DeskStats

As of this morning, we no longer have access to the DeskStats system and will be moving to LibAnswers very soon. In the meantime, please use the paper form here at the desk to record the statistics from your shift at the desk. If you have questions, please contact me. Thanks, Jane

Persistent links to Ovid articles and citations

I've written a tutorial on how to create persistent links to citations and articles in our Ovid databases. Go to this LibGuide and scroll down a couple of screens for the section on Ovid.

Jon W.

Slow Printing of Large Graphics-Heavy PowerPoint Slides

Some of the PowerPoints that students are printing are huge files with complex graphics that really bog the printer down. Often, these PowerPoints aren’t designed to be printed at all (but that doesn’t stop the students from trying, of course).

My recommendation is this: If there’s a print job that’s taking a long time to process while other students are waiting, use the job cancel button on the printer to kill the print job. Ask the student to print the PowerPoint at a time when the library is less busy (after 7:00pm is usually OK). Most students are understanding about being asked to print their slides later; they realize that they're monopolizing a shared resource that other students need to use too.

You can also offer to print the slides on the Reference Desk printer. It’ll still take a long time for the slides to print, but you’ll free up the public printer for other patrons.

Jon W.

Problems with the Periodicals List

Jon W. mentioned a problem where the Periodicals List is timing out sometimes. EBSCO is working on the issue. Please keep an eye out for any difficulties.

Media Creation Room laptop requires a password

The Media Creation Room laptop now requires a password to use. See the Reference Desk flip file for the password.

Jon W.

New EBSCOHost Formatting

Heads up! EBSCO has changed their appearance and format in their database products. Take a look at these changes the first chance you get and especially before teaching any library instruction courses.

Also, some other database products (i.e., JSTOR, LexisNexis, Pop Culture Universe) have changed their format.

Audio Books

Jon W. has created a page for Online Audio Books that is accessible from the library homepage. We have five different resources in this category.

The instructions for MyiLibrary include links to installers for Windows and Mac as well as an iTunes download that must be used for MP3 conversion. By following these instructions, downloading should be very simple.

Paper Supply

You will notice that we have a large stock of paper here at the desk now. In addition to what is on the shelf where the paper is normally stored, there is paper on the shelves behind the doors in the middle Ready Reference bookcase. Please use that paper before opening one of the boxes. This will keep things tidier as we enjoy having the paper supply within our immediate reach.

Installing personal software on the Ref Desk PC is a no-no ...

A reminder -- don't install software on the Reference Desk PC without checking with me first. The Reference Desk is a critical library service point, so it's important that the Ref Desk PC work smoothly for everyone.

Please borrow a laptop or netbook from the Circulation Desk if you have personal software that you need to use while you're at the Reference Desk. These laptops and netbooks automatically remove your software when rebooted.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Jon W.

(P.S. The software I removed today broke PDF viewing in Firefox and added crapware that was running on every Windows reboot.)

Last week Brian Becker approached us about finding images of the shoulder patch for the SWOSU ROTC Bulldog Battalion of the 1970s. He is restarting a ROTC program and wanted a patch for his cadets. The images I found where too small and in black and white.Serendipity: The day before yesterday Dean R. Townsend, military historian and insignia collector, spent a couple of hours in the Southwestern room doing research on the ROTC shoulder patch. He is writing a book on the history of ROTC insignias in the United States and is visiting every school that has had such a program.Below is a sheet from the Institute of Heraldry with the approved patch (1972) and the unapproved variants. He let me scan the page. I will place this page in my folder on the ref desk computer for if anyone needs it. The folder will be called Bulldog Battalion. It will also include an image from the 1978 yearbook showing the Bulldog Battalion symbol on the old ROTC building.I have sent this information to Brian Becker.