At Your Service: January 2007 Archives

An update as of January 24, 2007:

As previously announced, the Temple University libraries plan to launch an updated, improved interface to Diamond, the Libraries' online catalog, this year.

Our original timetable called for the update to launch in January, prior to the Spring Semester. We have delayed that launch in order to take advantage of system enhancements (including improved sorting of search results) incorporated in a new release of the software that powers the online catalog. This new release is now promised to us in February, so our timetable has changed.

Please watch for announcements in March of a public preview of the new catalog -- allowing you to try the new interface with current data and suggest any final changes.

We now anticipate the final launch to occur after the end of the semester in May.

Byron C. Mayes
Head, Library Systems and Technology

The Libraries have revamped the "Ask a Librarian" Tech Center program. Beginning this semester we've moved from the 2nd floor lobby to Room 205A, a breakout room, in the general lab area. Three librarians -- Susan Golding, Derik Badman, and David Murray -- will alternate workshops and drop-in consultations on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 1-2 p.m. all semester long.

Jan.18th- Feb 1st (T,W,Th) -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

Feb. 6th, 7th, 8th -- Better Grades in Less Time
You work too hard! Sharpen your research skills to cut down on time and get better results. Temple Libraries have the resources you need right at your fingertips. Join a Temple University Librarian for this session covering basic timesaving tips about using library resources.

Feb. 13th, 14th, 15th -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

Feb. 20th, 21st, 22nd -- 10 Ways to do Scholarly Research in Your Pajamas
Pizza delivery? Take out Chinese? Now you can get your research to go. Temple University Libraries offer thousands of online resources and services. Join the librarian to learn how to make the library come to you! Take out menu provided.

Feb. 27th,28th, Mar. 1st -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

March 6th, 7th, 8th -- (Spring Break)

March 13th, 14th, 15th -- Getting Organized Online
Forgot about a paper that's due? Forget to pay your phone bill or to call back that cute classmate? In this session a Temple University Librarian will demonstrate online applications that help you organize "to do" lists, events, and documents. Get text message or IM reminders! Access your calendar from any computer, anywhere!

March 20th, 21st, 22nd -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

March 27th, 28th, 29th -- Stuff You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Google
"Google gave me 8,956,441 hits. This stinks." Decrease your frustration with Google by learning how to use it like any other library database. In other words, like a pro! In this session a Temple University Librarian will cover how to find books, journal articles, news, maps, and more through Google. Learn how to use Google's advanced options to focus a search and get the most relevant results.

April 3rd, 4th, 5th -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

April 10th, 11th, 12th -- To Google or Not to Google
Google provides fast but often ineffective results. Will you really impress your professor by citing a Wikipedia article as a source for a research paper? In this session a Temple University Librarian will discuss the pros and cons of using Google for academic research. Discover how to just as quickly access more appropriate sources without over relying on Google. This session will cover a new open source Wiki alternative, as well as some of the more traditional reference tools that have been digitized for easy web access.

April 17th, 18th, 19th -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

April 24th, 25th, 26th -- Citations Without Tears
Save time on your papers, and throw out all those long citation guides. Learn to use Refworks, a web based application (free to Temple students!) that allows you to easily and quickly gather your citations and organize them for the creation of bibliographies and in-text citations in almost any format-- APA, MLA, Chicago, and more.

May 1st, 2nd, 3rd -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

May 8th, 9th, 10th -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

Please join us all semester long in Room 205A in the Tech Center! And please do let us know what you think of our new services.

--David C. Murray

I would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused by the unavailability of the Libraries' website during the holiday closure.

The Libraries' website, including our extensive menu of links to external databases and full-text journals, was unavailable intermittently during Temple’s holiday closure. Security software installed on our webserver registered recurrent attacks or other suspicious activity and shut down the server to protect data. Library staff on call brought the system back online during the University closure as they became aware of the problems, but subsequent apparent attacks prompted repeated shutdowns.

The webserver and its firewall were stabilized early Tuesday morning (1/2/07) and have been continuously available since then.

We have taken additional steps behind the scenes to prevent recurrence of such extensive outages which we all recognize as having impeded research activity by faculty and students working over the break. Further hardware and software modifications will continue during the spring so that we can continue to improve the reliability of access to the increasingly broad and indispensable array of online resources and services we now offer. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience this problem caused. We will do our best to ensure that it does not happen again.

Larry P. Alford,
Vice Provost for Libraries