Cool AARP technology site

Stumbled upon this: http://www.aarp.org/learntech/computers/

Includes Basic (and intermediate) Web lessons: http://www.aarp.org/learntech/computers/basic_web/
I'll put it somewhere on the site. . . any suggestions?

Google map of Phoenix Area Libraries

I created a Google map of area public libraries and embedded it in our Library catalogs webpage:
http://chandlerlibrary.org/internet/catalogs.htm
Let me know what you think. Any suggestions?

Oddest book titles prize shortlist announced

This is funny! http://www.thebookseller.com/news/53656-oddest-book-titles-prize-shortlist-announced.html My favorite is Cheese Problems Solved. £135? That's $265! For a book about cheese. . . problems!?

Deleting info in Workflows

Important info from Peter's email
Our current version of Workflows requires you to delete a line in the Address or Extended Info tab area using the following process:
1) Click on the line to be deleted. You do not need to highlight the entire line. Simply click on the line once.
2) Near the top right hand corner of the 'Modify User' box you will see a blue star. Hovering over that star will reveal the word DELETE. Click on that once.
This deletes the entire line.
-----------------------------------
I have noticed that even if you delete all the text from a field and then go back to "Make More Changes" to make sure it's gone, it doesn't show up. The supposedly deleted item appears as if it's been deleted and will not show up until you do a Display User or Modify User and go back in. It's pretty tricky.

Adult Education - Events Calendar links

I made the Program Introduction dates on the Adult Education webpage link into the calendar, with the exception of Feb 26, which is not on the calendar (Donna is aware). You can go to the Adult Ed page to find the links to sign people up for these, which is probably a little quicker that searching the calendar.

Autorecovery on Public PCs

Autorecovery should work on the public PCs, provided the patron's been typing a few minutes. The guys have configured Word to do an autorecovery save into the D Drive. If a patron's computer loses power in the middle of their unsaved work, you can try the following:

1. Have them log back in (should be able to click on "Click here if your session was interrupted" and just enter PIN).
2. Open Word.
3. File-->Open (should open the D drive's files folder)
4. Use the "Files of type" dropdown arrow to select "All Files"
5. Look for a file named something to the effect of "Autorecovery save of Document..." Most likely it will be "Autorecovery save of Document 1.asd"

I saw Jeff do this for a young woman today, and I experimented myself and it worked for me, too.
From Jeff: The autorecovery threshold is set to every 1 minute. From my experience, it works about 90% of the time.

Start a new line within a cell (in Excel)

I had to look this up a while ago, and I just wanted to share, because you might need to do this in your Learning Program log--specifically, in the "Comments on Learning Experiences" cell. If you want to insert a line break (~hard carriage return) in a cell to move text to another line, hit
ALT key + Enter.

GED Books available in the Learning Lab - Marybeth's update

I discovered that our Learning Lab instructors will give their GED study books (they still say CORE in the catalog) to anyone who needs them to check out. You can send someone up if we don't have any on the shelf, if they are open. . .
Marybeth: "We recognize that the GED materials in the general collection are very popular! As a way to get our materials into the hands of our customers, we have allowed SOME of the materials that are housed in the learning lab to be checked out by the general public (do not need to be enrolled in one of our classes). The available materials have been processed and are available on a separate, marked shelf in the Lab. They can be viewed during the open hours of the lab. We would like to see interested folks come to the lab to see the materials themselves so they can talk to one of the instructors about the lab, our classes, how to use the materials, and other strategies that they can be doing in attempt to achieve their learning goals. Checkout is for the normal 3-week time period using their CPL library card. They should be checked out and returned using the normal circulation procedures and the overdue process is applicable to all users, regardless if they are in our classes or not.
A few requests:
The opportunity to view/checkout materials is available during open lab hours only since during the non-lab hours we have classes going on and it would be a disruption.
The materials available for checkout may vary from day to day since our classroom instructors may pull items for use in their classes (that is the priority for these materials).
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Wireless Duplicate User Errors

Ron discovered a new and interesting error. A guy was getting a duplicate user error message for the wireless, and we did not see his card number in the list. He couldn't log in with one of our guest cards, either. Ron found his IP number (somewhere in his Wireless settings) and checked that against current users and there it was! He was logged in with yet another card, and it was not letting his IP go. Ron logged him out, and all was well.

Pew Report: Online Activities & Pursuits

There are several major findings in this report. One is this: For help with a variety of common problems, more people turn to the internet than consult experts or family members to provide information and resources. Another key insight is that members of Gen Y are the leading users of libraries for help solving problems and in more general patronage. . . .

The survey results challenge the assumption that libraries are losing relevance in the internet age. Libraries drew visits by more than half of Americans (53%) in the past year for all kinds of purposes, not just the problems mentioned in this survey. And it was the young adults in tech-loving Generation Y (age 18-30) who led the pack. Compared to their elders, Gen Y members were the most likely to use libraries for problem-solving information and in general patronage for any purpose. Furthermore, it is young adults who are the most likely to say they will use libraries in the future when they encounter problems: 40% of Gen Y said they would do that, compared with 20% of those above age 30 who say they would go to a library.

Other GED Testing sites

On the Adult Ed page under GED Testing, I added a link to a document that our GED examiner sent us that lists two other places she does testing locally:
http://chandlerlibrary.org/core/gedtesting_2008.pdf

ICAN will supervise youth needing court-ordered community service

Added this to our volunteering page: ICAN - Improving Chandler Area Neighborhoods (tel. 480-821-4207) will supervise youth 18 and under needing to do court-ordered community service. More info & application online

Courier Schedule

from Peter. . .
"Times are approximate and may change without notice on
any particular day."

Morning route
9:00 AM - Downtown
9:30 AM - Sunset
10:00 AM - Hamilton
10:30 AM - Basha

Afternoon Route
1:00 PM - Downtown
1:30 PM - Sunset
2:00 PM - Hamilton
2:30 PM - Basha

East Valley Tribune online archives

Lynne reminds us we have access to the East Valley Tribune online archives with our library account. Login and password are in the rolodexes. They have 2003-current archives available:
http://epaper.aztrib.com/

Can't use delete key?

Helpful email from Saren:
I had an interesting question from a customer today wondering why when he highlighted text on his Word document, and hit the delete key it did not delete. I could not see why it was not deleting, but you could still hit the backspace key to remove the text. I asked Jeff about it, and he figured it out.
When text is highlighted and the delete key is pressed, you will see on the bottom tool bar, left hand corner a message saying Delete Block? No (Yes) . So to delete the highlighted text you either need to press Y on your keyboard, or N if you don't want it deleted. This is a default setting right now, but customers can omit this function with each session by going to Tools, Options, Select the General Tab and uncheck Help for Word Perfect Users . By unchecking this box, text will be deleted right away without having to press Y. Jeff hopes to change this down the road, but this is the way it is on the public computers for now.

Free Flu Shots

Chandler Regional Medical Center
“Drive Flu” medical clinic
Free to first 1000 18 and older
Saturday, October 27, 8-11
475 S Dobson Rd.

Holiday assistance

I haven't gotten any calls yet, but I went ahead and checked with the Chandler CAP office; they say they don't know what they're doing yet regarding holiday assistance. She faxed over info from Salvation Army about what they're doing. . .
Salvation Army Christmas Assistance Signups (tel. 480-963-2041)
Applicants must be residents of Chandler, Gilbert, Higley, Queen Creek or Sun lakes

• Nov. 6, 8, 9: 9-11am & 1-2:30pm
• Nov. 7: 9-11 am
• Nov 12, 13, 15, 16: 9-11am & 1-2:30pm
• Nov 14: 9-11am
• Nov 19-20: 9-11am

Requirements--All those receiving Christmas assistance must have the following:

• Social Security Card for all members of the family
• Birth certificate for each child in household
• Picture ID for all adults/Mexico ID okay
• Proof of Current Address (current utility Bill/rental agreement)
• Proof of Income (current check stub or DES print out)
• Proof of Expense (rent, current bills)

Toda persona que reciba ayuda para Navidad debe traer lo siguiente:

• Tarjeta de Seguro Social para cada miembro de familia
• Acto de nacimiento o tarjeta de ACHHS
• Foto ID para todos los adultos/ID de México está bien
• Prueba de su más reciente dirección (recibo actual/corriente de utilidades o contrato de renta)
• Prueba de ingresos (talon de cheque mas reciente o copia de ayuda Welfare)
• Prueba de gastos (renta, recibos corrientes/actuales)

------------------------------

FYI, they're also having a Thanksgiving Dinner from 11-1 at the Community Center. I'll try calling some of the other places we have listed to see if they have any plans they want to share.

FAFSA forms

News from the U.S. Department of Education about the 2008-09 FAFSA forms:

For 2008–09 paper FAFSAs will not be available for order in bulk. Students will be able to obtain a paper FAFSA by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or by visiting www.edpubs.org. Students may request up to three copies of the paper application and should receive their FAFSAs in three to seven business days.

Railway Museum collection

From Saren's email:

You have probably noticed on the catalog materials that have the call number as the Arizona Railway Museum. These items were cataloged many years ago by Libby. We rarely have customers request these items, but in case you do their collection is a non-lending collection. The museum has moved over near Tumbleweed Park, but at this time their library is still housed in their old building near Chandler Blvd. If any customer would like to view their library or just a book in their collection, all they need to do is contact Russell Lassuy, and he is happy to make the arrangements.

His phone number is 480-298-2860. I have written this information down on the rolodex card filed under the Arizona Railway Museum.

Volunteer Center closes

This is terrible! From their website:

Important Announcement
September, 2007
Since 1962, the Volunteer Center of Maricopa County has been dedicated to promoting and supporting volunteerism to enhance the quality of life in our community.
After 45 years of service to the community, the Volunteer Center has closed its doors.
"After a strategic in depth review of our organization and considerable deliberation, the Board concluded that the promotion of volunteerism and coordination of volunteer services within the community can be
enhanced by working through other community agencies", said Rosemary Gannon, Board Chair of the Volunteer Center.
While the Volunteer Center has successfully met community volunteer needs for 45 years, with our pending closure, we would like to ensure that volunteers and agency partners alike continue to get the volunteer services they need. The Make A Difference organization has been providing volunteer services in Greater Phoenix for 15 years and is well-equipped to handle any volunteer-related inquires from youth and adult volunteers, companies and other community service organizations. Please visit their web site at www.makeadifference.org or contact them directly at 602-973-2212. . . .

Programs and services will be operating through Friday, September 14, 2007. For more information call 602-263-9736.

I'll update the website asap.