The Research Portal is fully stocked!

In case you missed the news, check out these new resources just added in July.

• Ancestry Library Edition
• MyGovernment
• Encyclopedia Britannica (with mobile)
• Amazing Animals
• National Geographic Magazine Archive
• Livemocha
• Gale Directory Library (GDL) titles
  • Business Rankings Annual    
  • Consultants and Consulting Organizations 
  • Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources 
  • Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media

And don't forget we are now without these:

• Grzimek's Animal Life: Gale has discontinued this title.
• Historic Wall Street Journal:   Historic stock prices are available from S & P’s Netadvantage in the Daily Price Record section.
• Morningstar Mutual Funds print edition. The publisher has discontinued the print edition effective Dec 2012. We will keep online access we have currently.

Getting to know Ancestry Library Edition

It's official - We have added Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) for the public as  of July 1, 2012.  It will be available ONLY in the library, from public PCs. We expect this popular genealogy resource to draw new users to the library... so get ready.

First, review this ALE Topic Guide for an overview. It will be good to know what's on there, to help with those patron questions we anticipate.

We've also got the Genealogy Topic Guide -- which brings together a selection of all our various resources. (ALE will appar here too, in July)

Next, get a head start with prerecorded Tutorial sessions on ALE. The Basic session lasts about 60 minutes and includes: Broad content review, Browse and search functions of various collections, Viewing, printing, and saving

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT - especially if you're like me and haven't done any genealogy research before.

Start here at the main tutorial site. Scroll to the end, and click on the session for  "Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) Basics" and then click the Playback button.  It will take a moment to load.  Then just watch and listen!

If you get bitten by the genealogy bug, go ahead and try one of the Advanced sessions, or those for HeritageQuest.

Questions about ALE?  Email Sally.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Start using Britannica Online now - don't wait for the "back to school" crowd

It's live for the public as of July 1st - so check out the new Topic Guide now

Click here to view a Britannica Fact Sheet 


NEW:  we now have a streamlined mobile interface. Try it on your smartphone -- with this link: Encyclopedia Britannica
You should be asked for your Library Card and PIN.


Any questions let Sally know!

See Interface Preview for NetLibrary -BIG switch to EBSCO style in July

Hey gang,
Why not start getting used to the new platform ebook reading/viewing now, so it won't be such a shock in July when it changes for real?  Go ahead, click the giant Preview banner on the NetLibrary site now.

What's so great about it?

• Enhanced eBook viewer
• Improved research tools (folder, citation exports, powerful EBSCOhost features)
• Narrow search result list by subjects, categories, authors, and more
• Enhanced notes feature

Ready for an overview? Watch this quick vid on new features and changes.  FYI this preview link is not our full collection...it's just to give you an idea of what to expect.

What ELSE will be different? 

Patrons will need NEW EBSCO eBook accounts!
Since our move to III,  a "free NetLibrary account" is no longer required to read eBooks online--only needed for downloadable titles.

So we'll be alerting current NetLibrary patrons that they will need to save their personal account content (notes on eBooks, lists of eBooks they may have saved) somewhere safe, before the transition takes place.  After the transition to EBSCOhost, users will be able to set up their own My EBSCOhost accounts for saving and managing our collection of eBooks.


Finally, the records in the catalog will connect to the eBook title on the new EBSCO platform, which is good news.

Questions?   let me know!
Sally

Downloadables Review - How to Help Patrons

So many devices, so little time...

with all the news about Kindle and OveDrive, this is a good time to review how best to answer questions from patrons about eBooks or eAudio.

The first stop should be showing/telling them directions to the "My Help" section on our OverDrive site. This really walks them through it. From the Library website, click eCollection, then eAudio or eBooks.  


It is, however, a bit vaugue about transferring EPUB titles to an eReader device.  For details on this, do use our own "Help & Troubleshooting" link at the bottom of the eCollection page, just look under "To transfer to eReader" for a short summary.

and don't forget, we have Tip Sheets on transferring EPUBS to eReaders or Apple, Android or BlackBerry devices. These are saved on the L:\drive...feel free to print them for your branch or desks.


#1 takeaway?  Nook, Sony or Kobo eReaders can't handle a direct download.  eBooks MUST be downloaded to a computer, then transferred to the eReader while it's cabled up to the computer.


eBooks cannot be returned early from mobile or eReader devices. BUT they can be returned early from the computer, from within Adobe Digital Editions.

Lending Periods can be customized to 7 or 14 days, rather than the 21 day default. Click here and scroll past Kindle news. 

If you are talking to somone who just needs more help...please refer them to Ask A Librarian.

Unfortunately, we aren't able to make appointments or give in person help with their device, because 9 times out of 10, this has to be setup with the patron's home computer, and email is the best method.



And yes.  Kindle is coming but NO date is set!

NetLibrary for remote patrons -- Hooray!

Hooray hardly seems to express it - but do take a moment to scope out the vastly improved patron access to our NetLibrary titles. Thanks to the hardworking MMD folks, all 32,159 eBooks titles in the new Catalog have new URLs which allow seamless access whether you are In-Library or not. For patrons at home, they just need to click on the hyperlink that says ..."accessible through the World Wide Web…"

THEN they should be prompted for a Library Card and PIN. Once they login with that, they should reach that particular title at our APL NetLibrary Site.


(May I just say here, "Ta Da") No more sending the patron to a vague NetLibrary generic page!

NetLibrary patrons are still encouraged to create a free account -- necessary if they want to *download* a NetLibrary EPUB title. But they can do this after linking from a record in the Library Catalog.

They no longer need to start from the Library website to create an account.

For new patrons in person -- you can still show them our NetLibrary webpage, since it has some details about the eBook collection, etc.

EPUBs on your iPhone

OverDrive has released their new app for the iPhone/iPod Touch and the Android.

What's the big deal?  Now our EPUB eBooks can be read on these platforms... And they say the one for the iPAD is "coming soon." 

So we want our users to remember Buyer e-Aware - So check out the blogpost about eReader devices & print the handy eBook devices cheat sheet for referral at your branch.

We haven't yet announced the new OverDrive app yet to the public, since it had a gltich which has now been fixed. But it's ok now, so feel free to download to your phones and iPods and get a head start on the latest way to read a book.

FYI - Here's the scoop on the bug, if you tried it already, but had problems.

A message from the Support Team on the iPhone app with eBook support
Posted: 08 Dec 2010 10:50 AM PST

Yesterday, when we released the iPhone app with eBook support, our Support Team received some reports that the apps were crashing on upgrade. Luckily, this unforeseen bug has a quick, easy fix.

If you were an existing OverDrive Media Console user and you upgraded to the OverDrive Media Console v2.0, all you have to do is shut your phone off completely and turn it back on. The app will work, with your previous downloads intact. You’ll then be able to download EPUB eBooks and MP3 audiobooks from the library directly to your device.

We know this is inconvenient, and we’re working on a permanent fix. The good news is that not all users are encountering this bug, while first time installations are working as expected. We’ll have more information on any additional updates as they happen, so keep checking back for the latest information on OverDrive’s download services for libraries.