Jason and The File Conversion Caper

Every once in a while, I get a patron who, eyes wild, hands shaking, and more than likely has a vein throbbing in their forehead, tells me that he or she is trying to print a document but "it won't open on your computers and I need to have this for the presentation I'm giving in ten minutes and if you don't help me my brain may, in fact, boil and cause a cranial explosion that will probably stain that wonderful Superman hoodie you are wearing".

Or something like that, anyway. So, what's going on here? Why can't the patron print?

Long story short, the pesky little culprit is a file type known as ".docx", which is what the new version of MSWord, Microsoft Word 2007, saves documents as by default. Becker does not yet have Word 2007 on its general use computers, making it impossible to open and print in our library. In a world without Web 2.0, our patrons would be in quite the pickle and we might have to send them to a local copy place. How can Web 2.0 keep a patron's brain meats off my Kryptonian clothing and help us help our patrons? I'm glad you asked...

Enter Zamzar, an online file conversion site and perfect for this kind of emergency. Zamzar enables users to convert files types to other file types on the go right there on its front page and WITHOUT making you sign up if you don't want to.

(Warning: A few pop-ups are going to open if you're not using a pop blocker or Mozilla Firefox. I just sayin'.)
I don't know why they have lizards on their front page, but they're really kinda awesome.

Anyway, Zamzar is very simple to use and guide the patron through.

First, tell Zamzar which file you want to upload and convert. If the patron has his document on a flash or thumb drive, offer to plug it into the computer behind the and have them show you which file they want to print. Hit the "Browse" button, find and choose that file in the window that opens, and then click "Open". You'll see the file location in the little bar underneath Step 1.

Next, you'll choose the type of file you want to convert the document to. This list of types is pretty long when you click on the menu, but the one that you want is "PDF". This will change the file to something easily opened by and printed from our computers.

The third step requires you enter an email address. If you're helping a patron through the steps, ask the patron to enter it now or use your own Wash U email. I've used the service enough times to be confident they won't send you any spam.

Finally, hit the "Convert" button under Step 4. Depending on the amount of traffic come though the site, the file should be sent to the email address provided in a few minutes. The patron can then save the file to his drive or print it directly from there.

Problem solved. Woot.

Zamzar also offers other services, such as file management and storage and downloadable tools for sending file directly from your desktop, for those interested in looking into them. As it is, though, Zamzar is a helpful tool to have in your toolbox should the need arise.

Edit: ZohoWriter (which we'll learn about later in our exploration of the 23 Things), has announced compatability with the .docx file type, as well as some other nifty features. I'm testing it out and will probably add thoughts when we get around to that week in the schedule.

Jason and The Toolbars of Terror

This really doesn't have much to do with Learning 2.0, but seeing as how there are quite a few Circulation people (Go, Circ, Go!) who are participating, I thought I might throw this up for my brothers and sisters of the Sacred Book Cart.

Since the merging of Circ and Reference under the banner "Information Services", I find myself doing a lot of new searches during my desk shift days. Lucky for me, I was used to many of these requests due to my stellar training by Angie and The Night Staff (which is a band name, if I've ever heard one) when I first started here at Becker. As I continue to grow as a Circulation Asssistant, as well as a member of the library staff in general, I am constantly looking for new ways to help my patrons faster and more efficiently with the same amount of accuracy. Here are a few things I've picked up.

I'm a big proponent of the Firefox Web Browser. I'm sure you've fooled with it a little, as it's installed on all the machines now. It may not be the stalwart work horse or the fastest and sleekest out there, but for my needs at the Information Services Desk, it's perfect. For instance, let's look at the Bookmarks Toolbar.

The Bookmarks Toolbar is the little bit of browser real estate just underneath the Location Bar, or the bar you type your web addresses into. You can fill it with anything you'd like for quick access to your favorite sites, or just sites you go to a lot. Here's what mine looks like.

(Just a note. This is what my Firefox looks like when I log in with my network login and password. You may want to clear any changes you make to ANY browser under the General Login with your co-workers, as they'll have to use the machine at some point after you.)

My first five slots are solely for Becker use. First up, we have a link to the BACS login page, the portal to the most used site of my day. Next, the link to the front page of our fair library. This is so that I have quick access to not only general information about Becker, but to the Quick Links Bar.

The next three are specific links to the Journals, the Books and Audiovisuals, and the Databases search pages. Naturally, if I'm instructing a patron on how to use the website, I won't use these. If I'm dealing with a phone call or a patron who just needs some quick information, I have the ability to go directly to the search page I need with no typing or extra clicking. Just one click gets me to the page I need.

Another great feature of Firefox is the customizable Search Bar located at the top right corner of the browser. Mozilla, the company that offers Firefox, offers hundreds of search engine plug-ins for websites ranging from Google and Definr to geek-fu sites like GameFAQs. A handful of websites we use here at Becker can be accessed through the search bar. Let's have a look at mine.

You'll notice right there near the top is PubMed, the search tool I think we all use a fair amount of the time as far as Circ goes. It works exactly like the search bar on the home page of PubMed works, too, which is pretty gee golly fancy, if you ask me. MedLine Plus, the Cochrane Library, UpToDate, even the dreaded Google Scholar (which has helped me out plenty when all else has failed) are also available, should you be so inclined.

The search extensions are easy to install. You can click the links above to get to their specific page, or go to http://mycroft.mozdev.org and search for the plug-in you want to find. Click on the title of the plug-in you want, tell Firefox you really and truly do want to install it, then test it out.

So, there you go. Of course, your mileage is gonna vary on how much you'll want to use this stuff, if you want to use it at all. And if you don't, that's totally cool. There's nothing wrong with doing it the way we've always done it. These are just a few little things you may find useful out there on the front lines of library service.

Jason and The Beauty of Music

So, here we are, new adventurers trudging through the realm of Web 2.0. How's it going for everyone? Are you finding it simple? Frustrating? Are you openly embracing these new web-based technologies, or are you not quite seeing what all the fuss is about?

One of the cool things about Web 2.0 is the way you can customize it into your Internet life. You can blog, sure, but you can also catalog your books, organize and store your photos, and watch a little pirated tv user-created content all online. While work applications must more specific, part of Learning Web 2.0 and the Habits of Lifetime Learning is to play and explore these new technologies. Playing with something that may be outside the scope of, say, library use may help you warm to some of its other benefits.

For example, a Web 2.0 application I like to use just in everyday use is Pandora, a music player that exists right in your browser. It is both awesome and rad at the same time.

Pandora allows you to listen to your own internet radio station with content you pick out, by asking you what you want to hear. All you need is your web browser and some speakers or headphones plugged in to your computer. How about an example?

First, I set up an account with Pandora. Once I've done that (remembering to tell it I don't want the monthly newsletter and assuring it I want the FREE version), Pandora asks me what I'd like to listen to. I'm a huge jazz fan, so I'm going to tell it I wanna listen to John Coltrane.


I hit enter and Blammo! It's playing John Coltrane. Above the artist is my volume slider, a play/pause button, and a skip button. It even names the station to reflect who I'm building the playlist around. Nice.

Next, it's going to play some music that has the same qualities as Coltrane's music. In this case, it's playing some Vincent Herring.

It's good stuff. Maybe I REALLY like it and want to hear similar music, or maybe I never want to hear it again. Pandora lets me decide. I simply point at the box of the song that is playing, and a little thumbs up/thumbs down box pops up.

Giving a song the old "Siskel and Ebert", or just letting the music play without comment, allows me to configure the station to my taste so that I can enjoy more of the music I like and with a minimal amount of the music I don't.

But, hey, I like more than just John Coltrane. And maybe I want to set up a station that's more Classical or Rock oriented. The sidebar on the left hand side of the player lets me add music to the station, rename it, and start other stations with just a click. And there are a lot of other features you can explore with Pandora, if you give it some time and patience.

One thing to remember: You must keep the window or tab you open Pandora in open to keep enjoying the service. If it closes, you'll have to log back in by going back to the web site. Pandora will let you open up a pop-up player to set in the background on your desktop, too, so that you don't have to look at it all the time while trying to get work done.

Pandora's a great little tool for enhancing your internet experience, all courtesy of Web 2.0. If you give it a shot, let me know in the comments. Hopefully, the overview isn't too confusing.

Jason and the Evils of The Technorati

Reasons Technorati makes me want to hit things with cabbage:

1. The site is always slow. ALWAYS. This is because the servers on which it sits are actually just giant wooden abacuses moved about by sloths on Ambien.
2. The interface is confusing at times. Mainly, all the time.
3. Simple search: "playwriting". Received this message 8 times over the course of a day:And that's just gee golly frustrating.
   
4. Just because the blog you've found is popular in Technorati, it doesn't mean its an authority on anything. When it finally did give me a listing for playwriting, the blogs I reviewed were so poorly written I literally thought of opening one of the pepper packets in my desk drawer and pouring the pepper into my very own eyes in hopes that A) the seering pain would make me forget what I had just seen, and B) I might go blind and, thus, never have such things pass mine eyes again.

Now, let me just say that your mileage may vary. Technorati may open up for you like a freshly bloomed flower from which you might collect the pollen of wonderful knowledge. And that would be awesome. Totally. And if you happen to get all connected with it, you can even link to this here blog with the button in the sidebar.

My experience, however, can be summed up in the tags.

Jason and the Quest For Learning 2.0

Alrighty. First post. What is it the kids say nowadays? "Woot"? Indeed.

On to the exercise from Thing #3, in which I will cheat by Copy and Pasting my entry in the comments section of Thing #1:

I personally view the list as a kind of hill with Habit #4, the most difficult one for me (especially when swamped with deadlines and projects), as the top. Once I’m past that point, it’s pretty much smooth sailing from there. Habits #5-#7 1/2 are the most fun for me.

I'll be honest, I'm a little flummoxed by everyone's issue about Habit #7 1/2. Is playing really that hard when it comes to Lifelong Learning? If we can't find some kind of fun in what we are learning about, or playful applications for that learning, what's the point?

I dunno. Maybe I'm reading into the comments wrong. It's Friday after all and time for me to go home, so I'm a little distracted. Have a good weekend, everyone.

Woot!