If you're looking for the Christmas Tree cutting application forms that are usually sent out around this time of year, the forest service has changed the way they're issuing permits. They have eliminated the applications by mail.
Permits will be on sale beginning October 10 at select Big 5 Sporting Goods locations. See this article from the Tonto National Forest webpage for more information. The closest participating Big 5 location is:
1244 South Gilbert Road, Suite 101 , Mesa AZ 85204
(480) 507-0137
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Dogs and children left in cars
From Sue's messages:
If someone leaves their dog in the car:
1. Check to see if the animal is in distress. Using the intercom, ask "could the person driving the black Element come to the reference desk?" When they get there, tell them that someone reported that there was a pet left in the car and we are required to monitor the situation and notify police if the animal is in distress.
2. If the animal is in distress or if it is extremely hot outside, and the patron does not take action within about 10 minutes, call 911 and fill out an incident report.
If someone leaves a CHILD in the car:
1. Determine if the child is in distress. We are obligated to call police if an infant is left in a car, if a child of any age is in distress and unable to get out, or any other dangerous situation. If the child is not in distress, we are not obligated to call, but if we get a patron complaint we should monitor the situation.
2. If the child is in distress, call 911 immediately with the car's description and plate number.
3. Using the intercom call the patron to the desk and tell them that we are obligated to call the police when we get a complaint. We can't stop them if they leave but I'm sure the police will find them.
4. Fill out an incident report.
If someone leaves their dog in the car:
1. Check to see if the animal is in distress. Using the intercom, ask "could the person driving the black Element come to the reference desk?" When they get there, tell them that someone reported that there was a pet left in the car and we are required to monitor the situation and notify police if the animal is in distress.
2. If the animal is in distress or if it is extremely hot outside, and the patron does not take action within about 10 minutes, call 911 and fill out an incident report.
If someone leaves a CHILD in the car:
1. Determine if the child is in distress. We are obligated to call police if an infant is left in a car, if a child of any age is in distress and unable to get out, or any other dangerous situation. If the child is not in distress, we are not obligated to call, but if we get a patron complaint we should monitor the situation.
2. If the child is in distress, call 911 immediately with the car's description and plate number.
3. Using the intercom call the patron to the desk and tell them that we are obligated to call the police when we get a complaint. We can't stop them if they leave but I'm sure the police will find them.
4. Fill out an incident report.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Troubleshooting remote access to databases
From the Downtown Reference blog, some tips for troubleshooting problems patrons have when trying to access the databases remotely:
1) Ask if the patron can get to the database page and click a database. Do they get to the authentication screen? If one database doesn't work, have them check a different one.
2) Check the card number and PIN. (Note: new patrons no longer have to wait for the database to be updated. They will have immediate access.)
3) Ask the patron if they are logging on from work, and if their workplace firewall blocks port 2048. This port is required for remote access to our databases, so they would have to unblock it in their firewall.
4) If nothing else works, or if the patron never gets to the authenication screen, call Downtown and ask them to replicate the problem on their PC Reservation computer. (Deidre posted directions for them on how to do this.) This will help better identify the problem and Jeff can be notified if something needs to be fixed.
1) Ask if the patron can get to the database page and click a database. Do they get to the authentication screen? If one database doesn't work, have them check a different one.
2) Check the card number and PIN. (Note: new patrons no longer have to wait for the database to be updated. They will have immediate access.)
3) Ask the patron if they are logging on from work, and if their workplace firewall blocks port 2048. This port is required for remote access to our databases, so they would have to unblock it in their firewall.
4) If nothing else works, or if the patron never gets to the authenication screen, call Downtown and ask them to replicate the problem on their PC Reservation computer. (Deidre posted directions for them on how to do this.) This will help better identify the problem and Jeff can be notified if something needs to be fixed.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
ILL tips
Here are some reminders about Interlibrary Loan.
What can we request
Only books and articles from newspapers/magazines, and sometimes microfilm.
What we cannot request
Media items, books published within the last 12 months, and textbooks. If a patron requests something that sounds academic, ask whether it's for a class. Most academic libraries won't lend textbooks, and because it can take several weeks for an ILL to come in, it's really not suitable for class use.
How long will it take?
This is difficult to estimate, but it won't be less than a week or two, and it normally takes much longer. Please do not tell people we can get an item in 1-2 weeks. It can take that long just to process the requests on her end and for the lending library to respond. 2-6 weeks is probably a better estimate.
If someone needs an item quickly and it's available at a local public library (make sure to search that library's catalog to make sure it hasn't been withdrawn since the record was uploaded to WorldCat), the patron would be better off going directly there.
ILL Contact
To place a request for microfilm or articles, email Mary Pena. To place a request for a book, use the catalog Suggest a Purchase page and choose "ILL option."
An active ILL request will have received correspondence via email from staff. If they haven't received a direct email, the suggest a purchase may not have been reviewed; contact Marybeth or Charles. If they've been contacted about an active ILL request and still have questions, these calls can be direct to Mary Pena.
What can we request
Only books and articles from newspapers/magazines, and sometimes microfilm.
What we cannot request
Media items, books published within the last 12 months, and textbooks. If a patron requests something that sounds academic, ask whether it's for a class. Most academic libraries won't lend textbooks, and because it can take several weeks for an ILL to come in, it's really not suitable for class use.
How long will it take?
This is difficult to estimate, but it won't be less than a week or two, and it normally takes much longer. Please do not tell people we can get an item in 1-2 weeks. It can take that long just to process the requests on her end and for the lending library to respond. 2-6 weeks is probably a better estimate.
If someone needs an item quickly and it's available at a local public library (make sure to search that library's catalog to make sure it hasn't been withdrawn since the record was uploaded to WorldCat), the patron would be better off going directly there.
ILL Contact
To place a request for microfilm or articles, email Mary Pena. To place a request for a book, use the catalog Suggest a Purchase page and choose "ILL option."
An active ILL request will have received correspondence via email from staff. If they haven't received a direct email, the suggest a purchase may not have been reviewed; contact Marybeth or Charles. If they've been contacted about an active ILL request and still have questions, these calls can be direct to Mary Pena.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Saving files on public computers
How to answer the question: "I saved my document on computer #40. Where is it now?"
Three possibilities:
Three possibilities:
- If someone creates a document on our computer, the default save location (where it goes if they click Save without telling it otherwise) is D:\Files. You can get to it from the desktop with the Public Dropbox icon. Sometimes people create other folders in the Public Dropbox in which to save things.
The Public Dropbox is supposed to be erased every night; however, the program that does this automatically may not be working. We have to periodically erase the Dropbox manually. So a patron might find their document again if they come back the next day, but they can't count on it. - If someone opens an attachment from an email, it is saved in the Temp folder. The Temp folder is on the C: drive, which means we have no access to it. When patrons open email attachments, they should immediately save them to the D: drive (Public's Documents) so that they can access them again.
The only way to access the Temp folder is to log in with an administrator's password. This means calling Jeff or Ron. If it's during business hours, they should be able to access the computer remotely and search for the file. Call Jeff or Ron, tell them which computer it is, and make sure no one's using that computer. - If the patron saved their document to the desktop, and then the computer was restarted, the document was probably erased. Changes to the desktop are supposed to be erased when the computer reboots. If a patron might need their document after a restart, it should be saved to the Public Dropbox instead.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Finding newspaper articles
Some newspapers do not have full text available in our databases. Here's how to access some of the more frequently requested ones.
Chandler Arizonan
This historic paper is being scanned by the Chandler Museum and archived at archive.chandlermuseum.org/Chandler_Arizonan. Additional issues are on microfilm at the Downtown branch.
Arizona Republic
It's indexed online back to 1999, but you have to pay $3.95 per article to get the full text (day passes also available). The patron has a few options:
Not in any of the databases we currently subscribe to, but available to people who come through Google News or Digg:
New York TimesNot in MasterFile, but available through Newspaper Source.
Chandler Arizonan
This historic paper is being scanned by the Chandler Museum and archived at archive.chandlermuseum.org/Chandler_Arizonan. Additional issues are on microfilm at the Downtown branch.
Arizona Republic
It's indexed online back to 1999, but you have to pay $3.95 per article to get the full text (day passes also available). The patron has a few options:
- Search the archives and buy the desired articles themselves.
- Use the online archives to identify the desired articles and find the date(s) they were published. Then go Downtown and view the microfilm. They have the Republic on film back to 1987, and a digital microfilm reader that will print ($.20/page) or save to a disk or flash drive.
- ***Check with Sue on the status of this option.*** If the patron is unable to do either of the above, we can at our discretion use Sue's credit card to purchase articles for them. Do this only for CPL cardholders.
Not in any of the databases we currently subscribe to, but available to people who come through Google News or Digg:
- Identify the desired article (using MasterFile Premier, etc.)
- Go to news.google.com, and enter the headline.
New York TimesNot in MasterFile, but available through Newspaper Source.
Post office locations
I can never remember where these are, and it can take so long to pull up this info on USPS.com, so here are the two closest post offices (when people want a real USPS location, not the counter at the Hallmark in the Fry's Marketplace center):
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