Student barcode printout request for Metropass purchase

Occasionally students come to the library saying they need to get a printout of their barcode ID so they can purchase the discounted Metropass.
It does not need to be printed.
Just look it up and write it down for them...and they can use that to go and purchase their Metropass.

As always, those without their Tcard should show you photo ID before you give them any personal information from a SIRSI user record. (if they have no photo ID you could ask them to recite all their personal information while you are looking at thier SIRSI record...and decide for yourself if they are who they say they are)

August 2010 Update: first time users of this benefit are asked to "print out" a specific page. They are asked to "pre-register". These users are asked to go to "http://www.datacard.com/ttc" and use this code "uot75011". More information on this can be found at: http://www.utsu.ca/index2.php/content/1427

Retrieving ILL Items when Resource Sharing Closed

Please note that when the Interlibrary Loans dept. is closed, we can still retrieve items for patrons.
Please follow the procedures outlined below in the absence of full-time Resource Sharing staff:

SITUATION 1
User wants to pick up a book requested via ILL from Resource Sharing.

Procedure for intercampus delivery items:
Take the 'DocDel' key from the lower reference desk and open the Resource Sharing door.
Books and articles are on shelves under the ILL service desk, arranged by user last name (but be prepared to check first and last).
Find the book and hand it to the user. It should already be desensitized.
Exit and lock door.
Please be aware that intercampus delivery books (ICD) may also be found shelved behind the Circulation desk.

Procedure for non UofT items:
Take the 'DocDel' key from the lower reference desk and open the Resource Sharing door.
You will notice that the white ILL Picklist report is in the book as well as a yellow flyer. Remove the white form and get the borrower to sign it, where they sign is not important.
Place the signed form in the metal filing box that is on the desk above the books. The filing box is marked "Charge out file. Books that have been signed out". Give the user the book with the yellow flyer in it.
Exit and lock door.
NOTE: this is for material borrowed from other institutions only, not UofT intercampus deliveries.


SITUATION 2
User wants to pick up and pay for an article requested on ILL from Resource Sharing.

Procedure:
Use key to enter Resource Sharing.
Find the required article - envelopes are arranged by user last name.
Check the envelope: is there a charge slip?
- If no, hand envelope to user.
- If yes, ask him/her to pay at the Loan Services desk. If the cash is closed, take patron's contact details, and ask him/her to pay at a later time. Give contact information to Renata next day.
Please do not withhold articles if Loan Services cash is closed.
Exit and lock door.

Post Docs access

Post Docs have a UTORid, and their PIN is the lst four digits of that (letters/numbers).

For example:
UTORid: bellalli
PIN: alli

Cou can check this by 'verifying' it on the UTORid page (under 'Problems with your UTORid):
https://www.utorid.utoronto.ca/

Practising with a Stats Question

Sent by Laine, after her session at the Gerstein Librarians Meeting on March 23:

"When I got back to the office yesterday after the Gerstein event, there was a perfect question waiting for me:

The user wanted annual smoking rates for Ontario, from about 2000 to the latest. We checked CANSIM, but each time series from the Canadian community health survey seemed to consist of only one year per series, and it would have required 'gluing' together a series of numbers from disparate CANSIM tables.

So we went to the Canadian tobacco use monitoring survey. Selecting (in
SDA) each annual person file, and doing a cross-tabulation of the smoking status question (Q10 or Q010 in most years) and province, and noting down the % of daily smokers, occasional smokers, and non-smokers.

I encourage you to try the same thing, in SDA, and in to see the differences.

One major difference: in SDA the resulting table is by default weighted to the population, while in Nesstar (ie ) you need to add the weight variable. If you do not use the weight, you can only talk about the prevalence of smoking _in the sample_, while if you do use the weight, you are generating estimates of and can talk about the prevalence of smoking _in the Ontario population_ 15 years of age and over."

Qualitative Research Nursing assignment

My email response you can use for Masters of Nursing students looking for qualitative research in CINAHL:

"Hi _______,

I am attaching a handout with some tips for using CINAHL. Feel free to email ask.gerstein@utoronto.ca if you need any assistance with it. [CINAHL 2010 handout is located in the sidebar of the blog])

As for finding qualitative research articles you can copy and paste this text and search for it in CINAHL (**Make sure you UNCHECK the box that says 'Suggest Subject Terms' before searching for this. That will allow it to be searched as a phrase**)

(MH "cluster sample+") or TX life experiences or TX human science or TX discourse* analysis or TX narrative analysis or TX lived experience* or TX field research or TX field studies or TX field study or TX giorgi* or TX husserl* or TX merleau ponty* or TX van kaam* or TX van manen* or TX spiegelberg* or TX colaizzi* or TX heidegger* or TX participant observ* or TX data saturat* or TX semiotics or TX heuristic or TX hermeneutic* or TX etic or TX emic or TX focus group* or TX purpos* sampl* or TX constant comparison or TX constant comparative or TX grounded research or TX grounded studies or TX grounded study or TX grounded theor* or TX phenomenol* or TX ethnon* or TX qualitative or (MH "ethnological research") or (MH "ethnography") or (MH "phenomenology") or (MH "focus groups") or (MH "discourse analysis") or (MH "theoretical sample") or (MH "field studies") or (MH "constant comparative method") or (MH "thematic analysis") or (MH "content analysis") or (MH "observational method+") or (MH "purposive sample") or (MH "qualitative validity+") or (MH "grounded theory") or (MH "ethnonursing research") or (MH "phenomenological research") or (MH "ethnographic research") or (MH "qualitative studies")

This will look for all qualitative studies. If you want to, you can modify it and take out any of the terms that you are not interested in finding.
Then you can combine these results with your search subject terms (__[suggest some relevant terms based on their topic]__) in the search history screen.

These terms were found here: http://www.library.vcu.edu/tml/bibs/nursingevidencefilters.html (scroll to bottom)

There's also a good article on search strategies here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/4/5 for your information."

email dated March 25, 2010

Door Alarm Procedures

If door alarms go off we typically look for Peter Gurney to turn it off as he can resolve all issues. Also, if necessary most of the alarms can be turned off by anyone with a spare minute. The key and hearing protectors are in the key cabinet behind the Circ Desk.

Exceptions are the " English Wing" (i.e south end, 2nd floor) and "7 King's College". This set of alarms also sound at the Circ Desk and can only be turned off by Peter, Vidya, Bonnie or Renata. Alternatively, in the evening Building Patrol can also turn them off. (Note that these alarms are programmed to turn off after 3 minutes if nobody is available to attend to them.)

Please leave a note for Peter Gurney of all instances of alarms going off. (location, date, time, and any other specifics you think may be important)

Printing - Document Queue

The public printer system will retain jobs for only two hours.

This is occasionally a problem for alumni or other researchers who may sit at a computer for hours at a time. If you help anyone that fits this description, please let them know to print out their documents every 2 hours (at least).

Public Equipment Updates

March 2010 Update: T-Cards getting stuck in readers (Public Equipment Blog)

-Other computing facilities on campus: http://life.utoronto.ca/get-online/internet-access.htm (scroll down)

USB monitor ports active

At the Reference Desk (standing and sitting) computers, Stephen has activated the USB ports on the left-hand side of the monitors. You should be able to plug in your USB memory sticks/drives without bending down to use the USB ports in the computer box.

Arts and Science Online Exams

From Sian, December 2009:

I've just introduced a new feature to the Library Resources feed [in Blackboard] for St.George Campus Faculty of Arts and Science courses -- for courses that have previous exams online, a link to the course's old exams now appears in the Library Resources feed ....

The collection so far includes Faculty of Arts and Science exams for the last three years (December 2006 - August 2009).

Finding NTIS Documents

You can search by accession number from the following NTIS database:
http://search3.scholarsportal.info/ids70/advanced_search.php?SID=bcc0d51ef3990af9dfd2947de5ca9b49

Sam-chin
---------------------------------------------
I just did a title search in WorldCat--sort of banking on someone cataloguing it. Two records appeared, one was a dissertation record (probably could get it, then, from DissFT, the other record had the direct link to the .mil site.

Sheril Hook
------------------------
google gets you there as well.

Cris Sewerin

Papers software page updated

At yesterday's WAG mtg, Marc said he recently updated the Papers software page: http://discover.library.utoronto.ca/services/computing-connecting/how-do-i-access-u-of-t-licensed-databases-through-the-mekentosj-papers-software

There are three routes to this page:

Gerstein home page - Faculty - Supporting research
Gerstein home page - Students - Accessing e-resources
Gerstein home page - Services - Accessing e-resources

Occassionally there are email questions (usually via ask.gerstein) about Papers.

Thanks, Heather
Feb 19, 2010

BioMed Central Cancellation Information

Occasionally questions have come in from faculty/researchers asking about U of T's subscription to Biomed Central.

UofT Libraries had a BMC supporter membership for a number of years. However, in 2009 financial pressures resulted in the library discontinuing its membership. The library continues to support open access publishing through its institutional repository, T-Space, and encourages all UofT authors, whether publishing in non-open access or open access scholarly journals to:

a) retain rights to their intellectual property by requesting that an author addendum be appended to the contract they sign with each journal (More info about this at http://carl-abrc.ca/en/scholarly-communications/resources-for-authors.htmlhttp://carl-abrc.ca/en/scholarly-communications/resources-for-authors.html) and
b) to deposit in T-Space via the Faculty of Medicine's Office of Research and International Relations: http://www.medresearch.utoronto.ca/

For more information please contact Sandra Langlands, Director of the Gerstein Science Information Centre, at s.langlands.melvin@utoronto.ca or 416.978.6370.

Cheers, Allison
Jan 28, 2010

ChEMBLdb - Open access drug discovery database launches

ChEMBL is a database of ca. 500,000 bioactive compounds, their quantitative properties and bioactivities (binding constants, pharmacology and ADMET, etc). The data is abstracted and curated from the primary scientific literature and the data made available due to funding by the Wellcome Trust.

Direct link to the database website:

http://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembldb/

The database is part of the ChEMBL resources at the EMBL-EBI (European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute).

Press release at: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/Information/News/pdf/Press18Jan10.pdf" "ChEMBLdb is a unique resource because of its focus on drug discovery and its size: information on an additional 100,000 compounds has been added to the database for its launch, taking the number of small molecules to over 520,000, and it contains over 2.4 million records of their effects on biological systems. The data include information about how small molecules bind to their targets, how these compounds affect cells and whole organisms, and information on the molecules' absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity."

This is a new resource and the creators invite feedback so that they can make future improvements.

Keep up to date with ChEMBL news and data releases by subscribing to the chembl-announce mailing list.

Gail Nichol
Jan 26, 2010

Visitor card - reason for refund

Very occasionally a user purchases a visitor card by mistake, usually
they think they are adding money to their TCard. Starting immediately
we will refund this money to them. Here is the process.

1.The user hands over the visitor card to the staff member.

2.The staff member fills out a TCard claim form.
Where the form says Reason for Refund in the Notes field on the right
say "card purchased in error"
HAVE THE USER SIGN THE FORM. It doesn't matter where

3.Attach the visitor card to the TCard claim form and give it to Peter
or Renata

4.Give the user $5 _from the float of $5 bills_

5.Peter or Renata will leave a note on the $5 float, alerting staff that
the float will not be $100.
Peter or Renata will send the TCard claim form and the card to Julian
and who will return the funds to Peter or Renata.

WE DO NOT REFUND MONEY IF TOO MUCH VALUE WAS ADDED TO A VISITOR OR TCARD

Renata, Jan 8, 2010.

NEJM Videos in Clinical Medicine

NEJM Videos in Clinical Medicine
Link to the videos through the EIR: http://main.library.utoronto.ca/eir/EIRdetail.cfm?Resources__ID=893655&T=M&FID

They are also available via the Highwire version of the NEJM, they are easy to find by typing 'videos' in the search box at top of the page.

About this title: Since April 13, 2006 the New England Journal of Medicine added a new journal feature, Videos in Clinical Medicine. The Journal's table of contents includes this new type of article. For optimal viewing, the instructional videos will be displayed as streaming video in a version that includes chaptering and captions. The videos will also be available both in a downloadable file (of about 20 MB) and in a version compatible with handheld digital devices.

Each video will be from five to eight minutes long and will be accompanied online by a printable summary to supplement the video. Access to the Videos in Clinical Medicine is limited to subscribers, including all those who access the Web site with institutional subscriptions such as UofT.

Receipts for adding money to print cards/student cards

If a patron requires a receipt for adding money to their card and/or purchasing a visitor card, loan services desk staff can issue one after the funds have been added.

Refworks Alumni Program

RefWorks is pleased to announce that the Alumni Program will now be offered as a standard feature of RefWorks, providing lifelong access to users that are alumni of subscribing institutions. As long as an institution subscribes to RefWorks, alumni will have access, allowing them to continue using their personal research databases for future professional and academic endeavors.
Lifelong access to RefWorks will be an added benefit for alumni, and help academic institutions maintain the healthy alumni relationships that are so essential for donations, rankings and other ongoing involvement.
To learn more about the Alumni Program, please click here.

Direct Borrower Fees - exception for Ryerson & McMaster

Direct borrowers from Ryerson ( and McMaster) will have their charge paid for by their University. However, this will not change the procedure of sending people to Robarts Reader Registration for their renewal.

It may be that over time other institutions follow suit. In this regard, when sending direct borrowers to Robarts it might be prudent not to get into the discussion of charges at all. This is best negotiated by the staff of Reader Registration, who may determine, for example, that a person is eligible for an alumni card for a lesser sum than the direct borrower card.

Bonnie
Oct 13

iClickers at U of T

“Clickers,” or Classroom Response Systems, are a type of polling system seen on some game shows like “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” In an academic context, they have been used very successfully to engage students in large classes....

All three UofT campuses offer i-clicker (www.iclicker.com) as their centrally supported Classroom Response System. The system will work for classes as large as those in Convocation Hall and on Macs or PCs. The main benefit of selecting one vendor is that students will only be asked to purchase one unit, and it will work in all their classes that use a Classroom Response System.

More information here: http://content.library.utoronto.ca/rcat/services/clickers/

Regis Library relocation/construction delay

The Regis library remains closed due to construction and will not be re-opening on Sept 14th as previously planned. I apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause. The date of re-opening is not yet finalized. Our deepest gratitude goes to the staff at the Kelly library for running our short term loan service out of their library for the interim. When plans for re-opening have been confirmed I will post to the list again.

Teresa Helik
Sept 11, 2009

Racer - request form issue with publication date

Sometimes, when filling out the RACER request form for a book loan, patrons may be prompted for a publication date - BUT THERE IS NOWHERE TO ENTER IT!

In this case, enter it in the 'DATE PUBLISHED' field, under 'PART DETAILS'.

This works.
Helen
Sept 10, 2009

Reader Registration - change in hours of service

Reader Registration is now open on Sundays as well as their usual Mon-Sat 9-5 hours.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further to my recent e-mail concerning the issuing of Direct Borrower
cards at the Reader Registration Desk, Robarts Library, please note
that, effective Sunday, Sept. 13, the Reader Registration Desk service
hours will be changed to:

Monday - Saturday - 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday - 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Thank you,
Lari Langford
Sept 10, 2009

Fees for Research Readers and Direct Borrowers

To Access and Information Staff and members of the Circ Services Committee,

In order to maintain our acquisitions and provide services to all researchers, we are announcing changes in the fees for library privileges extended to external borrowers, as of October 1, 2009. Graduate students, staff, and faculty borrowers from Canadian (i.e. Direct Borrowers) and other universities will be charged the same rates as Research Readers, which will be:

12 mos. - $200.00
6 mos. - $150.00
3 mos. - $75.00
Seniors (12 mos.) - $95.00

Direct Borrower cards will be issued from or renewed at the Reader Registration Desk at Robarts Library, only, now that fees will be charged. Please refer all eligible patrons to this service desk. The hours of service at Reader Registration are: Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Please note that Direct Borrower loan privileges will be changed to be consistent with the Research Reader privileges: 14 day loan, with 2 renewals and a charge limit of 100 books.

Web-pages and brochures will be updated as soon as possible.

Please direct any questions to Lari Langford.


Thank you.

Lari
Sept 8, 2009

Changes in Media Commons Location and Service

Due to the renovations that are scheduled for the Media Commons in the coming year the following changes have been made.

Room changes:
The AV circulation desk is now located in Robarts Room 3058.
A limited number of microform printers and AV viewing stations are located in the 3rd floor atrium.
Brock Silversides’office and AV view classrooms are in Robarts, Room 14045.
Acquisitions and Booking is now in Robarts, Room 3012. Please email or phone Charlotte Jacobs or Joan Links before you come to see them so we can open the doors for you.

Phone numbers and email addresses:
All phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same.
Phones to the Acquisitions and Book office are currently active.
The phones to the circulation desk will be activated some time next week.

Circulation:
During the renovations there will be normal access to the AV collection.
There will be limited and restricted access to the microform collections.

Hours for AV/Microform Circulation Desk:
Tuesday, Sept 8 to Thursday, Sept. 10: 8:30 am to 8:00 pm.
Friday, Sept. 11: 8:30 am. to 6:00 pm.
Sept. 12 – 13: Closed.
Fall/Winter hours may begin on Monday, Sept. 14. Further notification of the Fall/Winter hours schedule will be sent out on Friday Sept. 11.

Microform retrieval:
Sept. 8 to 11: Retrieval will be at 10 am., 12 pm., 2 pm., and 4 pm.
This is a tentative schedule and will change depending on new workflow patterns. We hope to have a revised Fall/Winter schedule for microform retrieval on Friday, Sept. 11.

Joan Links
Sept 4, 2009

Robarts Renovations - map collection & govpubs

Due to renovations on the 5th floor of the Robarts Library, the map collection will not be accessible Fri. 7 August - Sun. 16 August.

The government publications area will be closed Tues. 11 August - Sun. 16 August.

There will be no access to the 5th floor during this period.


Gabriela Bravo
Aug 7, 2009

Closest Fax Machines/Copy Centers

There is a Fax for student use in the UTSC building (old observatory on Hart House Circle).

There is a copy center at University and College in the Hydro building lower level, a Kinkos further south on University (505 University Ave, Toronto, ON), and an Alicos at College and St. George (203A College Street Toronto, ON).

Search Procedure for Missing Items

A few modifications have been made to the procedures that staff
follow when searching for an item, so I thought a recap of the process
would be helpful. I hope that this will allow staff to explain the
procedure clearly to the requester so that they know what to expect.

Once a search card is taken it is placed on Kelly's desk. During the
next week it will be searched for on two occasions. The following areas
are checked: sorting shelves, stacks, STL, mending shelves and
Meredith's binding shelves. In addition we will search for variations
on the call number i.e. QA123 B4 would be checked in Q123, QB123, QC123, and so on.

After the second search the status of the item will be changed to "searching". In the case of a journal issue a note will be put in the catalogue record.

The requester will be contacted and told that we were
unable to find their item. Once the status is "searching" the requester
can ask for Inter Campus Delivery or request it from another institution.

The items will be searched monthly until November. In November their
status will be changed to "missing_utl".

If you have any questions please ask Renata.

DVD Burners

DVD Burners are available in the Media Commons (adjacent to the Information Commons, 1st floor Robarts). They are not available in Gerstein, nor in the Information Commons.

Problems with PDFs in CSA

Following the upgrade to the CSA Subscription server at the beginning of May, please note that you may receive error messages if you are attempting to access the Service from a previously created Shortcut.
This is because the redirection to csagateway.com is no longer taking place.

It is recommended that you:

1. Manually delete temporary internet files and verify that
cookie files are deleted.
Steps to manually delete cookie files for Internet Explorer 5 and 6:

i. Open Internet Explorer.
ii. Click on Tools/Internet Options
iii. Under the General tab, under the Temporary Internet Files, click on Delete Files
iv. Click on Delete Cookies
v. A pop up window comes up, click on the OK icon.

For Firefox:
i. Open Firefox.
ii. Click on Tools >> Clear Private Data
iii. Check the boxes beside Cookies and Cache
iv. Click on Clear Provate Data now

2. Delete all previous Shortcuts to the Subscription Services from
your Desktop

3. Type in the URL: http://subscribe.csa.ca
into your browser's address field and hit Enter and create a new Shortcut for your Desktop*

4. Delete any Favourites within your browser and recreate a new
one with the URL: http://subscribe.csa.ca

If you are still unable to view the PDFs, staff at Gerstein should contact IT support. Patrons can try the following on their computers:
i. Click on the /My Subscription/tab within the Subscription Service and click on the link (top right) to reinstall the FileOpen plug-in;
ii. In some cases it may be necessary to first uninstall FileOpen and then reinstall it.

Consumer Health Information Service (CHIS) at the Toronto Public Library closed on May 8, 2009

With the loss of operating funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion, the Consumer Health Information Service (CHIS) located at the Toronto Public Library closed on May 8, 2009.

The Toronto Public Library will continue to provide health information to local users. Please visit the Business and Health Sciences centre at the Toronto Reference Library, call the library's centralized phone service at 416-393-7131, or visit the Toronto Public Library's health and wellness wiki at http://chis.wikidot.com/

History of CHIS:

CHIS began as an 18-month pilot project funded by the Premier’s Council on Health, Well-Being and Social Justice in November 1991. The Service – located at the Toronto Reference Library - opened to the public in February 1992. It included a walk-in service, local and toll-free phone line assistance, as well as the provision of tailored information packages to help consumer make informed decisions about their health. In 1993, the Ministry of Health began funding CHIS.

Since CHIS opened in 1992, approximately 115,000 people have consulted CHIS for health information, and 350,000 users have accessed the CHIS website since it became available in November 1999.

Accented and non-accented characters in the new catalogue

**The new catalogue interface now handles accented and non-accented
characters interchangeably for all character sets, all languages. This
means that we can now recommend it as a good choice for searching for
material in the Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Slavic,
Baltic, Turkic, and Finno-Ugric scripts. If a user enters either an
accented or unaccented version of any word, they will retrieve all
instances of the word in the catalogue, both accented and unaccented.*

(*As we've discussed, the new catalogue interface previously handled
accented and non-accented characters interchangeably for the Latin-1
character set only, which meant that it was fine for searching in west
European languages, but did not retrieve complete results for accented
words in the languages above).

Sian Meikle, May 11, 2009

Renewal and fines changes

On Mon. May 11 at these libraries:

Math, Earth Sciences, Gerstein, Robarts, Engineering,OISE,Media
Commons,UTL Downsview, UTM,Law,Physics,Innis,Music,FIS,ROM,New,Laidlaw,UTSC

University of Toronto faculty, staff and students will be able to renew
books three(3) times, providing that the book has not been placed on
hold by another borrower. As well, all books are still subject to recall
after 2 weeks of the initial loan period when requested by another user.

On May 11, 2009 some libraries(Central system and others) will begin
charging overnight fines on Reserve Room material.(Fining even when
library is closed) Fines on Reserve Room material are 50 cents per hour.

Renata, May 11, 2009

Baycrest sharing knowledge. Great resource for staff, families, patients on memory and other cognitive disorders.

Baycrest Psychologists receive numerous requests for speaking engagements, interviews, and educational support on issues relating to cognition, memory loss, and dementia. To expand our means of sharing our knowledge, we developed a website that provides information on the topic of memory and aging (what's normal, various types of cognitive disorders, and how to cope with memory loss and dementia). The link to the website is below. The site is updated periodically with new information gained through the work being done in Psychology. We hope you find it a useful resource for educating clients, family members, and staff.

http://www.baycrest.org/MemoryandAging/

Genamics JournalSeek

Genamics JournalSeek might be a good replacement for JAKE, as well as a place for students and faculty to look when considering where to publish.

http://journalseek.net/

From the website: "Genamics JournalSeek is the largest completely categorized database of freely available journal information available on the internet. The database presently contains 94715 titles. Journal information includes the description (aims and scope), journal abbreviation, journal homepage link, subject category and ISSN.

Searching this information allows the rapid identification of potential journals to publish your research in, as well as allow you to find new journals of interest to your field."


You can browse by category or search. I tried a few abbreviations and retrieved the title of the journal I needed.

Pet Policy

Re: Gerstein's pet policy.
Just for clarification, all staff should be aware that our policy is no pets, except 'seeing eye dogs' for those with visual disabilities. This is as per the University's policy as stated at: http://www.fs.utoronto.ca/aboutus/policies/fire.htm (scroll down to the section on pets)

"PETS other than seeing eye dogs are NOT permitted in any University buildings. Exceptions must have written permission from the Dean or Chair responsible for the area, and the owner will be responsible for clean-up, damage and liability."

New Old printer

There is a new old printer at the Information desk! No more jamming, freezing, etc. (hopefully).
It's the Lexmark 520 that previously lived on the 2nd floor with the RRUnit.
Enjoy!

Origin of PICO

There was a question at the info desk about when the first time the term PICO was coined, so the author could use the reference in a systematic review footnote. The usual reference for the birth of PICO seems to be this:

Sackett DL, Richardson WS, Rosenberg W, Haynes RB (1997). Evidence-based medicine: How to practice and teach EBM. New York: Churchill Livingston.

However, see http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/270/17/2093 for the first discussion of the ideas. The terms were then solidified in Richardson WS, Wilson MC, Nishikawa J, Hayward RS. "The Well Built Clinical question" ACP J Club. 1995 Nov-Dec;123(3):A12-3. The authors don't coin the acronym PICO but use all the words. (We don't have an online copy at U of T but someone on the web put up a scan here: http://www.mclibrary.duke.edu/subject/ebm/richardson.pdf )

Alternatives to UpToDate

Q: Which alternatives should we recommend when students/faculty come in looking for UpToDate?

A: ACP PIER and Clinical Evidence are two great tools which are actually updated more frequently than UpToDate. They are useful diagnostic and point-of-care tools, providing evidence-based guidance for practitioners.

MLA citations no longer require URLS to be included.

MLA citations no longer require URLS to be included.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/11/mla

"...the MLA has ceased to recommend inclusion of URLs in citing Web-based works – unless the instructor requires it or a reader would likely be unable to locate the source otherwise. “Inclusion of URLs has proved to have limited value… for they often change, can be specific to a subscriber or a session of use, and can be so long and complex that typing them into a browser is cumbersome and prone to transcription errors. Readers are now more likely to find resources on the Web by searching for titles and authors' names than by typing URLs,” states the handbook."

Astronomy Library Services

A reminder that the Astronomy library doesn't serve undergraduate students, so they should not be referred over to them. They serve their department faculty and researchers, as well as graduate students from other faculties by appointment only.

FYI
The Astronomy library does not use SIRSI, all of their materials are signed out using cards!

Bill Changer Claim Forms

If the Bill changer eats a users' money or gives incorrect change, patrons should fill out the 'Bill Changer Claim Form' held at the Loan Services Desk. Contact Peter Gurney for information or to locate the forms.

T-Card Claim Forms

T-Card Claim Forms are issued from the Loan Services Desk when a Visitor Card is not dispensed by the Cash to Card machine or when a patron has deposited funds that are not added to card.

Patrons fill in the form and leave it with staff at the Loan Services desk. The Library's Business Office at Robarts Library follows up on the claim.

Staff Pre-loaded Print Card

The staff print card is located in the printer cabinet behind the information desk. It is preloaded with money by the library. This card is never given to patrons; staff must accompany the patron and use the card to print their materials for them. Remember to return the card to the printer cabinet when finished with it. If the balance is low, please report to Jeff Heeney.

Vouchers

Vouchers aka “Gerstein Public Printer Voucher for Missing/Defective Print Jobs”

Vouchers are issued when a patron uses their T-card or a Visitor card to print, and payment is subtracted from the chip on their card but the machine does not print/photocopy, or does so but the print/photocopy is damaged or illegible.

Vouchers are filled out at the Information Desk by desk staff, indicating the number of pages lost. Having a voucher allows a patron to approach the Information Desk at a later date and ask that a print/photocopy job be printed at a public printer by a staff member using the staff print card in the printer cabinet. When issuing a voucher, please inform the patron that are only to be claimed at Gerstein (i.e. patrons cannot take these to the Info Commons or Robarts to get print jobs). This is purely an internal Gerstein procedure.

Card Flagged Error Message

If a users’ card is showing the error message ‘Card Flagged’ when they try to print or photocopy, they should be instructed to go to the last machine where the card worked, and reinsert the card into that machine. This should remove the flag.

If they cannot remember which machine to go to, or if this does not remove the ‘flag’ they should be instructed to go to the T Card office (2nd Floor Robarts) to have the card unflagged.

Courtesy Printing Cards

Courtesy cards, vouchers and the Gerstein Staff Print card are all stored in the locked black printer cabinet behind the Information desk.

‘Courtesy cards’ are visitor cards which are held at the desk for the use of one-time visitors to the library when they have only a few pages to print. If the user is photocopying, they can be directed to the coin-operated machine and the change machine if they do not have coins.

If someone comes to the desk and asks for one of these ‘Courtesy cards’ they are likely not a one-time user and should be instructed to purchase a visitor card. Desk staff should use their discretion as to when the card can be borrowed by a patron.

When the courtesy cards are loaned out, the staff member must request a piece of identification from the person borrowing the card, which will be returned when the card is brought back to the desk. Staff should lock the ID into the black printer cabinet to keep it secure for the patron. If your desk shift is ending, let the next person who comes out know that the ID is being held in the cabinet for a visitor.

When lending these cards, the staff member should tell the patron that any funds left on the card will not be refunded, and to only load the card with the amount needed to cover the cost of printing.

2009 Toronto Notes

2 copies of the 2009 Toronto notes are on their way to Gerstein, to the STL room.
If a patron needs them immediately, they can be purchased at the Bookstore.

Questions about studying for licensing and qualifying exams

A reminder to all Info Desk staff,

If a patron comes in with questions about study materials for medical licensing and qualifying exams, including practice exams, you can direct them to our study guide on this topic which can be found at:
http://link.library.utoronto.ca/MyUTL/guides/index.cfm?guide=medlicense

Robarts Renovation Update and 2009 Planning

The front page article in the lastest issue of the /University of Toronto Libraries Newsletter /described the renovation and construction work that is already underway as part of the overall Robarts renewal plan. If you haven't seen this article, it can be found at: http://content.library.utoronto.ca/general-information/news/utl-news/fall2008.pdf

By way of update regarding the two test projects, the north apex on the 9th floor is now scheduled for completion in early February. The construction boarding has come down and the area has been secured with fencing to allow for carpeting and finishing work.

Construction on the 5th floor will begin in February and is expected to continue into the early summer. Although the government publications and maps collections on the 5th floor will be accessible during the construction period, all staff currently working on the fifth floor will be relocated. Sherry Smugler and Vicky Escandor will move to the 6th floor in mid-January. The government publications processing function will have a permanent home on the 6th floor. The GIS Maps and Data staff, which includes Marcel Fortin, Laine Ruus, Susan Jewel, Gerald Romme and Bernie Disonglo, will move to space on the 1st floor in February. They will remain there for the duration of the construction and then move back to the 5th floor. Public service assistance for Data Maps and GIS will be delivered from the 1st floor location and will involve some travelling back and forth between the 1st and 5th floor. Signage and webpages will be updated to note this when the move takes place.

In preparation for construction, the 5th floor government publications collection has been reduced in size and redistributed. The map cabinets will remain on the 5th floor but will be shifted.

The planning and initial design process for the rest of the Robarts renewal and renovation will take place during the first six months of 2009. The process will include input and consultation with representatives of the staff groups residing in areas designated for renewal. General meetings will also be scheduled to update all interested staff on the overall planning process. The initial planning process will result in a costing exercise which will determine the overall extent of construction and scheduling timelines for specific areas. If all goes as planned, construction will begin in the late spring and continue on an area-by-area basis over a three year period. The continuous operation of the library throughout the construction is a given and will inform all scheduling considerations.

Further updates will be issued in the new year. The new main library webpage will also feature a link to renovation news.

Joan Leishman 16/12/2008

Ovid MEDLINE Global Reload

Hello all,
Just a reminder that due to the reload we occasionally have questions early in the new year from those who have set up alerts in Ovid databases. They often wonder what has happened to their alerts. The reload sometimes delays new content from showing up in the alerts or the alerts themselves into early February. Please see below.
Sandra

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 2009 Ovid MEDLINE® Global Reload
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:48:14 -0800
*2009 Ovid MEDLINE® Global Reload*
*Dear Ovid Customer:*

We are working on the dataset for the 2009 Global Reload and look forward to completing the 2009 MEDLINE regeneration as quickly as possible. At this point, we expect that the reload will be live on OvidSP in mid-late January 2009*. *

As a reminder:

* The last MEDLINE Daily update went out on November 19, 2008.
* The last MEDLINE Weekly update went out on November 24, 2008.

No substantive field changes are currently planned for this reload. A complete description of the 2009 MeSH thesaurus changes are available by linking to:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/whatsnew.html

If you should have any questions during this time, please contact us at
wkhealth-support@wolterskluwer.com

Sincerely, Ovid Technologies

Group Study Room Policy

Group Study Room policy is now as follows:

• Rooms are for the use of groups of 3 or more students. One or two individuals using a Group Study room should be prepared to move if requested to do so by groups of 3 or more students. Thank you for your cooperation.
• Covered beverages are permitted but eating is not.

These changes are now on a sign at the entrance to the new group study rooms on the second floor by the journal stacks. However, the policy applies to all our group study rooms.

Please direct groups of 2 to our 1 Below group study 'area' as an alternative. (below the reference room)

PubMed - Interface Changes

I suspect most of you have seen this already, but just in case. . . PubMed will soon have a different look. There's a link to the technical bulletin in the message below (or attached).
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd08/nd08_pm_adv_search_evolves.html

Harriet
19/11/08

Racer - password/pin issues

Yesterday at our meeting there was some discussion about the difficulty
experienced by some patrons, whose PIN is all letters in lower case,
when using this password to access RACER. I contacted Amy Greenberg and
her reply is as follows: "The password (in RACER, coming from the
nightly Sirsi upload) is the same, but in capital letters. Looks like
somewhere between the data upload and conversion, it is being converted
to upper case. This is what the patron will need to use."

Bottom line-when logging into RACER type an all letter password in upper
case. Patron can continue to use lower case when accessing 'my.account'.

Jane Lynch
28/11/08

SilverPlatter Databases Move to OvidSP

This is for those who use databases on SilverPlatter and OvidSP.
Ovid has notified us that it's started the migration of the remaining SilverPlatter databases to OvidSP. This affects the following eight databases:

- IFLP- Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
- CABI
- FIAF (International Film Archive Database) [Available March]
- IPSA (International Political Sciences Abstracts)
- SWAB (Social Work Abstracts and NASW Clinical Register)
- Transport Quarterly
- Mental Measurements Year Book
- AV-ONLINE

All these except FIAF are now on both platforms. We'll have dual access for the next few weeks while we work out settings and other details before the final switch over.
I'll send out more info when available.

Weijing
21/11/2008

Physical Examination & Health Assessment

Please check out this new title, acquired by the Media Commons in
response to a request by a prof from Nursing. It looks very good and
may be something that could be recommended to students/instructors in
other courses? http://simplelink.library.utoronto.ca/url.cfm/61844

Sandra
17/11/2008

Copyright - users scanning in the stacks

The University of Toronto agreement with Access Copyright does not limit the fair-dealing rights of any of us. Anybody can use a portable scanner to copy material according to the appropriate limits of fair dealing.

Noel McFerran, 19/11/2008
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I found the following at a Waterloo library website.
http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/copyright/#basics13

Using the rationale below, it would seem that the Access license is only invoked if Fair Dealing does not apply.
"The University has a licence with Access Copyright which, within the limits described in the following paragraph, allows professors, students and staff to make photocopies of print works (books, journal articles etc.) where the copying is not permitted under fair dealing or another exception in the Copyright Act. Taken together, fair dealing, exceptions in the Copyright Act, licences with publishers and the Access Copyright licence generally allow you to photocopy what you need for ordinary educational activities."

Re: scanning
"Please note that the Access Copyright licence only covers photocopying. It does not cover scanning. Accordingly, if you want to scan something and use it in your research or study, you may only do so if this is permitted under an exception in the Copyright Act such as fair dealing."

So from this, scanning would be allowed under fair dealing:
"Fair dealing is an exception in the Copyright Act which allows you to use other people’s copyright material for the purpose of research, private study, criticism or review, provided that what you do with the work is ‘fair’."

Gail Nichol, 19/11/2008

Endeca Quick Start Guide

A quick start guide to the new catalogue (Endeca) interface, written for staff, is available at:

http://main.library.utoronto.ca/discover/staff_quickstart.pdf

We'll be following up soon with a second brochure for public use. This second brochure will be more suitable for duplication and distribution. We will also be embedding some help tips into the new catalogue interface (with thanks to Elizabeth O'Brien and the librarians at UTSC!).

As always, please let me know if you've got questions or feedback about the Staff Quick Start brochure, or about the new catalogue interface.
Thanks,
Sian
Nov. 4, 2008

New UofT Building - Examination Centre

Our current maps do not show this building:

Examination Centre (EX)
255 McCaul Street
Just south of College Street, on the east side.

Tours & Instruction Procedures

Building tours have been discontinued.

Requests for instruction should be forwarded to Carla Hagstrom. (we have discontinued our classes for high school students)

We have a 'self-guided tour' handout available near the Information desk, as well as the Virtual Tour accessible from our web page.

Endeca Launch Timeline

I wanted to update you with a slight change that I've received for the Endeca launch timelines that I'd announced at today's Reference Services meeting.
As discussed, on Monday November 3, the Endeca interface will move from development to production (eg, the interface will be stable and fully functional).

However, from November 3 until January 5, Endeca will continue to be offered as a second alternative on the library homepages; the SIRSI catalogue interface will continue to be the default catalogue.
On Monday January 5, the default catalogue interface will be switched from SIRSI to Endeca; SIRSI will become the secondary alternative. We hope that by timing the transition for the start of the second term, it will be smoother for both users and staff.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I'll continue to keep you posted, and we'll update those dates on the home page as appropriate!

Thanks, Sian Meikle
08/10/2008

Information Desk Walkie-talkie

As was discussed in our last Information desk staff meeting, we will now use walkie-talkies to help telephone service staff keep in touch with the 10-12 infodesk "on call" person.
In between 12-6pm they will be used by both sides of the Information desk to contact Jeff.

PROCEDURE
- telephone service staff should have the unit with them and on from 10am onward
- information desk "on call" staff should keep the unit with them, and on from 10-12. After 12 give the unit to Jeff (or place it in the infodesk printer cabinet)

- when not in use, both units should be kept in the Information desk printer cabinet
- on days that Jeff is not here, the units will be used from 10-12 only and should be turned off afterwards
- Jeff is responsible for them and will replace batteries, or charge batteries when required

USAGE
- to turn the units on and off, press and hold the "MODE" button for 3 seconds
- to talk, press the large button on the left-hand side
- to listen, let go of the large button on the left-hand side
- the channel should always be on 11. If it gets changed accidentally just use the 'CHANNEL' button to put it back.

Reference Collection Shifting

With the move of reference material back to the main floor we are still be left with reference material on the floor below.
In order to make finding this material easier and to assist with reshelving we have created two new location codes for Gerstein.

- Lower Reference I which will refer to material in B110 and will appear as LOWER_REF1 where truncation is required in SIRSI
- Lower Reference II. which will refer to material in B112 and will appear as LOWER_REF2 where truncation of the name is required.

It will take quite some time until all the material has it new location applied as it must be done on a title by title basis. I will put out another message when the task has been completed.

Bonnie
Oct. 1, 2008

T-Space - how UofT authors submit articles

Hi all,
The Faculty of Medicine Research Office, working through the Discovery Commons in conjunction with Rea at T-Space, has now created an easy to use page for UofT authors to submit their articles to T-Space.
See: http://admin.med.utoronto.ca/research/default.cfm
Submissions go first to the Discovery Commons where they are 'massaged' as necessary and then are fully submitted to T-Space.
The Faculty of Medicine is holding a session about T-Space and submission to same for Hospital Research Institute Directors/VPs Research and HRI administrators /communications managers who may be responsible for CIHR/NIH Open Access information/compliance at the various UofT related institutions.
Elena will attend on our behalf and report back about anything of particular interest to us which occurs.
In the meantime, please be aware that all those working on the Research side of the Info Desk should know why UofT authors need to comply with CIHR and NIH open access policies and how they can do so.
See the link to 'Open Access' at the top of the submission form for more info.
See a background article about this in the Gerstein news: http://content.library.utoronto.ca/gerstein/newsletter/volume9/issue1/article2.html
Thank you.
Sandra - July 25, 2008

Palomar Observatory Sky Survey

All staff, As a result of the closure of the Dunlap Observatory Library Gerstein is acquiring some additional astronomy material.
One particularly valuable collection, the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, will arrive in the next few weeks. Please see link below for more info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Society_-_Palomar_Observatory_Sky_Survey
The glass plate collection and instruments for reading the plates will be placed in a locked room (B126) off the Heritage Wing hall where Dan, Carla & Rea used to have their offices.
Bonnie will arrange for a catalogue entry to be made so staff and patrons can locate them. Thanks.
Sandra - July 25, 2008

Chemistry Library summer service

Just thought I would update everyone on our summer hours -this year is a bit different than in the past.
For July 21st to Aug 8th te library will be open from 12-4:30 Monday to Friday and from Aug 11 to Sept 1 the library will be closed completely!
We reopen on Sept 2nd.

I have closed the ILL and ICD requests on VDX from July 30th to Sept 2nd.

Patricia - July 18, 2008.

GovPub reference service merged with Robarts

As of July 2nd, 2008, Government Publications reference service will be provided from the Robarts Reference desk on the 4th floor. A core Government Publications collection will remain on the 5th floor of Robarts. Data and GIS Services on the 5th floor of Robarts will expand to become the Data, Map and GIS Centre.

Debbie Green - July 15, 2008

Blackwell merging with Wiley

As of Monday, June 30th 2008, all Blackwell journal content—including all full-text HTML and PDF versions of articles from current issues, backfiles, and issues published online before print—will be incorporated into Wiley InterScience.

We plan to close Blackwell Synergy at the end of business (Pacific Standard Time) on Friday June 27th and we anticipate that the migration will be completed by Monday June 30th. Over the weekend of June 28th and 29th, there will be a period when both Blackwell Synergy and Wiley InterScience will be unavailable while we transition and re-index data.

After June 30th, Blackwell Synergy will no longer be available.

Details about the actual downtime period will be posted on each site prior to June 27th, and you can find other essential information and FAQs about the change in service here:

* interscience.wiley.com/transition - for Librarians and Institutional Customers
* interscience.wiley.com/transition-users - for Individual End Users
* interscience.wiley.com/support - Customer Support contact information

Firefox issue with pdfs at Springer

From Gail on April 28th...

Good morning everyone,
I had the following exchange with a Springer support person regarding a pdf document in the Encyclopedia of Soil Science. It seems that access to larger files may be a problem when using Firefox and Springer suggests that we use IE.
Regards,
Gail


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Feedback
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:26:04 -0400
From: Springerlink, New-York, Springer US

Hi Gail,

I'll report this problem to our counterparts in Germany to see if there is anything that can be done. I know some users have had access issues using Firefox, so if possible perhaps you should use IE instead.

Sincerely,
Cristina

Racer Video Tutorial

From Helen on May 15th...

Thanks to Laura and Heather there is now a quick video tutorial on how to use RACER. It is intended to help students, faculty and staff to enter interlibrary loan requests. Please try it out!

>From the Gerstein main page:
- under 'services' select 'borrow from other libraries'
- click on 'students, faculty and staff at the University of Toronto'
- click on 'watch the video'

There is also a link from the FAQ.

Data and GIS Services - interruptions and changes

Please note:
Data and GIS Services will be closed between June 12th and June 19th, 2008.
Email reference will be available during this time (gis.maps@utoronto.ca
or dlsg@chass.utoronto.ca)
The new Data, Map, and GIS Centre will open its doors on Friday June
20th, 2008 (10AM-5PM)

------------------------------
Marcel Fortin, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Map Librarian

Headstart - update library user records

As in previous years, the Headstart program which provides TCards, utorids and UTORmail accounts to new students, who are invited to register in September 2008, begins on June 1. However, the library privileges associated with these cards are activated later in June, by the end of the convocation period. The library database is updated with graduation information first, setting up the new alumni records, before the new students are loaded. Please advise any new students who inquire about library privileges that their records will be active by late June. Summer session students are, of course, already active.

Thank you,
Lari Langford

Should we receive inquires re: prayer spaces on campus, please let patrons know the closest is at Hart House and refer them to the following websites for other possible locations: http://www.multifaith.utoronto.ca/Multi-Faith-Prayer-Spaces.htm


The Muslim Students' Assn. also has information on their webpage about daily and weekly prayer locatons. http://uoftmsa.com/campus-life/daily-prayers/



Email from SL April 16, 2008.
Updated URLs Jan. 18, 2010

Short Term Guest Accounts

1) What are short term guest accounts?
Short term guest accounts provide access to those visiting the university who need to teach in wireless classrooms, or work in a contractor capacity on the wireless network or are delegates to conferences held at the university. They last approximately 5 days.


2). How to create short term guest accounts:
• For eligible individuals who require in-library workstation access only, create accounts at http://peas.icicle.utoronto.ca/
• For eligible individuals who require wireless access or access to the Portal, create accounts at http://utorauth.utoronto.ca/?page=stguest (Note: only faculty/staff with UTORID’s may create accounts from this page)


3) Who can create short term guest accounts?
• Staff who work on the “Research/Reference” side of the Information Desk

Guest Accounts

There are Library and Internet Research Accounts (LIRA) and Guest Accounts.

This post pertains to Guest Accounts


1) “Create a general GUEST account” – allows access to all public PCs
This account is for:
· U of T students, faculty, and staff who have forgotten their UTORid/UTORmail password when the Information Commons Help Desk is closed.
· U of T students, faculty, and staff who have just created their UTORid account. There is a lag time between creation and activation of the accounts.
· Direct Borrowers and Continuing Studies Students who are waiting for their PINs to be reset.
· Visiting scholars such as grad students and faculty from other universities and research institutions who have an institutional id and who are not Direct Borrowers.


2) Who can create a guest account?
● Staff who work on the Reference side of the Information Desk



3) How to create an account::
a) Ask patron for valid government issued photo ID (e.g. OHIP card, TTC student metropass, high school ID card, etc) - an account cannot be created unless this ID is presented
b) Go to http://peas.icicle.utoronto.ca/ (Please bookmark this for easy access since
it is not linked from our webpage)
c) The required information is patron name, email and university affiliation

Quick Staff Guide to LIRA Accounts

1. Why is authentication required?
- To comply with the terms of U of T license agreements for electronic resources
- To ensure that the primary U of T community (faculty, staff, students) has priority access to terminals and licensed online resources.
- To ensure users comply with the University of Toronto Appropriate Use of Technology policy


2. How do patrons gain access to a public PC?
a) Patrons must use the guest account kiosk to generate an account name and password. Patrons must swipe one of the following pieces of ID:
- UofT Library / T-Card
- Canadian or U.S. driver’s license
- Credit card (American Express, Mastercard, or VISA)
b) Patrons must then agree to the conditions regarding appropriate use of the university network. Then the printer issues a login name and password which are good until 11 PM of the current day.
c) Patrons enter this account name and password into the PCs designated for their use.


3. Who is eligible to use public access PCs?
Anyone with one of the following pieces of ID:
- UofT Library / T-Card
- Canadian or U.S. driver’s license
- Credit card (American Express, Mastercard, or VISA)

4. Can staff still create guest accounts?
a) Staff should always direct patrons to the kiosk
b) Staff can create guest accounts when there are problems with the kiosk (hardware failure, run out of paper, ink, etc).
c) In cases where patrons do not have an acceptable credit card, driver's license, or previous UTL library/TCard, staff can create a guest account if the patron has government issued photo ID (e.g. OHIP card, TTC student metropass, high school ID card, etc)


5. How to create an account:
a) Ask patron for valid government issued photo ID (e.g. OHIP card, TTC student metropass, high school ID card, etc) - an account cannot be created unless this ID is presented.
b) Go to http://peas.icicle.utoronto.ca/ (bookmarked in Explorer on Loans Desk PC)
c) Create a Library and Internet Resource Account, do not create a General Guest Account.
d) The required information is patron name, email and university affiliation (can be “none”)


6. Who can create a guest account?
- Patrons themselves using the guest account kiosk
- Staff who work at the Information Desk; staff working at the Loans Services Desk (please note this includes full-time staff as well as the SLAs who work on Sunday after 7 pm)


7. Visiting scholars who inquire about a guest account for longer periods should be referred to Robarts Access & Information.

Check catalogue and e-Resources (EIR) database for books

When patrons ask if the UofT Libraries have a book, it is very important to check or advise them to check for wanted titles in the e-Resources list (via the e-Resources icon at the bottom of the Gerstein web page) as well as in the catalogue.

UTL is acquiring a large selection of e-books from a variety of publishers and making them available as quickly as possible to patrons via the e-Resources icon at the bottom of the library web page. Loading the records for e-books into the catalogue is a time consuming process. This is similar to what happened when the library first acquired e-journals.

Thank you.

Sandra Feb 2, 2008

LIRA Kiosk for creating temporary accounts

The LIRA Kiosk located near Printing Station 1 is the new way for people to use our 5 open public computers.
These computers used to have no login at all, but now require the user to go to the Kiosk and obtain a temporary username and password.
Instructions on how to use the Kiosk are at the station.

Anyone with a valid Canadian or U.S. drivers licence, credit card or TCard may use the Kiosk.
Anyone without this ID may obtain a LIRA account from the reference side of the Information Desk.

This temporary account is active until 11pm of the day created. On following days the procedure is the same.

Trouble Shooting for Blackboard

Although access to Blackboard/the Portal is not a direct Library responsibility, we can do a little troubleshooting when students come to our desks wondering why they can't log into the Portal (http://portal.utoronto.ca)

1. The portal may be down. You can always check status updates here: http://www.portalinfo.utoronto.ca

2. If the portal is up, and the student knows their UTORID and password, but still can't log in to the portal, it may have something to do with their EMAIL ADDRESS in ROSI. If the student's e-mail address stored in ROSI is not a UTORmail address, they will not be able to access the Portal until that is updated to a valid University of Toronto address. They can be referred to the IC Help Desk, of course, to get assistance in getting that account set up, entered in ROSI, etc.

Rita

Services for Students

The University's Psychiatric Services lists a number of emergency contacts for students (http://www.utoronto.ca/psychservices/emerg.htm). Among these are the Gerstein Centre which offers 24/7 immediate telephone help (416-929-5200). People can also contact Psychiatric services Monday - Friday between 9am and 5pm at 416-978-8070 and be connected with a clinician within one hour.

It takes a great deal of courage for someone to ask for help. Please try to remember this information (or where to find it) and refer people to professional help if it is requested.

As a recent request to one of our services indicates, some students are under a great deal of strain with due-dates and exams drawing near. If a student who is having difficulty coping approaches you, please be reminded that there are services on campus and nearby to which we can refer students.

Posted by SLanglands 23March07

Find myilibrary e-books in OPAC

You can find *all* the electronic records for MyiLibrary e-books by doing an author search on "MyiLibrary."
A.Boyd (From refinfo 22Nov2006)
Posted by SL 22Nov06

How to find the date "ON ORDER" items in catalogue were ordered

1. "on order" items will show up in Workflows if you have the properties set in
Item Search and Display. Right click on the Item Search and Display button
to get the properties. Then click on the Defaults tab. Scroll down to the
bottom of the Defaults and make sure that "show orders folder" is checked
off and set to "all".

When you use Item Search and Display and you are in a record, you will see
the first 3 or 4 tabs and then ">>>" Click on the arrows to see additional
tabs. One of these is the order tab. You should be able to see the date the
item was ordered and its current status. [from refinfo message by L. Young, 8Nov06]

2. "... don't forget that there is a huge number of vendor records for materials which will be coming to, or have arrived in, the Central Library system which may only be found by using the 'search' feature of Workflows. These records are not displayed in the online catalogue. Many of our titles come automatically from our dealers, not as the result of placing an order. For a complete understanding of the order process one really has to use Workflows. [from refinfo message by S. Alston, 8Nov06]

S. Langlands

Importing from ProQuest to RefWorks

RefWorks has confirmed a problem with direct exports from ProQuest.
RefWorks servers are being passed an internal server error from ProQuest at
this time rather than the text file that is usually imported.
ProQuest has opened a trouble ticket and is working on the problem.

In the meantime, users will need to follow these steps to import data into
from ProQuest to their RefWorks account:

ProQuest
To Manually Save and Export Records:

1. To save to a text file select Download in a format compatible with
RefWorks.

2. Select Save As from your browser and select Text as the Save As file
type.

3. Log in to RefWorks.

4. Select References/Import from the toolbar.

5. Select ProQuest as the data source and select the appropriate database.

6. Browse to find the text file you saved to your computer.

7. Click Import.

8. Your records should appear in the Last Imported Folder.

We will notify you when this issue has been corrected.
RefWorks Technical Services support@refworks.com
RefWorks LLC
http://www.refworks.com/ 85 Keystone Avenue Suite F Reno, NV 89503 Phone: 775 327 4105 Fax: 775 327 4112

Posted by S.Langlands 4Oct06

Access to RefWorks after Graduation

Graduating users (or anyone for that matter) can purchase an individual subscription that currently costs 100 USD per year and includes all upgrades and free technical support.

Users would need to "move" their existing accounts from the Scholars Portal server to the U.S. server. They can do this with the Backup/Restore process.

What I would suggest is that when you have someone interested in an individual subscription, they can write Support@refworks.com and they should mention that they currently have an account at U of T. We can send them the detailed instructions for moving their account and creating their new account, along with payment information.

Stephanie Faulkner
Technical Support
RefWorks, LLC
Main: 775.327.4105
Direct: 732.888.8175
eMail: sfaulkner@refworks.com

from D. Kuszelewski. Posted by S. Langlands
29 Sept 2006

Write-N-Cite for MACS

From product support at RefWorks by way of Carla ...

"Write-N-Cite for the Mac needs to be "unstuffed" using a software called
Stuffit Expander. Stuffit Expander used to come pre-loaded on Macs, but
apparently with the latest Macs, it no longer is on there. Stuffit Expander
can be downloaded for free ( http://www.stuffit.com/mac/expander/)."

Another tip from Carla ...

Also, it is not necessary to change or worry about proxies during the download. Just let the wizard install the program automatically.

S. Langlands
29 Sept 2006

UTORwebmail Upgrade: Alumni may ask "Why can't I get into my e-mail?"

Those using "departmental" or "alumni only" UTORids (userids) to access my.utoronto.ca will have to do something special once before using the new my.utoronto.ca for the first time. Instructions are obtained by clicking on "Login Problems" on the weblogin page.

So...i'm assuming we could see a number of questions from alumni about 'why can't I get into my email'.
First clarify with them that it is 'webmail' they are talking about, because I don't think this affects those using email software like Thunderbird or Outlook.

If you get this question, they could:
1. Go to the InfoCommons Help Desk
2. Call 978-HELP from home.
3. Go to an unlocked public PC here at Gerstein, go to the UofT webmail page, and before logging in choose the option "Login Problems"...and try to resolve it on their own.

Email from J. Heeney to Info Desk Staff.
posted by S. Langlands 15 Sept06

Reporting e-resource problems

Please report any problems with e-resources as follows:

Existing e-resource titles:
If you have a problem with an e-resource that is listed on our web pages, please let us know by using the yellow triangular report-a-problem icon that appears to the left of the e-resource title (note that this icon does not appear in the catalogue). Problems can include title changes, connection problems, full-text access problems, date-range corrections, etc. ITS, serials, and book selection staff will work together to get the problem solved.

Here's a quick way to get to the report-a-problem icon:
1) On the library homepage, click on All e-resources. It's midway down the page, in the Articles/ E-journals/ All e-resources tab group.
2) Look up the title of the problem e-resource.
3) Click on the yellow triangle to report your problem.

If you would like to be contacted about the resolution, please include any contact information (yours, the end-user's). If you are reporting a problem that someone else emailed to you, you can just cut-and-paste your email into the text-box on the Report-a-problem page.

**New e-resource titles:
If you want to let us know about an e-resource title that seems to be missing from our e-resource database, please let us know by sending an email to:
e-problems@library.utoronto.ca

from S. Meikle
posted by S. Langlands 15Sept06

Zoology Materials

An explanation about Zoology Materials: "The book material left Zoology a few weeks ago. At that time a global change was done to make all the material coded as monograph, have a location code change to Earth Sciences. However, while this helps out with regard to the items sent to ESCI it does not help with the items sent to Gerstein and UTL at Downsview. It will take several weeks before that material has its location code changed to reflect that of the location now housing the material.

As a general rule of thumb, all items that were duplicates of those held on the St. George campus were sent to UTL at Downsview. With regard to the split between Gerstein and Earth Sciences, it is based on subject matter as expressed through the classification system.

Gerstein will be supporting the new Department of Cell and Systems Biology. We will have all the QHs (except QH540-559), QM and QP materials.

Earth Sciences, desperately in need of a new name, will be supporting the new Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. They will have QH540-559, QL, SH and SK material.

Another way of looking at this is that we deal with animals at the cellular level and Earth Sciences at the whole animal level.

As for the journals they will be handled as follows: July 10/11 the titles for Gerstein will be delivered. There are rougly 44 of these, of which about 24 have ongoing subscriptions.

July 17/18/19/20/21 the titles for Earth Sciences and UTL at Downsview will be delivered. Earth Sciences will be getting roughly 85 titles, of which about 50 have ongoing subscriptions.

Once these deliveries have been completed there will be a global change to Earth Sciences for all Zoology journal titles. There will be a delay, in this case as well, while items for Gerstein and UTL at Downsview are individually changed to refect their actual location. The decision as to location of titles was based on the same criteria as that for the monographs. "

Bonnie Horne 4 July 2006
posted by SL

Holds and Health Science Consortium Libraries

Memo to: Circulation staff
cc: Laurie Scott, Health Sciences Consortium
cc: Tom Chan, ITS

As a number of Hospital libraries in the Health Sciences Consortium are now using the Sirsi Workflows software for circulation, it's a good time to remind circulation staff that UTL libraries cannot place holds on items in the hospital libraries. Therefore, where title records are shared with UTL libraries, Group Title holds cannot be placed.

Consortium libraries will place holds on items in their own libraries only, not on items in other Consortium libraries. Patron records created by consortium libraries for hospital staff will be created using upper and lower case letters, to help distinguish some of the same people who also hold UTL borrowing cards. UTL staff should not use a patron record belonging to one of the Consortium libraries for any purpose.

Lari Langford
Access and Information Services
Robarts Library

forwarded by RH. Posted by SL. 27 June 2006.

Updating Library Records

We will no longer update library records for anyone other than DIRBs and Continuing Studies students. Please refer everyone else to Perry Hall at Robarts.

Perry Hall - phone - 978-0942
- email - perry.hall@utoronto.ca
- fax - (416) 971-3131

Renata
(posted by S.Langlands)

Technical Reports

The card catalogue is slowly being phased out and titles should be checked in the public catalogue.
Cards still in the drawers are remnants of the former collection and all will eventually be removed from the drawers.
(posted by Bonnie)

Error Message on Smart Cards

We have recently discovered a new error message when patrons are unable to use their library cards for photocopying and printing. The machine says "Card Expired".

When this message appears, please direct the patron to one of two places:

If it is a TCard the student needs to go to the TCard Office for a replacement card.

If it is not a TCard (i.e. Staff, Faculty, etc.) please send the patron to Reader Registration for a replacement card. After they have their replacement they can go to the TCard Office to have any lost funds transferred to their new card.

Added 14 Sept 05: In addition to this, if you find a patron is getting conflicting messages (eg. one machine says INVALID CARD but another says CARD FLAGGED) the card is probably near the end of its life expectancy and again it needs replacement. In the case of conflicting messages it is fine to send all types of patron directly to the TCard Office.

Peter Gurney
[email message to all staff; posted by SL 12Sep05]

Vistor Services Card Use

All Information Desk Staff,

At the Information Desk meeting today I said I would follow-up with a written reminder about the use and loan of Visitor Services Cards.

Please remember the following with regards to Visitor Services Cards at the Information Desk:

• Loan Visitor Cards only to those who are first time/one time visitors to Gerstein. We make the cards available as a courtesy to those who are visiting the library on a one time only basis; the VC cards are not intended for multiple, ongoing uses. Individuals who seem to know that the cards exist or who have used them previously should be told they are for one time use and strongly encouraged/directed to purchase their own Visitor Service Cards.

• Always return the cards to the printer cabinet; please do not keep them in the desk drawers under the counter

• Damaged cards should be given to Jeff

• Lost Visitor Services cards should be placed in the lost & found at the Loan Services Desk

Though it may be difficult to determine if someone has used a Visitor Services Card before, please do your best to restrict their use.

Thanks very much.

Sandra (1 Sep 2005)

Exceptions for Signing Out Journals

A.  Authorization:
Journals may be signed out with the authorization of the following RRUnit staff:
LT6s
Librarians
GALTs

B. Exceptions
In general journals, bound or unbound, do not circulate. However, the following
exceptions may be made:
1.  Item needed for plates to be made from in text photos.
2.  Item bound so close to margins that photocopy cannot be made.
3.  Original wanted to view photos, x-rays, coloured plates which won't
photocopy well.
4.  Entire issue is one article or a theme issue and cannot be photocopied for
copyright reasons.
5.  Readable photocopy cannot be made for other reason.
6.  Reasons other than those above which may come up from time to time and which
   seem valid to the person authorizing the request.
   (E.g. scanning, individual donated the item to the library originally)

Examples of reasons which are not valid for borrowing journals:
"I can get it copied cheaper elsewhere" or "it’s too long to copy" or "I need articles
 from several issues at once which would be too expensive".

C.  Procedures for Making Exceptions:
1.  Identify that patron wants "exception" or needs one to be made.
2.  Ask a person from Authorization list (Section A) to consider "exception."
3.  If exception is to be made the patron will be asked to fill out a manual
charge slip complete with call number, title, volume, issue, date and his/her name,
telephone number and library bar code number. Please see attached example of a completed manual
charge slip.

4. Authorizing person will sign the charge slip, with full first name & first initial of
 last name, after
a) ensuring the manual charge slip is filled out accurately and completely. See attached example.
b) checking that the library card of the person signing out the journal is valid. Staff on the
 Quick Questions side of the desk can be asked to assist with the checking of library cards.
c) adding a DUE DATE to the slip. This should be the shortest time possible, preferably a day
 or two.
5. Tell the patron
-that this is an exception and give reason.
-to return the item to the Information Desk.
-to have the item desensitized at the Loan Services Desk before leaving.

6. File the completed charge slip in the wooden  box-- labelled Box 1: Journals Signed Out
 on Exception--on top of the bookcase at the Information Desk.

Notes:  1.  Exceptions will not be made when there is no one available to authorize them
            (e.g. after 9 pm on weeknights). Please ask the patron to return the following day.
              2.  The normal fines rate will be charged for late returns of periodicals signed out as
            exceptions.

D. Procedures for Returning Journals Signed out on Exception:
When Journals Signed out on Exception are returned to the Information Desk slips should be left
in the volumes and the volumes should be placed in the wire basket on the top shelf under the
wooden charge slip boxes.  An Access & Info staff member will ensure the items are properly
discharged and returned to the collection.

S. Langlands
3 Dec 04

Remote logon for RefWorks

When logging in to RefWorks remotely (http://refworks.scholarsportal.info/ ) patrons may be asked for an institutional login.

It is: RWToronto

They will then be asked for their individual id and password, which they will have to set up and remember.

S. Langlands
22 Nov 04

UTS Records in UTL Catalogue

University of Toronto Schools (UTS) records are now in the UTL catalogue. While they may not be borrowed by UofT library patrons, they are available for in library use.

S. Langlands
19 Nov 04

Gifts: Procedures

GIFTS of books, textbooks, how to handle

In general the library does not accept gifts of textbooks; we already have other books covering the same material. (Textbook is defined as "a book purchased by a student to support a particular course. Textbooks tend to treat subjects in a broad way")

Textbooks are being collected for shipment to developing nations by Diana Alli in the Faculty of Medicine; those wishing to donate should contact her: 416-978-2684 or diana.alli@utoronto.ca

When individuals bring books to give to the library, the staff member should find a librarian to assess the books while the individual is still in the library:

if up to 5 books:

• textbooks are not accepted
• if deemed acceptable for the collection:
• titles in the life sciences should be sent to Dan D'Agostino, 6th floor Robarts(978-4828)
• titles in the physical sciences to Joyce Chyrski, 6th floor Robarts 978-4830

if more than 5 books which are not textbooks:

• bring them to the hallway outside Dan D'Agostino's office.

If anyone calls or emails re donating books to the library: they should be informed that we do not accept textbooks; and that other gifts of books should be brought to the attention of Andrew Davidson, in Gifts Section at Robarts, 978-3118. The books should be taken/delivered to Andrew Davidson; the books should not be brought here to Gerstein.

Those wishing to donate serials should be referred to Carla Hagstrom, 978-7667 or carla.hagstrom@utoronto.ca before they bring the items to Gerstein.

REMEMBER:
(1) thank the individual;
(2) try to find a librarian to assess books while the individual is in the ibrary:
(3) state that we cannot guarantee the items will be added to collection;
(4)if not added to collection, the items are forwarded to the National Book Exchange in Ottawa.

Photocopy Service CHANGES

The Photocopy Booth services will now be provided by either the CheckOut Desk or by the desk beside the InterlibaryLoan counter as follows:

At the CHECK OUT DESK, enquire about:
Tcard problems
Visitor card problems
"on account" copy cards
Get a receipt
Receive a refund

At the new PHOTOCOPY DESK beside ILL counter, ask about:
paper jams in photocopiers; (networked printer problems are still handled at the Information Desk)
cash to card machine problems (jams, vending, etc)
staff assisted photocopying
Pick up/request colour print jobs
Request a refund

But, to pick up copied material, go to ILL counter.

STAPLER will sit on the Loan Services Desk.

Closing of Manual Kardex

The Manual kardex will soon close. Details are below:

Effective September 2004, the current manual Kardex will no longer be
used for the on-going check-in and management of the currently received
print journals at Gerstein. As preparation for closing and moving it the
following plans/procedures are in place:
1. The kardex is being reduced in size by an estimated 40-50% by:
• pulling cards for closed/cancelled pre 1996 titles.
• moving the remaining cards back to fill drawers after completion of
the initial pull.

2. The remaining cards will be retained in a kardex format, at least in
the short term, to better facilitate use by staff for procedures
involved with binding, resource sharing and SIRSI serials check-in.

3. The Kardex will re relocated to the empty desk opposite Bonnie
Horne’s office in the Access & Information area.

4. The “Old Kardex” cards plus outdated cards for “straight to stacks”
titles will be kept as separate (non kardex) files for staff use.

5. As binding information (status of specific volumes/issues) is a major
focus, it was determined that binding information would be added to the
record of individual titles. This will be handled through using the Marc
866 field for the creation of a note as titles are prepared for binding
on a bi-weekly basis and editing this note upon return from binding. The
information entered via the SIRSI serials module will thus be available
both to staff (work flows and opac) and patrons (as notes in the
catalogue record in the opac). This will begin with the August shipment
(using both old and new procedures) and with new only, to begin in
September 2004.

6. Retention and access to information on supplements to journal titles
is another important aspect of the existing kardex records. As such,
check-in of supplements received will be handled electronically through
the SIRSI serials module as follows:

• Infrequent supplements will be checked-in as special issues
• Separate controls for more substantial supplements will be created as
appropriate.
• When supplements are very substantial ( regular , numbered etc.) the
serials cataloguer will also be consulted and given the option of
separately cataloguing the supplements of a given title.

Thanks.
Sylvia Newman
Periodicals Librarian

Mr. Google

Mr. Google is calling again. The phone may display with a phone number that starts 416-487....
Spend only up to 5 minutes trying to answer his questions.

*PROCEED AS FOLLOWS*:
-Ask for his name and number and say someone will call him back.
-If he refuses to provide the information, say you cannot deal with his question and he should call Margaret Wall at 416-978-1757.
-Don't engage in any further discussion. Say, "excuse me, I will now hang up the phone".
-Fill out an incident report form and give a copy to Vidya who will fax it to Mr. Bill Godoy, Manager - Facilities, Security, Fire, Health & Safety, UofT Libraries.
Doing this will ensure that there is a record of all individual incidents campus wide.

Thank you.
S.Langlands
18 Sep 06 revised 5 Aug 2011