1) The librarian’s are in agreement that we would like to see the advanced LC Subject search query the LC Subject headings with a keyword search and return all the subject headings that contain the keyword. This results set would be a group of hyperlinks that would drill down to the bibliographic records. This is very similiar to the way the ‘Subject Guide’ search works in Gale products.

2) In most of the searches, we would like to see the search terms highlighted in the results set. Lexis-Nexis Academic does this. Upstate Medical Center highlights the search terms in the results set.

We are not sure if either of these things can be done. By the way, Mark Smith at Scholes Library has put together a list of successful SUNY ALEPH implementations at: http://scholes.alfred.edu/alephinfo.html

Our library initiative called for a reletively strict adherance to a implementation timeline. As a result, we needed a calendaring feature that would be prominantly available on the navigation menu. Although Blackboard 6.0 has a strong calendaring feature, they bury it among a bunch of other features that we had no need for. I need to bring this calendaring feature forward and eliminate these extraneous features. Doing this is by no means straight-forward. Here is how I did it:

1) First you need to add the “tools area” to your main menu by clicking on “Manage Course Menu” in the “Control Panel.” Then click on add “Tool Area.” Choose “Tools Area” from the “Area Type” drop down box. Click on “Submit.”

2) Now that you have opened up the potpurri of features available in “Tools Area”, you will create a link directly to the calendaring feature–without having to deal with all the other extraneous tools. In the “Manage Course Menu”, click on add “Course Link.” Click on the “Browse” button, choose the “Calendar” under the “Tools Area” in the pop-up window and click “OK” You now have created a direct link from the navigation menu to the calendar.

3) All you have to do now is delete the “Tools Area” from your navigation menu. Go to the “Manage Course Menu” in the “Control Panel” Click on the “remove” button next to “Tools Area”

1) You can only paste in “Insert Mode”

2) In “Command Mode” the keystroke “X” deletes the space to the right of the cursor

3) Hitting the “home” button puts you at the front of the current line.

I know–this is not very sexy stuff.

The very first thing that you need to change is the server that you connect too in the “library.ini”
The path is: “c:\Al500\Alephcom500\Tab\Library.ini”

Some things that you need to remember when changing Library.ini:

1) Don’t use tabs when you space this file–>Use spaces.
2) Don’t erase the original configuration, just “comment” it out.
3) The program parses the .ini file from top to bottom. It knocks on the first door, second door, third door. The program opens the first door it comes to.
4) Don’t forget that the port needs to be changed.
5) This is a UNIX table–it is case sensitive.
6) You have to include your library’s libraries in the middle collumns.

The next thing to do is change the PERLIBS

The Perlibs file can be found at: “c:\AL500\(acq .,Cat., Circ.,)\Tab\per_lib.ini”

Some things that you need to remember:

1) Each module has its own PERLIB.ini—>but we do not edit all of them.
2) The PERLIB.ini files that we do not edit are: “catconv”, “sear”, and “alephcom” modules.
3) Once again, the application parses the “ini” file from top to bottom.
4) Be somewhat careful when you are adding libraries to the PERLIB files (modules)–it can be overdone. For example, you should not add the the Bib01 to the Serials module. This is because the Serials module interacts most with the Adm50 library, and if it is in the Bib library–it cannot work with the Adm library.

The last thing we do is edit the “Sear” module (This also requires editing the base.dat file).

We edit the Sear or OPAC module through the “Aadmn” module in the client.
1) Click on the “Aadmn” module in the client.
2) Look in the “Configuration” menu for “Libraries Manager.”
3) In the dialog box that appears, click on the “OPAC Bases.”
4) Add the Bib (01) and Auth (10) libraries to the top of the screen.

In PowerPoint presentations, you can lose your audience rather quickly, simply by switching from PowerPoint to an external program such as a Web brower. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have seen a presenter fumble this transistion. For good reason, it isn’t easy to switch out of PowerPoint, without dropping the ball. Cutting down on the number of mouse-clicks when you make this transition can really remedy a bad transition. This week, I saw Jane Neale of NYLINK demonstrate a nifty little trick that enables the presenter to transition out of PowerPoint smoothly. The trick involves bringing the taskbar to the front of the screen–while PowerPoint is in slide show mode. This trick cuts the number of transition mouse-clicks in half. Here’s how it works. While in presentation mode, hit the “windows” and “tab” keys. This key-stroke brings up the taskbar. Then just pick the application that is minimized to the taskbar–SSSMMOOOOOOTH.