Staff in the Know

TEL Database Videos

Kyle — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:20:50 +0000

Watch & listen to these fifty-minute demonstrations on each of the five databases represented in Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL). Vendors from each database presented these trainings at Nashville Public Library in July, 2009.

Note: Download Microsoft Silverlight to play these webinars, or contact your Technical Support for installation.

Your mission:1. Watch any of the five TEL database webinars.2. Submit your progress report for each webinar you view from TEL.

Noon-Time Technology Series

Kyle — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:13:30 +0000

Join us for an in-person demonstration on a current technology topic. The series is held at the Main Library, the first Thursday of every month at Noon. Past topics: ‘Twitter’, ‘Home Wireless Networks’, ’Voice over IP’, ‘Firefox vs. Chrome’.

Your mission:

1. View list of upcoming demonstrations.

2. Ask your Manager to schedule you for the Noon-Time Technology series. Then, attend session.

4. When you return from the demonstration, you must report your progress using the link below:

Submit your progress report

Library Technology Overview

Kyle — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:18:30 +0000

You might notice that the library has many computers. These are available to the public for finding books, searching the Internet, checking out DVDs, printing, and so on.

Join Marian for a tour of all the technology used at the library, from WiFi to our own digital collections. You’ll see what makes the catalog tick. You’ll find many treasures on the library web site. You’ll even figure out what all those purple and blue screens are for. Enjoy your tour.

Tips:

Because this presentation lives on the Intranet, you will be prompted to enter your metro username and password, just like would any other time you view the Intranet.

You will have an option to Open or Save the presentation. Please SAVE the file to your desktop. You may then open the presentation by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.

The presentation will advance by itself, once started.

Your mission:

1. Watch the Technology Overview presentation:

Library Technology Overview – Begin now

2. To receive credit for this training, you must report your progress using the link below:

Submit your progress report

Using the Library Catalog – Part 2: Limiting a Search

npljenny — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:21:14 +0000

It’s Saturday. Someone calls first thing in the morning, frustrated after a day of trying to find recent LSAT study books. Are you prepared to describe how to limit a search?

Limiting a search works differently in our two library catalogs (Classic Catalog and Encore). This example will demonstrate how to limit a search in the Classic Catalog.

Finding an Audiobook (Limiting a Search)

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1. Do a search in the OPAC for books on starting a small business.

2. Limit your search to items published after 2005.

3. You’re not finished yet! This is a three-part training. You must complete all parts.

Go to Using the Library Catalog – Part 3

Virtual Library Tour

Kyle — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:36:57 +0000

“Somewhere Over the River” is a guided tour designed to familiarize you with all the libraries in the Nashville Public Library system. You’ll read about how they came to be and how to visit them. Sit back and enjoy your virtual tour!

Tips:

Because this presentation lives on the Intranet, you will be prompted to enter your metro username and password, just like would any other time you view the Intranet.

You may have an option to Open or Save the presentation. Please SAVE the file to your desktop, then open the presentation by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.

Your mission:

1. Watch the Virtual Library Tour presentation:

Virtual Library Tour – Begin now

2. To receive credit for this training, you must report your progress using the link at the end of the presentation or below:

Submit your progress report

Rules of Conduct

Kyle — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:35:23 +0000

Our libraries are a special, fun place for library members, visitors, and staff. We want to be sure that everyone is made welcome and comfortable during their visit. The Rules of Patron Conduct outlines the standards we all respect at the library, and the behavior that violates these standards. Chase shows us how we can keep the library a wonderful, safe place to visit during this friendly, recorded presentation.

Tips:

Because this presentation lives on the Intranet, you will be prompted to enter your metro username and password, just like would any other time you view the Intranet.

You will have an option to Open or Save the presentation. Please SAVE the file to your desktop. You may then open the presentation by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.

The presentation will advance by itself, once started.

Your mission:

1. Watch the Rules of Conduct Training presentation:

Rules of Conduct Training – Begin now

2. To receive credit for this training, you must report your progress using the link below:

Submit your progress report

RSS & Podcasts – Part 1: Getting started

npljenny — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:46:22 +0000

I saw my friend William last Saturday. He was carrying eight newspapers! I stopped and asked, “William, what’s with all the newspapers?”

He said, “Well, I like reading the comic strips Pearls Before Swine and Dilbert, but they’re not in the same newspaper. Then, there’s this columnist I like in the New York Times and a sports writer in the Washington Post who’s great. I gotta run. If I don’t get home soon, I’ll miss Daniel Schorr’s radio commentary!”

“Whoa! Why aren’t you getting this stuff in your feed reader?”

“My what?”

“RSS feeds. RSS puts all your news in one spot! You just sign up for an RSS feed reader online, then read all your favorite comics and journalists in one place. You can also use RSS to read blogs, news, and even hear that radio story you’re about to miss.”

“All with an RSS feed reader? Can you show me how it works?”

RSS Feeds

RSS broadcasts web pages over the Internet much like a radio station broadcasts programming over airwaves. An RSS feed reader (aka aggregator) “tunes in” to the websites that you tell it to “listen” to and collects new items into your reader as they appear. You can get news, blog posts, comics, music, personal updates, or even this learning activity. Web sites now offer a variety of content in RSS format. Anywhere you see one of these little buttons, you can click on one to activate the feed.

There are many different to choose from, but most are free web applications, so you will not have pay or download to take advantage of RSS.

Commoncraft – RSS In Plain English

RSS In Plain English

Podcasts are RSS feeds, too!

William is also a big listener of National Public Radio and other radio programs. I was telling him about this fascinating story on gorillas that aired the other night.

“I was so busy catching up on all my newspapers that I missed it.”

“Don’t worry, RSS can help you keep up with radio shows too. You can still hear the gorilla story as a podcast!”

NPR also delivers most of their stories as podcasts, so you’ll be able to catch up on the latest programs whenever you want. You can find older stories too. Maybe you like tuning into Mike & Mike (ESPN), Dave Ramsey, Dianne Rehm, or This American Life? You can get a podcast of just about anything on NPR and a variety of shows from local radio all over the country. There are thousands of podcasts from amateur and community radio DJs. Maybe you would like the Jamaican Reggae music hour or the guy who plays a Grateful Dead concert tape every week?

It is not just music and radio. Television programs are podcasting too, in both video and audio. You can catch up on Good Morning America (ABC), Frontline (PBS), or The Colbert Report (Comedy) with podcasts. Many programs are offering season subscriptions for a fee, but most podcasts are free to download. Hobbyists love to share tips on gardening, knitting, or even fly fishing with podcasts.

A podcast could be anything from a thirty second cell phone update to an hour-long concert. Podcasts are sort of like an audio archive, delivering the newest episodes and storing the older stories for later. Instead of tuning in at a specific time on your radio, you can hear the recording whenever you want, on your computer.

Four ways to hear podcasts:

Browser: Visit the podcast’s web site and play the files from there, just as you would any other sound file.

RSS Reader: Subscribe using an online RSS reader like My Yahoo, Netvibes, or Google Reader. Podcasts will show up along with your blogs.

Podcatcher: Use a podcatcher, like iTunes or Google Reader to organize and play podcasts.

mp3 player: Take podcasts on the go with your portable mp3 player. Listen to your favorite programs while you are out walking, waiting for the bus, or anywhere.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1. Sign up for a feed reader (Google Reader and Netvibes are two nice ones.).

2. Subscribe to the RSS feed for the library’s Staff Recommendations blog.

3. Browse NPR’s list of podcasts. Sign up for a podcast (use iTunes or your RSS feed reader).

4. This is a two-part training. Continue to Adding Library Feeds.

ReferenceUSA

Kyle — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:15:43 +0000

Ever wanted to see how many lawyers practice in your zip code? Ever want to compile the addresses of your neighbors for a direct mail campaign? Ever wanted to find out the names of the top executives at local corporations?

You can’t go wrong with ReferenceUSA, the mighty business directory and list-generator. Take a look at ReferenceUSA and compile some business lists. View our tour!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1. Use ReferenceUSA to answer the following quesitons:

How many businesses are located on Jefferson St. (Nashville)?

How many Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlors are there (USA)?

2. To receive credit for this training, you must report your progress using the link below:

Submit your progress report

Wireless Internet & Printing – Part 3

npljenny — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:38:50 +0000

The computer should locate an available wireless network when you power it on. But sometimes, things don’t work as they should. If you’re trying to use the library’s wireless connection and you receive a “page cannot be displayed error,” you’ll need to do a little troubleshooting.

Wireless Troubleshooting at the Library

If the wireless connection is not recognized immediately, there are two places to examine in the laptop. The system tray and the control panel.

If there’s an icon in the system tray, I always start there. Just double click on the icon to open up the wireless connection window.

If there is a “no signal” error, follow the instructions in the No Signal video.
If wireless is not connected, follow the instructions in the Not Connected video.
If wireless is not enabled, follow the instructions in the Disabled Wireless video.

If there is not an icon in the system tray, you’ll need to go to the control panel and look at the Network Connections settings. Follow the instructions in the Control Panel video to view the status of the wireless connection.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1. Check out your area laptop and perform the following actions:

a. connect to wireless
b. navigate to the control panel and disable wireless.
c. in the control panel, re-enable wireless.

2. You’re not finished yet! This is a four-part training. You must complete all three parts.

Go to Wireless Internet Part 4

Wireless Internet & Printing – Part 2

npljenny — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:04:42 +0000

Now that we know how wireless works, we need to take a look at the areas of the laptop that help us manage our wireless connection. We’ll look at the system tray and the control panel. It is important to understand these two elements of your computer’s operating system in order to know how to troubleshoot wireless problems.

The System Tray

The System Tray is located in the lower right of the computer screen, where the clock is. This is where you will find the wireless connection icon.

If wireless is working properly, you’ll see a wireless icon without an error symbol. Three common wireless symbols are pictured here, but you may see other symbols.

If wireless is not working properly, the wireless icon will be displayed with an error icon, similar to the pictures below. Or you may not see an icon at all.

No matter what icon you see, if you double-click on it, you will open the wireless connection window. If there is no wireless icon in the system tray, you will have to use the Control Panel.

Control Panel

The control panel is located in the Start menu at the lower left of the computer. This is where you go to perform administrative tasks like add or remove software, to adjust the date and time, to customize your keyboard, and manage wireless.

Once you have opened the control panel, look for Network Connections in the list.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1. Use the Start menu to find the Control Panel on your staff computer.

2. Go to Network Connections in the Control Panel. If your staff computer is a desktop, you probably won’t see a wireless connection.

3. You’re not finished yet! This is a four-part training. You must complete all three parts.

Go to Wireless Internet Part 3