BiblioTech Web

At Butler University, we’re changing how we present Reference Services. For the last couple of years, we’ve had a “Reference Team” and shared responsibilities for the department and services. Professional librarians have staffed the desk from 10am to 10pm. As of this fall, we’ll be staffing the desk with a part-time librarian and a few student employees for the daytime hours, but keeping the librarians on during the evening hours. There will be an “on call” schedule where librarians make themselves available during their time, so if there is a question that the person staffing the desk cannot answer, they have a resource to check with.

This is probably not the final stage, but an experimentation in the works. I’ll try to write more about it as we implement this style of Reference Services, to discuss what’s working or not working.

I don’t know how this slipped by me unnoticed for so long, but I just yesterday read Chad Boeninger’s post on Library Voice about the Meebo plugin for Pidgin (used to be GAIM). It’s the answer to our Reference Desk dilemma! Let me explain.

Last fall we implemented Meebo in a test mode as it were, to get the functionality of widgets on our web pages. One of the strengths of Meebo is their MeeboMe widget, which puts an IM window right on your web page, interfacing with the instant messenger at your own computer (in this case, at our Reference Desk). The drawback of Meebo is that it’s web based (a good thing), requiring you to always have a browser window open and dedicated to Meebo (a bad thing). If you’re on another tab in your browser, the only notification was the other tab’s favicon blinking, which is small and easy to miss.

Enter Pidgin. It’s a new and slightly improved version of GAIM, which is what we used at the Reference Desk before Meebo because it allowed us to connect with multiple IM accounts from one interface. And it’s open source.

With this Meebo plugin for Pidgin, you can just use Pidgin the way you normally would (complete with background running when minimized and popups when new messages come in) and still connect with your MeeboMe widgets. It’s the best of both worlds! I’ve tried it at our Reference Desk and on my personal computers and it works great!

As Chad put it, MeeboMe and Pidgin is like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — two great tastes that taste great together!

Thanks, Chad!

Today I did a presentation at the ILF Annual Conference. It was about using Excel to track Reference statistics (and getting rid of the traditional clipboard). Attendees asked for the code to be made available online so they could copy and paste it rather than retyping all of it and risking mistyping one symbol and having it not work.

So here is the code. Right off my handouts. I welcome any questions you may have.

Reference Macro
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Worksheets("Transactions").Activate
ActiveSheet.Range("a1").End(xlDown).Offset(1, 0).Select
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Date
ActiveCell.Offset(rowoffset:=0, columnoffset:=1).Activate
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Time
ActiveCell.Value = ActiveCell.Value - Int(ActiveCell.Value)
ActiveCell.Offset(rowoffset:=0, columnoffset:=1).Activate
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "1"
Application.CutCopyMode = False
ActiveSheet.Range("a1").Select
Worksheets("Main").Activate
response = MsgBox("Reference Transaction Logged", 64, "Thank you")
ActiveWorkbook.Save
Application.ScreenUpdating = True

General Macro
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Worksheets("Transactions").Activate
ActiveSheet.Range("a1").End(xlDown).Offset(1, 0).Select
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Date
ActiveCell.Offset(rowOffset:=0, columnOffset:=1).Activate
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Time
ActiveCell.Value = ActiveCell.Value - Int(ActiveCell.Value)
ActiveCell.Offset(rowOffset:=0, columnOffset:=1).Activate
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "1"
Application.CutCopyMode = False
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Select
Worksheets("General").Activate
ActiveSheet.Range("a1").End(xlDown).Offset(1, 0).Select
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = Date
ActiveCell.Offset(rowOffset:=0, columnOffset:=1).Activate
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "1"
Application.CutCopyMode = False
ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Select
Worksheets("MAIN").Activate
Response = MsgBox("Email Reference Transaction Logged", 64, "Thank you")
ActiveWorkbook.Save
Application.ScreenUpdating = True

Data Collection Code for 8:00 hour, first column
=SUM(IF(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$3"):INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$"&COUNTA(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$A:$A")))>=0.333, IF(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$3"):INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$"&COUNTA(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$A:$A")))<0.375, IF(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!C$3"):INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!C$"&COUNTA(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$A:$A")))=1,1,0))))

Data Collection Code for 9:00 hour, first column
=SUM(IF(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$3"):INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$"&COUNTA(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$A:$A")))>=0.375, IF(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$3"):INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$"&COUNTA(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$A:$A")))<0.416, IF(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!C$3"):INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!C$"&COUNTA(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$A:$A")))=1,1,0))))

Data Collection Code for 8:00 hour, second column
=SUM(IF(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$3"):INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$"&COUNTA(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$A:$A")))>=0.333, IF(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$3"):INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$B$"&COUNTA(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$A:$A")))<0.375, IF(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!D$3"):INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!D$"&COUNTA(INDIRECT("'"&$H$1&"'!$A:$A")))=1,1,0))))

Averages Code for 8:00 hour, first column
=Totals!B3/IF(OR(LEFT($H$1,2)="01",LEFT($H$1,2)="03",LEFT($H$1,2)="05",LEFT($H$1,2)="07",LEFT($H$1,2)="08",LEFT($H$1,2)="10",LEFT($H$1,2)="12"),31,IF(LEFT($H$1,2)="02",28,30))

Averages Code for 9:00 hour, first column
=Totals!B4/IF(OR(LEFT($H$1,2)="01",LEFT($H$1,2)="03",LEFT($H$1,2)="05",LEFT($H$1,2)="07",LEFT($H$1,2)="08",LEFT($H$1,2)="10",LEFT($H$1,2)="12"),31,IF(LEFT($H$1,2)="02",28,30))

Averages Code for 8:00 hour, second column
=Totals!C3/IF(OR(LEFT($H$1,2)="01",LEFT($H$1,2)="03",LEFT($H$1,2)="05",LEFT($H$1,2)="07",LEFT($H$1,2)="08",LEFT($H$1,2)="10",LEFT($H$1,2)="12"),31,IF(LEFT($H$1,2)="02",28,30))

Formula for Title of Totals Page (cell A1)
="TOTAL REFERENCE TRANSACTIONS for "&TEXT(H1,"mmm yyyy")

Next week is the annual ILF (Indiana Library Federation) Conference. I get to present TWICE at the conference. My Wednesday presentation is called “Losing the Clipboard: A Hands-On Workshop on Using Excel for Tracking Reference Statistics” and my Thursday one is called “Staying in Touch: Using RSS Feeds to Keep your Finger on the Pulse of Libraries and Technology.”

Nice use of subtitles, eh?

Should be a lot of fun, and hopefully useful to people who attend. There are supposed to be over 1,200 librarians attending and there are a good dozen presentations going on at any one time, so I hope there’s a decent turnout.

For what it’s worth, I’m doing a little presentation today at the IOLUG (Indiana Online Users Group) Fall Program called “Reaching Digital Natives and Immigrants: Library 2.0.” They’re having a Science-Fair-style session where different people are “exhibiting” different programs and I get to do LibraryThing! Below is most of what I’ve got in a handout (and will also be in the Proceedings booklets):

What can I do with LibraryThing?

• Catalog your books online
• Find other people who own the same books you do
• Check out what other people have in their libraries
• Get recommendations for new books to read
• Social Networking in all its forms
• Discuss books in online groups
• Display my library in customizable sort views including a Virtual Bookshelf, which displays the covers
• Access my virtual library from my cell phone while standing in a bookshop (point cell phone’s browser to http://www.librarything.com/m)

Why should I use LibraryThing?

• It uses the Z39.50 protocol to standardize information.
• Fully web based
• You can search Amazon, the Library of Congress, and almost 100 other collections to add the exact volume you own.
• Who better to recommend a new book to you than someone who owns a similar collection to yours?

Cool Features

• Zeitgeist
• Groups
• RSS feeds for recent books added by your friends or groups
• Tag clouds, author clouds, widgets

How Libraries can use LibraryThing

• Collection Development
  • “People who own this book also own…”
  • Search or browse tags
  • Find foreign-language books
• Book Reviews
• Zeitgeist - http://www.librarything.com/zeitgeist
• LibraryThing For Libraries - add tag-based browsing, book recommendations, ratings, reviews and more to your OPAC - http://www.librarything.com/forlibraries/
• Widgets to display new or featured books on your library website

Presented at the “Blinded Me with Library Science” Fair by Scott Pfitzinger
My LibraryThing profile: http://www.librarything.com/profile/spfitzinger

LibraryThing has now gone the next step and allowed integration between its now-massive database of information and your library’s OPAC (that’s Online Public Access Catalog for those who haven’t been through Library School–what people nowadays simply call the online catalog or just “catalog”). Imagine your library patrons being able to add tags and recommendations to the entries for your books, and without you needing to struggle to program it all. LibraryThing’s done the work for you, so you just need to add a few lines of HTML code and that’s it!

http://www.librarything.com/forlibraries/ gives you all the information you need, including a handy “Take the Tour” link.