Van Route Cancellation, 2/28

The Lakes Region van delivery route is being cut short today (Monday, February 28, 2011) due to the terrible driving conditions in and around the Lakes Region.

Diana

Van Route Cancellation

The only routes that have gone out today (Friday, February 25, 2011) are: Southeastern (Stan's) and Capital District (Tori -for Frank). All of the other routes are cancelled for today.

Diana

Clippings from the Blogosphere

I'm catching up after being away, so some of these things may not be new to those of you who are on top of your blog reading.

• Info about the sunsetting provisions of the Patriot Act
• Putting library cards on smartphones
• Spring cleaning for your computer files or a place to store the mess
• Steampunk - a teen lit trend explained (Do you ever have ideas stalking you? Steampunk keeps popping up in my life lately, not really sure why)
• An analysis of Skyriver's response to OCLC in their ongoing lawsuit
• Wrangling social media content - 8 tools to use
• The National Book Festival is to be a two-day event
• Contest asks you to advertise Dummies Books to win them for your library -- not sure about this, but it's interesting
• Is your library prepared for a zombie attack?
• Are you getting all you can out of Twitter?
• Old books become cameras
• Great art via Google
• The Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute has worked with American University’s Center for Social Media and its Washington College of Law to create the “Code of Best Practice in Fair Use for Poetry.”  Devised specifically by and for the poetry community, this best practices code serves as a guide to reasonable and appropriate uses of copyrighted materials in new and old media.
•  Preserving a Kansas creation -- bumper stickers
• How bookmarks miss the mark
• Borders files for bankruptcy -- Nashua store to close -- Concord store spared

NHU-PAC outage 2/22 update

Tuesday, February 22, 8:05 a.m.: This morning's NHU-PAC restart went fairly smoothly, with the outage lasting about 3 minutes except for Holdings Maintenance, which should be back in service by 8:15 a.m.

NHU-PAC outage 2/22 am

Tuesday, February 22, 7:50 a.m.: Beginning around 7:55 a.m. today, the NHU-PAC will be offline for 10 or 15 minutes. Even when you're able to connect to the NHU-PAC again, you may find searches not working. All services should be restored by 8:15 a.m. This outage is part of routine database maintenance listed on our Known Issues page.

February 2011 Van Delivery News

The New Hampshire State Library is closed on Monday, February 21, 2011, in observance of Presidents' Day.

There will be NO Van Delivery on that date.

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".

If for any other reason (e.g. bad weather) van service on a particular route(s) does not operate, libraries will be notified via an e-mail message and a post to this blog. If your library does not receive van service on a particular day, please check your e-mail and/or this blog before calling the State Library.

Please remember to properly label each item which you are sending via the Van Delivery Service. This will help ensure these items make it to the correct destination in a timely manner.

If you need a refresher on how items should be marked for the van, please refer to the Van Delivery Service - Instructions, http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/services/librarians/van_delivery/instructions.html, and scroll down to number 3 of the guidelines, "Addressing material to be sent on the van".

To print a current van directory list arranged in alphabetical order by library, please use the PDF version which is available at http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/services/librarians/van_delivery/documents/vandirectory.pdf

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print this pdf file. If you do not have it installed on your machine, you may down load it for free from http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Due to the ever increasing load of materials transported by the New Hampshire State Library van delivery system, our vans can reach maximum capacity before the end of a van route, especially following long weekends and holidays. Our drivers can decline to accept materials if they feel they cannot fit them safely on their van. We are also asking libraries to please be aware of volume during times when there is likely to be a problem. You should prioritize your materials to be picked up, in case some items must be left until the next van pick up. That will allow us to immediately transport the most important items as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions you may contact Donna Gilbreth at 271-2060 or Diana DeCota at 271-2206.

FAQ: How is it determined what name is used for each library that has holdings in the NHU-PAC?

Each NH library that registers with NHAIS is assigned an HSA code and a stamp. The stamp is used anywhere in the NHU-PAC or the Interlibrary Loan system where the name of the library is displayed. The HSA code provides the unique identifier for that library in NHAIS and the stamp tells users of the system who a particular HSA code refers to.

The stamp is created following a set of standard rules so that the stamps will be consistent and allow users of NHAIS to more easily interpret unfamiliar stamps.

Each stamp begins with the name of the municipality where the main branch of the library is physically located. These municipality designations are selected from the official list of NH incorporated cities and towns . The municipality name is included even when it is actually part of the name of the library.

Following the municipality is the name of the organization of which the library is a part, if this is relevant. For example, stamps for college libraries include the name of the college.

The final part of the stamp is the name of the actual library. The library names also follow a couple of standardizing rules:

• The word library is never included in the name.

• When abbreviations or initials are used, the periods are ommitted.

• If a library is named after a person, only the last name is spelled out, all other names are replaced by single initials.

• The words High School are always represented as H S

• NH State Agency libraries have their agencies abreviated in their stamps. For example any New Hampshire State Library collection is indicated as NHSL followed by a designation for the specific collection.

NHU-PAC routine outages changed

Following December’s NHU-PAC server software upgrade, NHAIS Services has changed some of the database maintenance routines. This includes changes to some of the scheduled downtimes for the NHU-PAC. These changes are now reflected on the Known Issues page (there’s a link under NHU-PAC’s HELP! tab), whence comes the following:

Routine outages: The NHU-PAC is restarted every Monday morning as part of a backup procedure. Beginning at 6:00 a.m. each Monday you may not be able to connect to the NHU-PAC or may find search functions not working. Service is usually restored by 6:10 a.m. The NHU-PAC is also restarted on the last Tuesday of each month. This is usually done as early as possible in the morning but may happen during business hours depending on NHAIS staff schedules. We will attempt to post a System Messages alert on the NHAIS Notes blog in advance of the outage, which should last less than 15 minutes. Also, it is occasionally necessary to rebuild NHU-PAC’s searching indexes, leading to a brief (5 minute) searching outage to install the newest indexes. This is usually done before 7:45 a.m. on weekdays. A System Messages alert will be posted on the NHAIS Notes blog just prior to the outage.

Next Tuesday (February 22) is the last Tuesday of the month so expect the NHU-PAC to be offline for a few minutes in the morning. This is in keeping with a survey conducted last year about preferred times for routine outages that need to happen during the day; a plurality favored Tuesdays before 10 a.m.

FAQ: Why haven’t I received the catalog cards I requested?

Don’t forget that in order to have catalog cards printed you need to choose either “Add holding and request shelf list cards” or “Add holding and request full card set” from the dropdown list under “Please indicate what you want NHAIS Services to do for you” every time you submit a holding. Also make sure you sent a completed Cataloging Products Profile form to NHAIS Services. If you haven’t, expect a letter from us asking you to complete the form before we’ll print any cards you requested. Catalog cards cost $.50 per title for shelf-list only and $2 per title for full card sets, so we don't print them unless you have explicitly indicated (on a Cataloging Products Profile form ) that you want them and will pay for them.

FAQ: What’s the best way to see my incoming ILL requests?

From the NHAIS ILL system, Click the Review Incoming Requests button on the Staff Menu page. On the next page, click Print All Requests to display the pick list on your screen. If you’d like to display some but not all of the titles, choose Browse List of Requests to Print, then click the check box next to titles you’d like to see details on and choose Select to Print. The pick list is “printed” to your screen—you’ll need to use your browser’s print commands to get a printout. Choose the Printed Successfully button after seeing and/or printing the incoming requests so the system won’t display these with other new requests unless you specify so by clicking the box next to Process Requests That Have Already Been Printed on the Incoming Requests Menu. If you’d rather keep seeing these requests as long as they’re in Pending status, choose the Cancel Print Operation button after seeing and/or printing the requests.

FAQ: Why don't I see all the records from My List when I go into Holdings Maintenance?

Normally, you’ll see whatever record(s) you were last looking at before you logged into Holdings Maintenance. Be sure you’re looking at My List before you click on the Holdings Maintenance tab.

NHU-PAC enhancements

Last Friday marked exactly a month since the last time the NHU-PAC needed to be fully reindexed. Indexing of changes to the NHU-PAC is happening in real time so that new records are searchable as soon as they’re added to the database. That’s the way it’s supposed to be but late last year we were having major issues with this which led us to take the NHU-PAC offline for 9 hours to upgrade our server software.

Most of the followup work related to the software upgrade has been completed so it’s time to take a look at the changes in the NHU-PAC. You may not have noticed any aside from the bottom of most pages going from this:

to this:

There are some changes affecting searching. Searches for titles, subjects, etc. that include the words not, or, or and now treat them as search words rather than Boolean operators unless the words are entirely capitalized. This change makes it considerably less frustrating to search for titles like Not without my daughter or Live free or die in the NHU-PAC. A title search for Live free or die today yielded 35 hits while Live free OR die yielded 9861 hits (most of which simply had the word die somewhere in the title or contents). You can still help narrow your results by enclosing exact phrases in quotation marks: “Live free or die” brings up 27 hits (sorry, this trick still doesn’t work in the ILL program).

Instead of NOT, you may also use a minus sign immediately before the term to be excluded. For example, Bears NOT Chicago and Bears –Chicago will yield the same results. Also, you may use parentheses to group sets of words: Kennedy AND (Ted OR Teddy OR Edward). These features allow you to do sophisticated searches from the Welcome to NHU-PAC tab but you can still build Boolean searches using the tools on the Advanced Searching tab.

You may have noticed that the Limit by: box on results pages is now five lines tall instead of one. That’s because you can now choose more than one limit to refine your search. Click on a limit and it will be highlighted, then Ctrl-Click additional limits you want to apply. Note that OR is assumed between the selected limits. That’s handy if you want to find Harry Potter books in either Spanish or French at the same time. It’s not so great if you were hoping to restrict results to, say, Large Print and Spanish--your results will include all matching large print materials as well as all matching Spanish materials, possibly more than you bargained for.

Also note that search limits are now “sticky”—they’re retained until explicitly removed during a search session. If you launch a search with a limit for Spanish materials, your next search(es) will include the same limit unless you undo it (Ctrl-Click on the chosen limit). In the Limit by: box on results pages you’ll see an asterisk next to any selected limits—or click on Refine Search to make changes to your search criteria.

Elsewhere in the NHU-PAC, the FAQ subtab under HELP! now points to a new page on this blog (still "under construction" at this writing) instead of a database on the NHU-PAC server. This change saves us a little money and, we hope, will make the Frequently Asked Questions easier to find (the topic has been added to the list at the right—and remember that all posts are searchable through that box near the top of the page just above and to the left of where it says NHAIS Notes).

FAQ: Why did I receive copies of a book from two different libraries even though I placed only one interlibrary loan request?

Chances are one of the libraries sent you the book without changing the status of your request to Shipped so the request moved down your lender string and was answered by another library. In this instance, only the book sent by the second library is tracked in the system. Treat the other book as if it had been an e-mail or phone request. When you change the request status to Returned, make sure you’re sending back the correct library’s book.

FAQ: I found the title I wanted to ILL but there aren’t any holdings on it. What do I do?

If it’s a new title, check back in a few days. We try to help the catalogers at our member libraries by making bibliographic records available as soon as possible, often before the publication date. If you’re looking at an older title, it’s likely that any NHAIS libraries which previously owned the title have since discarded it. We keep the bibliographic record in our system in case another library adds a copy. In some cases, though, we’ve just added records for older titles based on requests submitted by libraries and we haven’t added their holdings yet. Thus, even with older titles, it might be worth checking again in a few days.

FAQ: How do I change my holding in the NHU-PAC?

There is no Holdings Maintenance tool that allows you to edit your holding. You’ll need to add a new holding with the changed information and then when we de-duplicate the holdings the next time (which we do more or less monthly) the old holding will be deleted.

FAQ: Why do I get the message “Sorry, you must be viewing bibs to use this program” when I log into Holdings Maintenance

You need to have either your search results or My List displayed on your screen immediately before you click on the Holdings Maintenance tab and log into the NHU-PAC Item Add Program subtab. The titles displayed on your screen are the ones you’ll be able to act on (add or delete holdings, export MARC records) in Holdings Maintenance. If you want to use a saved list in Holdings Maintenance, you’ll need to be logged in with the appropriate searching username and password to view the saved list.

FAQ: Why do I get a “cannot display this page” message when I click on the Holdings Maintenance tab?

This is usually the result of a firewall setting on your local network. Let your network administrator know that you need to be able to use port 81 at this IP address: 199.192.6.129

FAQ: How can I check on the status of an ILL request?

Log into the NHAIS ILL system using your library's username and password. Click the Request Inquiry button on the Staff Menu page. If you know the request number, type it in the appropriate box and hit the Enter key or click the OK button. You may need to scroll down to see the history of the request and any notes that potential lenders included in their replies. If you don’t know the request number, there are many other ways to find your requests. If you search by patron name, title, or author, you’ll need to enter the information exactly as it appears in the request record. You can also search by status and choose whether you just want to see requests made to your library or requests made by your library. To see all active requests to which your library is a party, choose Any for status, click the radio button next to All Current Requests, then click OK.

FAQ: Why can I find a title when I search on the Welcome to NHU-PAC tab but can't find it when I do an ILL search?

There are a couple of possible explanations for this.

It’s possible your desired title is on the second or third page of results and you’ll need to click the Next Page button (at the bottom of the list of titles) to see it. Although you can sort your results by author, title, or date in the ILL section, the sort affects only the results (a maximum of 50) on the page you’re viewing.

Another possibility is that the title you want is represented by a serial record. In that case, you’ll need to click on the Begin Searching button underneath Journals to find it. Directories, almanacs, and travel guides may be represented by serial records in the NHU-PAC in addition to magazines and newspapers.

FAQ: I submitted a request through the Add Brief Records form a couple days ago and I now see a full record for my title in the NHU-PAC but I don’t see my library’s holding on it. Why is that?

Adding the bibliographic record to the NHU-PAC and attaching your holding to it are separate processes. Normally your holding will appear on the NHU-PAC within a couple days of the full record appearing. If you have requested that NHAIS Services send you a MARC record for titles requested through Add Brief Records, you should receive it within a couple of days after your holding appears.

FAQ: How come I don’t see a particular ILL request in the list displayed in Request Inquiry?

Request Inquiry results aren’t sorted in any particular order and you may need to scroll down to find the request you’re after. On some screens you’ll first need to scroll to the right in order to reveal the list’s vertical scroll bar. If you still don’t see what you’re looking for, keep in mind that every Friday all requests that have been in a terminal status (Complete, Cancelled, Unfilled, Temporary) for at least 7 days are removed from the system.

FAQ: Where is the NHU-PAC record # displayed?

When a single record is displayed in the NHU-PAC there is a box on the left-hand side of the screen which contains various links related to that record (reviews, subject headings, etc.). At the very bottom of this box (you may need to scroll to see it) it says "MARC display." Click on those words to change the record display from a formatted display to a MARC record display. The NHU-PAC record number will be displayed at the top right of the MARC record next to Bib #.

FAQ: I found a misspelled title in NHU-PAC. How can I get it fixed?

If you have a copy of the item in question, please send a photocopy of the title page and its verso (or other chief source of information) to David Harris at NHAIS Services. The van address is: Concord, NHSL, NHAIS Services, David Harris. Please make a note of the error somewhere on the material you send. It would be helpful if you could also note the Bib# of the NHU-PAC record where you saw the problem If you don’t have a copy of the item, contact the NHAIS Help Desk (271-2141) with information about the Bib# and the suspected error and we’ll do our best to follow up and get it corrected.

FAQ: Why haven’t I received the MARC records I requested?

If you requested them less than a week ago, we are probably still working on them.

If it has been longer than that, make sure you sent a completed Cataloging Products Profile form to NHAIS Services, with the “Yes” option checked under “MARC records for brief records added.” Usually, files of MARC records requested are compiled and sent once each week.

Sometimes you won’t get all the records you requested because we were unable to find a matching record for the information you submitted. In that case, you’ll receive a printout of your submission with a request for more information. You can help avoid such delays by entering as much information as possible to distinguish your item on the Add Brief Records form. For sound recordings, let us know whether it’s a cassette, CD, LP, or other format in the physical description area. For visual materials, note whether it’s VHS, DVD, film, or other format.

Don't just add the record again -- this just generates extra work for everyone and won't get you your record any faster. If you are unsure whether the record went into the system correctly please contact NHAIS Help Desk (271-2141) and we can figure out where the record in question is in the process.

DDC Update

A few items of interest regarding the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC):

• The renewal/subscription period for ordering WebDewey through NHAIS begins today (2/10/2011) and runs through March 30, 2011. The current cost to NHAIS libraries for a one-year subscription is $220. Renewal notices went out to the directors of currently subscribing libraries via van delivery today. OCLC has an online demo you can view if you want to learn more about this product.
• OCLC will soon release a new print edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification, DDC 23. The new edition includes several major changes held for simultaneous publication in the print and Web versions of the DDC plus many interim updates already distributed to users in WebDewey 2.0. The DDC print edition is scheduled for delivery to the Americas in May 2011, and to locations outside the Americas in July 2011. A 10% discount is being offered on pre-orders.
• Do you need more DDC in your day? Check out 025.431 The Dewey Blog. Recent posts have included explanations about classifying Indian Cooking and Quilting Patterns.
  
  
  

FAQ: I can’t find a record in NHU-PAC that exactly matches the item I’m trying to catalog. Should I just use a record that’s fairly close?

No. You may submit information about items not found in the NHU-PAC by going to the Holdings Maintenance tab, clicking on the Add Brief Records subtab, and logging in. On the form that comes up, you’ll need to choose a format for your item and then gives us as much information as you think would be helpful for us to find a matching record on OCLC.  Requests submitted in this way are typically processed and appropriate records added to NHU-PAC within a couple of business days.

FAQ: Why won't the ILL system let me complete a transaction?

The Complete option is available only if the transaction status is Returned. It is the borrowing library’s responsibility to change the status to Received and Returned at the appropriate time. If this hasn’t been done, please contact the borrowing library and encourage them to follow through on the transaction so you can complete it. Contact the NHAIS Help Desk at 271-2141 if you are unable to get the borrowing library to cooperate.

FAQ: What's my password?

NHU-PAC Passwords that allow libraries to save searches, maintain their holdings, and manage their interlibrary loan transactions can be obtained by calling the NHAIS Help Desk at 271-2141.

To get passwords for NHewLink databases contact Bobbi Slossar at 271-2143.

FAQ: Why can’t I find a title that I know should be in the NHU-PAC?

The database’s indexer occasionally stops working. If you do a keyword search for a subject like dogs or cats and get no results, that’s usually an indication that the indexer needs to be restarted by the NHAIS Services staff. Please call the NHAIS Help Desk at 271-2141 so we can correct the situation, usually in about 5 minutes. If NHAIS Services is closed when you call, you might find the searches on the Browse Indexes subtabs working so you can use them until we can get the keyword searches working again. Do leave us a message to let us know about the problem.

Frequently Asked Questions are Moving

We will be moving our collection of NHAIS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from their previous location in a Horizon database onto this blog. Consequently, you will get lots of new postings from the blog as we load these (updated) questions and answers. We will keep them to only a couple each day so you aren't swamped with postings.

When everything is moved over, we will complete the FAQ page here on the blog to serve as an index to all these . (Blogger now has pages!)

FAQ: I found a book in the NHU-PAC that I’d like to see—how do I get it?

Contact your local library about obtaining materials through interlibrary loan. If you work at a New Hampshire library, contact the NHAIS Help Desk (271-2141) for information about participating in the NHAIS interlibrary loan program. If you work in a library outside New Hampshire, you’ll need to contact the holding library to work out a loan arrangement. Contact information for New Hampshire libraries can be found in the New Hampshire Library Directory.

Moose Plate Grant Deadline is March 31st

The New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources has announced that it is accepting applications for its Conservation License Plate Grant Programs—also called “Moose Plate” grants—through March 31, 2011.

"The Moose License Plate Conservation Grant Program is a state of New Hampshire funding source available to non-profit institutions to implement and to conduct preservation and conservation activities on publicly owned paper documents. Funding is made possible through the sale of Moose License Plates. For the purpose of this grant program, “conservation grants” are defined as funds awarded for planning and implementation of projects that cover a variety of elements involved with the preservation, conservation and digital reformatting of materials that are significant to New Hampshire’s cultural heritage and that are normally collected by libraries. Grants are awarded for activities that will enhance access to resources and safeguard rare or endangered treasures."
(from Guidelines & Application Instructions)

Van Route Cancellations

ALL van delivery routes are CANCELLED for today, Wednesday, February 2, 2011. Stay safe and warm!

SW B van route shortened 2/1

The Southeastern Route B van delivery route is being cut short today, due to the travelling conditions. If you are not sure which route that is, please check the website http://www.nh.gov/nhsl/services/librarians/van_delivery/southeastern.html Jarod has made his deliveries as far as Hudson and is now returning to the State Library. If your library gets delivery after Hudson, you will not have delivery today.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Diana DeCota,Library Technician
NH State Library
(603)271-2206

Van Route Cancellation

The North Country Van Delivery Route (Heather’s route) is cancelled for today, Tuesday, February 1, 2011. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.