IDs

Ugh ... that FUN FUN thing that is creating IDs.
We've been having a heck of a time here with creating them in the first place.

• Pictures disappeared.
• Pictures were too dark.
• Pictures were too light.
• The color printer didn't work.
• The business cards were on back-order, for 3 weeks.
• The laminator breaks down.
• I wasn't able to attend the orientation session and therefore was unable to stay on-top of the project.
  

I understand that there might be some sort of solution in the future that will combine student records, picture and possibly their library record in one fell-swoop that would solve a lot of headaches (wouldn't that be nice) , but for our campus, we needed a better solution.

It was suggested that we use Access to figure out the process, so we've tested a possible solution, and so far, it looks like it'll work.

(select screenshots for a clearer view) This is the process we used:

1. We imported information of ALL of our current students from CLASS into this Access database. The picture is taken at orientation and I use Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition 3.2 (free download) to change the picture's filename to their name, crop, fix red-eye, etc. The picture was added as an attachment, which was easy to fine since I changed the filename.
   I created 2 fields that helps in the output of the student's information - ORDER & PRINT. The order is the order of which the record would print, and the print, well, is to actual print that record.
2. I created Print Query that would print the correct records in the correct order.
3. I created "labels" with the exact parameters of the business cards that we print.
4. I then had the labels using the "print query" as the source.
   
5. Looking at the records, it runs down the page continuously, but in the "print preview", it shows the documents just fine!
   
   
   
   (Figure of the labels in Design View)
   
   
   

(in continuous view)
(in print preview)



















Right now, of course, the laminator is broken and I'm awaiting a fix from Demco, but it WILL work!

Quiet Zone

We've increasingly had some issues about people being disrespectful in the library. I first put up the signs about being respectful (ie. courteous, quiet, etc.) in February. I sent out to the team what happened:

It is getting a bit busier in the library here (YIPPEE!) and we have had many phone calls, loud conversations, etc. as of late. I edited the poster with a different color scheme and put up a few of the posters around the library.

There were 2 students in the library when I put them up, one of whom does all of the above. Both saw me put the posters around, yet the one student continued as per usual. After she hung up her cell phone after about 30 minutes of talking, I highlighted the new poster explaining the new policy. Her response? “Nice colors!”

Oh my stars …. Patience please!

The posters didn't solve the problem. Students started complaining specific occurrences of rude students.

After conversations with both Pam (Academic Dean) and Scott (Campus Director), I got the go-ahead to create a Quiet Zone in the library during finals week. I created a new poster and posted it everywhere, advertised it in the student newsletter, and closed the door (after unlocking it so students could get in).


Despite some reservations from the admissions staff, everyone was supportive and it worked very well. Students were able to study in the library without the "threat" of others taking over the small space.

I thanked the staff profusely for this experiment and will probably create this Quiet Zone every finals week.

Collection Development - Book Daddy

This blog is great for keeping current with new titles.

Orientation for new students

How much is the library mentioned in orientations for new students at other campuses? I got to see the new powerpoint that they will be showing here and the slide for the academic support system lists the faculty, peers (study groups), the Dean and the ESC (mentor center-contacting tutors). I emailed back about the lack of library on the slide--I don't know their script, if we would be mentioned but not being on the slide, I'm guessing a brief nod. (just feeling frustrated; with all the retention, retention, retention, and we get left out as part of the support system(sigh)......

LibQUAL Approved

The purchase and implementation of LibQUAL is approved for our institution during Week 3 of Spring Quarter. We will market participation heavily the previous week (National Library Week).

My current plan is to offer 3-$100 gift cards in a random drawing of students who participate in the survey.

We will provide links (and put the link in multiple locations and e-mails) to encourage participation. Classes will not be scheduled to complete surveys - participation will be voluntary - but I still expect positive results.

This is an exciting step forward for our college and I great assessment tool. WOO HOO!

Overdue/lost Matierals

I'd like to get a general idea of how everyone handles their overdues, esp. for students that have either dropped, graduated, or are on "hold". I've never been sure how to handle these situations; in the past I've brought all of my paperwork to our Student Accounts Manager, but I'm not sure if she knew what to do either. Also, if you do bring the bills, etc. to the SAM, does yours ever follow through and tell you if the student has paid or reimburse the library in any way? Right now we have a new SAM at the EP campus, and I'd really like to get this figured out on the "library end" before handing it over to her. The less confusion the better! Thanks!

Earth Day

Hey, I'm thinking ahead to April 22nd - Earth Day. Have your campuses done anything cool in the past? I'm thinking of doing Earth Day trivia or emailing fun facts about how many trees are saved when people recycle, etc.

To purchase or not to purchase....

Today one of the faculty members on my campus requested the purchase of a massage PowerPoint teaching disc. Evidently she would use it as a teaching tool in her classroom and only she and other massage instructors would have access to it. My question is... would that be a purchase that the library is responsible for, or would it come out of a classroom "teaching aides" budget (if one exists)? I feel that a purchase made solely for teaching in the classroom - that is not available to others - should not be purchased or housed in the library. The instructor wasn't sure either, so now we're going to talk to our dean and to Emily. I checked our collection development policy and didn't see anything that directly mentioned this. Have any of you had a similar request? And if so, how did you handle it? Should we include this in our collection development policy?

Meebo Cling Take 5

Chandra was right.

MEEBO Promo Cling, Take 4

Hopefully this will make mostly everyone happy.

Promo Cling, Take 3

I think the email will be ok for the mousepad, which is of course larger, but I'm not sure I like it for the cling. Your thoughts are welcome.

Promo Cling, Take 2

MEEBO Promo Cling

Good morning,

I've posted an image of my "rendition" of the MEEBO cling. This is a 2" by 4" cling. I am assuming we'll get it in full color. They also have postcards that have the clings on the front (for online students).

What are your thoughts and suggestions for improvement?

Meebo Ideas

Hi Everyone,
I was thinking about an idea for the Meebo promotion and wondered if pens woud be a good idea. So many businesses and educational groups (Webjunction.org) are using free pens with the web address on them that I thought it might be part of a promotional item along with posters, etc. for Meebo.
Most people take free pens as they are useful and with the address on it the student would be able to go to Meebo with questions quite easily. What do you think?
Paula

Paralegals

Two Paralegal instructors and I took the MN metro students on a tour of a law library on Saturday. This idea has been "in the works" for about a month or so. The instructors asked me to participate b/c they knew that I had worked at a law library in the past. So, we met at William Mitchell Library. The paralegal students were all emailed about this event. I think there were 8 or 9 students-- which was perfect for a tour. I led the tour and the instructors had them do exercises of legal research. The students were beaming b/c they were so excited to get their hands on print resources that they'd usually find in Westlaw (online). It helped them understand the Westlaw citations that they use.. For example: They often cite things with NW, and then at the law library they were introduced to the Northwestern Reporters, and they were told that every time they cite an NW source - it's actually that reporter and the volume #.

We were in the library for over 2 hours, and then 1 of the instructors arranged for a lunch (paid for by Ras). It was a great afternoon, and it was a great way to connect with students that take all online paralegal classes. I am not sure which other campuses offer the paralegal program, but I'd highly recommend doing something similar in your respective cities/counties. Please let me know if you have any questions.

collection development, faculty requests

Please share your ideas. I need help!

When faculty members submit recommendation forms, do you always order what they ask for, or do you sometimes decide that a recommended item isn't a good fit for the collection? Do you have a routine in place for letting the instructors know if you will or will not be ordering what they've recommended? What do you do when an instructor will not accept that you have decided not to order what he/she wants, even after you've explained your reasons?

ACRL launches chat series

This could be interesting.

Is online studying cheating?

I found this to be of interest, especially since we have online students:

College Student accused of Cheating Using Facebook

Why would an online study group be 'cheating' but a 'normal' study group be a...study group?

Seems to be similar to our students posting on the portal. Any thoughts?

Sexual harassment DVD

Hello All!
Emily and I were talking about the new Sexual Harassment DVD that I am ordering and she mentioned that it would be a good idea to share what I found. The DVD is from Kantola Productions. It came with a training manual. It is titled, "Sexual harassment: The commonsense approach". I got it on a preview after our Careers teacher told me how bad the old one was and that she would love to get something more updated. She previewed it and gave comment on it as follows: "The DVD focuses on just the workplace, she liked the coverage on body language and it was 25 minutes, perfect for class.". I also had another instructor who teaches Careers take a look at it and her comments were: "The harassment video was excellent. I appreciated how modern it was. I liked it so much I showed it to two different classes and the students agreed with my assessment.".
The representative that I dealt with is Bob Keith. His email is bkeith@kantola.com and a phone number of 415-381-9363.