Have you already been approved to attend a conference or training event, but are unsure how to proceed? Please, fill out either a training request (for all local events) http://intranet.auraria.edu/wiki/images/6/62/Training.pdf or a travel request (for non-local) http://intranet.auraria.edu/wiki/images/d/d7/Travel.pdf and submit to Mike Furuli or Marical Farner. If you already filled out one of these forms, but have not received a confirmation of registration, then you have NOT been registered and we ask that you please fill out a new form and submit directly to either Marical or Mike.
For more information on how to request funding or proceed with registration for a staff development opportunity please see the following wiki page or contact Marical Farner for assistance.
http://intranet.auraria.edu/wiki/index.php/Professional_and_Staff_Development_requests
Grants Brown Bag Interest Group
We will be having our 2nd Grants Brown Bag Interest Group discussion on Monday, November 23 from noon – 1:00pm in the ELC-friends conference room. Our first Grants Brown Bag discussion was in July: http://intranet.auraria.edu/wiki/index.php/Grants
Everyone is welcome. We will be discussing the current status of grant ideas and proposals in the library & the proposal writing workshop some of you are attending on November 18 through the Office of Research Development & Education.
For more info. contact Davette x6-2625
Tech Gadgets Starting in November, the Library will host regular brown-bag sessions to discuss tech gadgets such as iPhones, Kindle and anything else of interest. If you have items you want to learn more about or are willing to share your gadget, please contact Marical. Our first session will be held in ELC B from 12 -1:oo p.m. on Tuesday, November 17, 2009. This session will include the iPhone, iPod touch and wifi for laptops. Please, feel free to bring your lunch.
WCL Change A joint Prospector and ILL team (Ev, Judith, Cindy M, Meghan, and Kathy) has been investigating the interaction of these programs with WCL and examined the use pattern of our patrons. Therefore as of this afternoon, Friday 11/6/9, we have made a change in WCL that you should see immediately. We will be monitoring the effects of this change for the rest of the semester.
The change was made for two reasons.
· First the trend has been that a large percentage of items are being requested via ILL that could have been requested through Prospector. This causes frustration and unexpected work behind the scenes for the Library staff who know that Prospector is the best request and delivery tool for in-state items from both the patron viewpoint and Library costs.
· The second reason is that the current lack of OCLC record numbers in Prospector records causes a high percentage of false hits when patrons used the “Request from Prospector” button. This also results in frustration and confusion among patrons and the library staff who help them.
The change is that the “Request from Prospector” button which appears on a record when the resource is not available at Auraria Library and is held by another Prospector Library has been changed. The button now says “Search Prospector for Item” and opens a new window for the patron to make a Prospector title search.
This means the patron will need to re-search for the item in Prospector - ideally by copying the item title from the open WCL window and inserting it in the Prospector title search screen. (Or if they are looking at an article record by copying the journal title from the open WCL window and inserting it in the Prospector title or journal title search screen.) Then if the item is not available in Prospector the patron should be encouraged to click on the newly available “Find More Resources” button in the Prospector record. That button will allow them to place an ILL request among other things.
While not a perfect solution we hope this will lower frustration levels. Please make note of this change when you help our patrons learn to navigate WCL.
Thanks,
Gayle, Ev, Judith, Cindy, Meghan, and Kathy
To Whom It May Concern: Patricia Tawnell is proving to be a capable information provider with a real affinity for the work. Pat has been bitten by the same bug that bites all the best reference folk. Once bitten, these people cannot rest until they find the right answer ...whether it means turning over stones or pursuing a question even after the student who asked it has rushed off to class. Pat understands the importance of the Teachable Moment and uses it to good advantage to give students skills they can use to become independent researchers. Pat's explanations are concise, illuminating, and hold the students' interest. Pat is extremely sensitive to students who may be intimidated by libraries or research assignments. Above all, Pat has the discrimination to understand the difference between easy answers and best practices. I would urge you to invest whatever resources you can in Pat's continued training. I feel quite certain your investment will be richly repaid.
Sincerely,
Tobey Stein
Staff Co-trainer Instruction & Reference Services
