Molstead Library News

Wireless Internet access now in Molstead Library.

As of now, Molstead Library now provides wireless Internet access to the general public. 

Our routers are 802.11g compatible and users will need to authenticate either by entering their email address and agreeing to our use terms OR those with campus network access can log in with their Novell account permissions.

Enjoy!

New PC's in Molstead Library

New PC'c can be found on the Library floor.  A recent overhaul of the technology in the Library allows for a more streamlined maintenance procedure. With a three year warranty on parts the new equipment should provide us with smooth and reliable service.  Educational pricing agreements with Dell Computer allowed for the Library wide upgrade to newer and more energy efficient models.  Upgrading to a flat screen monitor saves energy as well as space.  You'll notice on your next visit how much more space is available to you as you do research using a computer terminal.  New Print Stations will be put on the floor soon as well as new PC's in Rm 126 and Todd Hall.  Here's to a good semester!

Andy

Ebrary problems RESOLVED! Off campus access is restored.

Off campus access to Ebrary has been restored.

Thanks for your patience!

Ebrary technical problems: off campus access disabled for now.

I have been hearing from students who are not able to access electronic book titles in the Ebrary database.  The problem is with our EZproxy server software which is woefully out of date.  Once the server is updated, everything should be back to normal.  This may take a day or two at the soonest, hopefully not much longer.

In other Ebrary news, the Ebrary browser plugin is being upgraded and Mozilla Firefox support is being enabled.  This upgrade is taking place as I write this and should be 'live' this week.  Here is the information I was sent from Ebrary support about the new features and installation instructions:

The ebrary Reader for PC/Windows plugin version 3.1.1 includes several new features, developed based on feedback from customers:   

• Copyright information in citations: publisher copyright details (date, publisher name, copyright statement) are now automatically included with every citation, when copied and pasted or printed.
• Customizable citations:  ebrary now offers four user-selectable and administrator-customizable citation styles, which are automatically included when text is copied and pasted or printed.  All ebrary citations include a URL to the exact page from which the information was obtained.  In addition to the ebrary Standard format, a user can choose from Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), and Alliance for Computers and Writing (ACW) citation styles.
• Refine search option in InfoTools:  ebrary now allows patrons to perform an Advanced Search on any text within a document (versus Simple Search in the prior release) using InfoTools.
• 'Scale to Width' feature in the Zoom menu: in addition to scaling a page to fit lengthwise into the ebrary Reader frame, without scrolling (using the Scale to Fit option), the user can now scale to fit the document page horizontally in the Reader frame.
• Support for Mozilla Firefox browser.
• Improved stability.

This release also updates the ebrary Reader for Macintosh plugin to version 2.7, providing improved stability.

Current ebrary users (who have the ebrary Reader installed) will encounter a pop-up alert requesting installation of the new plugin.  The user may choose to install immediately (no reboot required), not install at all, or 'Remind me later.'  If the last option is chosen, the user will see this alert pop up again in 30 days.

If you are experiencing difficulty with Ebrary from your home computer, please be patient and await our maintenance of the server software.  Thanks for your patience!

Library has new look web site.

There's nothing like a fresh web site for a fresh semester.  Am I right?

The library's new web site reflects some ideas we have been kicking around for many months, in particular is the way users will now access the periodical databases. 

There are now subject areas on the main page that will link you to the specific, appropriate databases that cover areas of study within the subject area.  These subject areas are, admittedly, somewhat ambiguous but they were chosen to reflect the layout of the NIC catalog and curriculum.  Denise and I thought this would be the best way to approach it.  Hopefully this will be easier for searchers and also bring to the forefront some databases that were under utilized.

It was especially nice for me to redo the web site.  From a design and management perspective things are now cleaner, better organized, and just plain easier to manage.

Well, enjoy and have a pleasant semester.