Important Dates

Please take note of the following:

Full RFID goes LIVE next Thursday, September 10, 2009.

Training for the new ILS system, Polaris will take place between October 28 – December 4, 2009 (more info. to follow)

Our new ILS system goes LIVE December 12, 2009

Thanks

Infants and Toddlers Program on Monday Mornings

Per Kim's email from Jillian:

If anyone would like to join the group - they need to register with Jillian rather than just drop in since the group was getting too large last season. They need to call her cell at 443-831-9906. Her number is also in the programming notebook on top of the file cabinet behind the information desk.

Cockeysville Expansion

This is from an email that Julie McCann sent out regarding their collection

"Please consider what materials your branch most needs and update your wish list to help us. In addition to the wish list, we will be offering categories of materials on the Collection Blog (i.e. Christmas books and AV to share) and ask that you reply in general terms (i.e. we’ll take 30 Christmas easies and 10 Christmas cookbooks). Please notify us if you have special needs that might not fit on the wish list. Between now and the end of September CO will be weeding and offering to float materials from all sections of our collection."

Their timelime
October 3 - Open the mini
April 2010 - Begin discussion with Collection Development about needs and securing materials for re-opening.

Please make sure you do the following:
Beginning August 1st - Do not float materials to Cockeysville.
Remember to check the collection blog daily, if there is a post that concerns your collection please respond appropriately. If you need help logging into the collection blog, please ask Erin or Nancy.

Playaways

If you get a question like...How can I see what new playaways have been ordered or added to the collection? Here's how:

For a list of the most recently purchased Playaways you can go into CARL and do a call# search of: ON ORDER PLAYAWAY and you will get a list of approximately 200 titles still on order covering A, Y and J age levels.

However, once they are fully processed they will no longer have this call# but we can help the customer search under the regular call# and then scan for circs. Those without any circs you can bet will be new.

This is one way we can get a quick answer as to how new it is. Hope this helps.

Video Games Binder

I've created a video games binder for our customers who want to see quickly what BCPL owns. The list is comprised of the three different platforms: PS3, Wii, and Xbox360 for the past two years sorted by newest to oldest. For each platform it is divided by age: Adult/Teen and Kids. I've also added a note saying, if they don't see what they're looking for to ask a librarian. This binder will be kept at the information desk. Please let our customers know that this is available. I'll update the list once a month. Thanks

SRC Completion Prize - Barnes & Noble Certificates

From Linda Volk:

Barnes & Noble asks that our staff/volunteers remind our customers that they can redeem the Barnes & Noble Certificates from August 1 through September 2, 2009.

Bottom shelf in new fiction

From Nancy:

I'm sure most of you have noticed that we are no longer shelving new fiction titles on the bottom shelf. The bottom shelf will be used to display titles face out only. If the shelves get too tight we'll revisit the idea. Of course we wanted to alert everyone before we made the change-- but you have to move really fast to stay ahead of our Great CAs! They had already made the move before our dinner break was over. Thanks to Carolyn and her crew for always being on top of everything.

Electronic MICs

Starting on July 20th we will be submitting MICs electronically. The form will be located under "Forms and Applications" on StaffNet and is titled Suggestion for Purchase - Specific Title and Suggestion for Purchase - Subject. Once you submit a MIC, you'll get a copy of what you submitted as an email. Please forward this to the email account that I've set up. The address is arbutuslibrary@gmail.com
If you have any questions, ask Erin. Thank you

Video Games

All video games are now housed at information services in AO. To browse or place a hold customers can go to http://www.bcpl.info/videogames. Please read memo# 2009-185 for full detail.

Cash Extravaganza

Customers are coming in and asking for help in logging their lottery ticket numbers, if you're able, please help the customer with this to the best of your ability.




1.Go to http://www.mdlottery.com/lucky/
2.On the right hand side you will see two options, one to enter lucky code and another to enter the coupon number, click on the appropriate one. This will redirect you to a form that needs to be filled out
3.The numbers can be found on the tickets that they hand you
4.Unfortunately, it does not save their information, so if they have multiple tickets you''ll have to enter their information each time. Please use your best judgement as to whether you can do this for them or not.

Cassettes be GONE!

FYI: ALL cassettes have been removed from the public floor.

Anime DVDs

The Anime DVDs have been moved to the red wire rack in YA. The collection team made this decision to make them more visible and appeal to the age group that it's targeted towards, thereby increasing the circulation for them. I've posted a sign saying there is a fee to borrow them, so that customers do not think that it's free. It reads" Anime DVDs $2.50 per dvd for 2 nights. Mondays and Wednesdays 2 for 1.

Dear Reader

This is from memo 2009-184:

On Monday, June 15, we will make the Dear Reader service available to customers through the BCPL web site.

Dear Reader is a service that will allow us to provide four additional readers advisory features for our customers:
• E-newsletters. Customers will be able to subscribe to monthly e-newsletters that highlight selected titles in 21 different genres including new and bestselling fiction and nonfiction, mystery, romance and science fiction.
• Online Book Clubs - Customers can subscribe to one or more of 12 online book clubs featuring genres including fiction, nonfiction, romance, and teen. New titles are selected each week and customers receive five daily emails (Monday through Friday) with selections from the book. The goal is to give customers enough of a taste of the book to encourage them to check it out from the library.
• Next Good Book - Customers can set up a profile which will allow them to make and share comments about titles that they have read in an online forum.
• Book Lists - The Dear Reader service also includes a large number of prepared online book lists. These include best seller and award lists. Each of those include cover art for each title, a summary and links directly into the BCPL catalog.

The first two features allow us to reach out to customers by delivering book recommendations directly to them via email. The others allow us to provide a richer experience for customers who visit our web site.

When the service is made available for customers on June 15, we will also launch a redesigned Books and More section of our web site. These pages have been substantially edited to offer greater visual appeal and to take advantage of the pre-constructed book lists that Dear Reader provides. The Books and More menu on the left side of each page will be updated to reflect the changes to this section of our site.

Please become familiar with the new Books and More pages and sign up for one or more of the Dear Reader newsletters or book clubs. By gaining knowledge of these new features we will be able to demonstrate and recommend them more enthusiastically to our customers.

Videogame Circulation Procedures

This is from memo 2009-185:

Beginning July 1, 2009, BCPL will provide videogames to customers through the Hold process only. We will not have videogames on shelves in any branches. After July 1, 2009, all videogames owned by BCPL will be housed in Information Services in the Administrative Offices. Customers may obtain videogames by placing a Hold using CARLWeb, Aquabrowser or at the Information Desk. Information Services will be checking Router daily to fill Holds and will send the items to the requesting branch. There will be no fee for the reserve unless it is a Book Ahead item. The Not Picked Up fee of $1.00 will apply. The loan period is still 7 days and can be renewed once as long as there is no hold on it.

Information Services is developing a webpage (www.bcpl.info/videogames) that will go live on July 1, 2009. Using this webpage, a complete search of all videogames owned by BCPL can be browsed and Holds can be placed. There is still a limit of 3 videogames per library card. Please familiarize yourself with this webpage as soon as possible after July 1.

For Arbutus only
There is still a possibility of theft for these items from the hold shelf, so we will still be keeping the games behind the desk once they come in for the customers(as discussed at the circulation meeting). Carolyn will post a sign on the hold shelves alerting customers to this. Any questions, ask Carolyn or Ann.

Catalog and Label Changes Come July 1st

1.Subject searches can now be conducted for award winners using the terms Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, and Printz. This excludes Black Eyed Susans.

2.Databases are being added into the catalog (format is "website") with the generic call number "Database." Customers will be able to click on the link, enter their validation, and move right into subscription databases.

3.Short Stories anthologies will feature call number " (Y) Short Stories" followed by the first three letters of the main entry. Catalog work will be done centrally and retrospective relabeling will be done.

4.The call number "GAME NINTEN" will be retired and replaced with "(J) GAME Wii A - Z" due to the popularity and brand recognition of Wii over its parent company Nintendo. Cataloging will handle the changes and labeling will be done retrospectively.

5.The new designation "J DVD Series A - Z" (patterned on the DVD SERIES collection, but think Backyardigans, Sesame Street, etc.) will be established and the loan period will be extended to 7-days although the rental fee will still apply. Current fiscal constraints do not allow us to eliminate the fee at this time. A new sticker is being developed that will help customers determine which DVDs cost money.

Customer Suggestion Forms

The customer suggestion forms have been removed from the information desk. For now, if there is a new title that our customers would like us to order, please fill out the green MIC.

SRC Procedures

I've created a folder titled "2009 Summer Reading Program", which will explain everything about this year's summer reading program. It is on the file cabinet behind the information desk. Please read through everything thoroughly and acquaint yourself with the procedures. If you have any questions, ask Ann, Kathy, or Tyler. Thanks.

Where in Arbutus is Sneaks?

We're having a scavenger hunt and it's titled: Where in Arbutus is Sneaks? This will run from June 1st through June 8th. Local participating businesses in Arbutus are displaying a poster of Sneaks holding a different colored book in their windows. There is a display right by the front door of the library, where participants can pick up their handout. On the handout, children first have to figure out the riddle to find out which business to go to, then they have to actually go there to find out the color of the book that Sneaks is holding. Once they're done, they drop off their handouts in the blue box by the front door for the grand prize drawing, which will be on June 30th at the Magic & Stuff Program. The answer key to the handout is in the information notebook. It has the answers to the businesses, but not the color of the book. The children will have to visit the businesses to find out the color of Sneaks' book.

From Kim: This is a fun game meant to encourage children to come see what's at the library- feel free to give hints as to the businesses and where it is located if they call and need help- there may be a number of children and parents who are not very familiar with the area- remember we are only checking to see if the book color is correct on the entry form.

Any questions, ask Kim.

One on One Technology Assistance

The sign up sheet is in the program notebook under one on one. Please fill the chart out completely except for the column that reads "assigned to". We are offering this service on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights at 6:00 PM OR 7:00PM for the summer. Only one appointment per night. If they are calling the week of, please let the librarian in charge know so that he/she can put it on the schedule. If their appointment is for the following week, Sharyn will assign someone and put it on the desk schedule. If this service is in high demand the programming team will consider it again for future programs. Any questions, ask Sharyn or Erin. Thank you.

Addition of Downloadable Audiobooks from Ingram Digital

From memo: 2009-170 please read for full detail.
On June 1, BCPL will begin to offer another option for our customers to download audiobooks. We will be adding the My iLibrary downloadable audiobook service from Ingram Digital.

All staff members are encouraged to review the Ingram site and become familiar with the service. This will make it possible to discuss and promote the service to interested customers. Feel free to download audiobooks. Please do this judiciously, however. Our initial collection is not large and we want to be sure that titles are available for customers when the service is made available to the public. A link to the service is posted on the StaffNet home page now. Links will be added to BCPL’s public web site when the service is opened to our customers on June 1. The web address of the service is:
http://baltimorecpl.myilibraryaudio.com.

Summer Reading Website and Online Registration Instructions

Summer Reading Website and Online Registration Instructions can be found on the:

Help Desk Wiki
http://wikis.bcpl.net/helpdesk/index.php/Summer_Reading_Club_Software

WAN
YouthServices/SRC2009/SRC Online Registration Instructions

Have you had a chance to practice with this? If not, please do so before the official start of SRP, which starts on June 15th. A copy of the instructions are also in the information desk notebook. Thank you!

Online SRP Registration

Reminder: Although, customers can register for the Summer Reading Program beginning May 11, the program does not officially begin until June 15 and the feature for logging their reading activities online will not be available until June 15.

I put a copy of the registration instructions in the information notebook. Please read this and familiarize yourself before the program starts on June 15th. Thanks.

Better World Books

From Jo Pinder:

"I have been asked where our DVDs and CDs are being sold, since BetterWorldBooks.com does not list media. Better World Books listed this material for sale on Amazon and Half.com. They hope to offer this material on their website in the future."

If a customer is searching for a specific item on Amazon or Half.com and they want to buy a used copy, if they click on the link it will list all of the sellers' names. This is where you can see if it's being sold by Better World Books. - Erin

Staff Pictures

I'll be taking pictures of staff probably throughout the months of April and May. It's for the staff directory in ESS, it will only be available to staff through the Intranet. I got most of the CAs and full time staff, so if I haven't taken your picture, I will be asking you to take it soon. Thank you.

SRP Volunteer Registration

Summer Reading Volunteer Registration starts on Monday, April 6th and ends
April 17th.

The registration packets and sign up sheet will be on the file cabinet behind the information desk. Please follow this procedure:

1. Fill out the registration sheet completely.
2. Give the student a registration packet. Each packet is numbered. The packet number should match the number on the registration sheet.
3. If taking a phone registration, set aside the packet with the student's name on it and instruct him/her to pick it up before our orientation.
4. If they can't make it to our orientation or training, there are alternate dates available at other branches. This sheet is on the same clipboard as the registration sheet.
5. If they are volunteering here, but attending a different orientation or training date elsewhere, please tell them to return all paperwork to Arbutus.

Our orientation is on Wednesday, May 13th 7-8:30PM (parent & child must attend)
Our training session is on Wednesday, May 27 6:30-8:30PM (child only)

Materials Availability Survey

We will be conducting a Materials Availability Survey during the week of 3/23 (Next Monday) or until we get 200 responses. As customers enter a volunteer will give a brief explanation about the survey then ask them "Are you going to be looking for books, CDs, or magazines on this visit?". If they answer yes, then the customer will be given a Did You Find It? survey form to fill out. They can fill this form out at any time during their visit. There will be a tray by the exit door where customers can return completed forms. There will also be a small sign on the front cafe table letting customers know about the survey along with some chocolates.

Diana and Sharyn have added the survey to the desk schedules. Volunteers, please make note of this on the schedule and know when your shift begins.

Thank you

Tax Appointments

I spoke to Pat and she said it's okay to fill cancellations and to fill ALL slots (including the fifth line) for all dates. Please do not give out Pat's phone number, take the customer's name and phone number and Pat will get back to them.

Print Release Software

The Print Release Software is now on both information desk computers. If you print form the right one, it will print to the information desk computer. If you print from the left one, it will print to the public print station. The information desk computers are labeled accordingly.

Automatic Shutdown

Our new public computers automatically shut down at closing. The only computers we need to turn off are: computer sign up station, print station, children's computer and the staff computers.

Black Display or No Image on Display

1. Make sure the computer and display are on. The power button on the computer should be lit and green. The power button on the display should be lit and either amber or green.

2. If the power is switched on on both the display and computer, then make sure the display input is set to either Auto Detect or Digital. To do this press the input selection button until either the words Auto Detect or Digital appear on the screen. The input selection button is located on the right side of the display. It is the third button down. After pressing the button it may take a few seconds before an image appears on the display.

3. If the input setting is correctly set then check the brightness and contrast to make sure they were not turned all the way down. To check contrast and brightness:

Press the Contrast / Brightness button on the display. This button is the top button on the right side of the display.
On the screen, you should now see two columns: Brightness and Contrast. If the brightness and contrast are set to 0 then adjust them by using the buttons on the right side of the display (you should see an up and down arrow).

4. If there is still no image on the display then check the signal cable to make sure it is connected securely. The signal cable has a white plug on either end. One end is connected to the rear of the display at the bottom. The other end of the cable is connected to the left side of the computer.

5. If none of the above resolves the issue, then contact the Help Desk at x3000.

Printing problems on the new public computers

If a public computer will not print to the Print Release station or no printers appear to be installed then do the following…

1. Make sure the Print Release Station is on and logged in.
2. Check the print service icon. (Red means it is connected, grey is not connected.) On the public computer, press the CTRL ALT and P keys at the same time. You do not have to close any windows or documents. Just hit CTRL ALT and P on any window. This will restart the Print Management software. The Print Management icon in the system tray should flash from red to gray then back to red.

3. Try printing from either Word or Internet Explorer.

4. If printing still fails, then reboot the computer and try printing again.

5. If after a reboot it still fails then note any error messages and contact the Help Desk at x3000.

Opening and saving documents on our public computers

Opening Documents

When opening a document all of the Office 2007 applications will first look for a USB drive. If Office can not find a USB drive then it will try to open the My Documents folder on the hard drive. Since access to the hard drive is disabled the following message will appear.

"This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator."

To clear the message and open a document, first click on OK. This will take you to an “Open” dialog window with just a “My Computer” icon showing. Insert a USB drive in one of the USB ports. After the drive is detected, double click on the “My Computer” icon. Then click on the (E:) drive icon. From here you can browse the USB drive for the document you wish to open.

Saving Documents

In Office 2007, when saving a document you must select a valid path to save to. If a USB drive is plugged in then Office will set the default save path to the USB drive. If you try to save a document without a USB drive you will get the following error message.

"This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator."

To clear the error message and save the document, first click on OK. This will take you back to the “Save As” window. Insert a USB drive in one of the USB ports. Wait until the USB drive is detected. Then double click on the “My Computer” icon located on the “Save As” window. Then double click on the (E:) icon. From here you can browse through the USB drive to find a location to save the document.

Templates and Clipart on Microsoft 2007

Installed on each public computer are 32 default Microsoft Word templates, 7 Microsoft Excel templates and 6 PowerPoint templates. To access these templates customers simply have to click on the Office Menu and select New. A list of templates will appear from which they can select one. Importing new templates from either the internet or from a USB drive is disabled. So customers are limited to the 44 default templates that come with Office 2007.

Every public computer has 10,000 clipart images installed. The clipart gallery can be searched by clicking on the Insert tab then clicking on the Clipart button. Customers can only search the 10,000 images stored on the computer. They can not search Web Collections or download new clipart from the internet.

Disk drives on our new public computers

The public computers have DVD drives, however they have been disabled. The public are prohibited from using CDs or DVDs in any public computer.

Removing thumb drive from our new computers

When a USB device is plugged into the computer an icon will appear in the system tray, which is located in the bottom right corner of the screen. If a USB device is inserted and the icon does not appear then either Windows does not recognize the device or there is a hardware problem.

To remove a USB device it is recommended to unload the device from within Windows before physically removing the device from the USB port. To unload a USB device click on the device icon shown in figure one. Then click on the menu item “Safely remove USB Mass Storage Device – Drive(E:)”.

After a few seconds a message will appear above the icon indicating that it is now safe to remove the USB device.

Cleaning the LCD screen on the new computers

The LCD monitors on the public computers require special care when cleaning.

- DO NOT clean the LCD with Windex or any other glass cleaner. These types of cleaners will scratch the LCD.

- DO NOT use paper towels or any other abrasive cloth to clean the screens. Paper towels will scratch the LCD screen.

- DO NOT press hard on the LCD it will crack if too much pressure is applied.


Cleaning the LCD screen…
1. First, gently dust the screen off using either a duster or a dusting cloth like a Swiffer.
2. If the screen has smudges or stains on it then dampen a clean soft cloth with a mixture of half water and half rubbing alcohol. If you do not have a 50/50 mix of water and alcohol then straight alcohol will work fine.
3. Gently wipe the damp cloth over the screen until the smudges or stains are gone. Be sure not to press hard on the screen.

Fees

There are certain fees that we should all be aware of. Please see below:

Playaways are now available at the Perry Hall library. These are miniature mp3 players that have recorded books on them. I believe all branches will eventually circulate them. When you buy these from the store, they come with batteries and earbuds. Ours will not have these, but customers can purchase batteries and earbuds from us.

Batteries - $.60 tax. included *ring up under batteries
Earbuds - $1.00 tax included *ring up under earbuds
Flash drives - $5.30 tax included *ring up under flash drives

Hold Fees:
Direct loans - free/no charge
Interlibrary loan - $1.00 *ring up under reserves (there may be additional fees, if so it will be noted on the ILL slip)
Holds with green slip - $1.00 *ring up under reserves
Holds with pink slip - free/no charge

Any questions...ask Erin

Shelf Reading Log

Circulation has devised a new way of shelf reading. Each CA has been assigned a section that he/she is responsible for. The Shelf Reading Log can be found behind the CA desk and is titled Shelf Reading Log. You can look at the log to see who's responsible for your section and when it was last shelf read. If you have any questions regarding this please ask Barb, Diana, or Erin. Thanks

Paperless Registration

For librarians:
As of February 2, 2009 we'll be going paperless for library card registrations. Please read MEMO #:2009-120 if you haven't already done so. Carolyn will post written instructions for staff on how to do this at the registration computer. This process is longer and more detailed than the way we're used to doing it. If you are uncomfortable doing this, please refer the customer to a circulation staff member. If you have any questions regarding this, please ask Carolyn. Thanks

Shelving New Book Cart

If you happen to shelve the new book cart, please record it on the cart chart. This is located behind Ann's desk. Use the next available number and record it as New Books with your initials. Thanks