Keep tabs on your laptop with tracking software August 6, 2008
Posted by Emily in : Cool tools, Duke researchers, Life in the library, Tips for students , add a commentIt’s so tempting to leave your books and laptop in your favorite study spot while you head to the bathroom or to The Perk for a refill. Unfortunately, it only takes seconds for that precious laptop — along with the months’ worth of work saved to its hard drive — to vanish.
In response to what has become a problem on campuses nation-wide, a group of professors and grad students from the University of Washington, the University of California-San Diego and the University of California-Davis has developed Adeona, a free open-source program that can help users locate lost or stolen laptops.
One particular advantage of Adeona (named for the Roman goddess of safe returns) is that only owners have the ability to track their laptops — users aren’t required to report their information to a third party. In fact, Adeona’s website boasts that it is “the first Open Source system for tracking the location of your lost or stolen laptop that does not rely on a proprietary, central service.”
Take a few minutes to download and install Adeona, and post your thoughts on the new software here.
Items ‘Being Repaired’ in New Catalog July 24, 2008
Posted by Jean in : Catalog Tip, Tips for students , add a commentIn our new catalog, there are books and other items which show as Being Repaired, like this one:
Items that are Being Repaired can be requested. Whether they are at the shop getting a new binding or up in one of the levels waiting to be processed, you can click on the title of the item to see more information.
When you get to the next screen, also called the Full Record, you will see a button in the top right part of the screen that says ‘Get this title’.
Click on this button to get to the Classic Catalog. There will be more information about the location of this item and often a Request link. Click on the Request link and fill in your NetID and password to let us know that we need to try to find this for you.
Some items may not have a Request link. In this case, stop by our Reference or Circulation Desk (or email us at askref@duke.edu) and we will investigate the best method to find it for you.
RSS & the Library Catalog: Why & How July 18, 2008
Posted by Sean in : Catalog Tip, Cool tools, Duke researchers, Research Help, Tips for students , add a comment
Last week, Duke Libraries launched a brand new interface to its catalog. There’s a lot that you can do with the new catalog that you couldn’t do before, so get ready for many new tips and tricks here on Library Hacks.
This post will focus on using RSS (really simple syndication). RSS “feeds” free you from having to constantly check web sites to see if anything new and interesting has been added. Instead, the information is delivered to you as soon as it is available. If you’re not familiar with RSS or would like a refresher, take a few minutes to watch this “RSS in Plain English” video by CommonCraft:
Of course, the library catalog is neither news nor a blog. So, you might ask, what can you do with RSS in the library catalog? You can…
Get alerted when items of interest to you are added to the catalog
Let’s look at some examples of items. I’ll use the first to demonstrate.
(Bookmarked with the “Save Search” feature):
- All of the feature film DVDs in Lilly Library
- All biochemistry books in the Medical Center Library
- All rock music CD’s in the Music Library
- All new additions to the catalog
- All cataloged items about 19th Century North Carolina
Whether you are just browsing by clicking around or you have narrowed a set of results with a combination of search terms and selections from the left-hand “Refine Your Search” menu, you’ll see an RSS icon ( 
) next to the number of results found.
Right-Click (or Option-Click) on the RSS icon to copy the feed URL. Click Copy Shortcut (or its equivalent–see below).
We have to add that feed URL to an RSS reader (also called an aggregator). I use Google Reader, so I’ll demonstrate with that. Feel free to substitute your aggregator of choice, or use your browser’s built-in feed subscription feature.
In Google Reader, click “Add subscription,” paste in the feed URL you copied from the catalog, and click “Add”.
Now that you have subscribed, any time an item is added to the catalog that matches what you were looking for (in this case, feature film DVDs at Lilly Library) the item will appear in your reader, just like new blog posts and news articles, with a link that will take you to the item in the catalog interface.
This is a great way to find out quickly and effortlessly about new additions to the catalog that match your interests.
Other uses of RSS feeds from the Catalog
Beyond delivering notices to your personal reader, you can use a feed from the catalog to generate a linked list of new additions that match a particular interest, and embed that in another web site. You could add a list to a blog, your Facebook profile, a course or departmental web site, or someplace else. The steps to do this will differ depending on which site, widget, or application you’re using, but use the same technique as above to get the feed URL.
RSS at Duke University Libraries
There are many other RSS feeds from Duke Libraries beyond the catalog. Subscribe to get library news, see job postings, or to read posts from Library Hacks or one of our several other blogs:
http://library.duke.edu/rss/index.html
Related resources
- New Library Catalog
— [Help its development by submitting feedback] - Duke Center for Instructional Technology page on RSS Aggregators
- Google Reader
Can I request a book that is already checked-out? May 29, 2008
Posted by Kathi in : Question of the Week, Tips for students , 1 comment so farYes. You can use the catalog “Request” link in order to have a checked out book returned and held for you.
Here’s how it works:
- If the item has been checked out for at least two weeks, it will automatically be recalled for you (each borrower is guaranteed two weeks)
- Once an item has been returned to the pickup library, you will be sent an email notification and it will be held for 10 days
All patrons are eligible to request a hold on materials currently checked out. Only Duke students, faculty and staff and TRLN patrons are eligible for recall privileges.
More details and screen-shots on Recalls and Holds can also be found on our website.
What is the LSC? May 22, 2008
Posted by Kathi in : Catalog Tip, Question of the Week, Tips for students , add a commentThe Library Service Center (LSC) is an off-site storage facility where materials are kept at optimal environment levels to help ensure their longevity. An item located at the LSC can be retrieved when requested, but there are slightly different procedures for Duke patrons and guests:
Duke community:
- Click on the “Request” link in the library catalog
- After entering your Net ID/password, indicate a library location for delivery
- An email will be sent to you when the requested materials arrive at the library
Guests:
- If you don’t have a Net ID/password, please use the Guest Request Form for LSC Materials
Helpful screen shots and detailed instructions can also be found here.
