September/October 2002 vol.8 no.5 issn 1082-4383
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September/October 2002 vol.8 no.5 issn 1082-4383 |
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Highlights in this Issue
NEBASE Annual Meeting 2002 - East
The NEBASE Annual Meeting 2002 - East will be held on Thursday October 3 at The Cornhusker in Lincoln.
Additional Database Roadshows Scheduled
Due to demand additional Database Roadshow sessions have been scheduled for summer/fall 2002.
NEBASE OCLC Workshops Scheduled in Omaha and Lincoln
NEBASE has scheduled workshops in Omaha and Lincoln to train our users on various OCLC products.
This fall the Nebraska Library Commission will bring several electronic resources to trial for Nebraska librarians and media specialists.
Watch for Trivia Questions To Be Posted to the Trial Mailing List
Do you need a little extra help using the statewide databases? Try answering one of the Database Quiz questions to be posted to the TRIAL mailing list.
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NEBASE |
NEBASE ANNUAL MEETING 2002 - EAST
The NEBASE Annual Meeting 2002 - East will be held on Thursday, October 3 at The
Cornhusker in Lincoln. This year's meeting will include presentations by OCLC
staff on two new OCLC services, Question Point and Digital Preservation and
Resources. The afternoon will include a panel on Virtual Reference in Nebraska.
For libraries that may be interested in OCLC services, but not yet OCLC members
there will be an afternoon session on Automating Your Library. The full agenda
is available below. Registration will begin September 3 and lunch is included
with your registration fee. We hope to see you in Lincoln on October 3. To
register go to </netserv/nam.html>.
NEBASE ANNUAL MEETING 2002 - EAST
Agenda
October 3, 2002
The Cornhusker
333 South 13th Street
Lincoln, NE
| 9:00 - 9:30 | Registration & Refreshments |
| 9:30 - 9:35 | Welcome and Introduction
Rod Wagner- Director, Nebraska Library Commission |
| 9:35 - 10:30 | Keynote - OCLC as a Cooperative in the Digital Age: the
Responsibilities of a Membership Organization William J. Crowe - Chair, OCLC Board of Trustees and Spencer Librarian, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas |
| 10:30 - 10:45 | Break |
| 10:45 - 11:15 | News from OCLC
Paul Cappuzello - Library Services Manager, West Region, OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. |
| 11:15 - 11:30 | NEBASE Advisory Council & OCLC Members Council Update
Pat Hughes - Technical Services Librarian, Perkins Library,
Hastings College |
| 11:30 - 12:45 | Lunch |
| 12:45 - 2:15 | Simultaneous sessions. Attendees have a choice of attending the Question Point and Virtual Reference Panel or a CatExpress Roundtable.
OR
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| 2:15 - 2:30 | Break |
| 2:30 - 4:30 | Break out sessions. Participants must select one
session to attend. Please note some sessions have size limits.
Registrations will be taken on a first come basis.
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WELCOME NEBASE'S NEW OCLC SERVICES CONSULTANT
NEBASE would like to welcome Kathryn Harnish as our new OCLC Library Services
Consultant. Kathryn, an OCLC employee based in suburban Chicago, is responsible
for both the NEBASE and BCR networks.
Kathryn began working for OCLC in May of this year and just completed her second
trip to Nebraska in August. You are likely to see Kathryn soon as she makes
visits throughout the state consulting with libraries and their use of OCLC
services. "It's great to have an opportunity to work so closely with libraries
on a wide variety of issues," says Kathryn. "With so many changes taking place
in today's libraries, it's an exciting challenge to assist library staff with
current and future needs."
Kathryn has held a variety of library and library-related positions, including
work in public and technical services as well as systems administration. She
most recently worked for five years with Endeavor Information Systems, Inc. in a
number of roles, including Customer Service, Product Management, and Digital
Library Initiatives.
Originally from eastern Pennsylvania, Kathryn describes herself as a
"well-rooted Midwest transplant". She currently lives in Elgin, Illinois with
her three cats and enjoys her free time with leisure travel, boating, reading,
and cooking.
Kathryn looks forward to learning more about Nebraska's libraries during her
visits, saying, "One of the most rewarding things about my job is that I get to
work cooperatively with very dedicated and talented people to build effective
strategies for current and future library needs."
Shannon Behrhorst
NEBASE Director
Nebraska Library Commission
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Training |
ADDITIONAL DATABASE ROADSHOWS SCHEDULED
Due to demand the following additional Database Roadshow sessions have been
scheduled for summer/fall 2002:
ONLINE DATABASE CLASSES OFF TO A GOOD START
In mid-June we posted a message to our Trial mailing list, seeking guinea pigs
for our brand new online training classes on Books in Print and Electric
Library. To date, we've received 35 registrations and had eleven people complete
classes. Feedback so far has been positive, with no one reporting any major
difficulties taking these classes online. Participants appreciate being able to
complete the classes from the comfort of their own library, and one librarian
even mentioned that she was able to work on the class at the reference desk, in
between helping patrons.
If you are interested in taking one of these online classes, it's not too late
to sign up. For more information and to register, go to </netserv/onlineclass.html>.
Students will have two months to complete these self-paced classes and will earn
one hour of CE credit for each class completed. Classes consist of approximately
seven lessons each, and we've been told that each lesson takes approximately
half-an-hour to complete. If you are concerned about the time commitment, you
might be interested in knowing that several students completed a class in less
than 24 hours!
If you are unsure if these online classes are for you, you can try taking the
Common Database Searching Techniques lesson prior to signing up. This lesson,
which covers Boolean logic, phrase searching, and wildcards, is located at: </netserv/class/>.
Please also feel free to contact me at 402-471-3849, 800-307-2665, or e-mail Susan Knisely
if you have questions or concerns.
Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
NEBASE OCLC WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED IN OMAHA AND LINCOLN
NEBASE has scheduled the workshops listed below to train our users on various
OCLC products.
Omaha - Omaha Public Library:
ONLINE COURSES AVAILABLE FOR DESKTOP APPLICATIONS
Do you or your staff need to freshen up basic skills in word
processing? Perhaps you are ready to spruce up an upcoming
presentation by integrating Power Point into the session? Are those
Excel formulas driving you crazy? If so, you now have the chance to
take online classes to help you acquire desktop application skills. MindLeaders offers a variety of low-cost online classes that can be
taken over a year's time. Plus you can take all of the courses in a
selected area as many times as you like. The End User Desktop
Computing Group provides over thirty series of courses on
applications such as Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Netscape,
Access PowerPoint, Lotus Notes, even computer basics. For more
information on the MindLeaders courses visit see related article
in this newsletter.
Shannon Behrhorst
NEBASE Director
Nebraska Library Commission
Databases
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Databases |
LIMITING WORLDCAT SEARCHES TO NETLIBRARY EBOOKS / EXCLUDING NETLIBRARY
EBOOKS FROM WORLDCAT SEARCH RESULTS
Using the WorldCat Advanced Search screen, you can easily limit searches to
netLibrary eBooks. After typing search term(s) describing your topic in the
first "Search for" box, type netLibrary in the second "Search for" box and
select Access Method from the corresponding drop-down menu.
It is also possible to exclude netLibrary eBooks from WorldCat search results.
As above, type search term(s) describing your topic in the first "Search for"
box, then type netLibrary in the second "Search for" box and select Access
Method from the corresponding drop-down menu. This time, however, select the
Boolean operator "not" from the drop-down operator menu to the left of the box
in which you typed netLibrary.
Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
LOW SEARCH NOTIFICATION IN FIRSTSEARCH
Does your library purchase blocks of FirstSearch searches in order
to access additional databases or full text through FirstSearch? If
so, have you ever run out of searches unexpectedly? Even if your
answer to the second question is no, you may want to take advantage
of the new Low Search Notification feature available through the
FirstSearch Administrative Module. To use this feature, enter a low
search threshold number (for example, 200) and one or two email
addresses in the boxes provided in the Low Search Notification area
of the Administrative Module. When the number of searches remaining
falls below the low search threshold number, FirstSearch sends an
e-mail notice to the address or addresses entered. This gives you
the warning you need to purchase additional searches before
completely running out.
Within the FirstSearch Administrative Module, the Low Search
Notification area appears under the Authentication/Access tab, on
the General screen.
Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
USAGE STATISTICS FOR STATEWIDE DATABASES
Network Services staff members recently compiled the following
aggregated usage statistics for statewide databases for the
2001-2002 subscription term. These statistics represent the total
number of searches performed in each database by all libraries (and
their patrons) that participate in the statewide database program.
FALL DATABASE TRIALS
This fall the Nebraska Library Commission will bring several electronic
resources to trial for Nebraska librarians and media specialists.
Below you will find a list of vendors and products that will be announced over
the next few months. If you have a special interest in a particular resource,
please let us know and we can work on obtaining a statewide trial for the
product.
BioOne
ABC-Clio
OCLC FirstSearch databases
H.W. Wilson
Inet Library
Mitchell 1
Groves SYB
Safari Tech from ProQuest
WorldBook
Shannon Behrhorst
NEBASE Director
Nebraska Library Commission
NEW WILSONWEB SEARCH INTERFACE COMING SOON
HW Wilson is completely redesigning and incorporating new technology
into their search interface. This redesign will affect the search
interface for our Wilson Biographies Plus Illustrated and OmniFile
Full Text Select statewide database subscriptions.
The new interface will have a new look and include a number of new
features. These features include: full text searching, natural
language searching, advanced thesaurus, relevancy ranked results,
powerful new Verity Search Engine, and a savable search history. The
new interface is scheduled to be released some time this fall.
Presently Wilson is providing users a chance to preview the new
interface using a sample database. The current sample database is
Wilson's Business Full Text. Please note that Wilson is giving
everyone access to this database and it is not part of our
subscription. For more information about the new interface and to
access the sample database go to: <http://hwwilsonweb.com/>
and click on the Preview a database in the New WilsonWeb box.
Allana Novotny
Network Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
WATCH
FOR TRIVIA
QUESTIONS TO BE POSTED TO THE TRIAL MAILING LIST
Do you need a little extra help using the statewide databases? Try answering one
of the Database Quiz questions to be posted to the TRIAL mailing list. Beginning
September 6 we will be providing a bit of trivia fun for subscribers of the
TRIAL mailing list.
Each Friday morning we will send out a trivia question that can be answered
using one of the statewide databases: FirstSearch, Wilson OmniFile, Wilson
Biographies Plus, Electric Library or Kiplinger Business Forecasts. Send in your
answers to Network Services.
Later that afternoon we will announce the name of the person with the first
correct answer, as well as post the directions on how to answer the question
using the databases.
The trivia questions are created with two things in mind:
1. To highlight the wide variety of information you can find in the various databases. We hope that users discover new and useful content available through
the resources.
2. Educate users about the searching options and functionality available with
each database.
We hope these exercises can both provide a bit of fun, as well as a new tool to
learn about the electronic resources provided by the Nebraska Library
Commission.
If you miss a question you can always visit the Quiz Archive at:
</netserv/trivia.html> There you will be able to find
all of our questions and answers. Perhaps you can find examples here for your
own database training.
Look for the first of the weekly trivia questions to hit the TRIAL mailing list
on September 6.
To subscribe to TRIAL follow the instructions here
</lists/commands.asp>.
Shannon Behrhorst
Network Services Director
Nebraska Library Commission
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Discounts |
INTERNET LIBRARIAN 2002 CONFERENCE DISCOUNT
NEBASE is offering a group discount to all librarians in Nebraska who attend the
Internet Librarian 2002 conference. This year it will be held at the Palm
Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, California, on November 4-6, 2002.
The price of the three-day conference with the discount is $199.00. This is more
than a 40% savings off the regular price. In addition, discount prices of
$169.00 on the Internet@Schools conference (November 3-4, 2002) and $249 for the
combo of the Internet Librarian general conference and Internet@Schools
(November 3-6, 2002) are also available.
To receive these discounts, your registration form and payment must be received
by the Nebraska Library Commission by September 20, 2002. For additional
information and more detailed instructions on how to register go to </netserv/confdiscounts.html>.
Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
READERS' GUIDE RETROSPECTIVE: SPECIAL PRICING AVAILABLE
THROUGH OCTOBER 31, 2002
Over the next few weeks, the HW Wilson Company will be offering a
"prepublication promotion" on its Readers' Guide Retrospective Database
available on Wilson Web. This fall the conversion of the print index will be
complete, and electronic data comprising Readers' Guide from 1890 to 1982 will
be available on the Web to libraries who purchase the data.
As a result of this promotion, Nebraska libraries ordering Readers' Guide
Retrospective through the Nebraska Library Commission by the October 31, 2002
deadline will receive a 20% discount off list price. Pricing is available for
specified simultaneous user levels or for a site license based on FTE/population
served. Libraries pay either a one-time subscription fee, plus an annual access
fee of 5% of the first year's cost, or an annual web access fee. If you are
interested in a price quote please call Network Services at 402-471-2045, 800-307-2665, or e-mail Network Services
with your library type and FTE/population served.
After October 31, 2002, subscription costs for Readers' Guide Retrospective will
be between 6.25% and 8% higher than last year, depending on the subscription
scenario.
Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
WEBSEARCH UNIVERSITY 2002 CONFERENCE DISCOUNT OCLC INSTITUTE MINDLEADERS OFFERINGS AND MULTI-LICENSE DISCOUNTS
NEBASE is offering a group discount to all
librarians in Nebraska who attend a fall 2002 WebSearch University conference.
Detailed information about the WebSearch University conference can be found at <http://www.websearchu.com/>.
Remaining fall 2002 conference dates are:
The discounted price for each two-day conference is $395. This is a $100 savings
off the early bird individual conference price. No discount rates are available
for the pre-conference seminars and workshops.
To receive these discounts, your registration form and payment must be received
by the Nebraska Library Commission no later than September 6, 2002, for the
October conference, and October 4, 2002, for the November conference. For
additional information and more detailed instructions on how to register, go to
</netserv/confdiscounts.html>.
Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
NEBASE and the OCLC Institute now provide low-cost subscription access to
high-quality online technical courses by MindLeaders, a world leader in distance
learning and technical education.
The MindLeaders catalog of over 600 online technical courses provides breadth
and depth in select topical areas, from desk-top applications to systems
administration and Web development.
The catalog is divided into four major course groups:
When you subscribe to a course group you can take all of the courses listed as
many times as you like, as often as you like, any place you like, any time you
like, for a one-year period. The entire Course Catalog which lists all of the
series and the courses within each series can be found at <http://institute.oclc.org/bin/catalog.asp>.
New courses are added quarterly. There are seven demonstration courses that you
can explore before deciding to subscribe at <http://institute.oclc.org/demos.shtm>.
Continuing Education Credits are available through the Nebraska Library
Commission.
And now, multi-license discounts are available that can lower the per-capita
educational investment for a department, library, library system, or consortia.
The MindLeaders multi-license purchasing option is designed to allow one
individual to purchase training for a large number of learners.
For example, 101 one-year licenses for the End User Desktop Computing course
group (180 courses in 39 series) would cost approximately $50.96 per learner (or
about twenty-eight cents per course). Discounts to the low, individual-license
prices begin at just 26 licenses, and you can mix and match your course groups.
Even greater discounts are available for larger purchases.
For Multi-License Purchasing there is an interactive spreadsheet and a printable
order form at <http://institute.oclc.org/mlp.shtm>.
MindLeaders is available to all libraries. Please see <http://institute.oclc.org>
for all of the details and to order your MindLeaders course groups.
Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
