I have reserved the Board room at Arrowhead Library System in Mountain Iron, MN for viewing the SEFLIN Virtual Conference Library Resource Sharing: Emerging Trends & Technologies on September 23 9AM-3PM Central time. Anyone interested is welcome to come view as a group. It's always more interesting to view and share information with others as a group.
Come to social network for real with colleagues while watching this virtual conference.
Use this link to find directions on how to get to ALS & NCLC which are housed in the same building.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Network Status Update
At 1:10 P.M we have the following report from Arrowhead Library System Technical Staff:
Sorry about the delay but we now think all is well with the new firewall. There is a new operating system that didn't accept all the configuration parameters that the old one use and we had to reconfigure a lot of the interfaces on the fly. At this point we've tracked down all the bugs and we haven't had a report of any issues. If you are experiencing any problems connecting to Horizon, the ALS Website or to email services please let me know. Again we're sorry it took so much longer that anticipated but our firewall configuration is more complex than most.
ALS locally has 6 LANS, connections to several WAN's on different ISP's, multiple server configurations requiring unique protection and a lot of libraries to connect to. Just in case we missed something please let me know if you are having problems connecting to ALS. Thanks.
If you notice any abnormalities or quirks that weren't there before be sure to report them ASAP.
Sorry about the delay but we now think all is well with the new firewall. There is a new operating system that didn't accept all the configuration parameters that the old one use and we had to reconfigure a lot of the interfaces on the fly. At this point we've tracked down all the bugs and we haven't had a report of any issues. If you are experiencing any problems connecting to Horizon, the ALS Website or to email services please let me know. Again we're sorry it took so much longer that anticipated but our firewall configuration is more complex than most.
ALS locally has 6 LANS, connections to several WAN's on different ISP's, multiple server configurations requiring unique protection and a lot of libraries to connect to. Just in case we missed something please let me know if you are having problems connecting to ALS. Thanks.
If you notice any abnormalities or quirks that weren't there before be sure to report them ASAP.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Internet Downtime at Arrowhead Library System
The down time for replacement of the LAN devices at Arrowhead Library System will be from about 7:45am to 8:45am tomorrow Friday, August 26. During that time there will be no access to Horizon (automated system), the ALS web and email servers, and the Overdrive authentication server. They don't expect any problems and will be able to immediately switch back to the old gear should we find any configuration problems.
ALS and NCLC staff will also be without general Internet during this time.
Library patrons will not be able to search the catalog, renew materials, or download any e-books or audio books from Overdrive during this time frame.
ALS and NCLC staff will also be without general Internet during this time.
Library patrons will not be able to search the catalog, renew materials, or download any e-books or audio books from Overdrive during this time frame.
Virtual Reference
OCLC has released the report Seeking Synchronicity: Revelations and Recommendations for Virtual Reference. While specifically targeting virtual reference service, the revelations and recommendations of this 86 page report could apply as easily to any service offered by libraries.
Convenience is the hook. Make sure users can find and use your service.
Pay attention to the questions asked and your interpersonal behavior when communicating. It's all about relationships, building them and giving people a warm feeling about your library. Courtesy and good manners go a long way to building relationships that make your library (virtual or real) a place that people will want to return to again and again.
A library director recently related a story that illustrates a very poor example of customer service. Spending leisure time in a nearby location, unanticipated bad weather forced a change in plans. She was near the local library so thought she would get a book and spend the day reading, but had not taken her library card with her. Even though she had photo identification with her, without the library card she was refused service and was not able to check out a book. The library worker was following the library policy. It would have been a simple matter to check that she had a library card in good standing and that her photo ID matched the library card information that the automated system could pull up. The library policy prevented giving good customer service.
Is this really the kind of impression that you want your library to leave with any customer? Will it help build your library's reputation as a warm and welcoming place where giving good service is valued?
Read the report and think long and hard about how your library is doing things. What can you do to help build relationships with your community? How can you make using your library and its services convenient for the customers?
Virtual or not, convenience in finding and using your library services is key when combined with courtesy and building relationships with your community members.
Convenience is the hook. Make sure users can find and use your service.
Pay attention to the questions asked and your interpersonal behavior when communicating. It's all about relationships, building them and giving people a warm feeling about your library. Courtesy and good manners go a long way to building relationships that make your library (virtual or real) a place that people will want to return to again and again.
A library director recently related a story that illustrates a very poor example of customer service. Spending leisure time in a nearby location, unanticipated bad weather forced a change in plans. She was near the local library so thought she would get a book and spend the day reading, but had not taken her library card with her. Even though she had photo identification with her, without the library card she was refused service and was not able to check out a book. The library worker was following the library policy. It would have been a simple matter to check that she had a library card in good standing and that her photo ID matched the library card information that the automated system could pull up. The library policy prevented giving good customer service.
Is this really the kind of impression that you want your library to leave with any customer? Will it help build your library's reputation as a warm and welcoming place where giving good service is valued?
Read the report and think long and hard about how your library is doing things. What can you do to help build relationships with your community? How can you make using your library and its services convenient for the customers?
Virtual or not, convenience in finding and using your library services is key when combined with courtesy and building relationships with your community members.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Arrowhead Library System Catalog Downtime Scheduled
Just a reminder that the Arrowhead Library System will be upgrading to Horizon 7.51 on Monday August 22nd. This will involve about 4 hours of down time; work begins by SirsiDynix around 8:30am. During that period you will have no access to the Horizon server or the HIP(online catalog) server. General Internet access, ALS email, and access to the ALS web server will NOT be affected.
Due to the need to update the SIP ports on their server as well, there will be outages in SIP over the same period, which will affect those with selfchecks (Grand Rapids and Cloquet), Cloquet's PC reservation system, and the ability to enter your account at the Overdrive audiobook/ebook site. As these outages get more forseeable ALS technical staff will send more detailed information.
All library locations will be contacted by phone when the system returns to normal and the server-pushed downloadable update becomes available. For those libraries using PC Reliance, please be sure your Horizon location code has been correctly entered in the Tools/Options and that you have purged any pre-existing checkout data files
Monday, August 8, 2011
Minnesota Library Association Conference Registration
Registration for the 2011 Minnesota Library Association Conference is now open.
Minnesota Library Association
2011 Annual Conference
Libraries: Superior Value for Life
October 12-14, 2011
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, Duluth, MN
Visit http://www.mnlibraryassociation.org/mlaconference2011/ for complete details and registration.
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