Knowledge Basket have tightened up their security procedures and blocked access to News Index via Ezproxy. I have contacted them and requested them to renable access. Hopefully they will respond soon.
Apparently we are not alone in having some of our access blocked.
I’ve emailed Liaison Librarians separately as this will be of particular interest to them, but it could have uses for others of us as well.
The LibCal software we now use for course bookings, includes a tool that can be used by students (or academic staff – or even the public if you want) to make appointments with you. The appointment schedule is controlled by you and it also links into Outlook so appointments can’t be made if Outlook shows you are busy.
Typically the appointment tool would be incorporated into a LibGuide profile although there are other options – e.g. a link contained in a web page. When students click on the link, they get the option to make an appointment – you control what times are available.
A login to LibGuides is required and there is a small step that eServices needs to do to give you access. Liaison Librarians are set-up for this, but for others of you, if interested, contact eServices.
You might also like to look at the instructions for setting this up which are at:
Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) is one of the tools we’ve needed for several years to deal with the dark art of Digital Rights Management. This post is to summarize the current situation. The latest version is 4.5 although older versions still work – my machine is running 1.7.
4.5 makes it much easier for eBooks to be synchronized across several devices (so long as ADE has the same Adobe ID on each device).
Not all eBooks require it; nor is it needed when reading online. Its purpose is to allow eBooks to be downloaded to a device and read offline. ADE records usage and secures the book so that limits such as loan length, and pages copied or printed, are enforced.
EBL books comprise our largest collection of eBooks that use ADE.
ITS publish the software but individual users need to install it. In Control Panel go to Install a Program from the Network
If you have a previously installed version the newer version will pick-up your registration details.
If you have never registered, then ADE will prompt you to do so. This is how the DRM keeps track of your usage.
There isn’t much point in students using ADE in the student workrooms as they would need to install, and add their Adobe ID to every machine they used.
These need to have ADE installed as an App or similar. See personal devices.
Computers, tablets, other devices including some e-readers etc.
For computers, ADE is downloaded from the Adobe Site which has been recently revamped to make it easier to use. The Download tab gives access to the software. For other devices, Google Play and iTunes have it as an App.
Some eBook readers cannot download or install ADE and thus cannot use eBooks that require ADE. The Kindle is the best known of these. Adobe publish a list of devices that can work with ADE.
Hi Everyone
We have several loan laptops from ITS. We are missing the power supply for one of these. Could you please keep you eyes open for it and let me know if you see a stray.
It is a standard laptop power supply – it has Lenovo embossed on the top and probably has a yellow safety sticker on the side.
These ‘loan’ machines have travelled, so it may well be in a branch other than Central.
Thanks, Peter
Library Staff working during the evening on Tuesday (26th January) will lose access to the Wiki (Camelot) and the K: and U: drives.
Students will not be able to do a Canterbury Card Top-UP or Canterbury Card printing.
An edited version of the memo from ITS follows:
On Tuesday the 26 th January starting at 5:30pm we will be doing maintenance work on our main file server. This will mean a number of central systems will not be available, including Learn and Echo 360. For a complete list see below
In order to minimise the risk of loss of data we ask that all users logout before they go home on Tuesday.
Applications:
• Learn
• Echo 360
• UCWiki
• QuakeStudies
• UCMirror
• Canterbury Card top up
• Canterbury Card Printing
• MyUC
• RAS
• PracticalMusica
Network shares
• Departments
• Shared
• Student
• Bulk
• Scratch
The NYPL has opened up its out-of-copyright collections and there is some great stuff in there. I hope this will become common.
“Today we are proud to announce that out-of-copyright materials in NYPL Digital Collections are now available as high-resolution downloads. No permission required, no hoops to jump through: just go forth and reuse! ”
Details are available on their blog.
The IT Recycling Service will again be on hiatus from the end of November 2015 until the beginning of February 2016.
This is due to resourcing issues for the affected areas of Learning Resources over the Christmas/ New Year period.
IT Recycling requests can still be logged via the Self Service Portal where they will be held pending resumption of the service.
Please ensure that any items for which a request has been logged are stored in a safe & secure manner until LRTS is able to arrange for them to be processed.
ITS have released Office 2013. You can install this yourself when it suits. All student machines in the Library will get this version after exams finish.
I have put some basic instructions on Camelot. The installation takes an hour and your computer will restart several times during the process so choose a time when you will not need it.
If you use Call Pilot via Outlook, note that this does not work in Office 2013.
This from Audio Visual:
Audio Visual customers are now able to log service requests and fault logging via the Self Service portal.
When using the portal you will see a new service unit suite of offerings under “Audio Visual (LTS)” – along with E-Learning Services, IT Services and Library Services.
Audio Visual will continue to operate its own service desk. Any AV Assyst tickets logged will be assigned directly to the Audio Visual team.
We encourage your use of the portal as it is designed to semi-automate some of the service delivery processes – including information gathering, categorisation and assignment – as well as offering customers visibility of their service request status via the portal.
Averill Duncan
Acting Audio Visual Team Leader