Celia’s Eighth Blog for Library Systems Class-Amazing “New World” of Technology

In my Web Architecture class, we have an assignment to interview a web master. Since I don't have any close, I decided to email ones that I have used their web sites. I emailed my questions to five web masters. Is it any surprise to any MLS students that the 2 public library web masters responded promptly and fully? I heard nothing from the 2 government sites or the corporation that I also emailed. That again proves that we as librarians really do want to spread knowledge whether it is our own or through resources we have found.

One of the libraries I emailed was the Denver Public Library. During spring break, I am going to Denver. My niece, Amy, has to take her final test to be a doctor in Denver which is why we are going. My sister and I figure that we will have time to discover Denver while Amy is testing. I looked on the Internet for information on Denver. I found out that we are staying in a hotel about 8 blocks from the Denver Public Library. We will in fact be very close to many interesting place including the mint, art museum, state house and other museums. I still find it amazing how easy it is to find that information. I am old enough to remember when to learn that kind of information would have required hours and hours at the local library and the information received may not be as current or as complete. I sometimes want to throw the computer out the window when it doesn't work well, but I can't think how I could get along without one now. If someone comes into the library, I often run to the computer to find out their answer. I search for phone numbers, addresses, books, tax forms and all others kinds of information. How did librarians do this job without a computer? It boggles one's mind to think of it.

I was talking to some 20somethings in my library and we were discussing how much school children learn about computers now days and how computers are a common sight in classrooms. They said that they remember just having a few if any when they were in school. Boy, did I feel old since computers weren't even thought about in school in my day and those that did exist occupied a whole room. Isn't it amazing how schools and even life has changed because of computers and the technology they have brought?

Because of my trip to Denver, the board is meeting on March 3rd over a week earlier than normal. I have to get the end of month reports done on Saturday, March 1. Luckily the local bank is open for a few hours on Saturday so I can hopefully get some kind of bank statement so I can report to the board the library's financial condition. That again is only possible because of computers and technology. Without that technology, there is no way that the bank would have any possible way of getting that information for me for the reports in time for this early meeting.

I was informed by our tech guy that all media inserted into our computers are tested by our antivirus system. That means that it is safe to allow flash drives. The library that has the DVD/CD repair machine we are thinking of buying says that it requires little maintenance. In fact, a maintenance kit came with the machine and they have yet to use it. It just requires a little wiping out after each cleaning. I am hoping that these 2 issues can be finished at this coming board meeting.

I found out on Thursday that we are running out of label protectors. These are clear plastic with adhesive backs that we place over the reused bar codes and book spine labels. Since we are re-shelving and cataloging a lot of our young adult as juvenile where they should have been in the hopes that being shelved and cataloged right they will circulate more we are going through a lot these protectors. I tried very hard to order some through the DEMCO website. I never succeeded at it as that website will never accept my user name or password. I started a small notebook where I keep all the user names and passwords for all the accounts and computers the library has. This has been a lifesaver or should I say memory saver. When I started it I never thought I would have near as many as I do. My board president was going to copy them and have them put into the lock box but when he saw how many there are decided it wasn't worth it. It is amazing that are lives' are now reduced to user names and passwords.

Addendum to 7th Blog

I am sick of winter! sick of being sick! and sick of techno glitches! I don't know why the font is doing wacky things. I think I might have hit something by mistake during one of my sneezing fits. I can only hope that spring and good health return soon because I know the techno glitches won't leave but at least I will be able to handle them with better humor then. Ok, at least I can hope that I will, can't I???

Celia’s Seventh Blog Post for Library Systems Class-The “Duh” Moments in Life

This week I had some enlightening moments. In my other class, Web Architecture, I have been writing website in (X)HTML code. I dawned on me how much programming a website and cataloging materials in the library's automation system have a lot in common, duh. In both cases, punctuation, spaces and the case of letters is so very important. One slight typo in both cases can cause all types of problems. I thought that was odd until it occurred to me, duh, that in both cases the purpose of the work is to communicate with the computer and to get the computer to bring the results we desire with precision, consistency, and reliability. Both are speaking in a language that the computer can understand and interpret correctly, duh.

I remember often as I have "moments" with computers and working to get the results I want from them something that Dr. Ball said in Online Searching, that computers are just dumb machines and that no matter what we humans are smarter, duh. This has become my mantra as a patron asks me to help them do something that the computer doesn't seem to want me to do. For example, this week patron wanted to download a program to his flash drive. This should be an easy process but no matter what we tried we couldn't get it to download there. We tried downloading it to a floppy and that would work but not to his flash. I finally figured out that the flash had its own programs with files and the correct program file had to be opened, duh and then the file could be downloaded to it. This took some time but we finally got the file for the patron.

This episode brought up the issue of allowing patrons to use their own flash drives in the library's computers. My board and I are concerned with picking up viruses or other corruption from them. The board asked me to find out if other public libraries allow flash drives to be used in the computers. To accomplish that I did something that I first did a couple week ago, I posted the question to the INPub listserv. My first post to the listserv dealt with DVD/CD repair machines. My library has been asking for and receiving Library Capital Project Funding to pay for our automation but that automation will soon be paid off and we will have money left in the fund. Since the rules for this money are very specific, we are looking for some item that will take all the money and still qualify as to our project's plan. We believe this kind of machine would fit that and fit a need of the library. We are losing a lot of DVD because they are being returned damaged. It is hard to tell when a DVD is damaged and can't play anymore or when the scratch just came from regular use and not damage so it is hard charge one patron as opposed to another. So these are mainly loses that the library just has to eat. The machine that most of the library's that replied to my question on the listserv was one that cost close to $3,000 at the cheapest. That is way too much for my library to pay, it just wouldn't be worth it, duh. One library suggested one that costs around $350. This is more a possibility with our budget especially since we are hoping to be able to fix disks for patrons for a fee to recuperate some of our expense. My board president found the $350 machine in his Popular Mechanics Magazine in an article saying that it was a good product but that it took a lot of care and cleaning. I was instructed by the board to check out what kind of care and cleaning it needs with the suggesting library.

Since the listserv worked so good helping to find a DVD repair machine, I decided to try it on the flash drive question. I was responded that there is a program from Microsoft called SteadyState that allows public computers to be returned to their starting state by just rebooting the computer. I have asked my assistant's husband who is an IT man for a neighboring township to look it over and see what he thinks. This programs sounds too good to be true. I hope what they claim can actually be real-it could be a dream come true.

These listserv are really helpful. I am mainly a reader and not a participator. I true to offer my experience if it is something that I or my library has done, but us being so small we are usually a follower and not a leader. But with this class and the others I am taking, I'm hoping that I can give the library's technology a big shot in the arm!!

Celia’s Sixth Blog for Library Systems Class- A Week of Changes

I spent a lot of this last week preparing for the February Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday the 12^th. Thanks to the snow, that meeting had to be postponed after I had everything set up. Because of the postponement some of the checks still had to go out this week and can't wait till next week when we can reschedule the meeting. The checks were for the safe deposit box (or we would have to pay $5 more), the phone bill and salaries. I thought that was all but it so happened that the library is buying a block of service from our computer tech's company. If we buy a 40 hour block we only have to pay $55 an hour instead of $110 and we only have to pay for travel one way. Since they let the computer tech come before the scheduled meeting, the company agreed to take it out of the block anyway, but they would not let him come a second time unless I mailed the check. So I had to get permission by the Board President for getting that check signed by the Board Treasurer before the meeting could take place too. Luckily, the board had talked about and agreed to do this as we are saving so much money so the Board President agreed to this early payment.

So I was able to let the computer tech come on Wednesday. He was able to convince the server to recognize/accept my office computer even though because it is the home version of XP, it can't become part of the domain. Because of this change, I will be able to save all of my records on the server instead of just saving them to a rewritable CD. I appreciate having any kind of saving of data and as many places as possible since I have found that disasters can happen when the system or even parts of the system go down. My office computer is now password protected and if I want to I can block some things from my assistant. That will not be all that easy though since my assistant knows my password.

We discovered while he was working on the computers that the "brand new this fall computer" was operating very, very slowly. He is now looking into it to find out why. We believe that because this computer not well protected because that "fall computer guy" didn't know our network system and something "harmful" was put on it, possibly an extension of MySpace. The computer tech we now have calls himself: the Goodrich Man as in "we can pay him now, or we can pay him later". It is true. He also pointed out that because he knows our system so well he is able to diagnose the system in a fraction of the time of anyone else. He was able to figure out that the new computers from the court do have sound cards they just didn't have drivers to run those drivers. Once the drivers were installed they worked fine. That was proved by some of the patrons later in the day. No more complaining about sound! Yeah!!!!

I did have one glitch after the computer tech left. The receipt printer wouldn't print. The computer tech had added another user named "Staff" for extra protection in case someone unauthorized got behind the desk and started messing with the circulation computer so they couldn't do any real damage. But the automation system would not recognize this user and now the automation system will need to be configured to allow this user. I had to shut the computer down and then restart and sign in as "Administrator" to get the receipt printer to work. This was a fairly easy fix but scared me for a while thinking I was going to have to go back to the post-it-notes. Thank God, I didn't!!!!!!

I didn't have class my Library System class on Thursday, February 14, 2008, but since my schedule is step up for it, the New Albany-Floyd County Wiki Team had a meeting. I was tired from all the changes at the library and feel that I was just not brainstorming well with my fellow members. I had my laptop which I have found invaluable with me so I used it to take the minutes during the meeting. I also tried to record the meeting with a digital voice recorder. The recorder is new so I have to see if it worked. I am supposed to be able to plug it into the computer and make an audio file. I can get it to go to my iTunes library but that is as far as I can get it. I tried to email the file to myself but that took forever so I don't want to block up someone's email. I can make a CD but I can't send that to my fellow team members. I just bought the digital recorder because is thought it was just what I needed for this and my other classes, when the Board Secretary bought one for the library to record board meetings.

I tried to email Dr. Ball from IPFW where we had the meeting and I couldn't. I have not figured out why I can receive my emails there but can't send any. I had to send her the email when I got home. I thought that I was suppose to email Dr. Ball the minutes from the meeting but I have since reread last class's notes and found that they are actually suppose to be posted on the wiki. I have found that when I transfer from Microsoft Word into the wiki the spacing gets changed. I have found that to be really irritating, but I have been trying hard to get it to look good.

Hope your week went better than mine. Check back to see if things go any better…..

Celia’s Fifth Blog for LIBRARY SYSTEMS CLASS-“New-to-us" computers

This past week, The Roanoke Public Library had our computer tech come on Tuesday. Our computer tech is from South Bend so having him actually come to the library is a major deal. He came because the Roanoke Town Court got new computers and donated their old ones to the library. We were very grateful to get them as one of our patron computers had such a small hard drive that just putting the XP operating system and Microsoft Office on it filled it so that only 14% was left. I went to defrag it and couldn't since to do a defrag you need 15% free hard drive space. On another computer, the desktop kept showing an error message. We had to keep telling the patrons to go ahead and click on the "big e" and they would get to the Internet and not try to fix the error as it just wasn't going to fix. Getting rid of those two computers is such a relief that I can't tell you.

When the Town Court told me that they were going to donate the computers I was so excited that I forgot to ask details. At one point in between them telling of the donation which was before Christmas and receiving the computers 2 weeks ago, there was talk that we may only get one computer. I figured that one was better than none so I was still grateful. But when the Judge delivered them, he brought not only the two computers, but the computer that they used as a server, two flat 19" flat screen monitors, 2 mice and 2 split keyboards.

Back last fall, the library's circulation computer hard drive went out. It was a disaster. I was running circulation in safe mode for a time and for a couple months we were giving patrons post-it-notes for their due dates since the register printer is very hard to set up. The board worked fairly fast and bought 2 new computers-one to replace a very, very old patron computer and our circulation one. The President of our Friend of the Roanoke Public Library refurbished that old circulation computer by replacing the hard drive and adding memory.

The conclusion of this is that we have 6 patron computers, one bought new last fall, one is the refurbished circulation computer, two are the donated ones from the court, and one is a special computer got through a Grant from the Gates Foundation that was made especially for libraries. As I am writing this the sixth one is one of the challenges that I knew was coming. The computer tech said that the best possible computer for us would be turning the court's server back into a regular computer. The problem with that is that it had no operating system. The library has special purchased licenses for 2 XPs but we have no start-up disks. I tried downloading them from the Microsoft website since we are allowed because of the license purchase but they were not bootable disks. We finally got one on our third try but this was a long process. The computer tech ended up taking the court's server computer and the bootable disk with him to try to build the computer so that he can just attach it when he returns. Conclusion-the patron should end up with 6 relatively good and fast computers when we are done.

We also have an OPAC computer at the back of the room that we have now attached the scanner to so that we don't have to disturb any patrons in order to scan. Evidently a scanner cannot be put on a network and must be attached to just one computer so this is the least disruptive one. The only problem with this is that the computer is wirelessly connected so the computer tech will have to wirelessly connect it to a printer in order for us to print the scanned items but at least it does not require asking patrons on the scanner's computer to leave it for a while so we can scan something for another patron.

So all sounds well, don't it? But there is a problem- Sound. We discovered the computers donated by the court don't have sound cards. One of the Board Trustees is going to take sound cards out of the old computers that we are getting rid of to put in them but the patrons aren't happy in the mean time but at least that is fairly fixable. We think that the fan may be going out in one of them too so we may be taking a fan out of one of the computers also.

We are planning on keeping one of the better computers as a backup so that should anything happen to one of the computers we have an easy replacement. We are planning on putting the circulation software on that backup computer so should something happen to the circulation computer again we won't be as disabled as we were last fall. I am taking one of the LCD monitors for my office computer and the other will be used by my assistance at her area so the patrons will not have them to fight over. Right now I don't think that we will be using the split keyboard as I have been told that they require a lot of time to get used to.

The computer tech is returning next week to finish off some things he was unable to get to like changing our passwords for more protection, setting up that last computer, and networking my office computer in so that it can share files with the circulation computer and wirelessly connecting a printer to the OPAC. I can't wait till it is all done and the bugs are worked out! I think it is going to be so great to be fully functioning and not have computers that patrons get because they arrived at the library later than others that don't work as well or as fast as they would desire.

Celia’s Fourth Blog – LAR-1

As I said in a previous blog, the beginning of the new year brings about reports. I have now completed the W-2s and W-3 and have sent them off to the IRS and Indiana Department of Revenue. These reports are fairly easy since I keep an Excel spreadsheet showing gross earnings, all deductions taken out and then the net wages that are paid for each pay period. Since the W-2s and W-3 are just summaries of that, it only takes transferring the information. So it is relatively easy.

I wish I could say that the other report I had to do was as easy. Every year, public libraries are sent hardcopy forms from the State Board of Accounts (SBOA). These reports are to record the beginning balances, the incomes, the disbursements and the ending balances of all funds in the library. These entries leave an ending balance that must be showed as to where it is, whether it's in savings, checking or investment accounts and the banks where they are located. For the last two years, I have done this by typing the numbers onto the hardcopy forms and mailing it. This year, the accompanying letter requested that this form be filled out electronically and gave a web site where it could be downloaded. I also received a special letter from our regional director of the SBOA with the same request offering his assistance if problems are incurred.

Well, I had a problem. When going to the prescribed web site, it said "Sorry, the page you requested was not found." I tried everything I could think of to get the web site to work and still got the same message. I then called the regional director as he requested with my problem, unfortunately that was Martin Luther King Day and he was off. He returned my call and told me that the web site address was wrong and gave me the correct one. I then downloaded the form and opened it to begin. Imagine my surprise when the form looked nothing like the hardcopy form. The online form had one column per page. Thus I had to input all the beginning balances than go to the next page and enter all the incomes on the next page and then all the disbursements on the next page. After that I had to enter the bank account amounts. The only way I could figure out whether the amounts were entered correctly was to print out all the pages of the report, because it inserted error message on the printed form. I end up printing it out about 4 or 5 times before all the little errors were corrected and that was after I had completely filled out the hardcopy form.

When I finally got it done, it gave an option of emailing it directly to them. I tried to do this but I did not receive a confirmation that I really trusted. I ended up sending a printed out copy of the form to them along with the signature page. I figure that way I'm sure that it is going to get to them.

I really hope that the state updates this form before they force everyone to use it. People who do not have computer experience and patience will be driven totally crazy by this setup. This year it was optional but they are saying that it will be required in the future. The disbursement part of the form had to be electronically sent to the DLGF (Department of Local Government Finance). The letter from them requesting this had the correct website and was a little better designed. I also had to send the DLGF an Indebtedness Report which was very easy since we don't have any so that only required a quick email.

This coming week, we are having "new-to-us" computers installed into our network to replace some old computers for our patrons. The Town Court donated two computers along with a computer they used as server to the library. We also have one that the President of the Friends of the Roanoke Public Library refurbished from our old circulation computer. Some of our patrons have seen the two new 19" LCD monitors and can't wait to try them. I sure hope all goes well but I am expecting some "challenges" to appear. Stay tuned to find out what they are…..