No PIN through email

From Saren's email:

I verified with Peter and Dan, and Peter prefers that we do not give out a customer's PIN number through our email service. He would prefer they either call or come in person to get that information. On the phone have the customer verify their phone number and address, and in person either look at their ID or verify the address and phone number. He also said if we end up giving a customer their library card number and PIN number over the phone, we do not need to count it as a look-up.

Opening WPS (Works) files

It's possible to open Works (WPS) files on public computers, even though it may seem like it's not.

1. You MUST copy the file to the computer first.
2. Open MS Word.
3. Use the file open in Word to find the file and open it.
4. Follow directions to install the converter when prompted.
   
5. You MAY have to tell the computer several times to "Ignore" a problem with a registry key (Jeff is looking into fixing this)

Bonus steps:

1. Recommend that the person save the file as a Word document at that point.
   
2. Tell the person to take the extra step to save as a '.doc' when they create files on their home computer using Works in the future. This will save them the headache of not being able to open their files on other computers.
   

Graphic printing problems in Publisher 2003?

On the public printers, if a patron's graphics all don't print out, try the following:

On the File menu, click Print.
Click Advanced Print Settings, and then click the Graphics and Fonts tab
Under Graphics, click Print low-resolution linked graphics
Click OK.

Federal School Code List

From the Federal Student Aid office: "The 2008-2009 Federal School Code List will be available as of November 1, 2007, on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site at http://ifap.ed.gov/. You will be able to search the document online as well as print, download, and share the PDF file if desired. The online document will be updated on a quarterly basis with an errata sheet, to easily identify changes."
The list will no longer be distributed in hard-copy format.
Students can still access the code list on the FAFSA (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) website or on the National College Access Network website, http://www.collegeaccess.org/NCAN/.

Problems with Anti Virus on public computers

From Ron: "With the new Anti Virus upgrade, we are finding problems such as this [inability to open certain pdfs] and are able to correct them if we can see the problem as it happens . We have the ability to log the problem and make any corrections, but we have to do it prior to the next session starting because the next restart eliminates any logs. If you can let the rest of the reference staff know this, and have then contact us as soon as these problems occur, we can come out and determine what setting we need to change in the Anti Virus settings to eliminate the issue."

Where to RECEIVE a Fax

Nearest places to receive a fax (please add any you find):
Staples at SW corner Alma School and Chandler: 50¢/page
Fedex Kinkos at NE Dobson and Chandler: $1/page

Photos of Graffiti

Ranger Rachael asked that we take photos of the graffiti that we encounter around the library. You can email it to her (she's in the Chanweb directory, look under her first name).

Christmas Tree Permits already!

It's beginning to look a lot like. . . Christmas? Already got a question about Arizona National Forests’ Sale-by-mail Christmas Tree Program. Guess you can't blame them--the deadline for lottery entries to be postmarked this year is October 1, according to the Christmas Tree Hotline number (602) 225-5258. The applications for the lottery will be available at various locations (presumably here, too) on September 4. They'll have info online on September 1.
Printable packet here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto/christmas/AZ_SBM_Xmas_07_Form.pdf

They are supposed to have Internet applications, but they aren't available yet.

Weeding & Discarding

New info on Chanwik:

Creating a weed list in Workflows

Discarding Procedures and Practices

Running a chkdsk on a flash drive!

I discovered today that you can run a chkdsk on a flash drive, not just a floppy! Follow the 'Repairing disks' directions in the 'Care and Feeding' manual, remembering to put the correct drive letter in (not 'a,' which would be the floppy drive). Today, for example, the drive was the letter 'g,' but you never know. Take a look in 'My Computer' first to confirm the drive letter.

New Business Listings

Joe tracked down a source for new business listings. There is a "Business Leads" column in both the Arizona Business Gazette and the Phoenix Business Journal, which lists new businesses in the greater Phoenix area (nothing limited to Chandler, unfortunately).

Holds for WEBCAT

We just saw a rash of holds for WEBCAT. Dan sent an email about this a while back -- I've long since deleted it -- but we can just delete these holds. They're generated when a hold is placed in the system but can't be tied to a patron, so there's nothing we can do with them. Just delete the hold and route the item wherever Sirsi tells you to route it (usually back to the shelf).

Real Estate Exam

Information about the Experior exam, from Deidre and Lynne's emails:

The Arizona Department of Real Estate (ADRE), a government agency, is charged with enforcing the laws and rules governing the real estate profession in Arizona. Thomson Prometric, formerly Experior Assessments, is an independent, professional examination company under contract with ADRE to develop and administer licensing examinations for salespersons and brokers in real estate, cemetery and membership camping sales. Arizona is not reciprocal with any other state or country. An applicant for a real estate, cemetery or membership camping license in Arizona must meet the Arizona requirements in effect at the time of application regardless of the applicant's licensed status in another state.

---

These exams seem to change ownership often. The last time I called Learning Express to find out if they were keeping up with new editions/owners of the test material, they claimed they were current within the last 6 months. Our database shows Thomson/Prometric (Experior) for the real estate exams.

Car hit in Library parking lot

Copied from Saren's email:

A car was hit in the Library parking lot today. I paged to see if someone with the license number and model of car was in the Library, but no one showed up. I called the Police, but they told me they do not send out an Officer if the incident happened in a private parking lot (although it is the City parking lot, but who knows), so all the driver needed to do was leave a note with her name, insurance information, and phone number on the vehicle she hit. That may be helpful for future fender benders.

Helpful tips (PDFs and Workflows)

Copied from Saren's email:


Just wanted to pass along a couple of things I have come across lately that may be helpful.
The first one is about printing a PDF file. Today a gentleman's print job was not being sent over to the printer, and since there were no pending print jobs I thought something was wrong with the printer connection. Of course it was first thing in the morning, but there always seems to be a print job or two pending. We called Ron and the issue was not our printer, but the PDF file the customer was trying to print. Apparently the document had been set up not to print, but was not giving any type of message to let us know that. The solution was to copy and paste the document or selected text into Word, and then print from Word. I would gather this does not happen very often, but in the future if a PDF file will not print, then just copy it into Word.

The other thing I found out about is on Workflows. Sometimes it is almost impossible to figure out when a library card was issued to a customer, but here is the trick. When you pull up the card information, go ahead and click on the customer's name, and that will give you a quick snapshot of the account, and will also tell you the user date created and privilege granted date. The user date created is when the account was first set up, and the privilege granted date is when the card was last renewed. Probably some of you already knew this, but this little trick does come in handy.

Flags at half mast

Thanks to Jan, I've figured out who's in charge of lowering the flags to half-mast. Jennifer Honea tells B&F to lower the flags, after she gets the order from the governor's office. If we get questions about why the flags are lowered (or if we're just curious), we can call Jennifer at x2228, or check the governor's press releases page at: http://azgovernor.gov/media/Press%20Releases.asp.

Baker & Taylor cart instructions

Creating and Transferring Carts in B&T (new procedure as of Spring 07)

Creating a cart

1. Go to the Carts tab.
   
2. Don’t use the Quick Setup. Instead, click the small link that says “Create New Cart – Full Setup.”
   
3. Name your cart. We should have these four carts each month:
   · DT Replacements mm/yy – Fic
   · DT Replacements mm/yy – NF
   · DT Customer Requests mm/yy – Fic
   · DT Customer Requests mm/yy – NF
   
4. Make sure Cart Availability is Open, and Cart Visibility is Private.
   
5. Check the Grid Enable: Yes box.
   
6. Click the Create Cart button.
   

Carts should be transferred at the end of the relevant month, or when the total quantity reaches 25. If you have the mending for the month, please transfer both the replacements and customer request carts at the end of the month.

Transferring a cart

1. Go to the Carts tab.
   
2. Make a note of the total list and discount prices for the cart. Forward this information to Lynne.
   
3. Use the Select Function pull-down menu to choose Transfer.
   
4. Click GINGER MILOSERNY, then click the Add button.
   
5. Uncheck “Keep a copy of my cart.”
   
6. Click the Transfer button.
   

Arizona Railway Museum

Copying the information from Saren's message, in case you're trying to find it again:

The Arizona Railway Museum has moved over by Tumbleweed Park.

Their new address and hours are:

Location - 330 E. Ryan Rd. (Ryan Road is south of Germann and east of Arizona Ave.)
Hours - September 9, 2006-May 27, 2007 Saturday-Sunday 12:00-4:00 p.m.

Also here is their website: http://www.azrymuseum.org/

Windows Vista / Office 2007 converter

Ron installed a converter for files created with Windows Vista/Office 2007 on Ready Ref 1 and 2. So if someone comes in with a file on a disk that's too new to open with our regular computers, we can put them on a Ready Ref machine.

"The Secret"

In case you haven't been bombarded with this request yet, or if you have but you just can't remember the author to look it up:

People usually ask just for "The Secret" or maybe "The Secret laws of attraction." The title of the book is "The Secret," the author is Rhonda Byrne, and the phrase "Law of attraction" appears in the book's blurb but is not part of the title. We've ordered a lot of copies of the book and audiobook, and there are a lot of holds. (It's been on Oprah -- small wonder.)

People might also ask for the title "The Secret" and an author of Michael Beckwith. Michael Beckwith appears on the DVD version, although we don't yet have a full catalog record for the DVD, so a catalog search on his name won't find it. You can find the DVD by searching for "Secret" and "Byrne".