NHU-PAC searching restored

Friday, Feb. 29, 9:30 a.m.: NHU-PAC searching was disabled for a while this morning. It was restored as soon as it was brought to the attention of the NHAIS Help Desk.

Judging a Website by Its Cover

I admit it; I judge websites too often on looks alone. I'm attracted by a site's clean interface and good looks. I figure if the site looks clean and modern, it is more likely to contain the information I want. I know this is shallow of me. However, if you, too, are more inclined to visit a site on looks alone, here is the search application for you: ManagedQ.

ManagedQ is a search application that re-works Google search results to provide the results in the form of site previews instead of text. Six good-sized and fast-loading previews are presented at a time. Each preview shows a site title, a snapshot of the site, and a text summary.

The one complaint I have of the site is how easy it is to alter your results by accidentally scrolling over the "Executive Summary" (clustered results) and changing the results. Try to keep your mouse away from the clustered results unless you really want to limit your results.

All in all, I like ManagedQ. I'd probably be more inclined to use it when I'm browsing for new, interesting things versus doing a quick search for practical information.

Van Route Cancellation

Today's (Wed, 2/27/08) North Country van delivery route is being cancelled. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Diana

Unshelved News!

Wow! The creator of Unshelved, the comic strip about life in a public library, is offering free use of his work "to promote your library, school, or other noncommercial reading-friendly cause[s]." Read the entire post. Check out his online archive.

Workshop Registration Instructions

Follow the steps to register for a spring workshop. See a larger version of the PDF or click on the "plus sign" to enlarge the document.

Read this doc on Scribd: Registering for a Workshop instructions

A school by any other name ...

At the January 20th Governor and Council meeting new names were approved for all of the NH Tech Colleges. The NHAIS Interlibrary Loan System has been updated to reflect the new names. The van delivery addresses that display in the NHAIS ILL system have also been updated.

• NHCTC-Berlin is now White Mountains Community College and displays in the NHU-PAC as Berlin - White Mountains C. C.
  
• NHCTC-Claremont is now River Valley Community College and displays in the NHU-PAC as Claremont - River Valley C. C.
  
• NHCTC-Laconia is now Lakes Region Community College and displays in the NHU-PAC as Laconia - Lakes Region C. C.
  
• NHCTC-Manchester is now Manchester Community College and displays in the NHU-PAC as Manchester - Community College
  
• NHCTC-Nashua is now Nashua Community College and displays in the NHU-PAC as Nashua - Community College
  
• NHCTC-Stratham/Portsmouth is now Great Bay Community College and displays in the NHU-PAC as Stratham - Great Bay C. C.
  
• NH Technical Institute is now NHTI – Concord’s Community College and displays in the NHU-PAC as Concord - NHTI

Content Management Systems

What is a Content Management System and why would a library want one?

A Content Management System (or CMS) is a type of Website you can create yourself. Two popular CMS software are Drupal and Joomla. Both Drupal and Joomla are open source software that have large communities of users and developers, similar to the open source blogging software, WordPress.

Content management systems can be used as “typical” websites or online communities. Like WordPress, they are built on powerful databases and can provide some of the same functionality, such as blogging features, built-in feeds, strong navigation, great archiving opportunities, full-text searching, and an easy way for multiple people to contribute information to a site.

Probably the most “famous” library site using Drupal is the Ann Arbor District Library (http://www.aadl.org/). Please keep in mind that this library has a beautifully designed custom template! Here are some other examples of libraries and other organizations using Drupal:
http://drupalib.interoperating.info/node/105

Here are some examples of library-related websites using Joomla:
http://www.joomlainlibrary.com/showcase.html

I am the first to admit that installing and setting up a CMS is not for everyone. However, those of you who have set up a typical site with an HTML editor would probably admit that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea either! However, unlike a traditional website, once the CMS is set up, adding content to the site is as easy as submitting a new entry to a blog! The enormous benefit to your library is that most library staff could easily contribute to the site without a lot of complicated training.

One important point: A CMS requires web hosting. (At this time, I am not aware of a hosted CMS.) You can either host the software yourself, using a Linux server, or purchase remote web hosting for a small monthly fee - like I do.

If you’d like to learn more about how content management systems work, consider attending a hands-on workshop. We’ll be using a variety of previously created sites in various stages of development. You’ll get the opportunity to see how easy it is to add content, get some practice uploading new templates and extensions, and work with the site’s navigation structure.

Register online at:
http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/training/index.html

Bobbi
Questions? Contact: bobbilee.slossar [at] dcr.nh.gov

The Joy of Computing: Two Tech Cookbooks for Your Library

These two "editions" of The Joy of Computing are terrific sources of tech information for small- and medium-sized libraries!

The Joy of Computing: A Cookbook for Small and Rural Libraries covers a lot of the basic computer tasks (installing anti-virus, performing maintenance, and getting training) that larger libraries take for granted with the use of their tech staff.

The Joy of Computing: Recipes for a 5-Star Library is geared towards libraries serving communities of 10,000 to 25,000, and seems to focus more on wireless technologies.

Both editions offer lots of great library-technology advice, written in a non-techie language for everyone to make use of.

Note: Both links open large PDF files and might take a while to load, depending on your Internet connection.

N.H. Department of Revenue Administration Tax Forms

A shipment of NH Department of Revenue Administration tax forms is being sent on the van to those libraries who have requested them in the past.

This shipment contains the Interest and Dividends Tax Form (DP10) and Instructions (DP-10-Inst) and a Quick Checklist (DP-10-Checklist).

Libraries are receiving the number of copies they have requested in the past of the Interest and Dividends Tax Form (DP-10). We did not receive an adequate number of the Instructions (DP-10-Inst) and the Quick Checklist (DP-10-Checklist) to distribute the number requested in previous years. In all cases, at least one copy has been included. If more of these become available, we will provide you with more copies.

We are also waiting to see if we receive an adequate number of copies of Package X which contains all the forms and instructions issued by the Department of Revenue Administration. This will be sent in a separate mailing if these are made available to us.

Forms (including Package X) are available online at the Department of Revenue Administration's website http://www.revenue.nh.gov/forms/index.htm or you may direct the patron to call the Forms Line Maintained by the Department of Revenue Administration, (603) 271-2192.

Streamline Your Blog Reading with iGoogle

How do you read NHAIS Notes? If you aren't getting the updates through your newsreader of choice, please read on to find out how to simplify your blog reading.

Blogs are designed to be frequently updated - and read frequently. If you make an effort to read multiple blogs, it can be time-consuming to visit and skim so many posts. Like NHAIS Notes, many blogs also contain time-sensitive information and forgetting to check the site for updates means possibly missing out on important stuff. So instead of having to remember to visit a blog, let's learn how to subscribe to a blog!

There are many different ways to manage your blog subscriptions, but let's learn how to subscribe to a blog using a personalized Google page. Why Google? Because many of us use Google constantly throughout the day. What better place to get blog updates than a page you use all the time?

Here's how to make your regular old Google page an iGoogle page:

1. First, copy (or remember) the NHAIS Notes address: http://nhais.blogspot.com
   
2. Next, visit: www.google.com
3. Click on the link, "iGoogle," located in the upper-right corner of the page.
   
   
   
4. You might see a large box prompting you to customize your iGoogle page. You can go through their steps or ignore this and click, "See my iGoogle page."
   
5. Click on the link, "add stuff," located on the right edge of the page, about half-way down the page.
6. After the page reloads, look for the link, "add feed or gadget." It is located at the bottom of the left sidebar.
7. Type in or paste the Web address (URL) of the blog to which you want to subscribe, and click "add."
   
   
8. Repeat as many times as desired with other blogs you like.
   
9. Click on "Back to homepage" to see your new subscriptions.

Now you will have a new feed that looks like this:Congratulations! You have now subscribed to a blog. Every time you visit your customized iGoogle homepage, your blog headlines will be there. If you see an article (blog post) that looks interesting, simply click on the link to visit the site or click on the small plus sign next to the heading to expand the article on iGoogle.

Note that you can also delete the stuff Google puts on the page for you by clicking on the small "x" on the upper-right corner of any individual box.

Note: You do not need to create a Google account to customize the page, but the information will only be available on that computer - and only until you clear the cache. If you create a Google or Gmail account, you will be able to sign into the account and see your subscriptions from any computer with an Internet connection.

All State Library van routes cancelled Wed. 2-13-08

Due to the icy conditions, ALL van routes have been CANCELLED for today. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Diana DeCota
NH State Library

Van Route Cancellations

Due to today's icy conditions, ALL of the van delivery routes have been CANCELLED. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Van Route Cancellation

The North Country van delivery route for Thursday, February 7, 2008 is being cancelled due to the continued forecast of bad weather for the day. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Van Delivery, February 2008

The State Library will be closed on Monday, February 18, 2008, in observance of President's Day. There will be NO van delivery on that date. If that day is your only stop for the week, you may want to make other arrangements for a delivery. For a complete list of all of the holidays the State Library is closed, please visit http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/services/librarians/van_delivery/instructions.html (the van delivery instructions) and scroll down to "NO Van Service".