Helpdesk Student Consultants; get it? Go find a PC), or here: ShadowBox Theme Introductory ScreencastNovember 3rd, 2009 by Alex ChapinI made a ShadowBox theme introductory screencast during a presentation of the theme to Academic Consulting Services. This screencast describes some of the WordPress UI challenges I was trying to solve with this theme. The first was finding a consistent way to display the log in link and information about a given user’s role on a blog. I also wanted to create a UI for setting theme colors and layout and other options. Finally I wanted to more consistently map some of the blog editing UI onto the blog itself so people could more easily add new posts or edit existing posts. (click on the Am working on a new release of ShadowBox that includes the display of category and tag RSS links, custom author pages and more header options. For more information, see ShadowBox Changelog. Contact me know if you would like to see a preview of this new version. Developing MIIS.edu for DrupalOctober 30th, 2009 by Ian McBrideThe new website for the Monterey Institute of International Studies went public on September 15th and is a combination of efforts from many areas of both Middlebury and MIIS, as well as brand new designs from White Whale Web Services. During this project, I got asked a lot, “So if you’re not building the new site, what are you up to?” And I thought I’d take this opportunity to answer that question, tell you how we developed the site, and give some previews of how we’re using what we learned to build the Middlebury web site. ADA access to Main Lib Storrs Ave door for the general public.October 30th, 2009 by Joseph WatsonStarting on Monday, November 1st, LIS will begin accepting applications from the general public who require ADA access to the Storrs Ave. doors at the Main Library. We are doing this because experts have determined that our current mode of access may not be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Members of the public who do not have a relationship with the College may ask for an application at the Main Lib Circulation Desk. Applications will be accepted at the Circ Desk and forwarded to LIS Administration for processing. In order to qualify for access, applicants must show proof of having received a Disabled Persons placard or car registration from a state government. Qualified applicants will be issued an access card that will allow them to enter and exit the Storrs Ave. doors when the library is open to the public. This is only for guests of the college. Students who need such access apply to the ADA office and faculty/staff apply to HR. Staff will continue to let individuals in or out of the Storrs Ave doors on an as needed basis, but now regular users of the library who qualify will have the option of entering and exiting themselves without assistance from staff. Doreen, Elin, and Joseph have been working with Facilities Services and Public Safety on the details of the arrangements for several months. While the solution that is being implemented is flawed, it is none-the-less something we must do. We do not expect there to be a significant number of qualified people receiving access cards. There is a brochure at the Info Desk with general ADA info in it. Anyone who routinely encounters library users should take a minute to review that information. Cataloging Project Completed for the Bailey Collection of Vermont PamphletsOctober 29th, 2009 by Hans Raum
Horace Ward Bailey was a native Vermonter who served the state in many capacities, from state Senator and U. S. Marshall to State Railroad Commissioner and member of the Champlain Tercentenary Commission, but he may well be best remembered for his collection of Vermont pamphlets, which “was one of the most complete in the country and included some of the rarest known specimens of the early days of the history of the State,” according to a memorial volume written by his friends. After Mr. Bailey’s death in 1914, his collection of Vermont pamphlets was purchased from his estate for the library at Middlebury College. For many decades this collection of 130 bound volumes of pamphlets had a paper index, but was otherwise uncataloged and unused. Thanks to a recently completed ten-year project by the Catalog Department, the pamphlets have been cataloged, and the most unique and interesting pamphlets are being digitized as well. The earliest pamphlet in the collection dates back to 1794 and other pamphlets date from the very early 1800’s to Bailey’s death in 1914 and cover a broad range of topics, from town histories to railroad annual reports and a report on the Dred Scott decision on slavery. As we celebrate the quadricentennial of the discovery of Lake Champlain by Samuel de Champlain in 1609, it is worth noting that there is an extensive collection of materials on the Lake Champlain and Hudson River Tercentenary among the Bailey Pamphlets. All of the cataloged pamphlets (well over 900) can be found in Midcat by doing a title search on Bailey’s Collection of Vermont Pamphlets. The pamphlets are shelved in the locked portion of the Vermont Collection, which is in Special Collections. Many thanks go to the staff of the Catalog Department for their hard work and tenacity in completing this ambitious project. |
