The ULM Library Web Page Committee

This blog has moved

2010-03-16T10:11:00.001-07:00

This blog is now located at http://ulmlwpc.blogspot.com/.
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test

2010-03-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is a test post for migrating the blog back to blogger...

computer lab page

2010-03-16T08:14:00.001-07:00

Maren found some typos on the computer lab page, and also suggested that make it clearer that the computer center is responsible for the computer lab, as not to confuse anyone (I mentioned it before, but not prominently).

http://www.ulm.edu/library/computerlab.html

I have also installed a spell check in the plain text program I most frequently use to edit HTML. Hopefully this will help.

Moving the blog again, perhaps

2010-02-26T09:10:00.001-08:00

Google/Blogger will be discontinuing its FTP publication option on the basis that few people use it.

I only tried it as an experiment in the first place, and I agree. If someone needs to run a blog from a specific domain, installing a blog app like Wordpress makes so much more sense.

So, I'll probably move this blog back to its "blogspot" location. I'm not sure what the result will be, though.

Catalog Problem fixed

2010-02-26T08:15:00.001-08:00

The IE8 error messages have been solved, after LOUIS moved all of our design elements to their own server. I also fixed a small button color problem in the CSS. Please let me know ASAP if anything goes wrong.

Just to let you know I'm aware of them, there are also 2 things I'd like to fix, except they aren't CSS-related so I can't do anything about them myself. These are:

a)
When you get an error screen from the catalog about a search, the screen that appears has a stray HTML comment tag on it " --> " and our logo disappears. The easiest way to trigger it is to try doing a search without entering anything.

b)
I'd like to make the text in the top banner click-able so that it restarts the search (goes "home", if you will) because many websites behave this way.

Small probelm with OPAC

2010-02-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

There's a low-satus problem with the catalog. When you try to enter "my account" in IE, the browser asks about displaying "non-secure" items (you know the kind). However, the obvious thing to do is click "yes," and doing this stops the custom CSS template and images from loading.

It doesn't affect actually using the site in itself, but it is a problem. The error breaks up the browsing experience and makes the page look and feel "broken." Error messages about security suggest unpleasantry, also. But, of course, I am the sort of person who gets too 'excited' over these things. Most internet users are IE users, so that's the browser people experience our web pages with the most. I suppose I can't blame IE or anyone else for the "problem," but it's just one of those things that happens and you can't do anything about it, like a tornado.

It is helpful that not everyone uses the account feature. In fact, I did not know about it until people from LOUIS told me. So things should be all right while we try to get this resolved.

Historical Newspaper DBs

2010-01-24T13:52:00.000-08:00

I've added the 2 new historical newspaper DBs to the DB list, and I've placed them other appropriate places too (the Quick List pop-up, the site map, History subject DB list)

African American Newspapers

America's Historical Newspapers

Edited tour, Gale links, etc

2010-01-20T15:23:00.001-08:00

Today CH told me that our links to Gale resources needed to be changes so that they could collect statistics. I did it, and the links should behave exactly as they did before. Let me know if they don't.

I've edited the reference collection out of the library tour. It still says that the McNaughton collection is "near reference," but that's not entirely untrue; it's near the side of the building where reference is (right???).
I'll make more changes to it when more changes happen to the library.

I also fixed some links on the site map.

New hours + Louisiana Digital Library

2010-01-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

Last night before I went to bed, I added the new hours to the home page. Do let me know if anything is wrong with it.

I also added the Louisiana Digital Library to the DB list. It probably should've been there sooner, but I thought it was a Special Collections thing then. If anyone thinks it doesn't belong in the list, do let me know.

EDIT:
I've also changed a few room names on the library map. I am also aware that some pop-up info boxes get covered up by other text. It doesn't hurt, but it looks messy. I may change that someday.

(I'M WITH COCO)

new newsletter, new news, new catalog

2010-01-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

A new Special Collections Newsletter is out so I placed that on the home page in the news box, removing the holiday message also.

The catalog's upgrade appears to be complete. If anyone has any problems with it, contact me and I'll see what can be done about it.

New look for the catalog

2010-01-10T16:10:00.001-08:00

The new appearance for the catalog should be something like this:

http://ulm.training.louislibraries.org/uhtbin/cgisirsi/GnwstyO8na/ULM/101130006/60/69/X

If anyone has any objections, please let me know ASAP. The deadline for making changes for the template is Monday (tomorrow, Jan 11).

The code from Sirsi was different from before. It looks similar to our current catalog, but it took a long time to make it look this way. I just hope it works when it become the catalog design this week.

New map, new hours, new catalog

2010-01-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

New hours:
I added the new hours file for the spring this week. It is subject to change all semester.

New map:
I've made a clearer map from an original PDF made from a CAD program years ago. It is much sharper than before, but also smaller.
http://www.ulm.edu/library/mappage.html

I also added that original PDF to the page as the new print version for the map and removed the HTML one I had before, because it is much easier to read. It also has floors 6-8 too. So I guess we have 8 floors.

I have not yet added any room changes. I'll add them as soon as I know about them.

And trhe new catalog design is due on monday. I'm still working on it.

New news

2009-12-18T08:35:00.001-08:00

Since the Highway 80 exhibit is over, I've removed the link about it from the news box and replaced it with news of the new DBs we have. I've also removed the ad image from rotation on the right.

New links + Moodle

2009-12-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

1)
There are 2 New DBs now added to the DB by name list:

Gale Virtual Reference Library

H.W. Wilson Art Suite

These will be added to the Quick Links and other pages soon. I have not confirmed if the GVRL link works off-campus.

Adding these DBs also shifted the order of the links in the DB by name list. The ever important EBSCOHost link is now in the lower left-hand

2)
The ULM Library has a Moodle page. Its layout will likely be simple. However, I would like to have a set of links at the top and perhaps a picture to "personalize" the page, and then the usual Moodle stuff below it. It is a WIP.
http://moodle.ulm.edu/course/view.php?id=5132

Hours update

2009-12-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

On Friday I changed the hours to winter hours, and today I added "Have a safe and happy Holiday" to the news box.

Updated hours + news

2009-12-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

I've changed the hours on the home page to show finals hours. I have also made a blog post about the broken DB links and placed a notice on the home page.

EDIT:
The DBs in question are working now, so I've removed the emergency links and the post from the news box.

Library Survey is up

2009-12-02T16:04:00.001-08:00

The technology survey is up! Please let me know ASAP if something is wrong with it.

Added extended hours

2009-11-30T14:13:00.001-08:00

I've added news of the extended pre-finals hours on the home page, the hours schedule PDF, and the blog. Do let me know if anything's wrong with them.

EZproxy Problems

2009-11-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

It seems that the Ezproxy is down. And most of our major DBs are down as a result, even on campus. This is not good.

However, I have realized that simply removing the EZproxy Prefix from the URL lets the DBs that use it work just fine (on campus). So, I made a another list of alternative links to these DBs and put it on the DB list page:

http://www.ulm.edu/library/dbname.html

I can set it back to normal as soon as the problem is resolved.

I know that I have done this without consulting anyone, but I consider this to be an "emergency." It's a sunday and just after Thanksgiving break, so I don't see this problemn being resolved any time soon. If I'm wrong to have done this, do let me know.

I have also reset the hours on the home page to regular hours.

EDIT:
A day later, the normal links are working again, so I've returned the page to normal.

Thanksgiving Hours + survey coming

2009-11-25T07:21:00.000-08:00

I've put the Thanksgiving hours on the home page.

Also, we are also hoping to run a survey with the help of the computing center about patron's computer literacy skills. Here are 2 possible versions of the home page that could promote it when it is completed:

http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/survey-home/index2.html

http://www.ulm.edu/~niemla/survey-home/

Instruction and Tours

2009-11-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

The link on the home page that used to be called "Tours and Instruction" is now called "Instruction and Tours." I don't think anyone will notice, but it was important enough to change.

Ask A Librarian page up

2009-11-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

The new Ask A Librarian page is up; it is the same form that was there before, but with the new changes. It looks right in IE 6,7, and 8, which it didn't before.

I also realized that many of our web pages had the wrong link to the "Ask" page. I changed them, and now they all go to the form.

Small site changes

2009-11-12T16:45:00.001-08:00

•There are some errors on the Ask A Librarian page. Dead links, the old footer, and the old banner. The form is on the webservices.ulm.edu domain, which I can't update. I have made and tested a replacement, and will soon send the file to them and ask them to upload it.

•This is one of those small things no one notices, but needed changed anyway: For a long time, the links in footer have been underlined in all pages except the home page and the database subject pages. This happened when I fixed the template a long time ago to underline links to make them easier to see. I've now set it so that the footer links are not underlined, but the others on the page are. They become underlined when you click them. They are no longer change color when you have visited them.

If anyone thinks these links looked better underlined, I can easily change it back.

I also made it so that the Databases by Name page doesn't have underlined links anymore. I thought it looked too busy with the underlining. If anyone disagrees, do let me know.

•A long time ago I made a test blog thinking that I would make a ULM-themed gov docs blog design for KC. I've kept it around thinking that I'd do something with it, but today I deleted it.

Polices link + more

2009-11-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

Today I...

• added the "Polices" link I was talking about before to footers of all of our pages.

• added a message to the Passman Collection page saying that they are PDFs and added a link to get the Adobe reader

• tried some more things with the developing catalog interface

Another new catalog design

2009-11-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

SirsiDynix is changing the catalog interface again, So I need to change the design a bit again to fit it. LOUIS has given us the ability to host our own CSS files so that they can be properly modified to fit the new appearance.

The "training" version of the site should show the progress:
http://ulm.beta.louislibraries.org/uhtbin/cgisirsi/UtndGLvOGF/ULM/57580005/60/69/X