Summer Removal of K-12 School Libraries from Rota Configurations

In preparation for the closing of most Access Pennsylvania Database school library participants during the summer months, HSLC will be removing all K-12 school libraries from VDX ILL system Rota configurations for the period Friday, May 18, 2012 through Monday, September 3, 2012. This process will insure that all ILL requests made during this time will only be sent to libraries that are open for business.

For those school libraries that have already indicated the exact dates for which they will not be included in Rota configurations, those dates will remain in force as you have specified, and will not be overwritten by the global dates. For those libraries that have not indicated the exact dates for which they will be excluded from Rota configurations, the system will automatically set you to be excluded from Rota configurations from May 18, 2012 through September 3, 2012.

If May 18, 2012 through September 3, 2012 does not work for your library, or if your school library will remain open during part of the summer, log into VDX and follow these steps to overwrite those dates and suspend your library from Rota configurations for different dates (you may do this before or after the global change is made):

1. Click the Location button located along the left-hand side of the VDX ILL Request Search screen.
2. On the Location Search screen, click on the Edit Own button at the top of the screen.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the Location screen to the Local Holidays area.
4. Click the New Holiday button.
5. In the Description box enter Summer Vacation.
6. Enter the Start Date and End Date, using the pop-up calendar, or enter the dates manually in the format shown in the example to the right of the pop-up calendar.
7. Use the down-arrow to the right of the Closure Type box to select Suspended - Requesting OK.(This will allow you to place ILL requests anytime.)
8. Make sure to click the Save button or Save & Close button at the bottom of the page.

These instructions, along with illustrations, are available at:

http://www.accesspa.state.pa.us/vdx4.1.3_manual/location.htm#srlr.

Access PA/POWER Library Online Courses Available Via WebJunction PA

Are you new to Access PA/POWER Library? Have you used Ask Here PA and want to learn more about it? Or, do you need continuing ed credits?

Just a reminder that Access PA, POWER Library and Ask Here PA training is now available online through WebJunction with the following courses:

- Access PA Database Online Beginner Training

covers using the Access PA website, searching the Access PA Database, using the VDX ILL system, and keeping your library's holdings updated in the Database [7 Act 48 credit hours].

- POWER Library: AP Images

includes an introduction to the AP Images online interface, navigation and set-up options and searching each of the archives [3 Act 48 Credits].

- Understanding and Promoting Ask Here PA

focuses on understanding how Ask Here PA works and on using, evaluating and promoting this valuable service [3 Act 48 credit hours].

- VDX ILL System Version 4.1.3 Online Course

covers the new features available in this upgraded version, including new Work Queue labels, placement of notes, and new actions. [4 Act 48 credit hours].

Students are able to access the courses from any computer connected to the Internet to work independently any time of day or night. All certified Pennsylvania librarians and library aides are eligible to receive Act 48 continuing education credit hours upon completion of the courses. All who complete a course are able to generate a certificate of completion online.

To access the courses, eligible persons must create a free account on WebJunction, then request affiliation with WebJunction Pennsylvania.

Detailed Instructions for Registering for Courses:

• Visit the WebJunction Pennsylvania (http://pa.webjunction.org).
• Along the right-hand side of the PA WebJunction page, click the Request Course Access link.
• Complete the Request WebJunction Course Access form, indicating Pennsylvania as your State Partner. 
• Course access requests may take 24 hours to process.

Once your WebJunction Course Access has been approved via email, follow the directions to enroll in any of the online courses from the WebJunction Course list, selecting Pennsylvania Courses, then Library Services to take one of the approved Act 48 credit courses listed above. If you experience any problems registering for a course, please email support@webjunction.org.

These instructions may also be found on the Access PA website by clicking the link labeled Access PA/POWER Library Online Training Via WebJunction.

Important Information for your IT Department from EBSCO Publishing

In July 2012, EBSCO will be introducing global virtual servers. The purpose of adding these new EBSCOhost access points is to improve response times for EBSCOhost users. This means that all customers who use firewalls or proxy servers that require URLs to allow end user access will need to update their exception lists and/or configuration files with the details below.

The following IP addresses, URLs and domain MUST be added to your firewall exception list/configuration file to ensure uninterrupted connectivity. These changes will become effective in July 2012, however we urge you to add the IP addresses/URLs as soon as possible.

170.225.96.21

170.225.99.9

129.35.213.31

129.35.248.48

170.225.184.106

170.225.184.107

Domain: global.ebsco-content.com

web.a.ebscohost.com

web.b.ebscohost.com

web.c.ebscohost.com

web.d.ebscohost.com

web.e.ebscohost.com

*.*.ebscohost.com

*.ebsco-content.com

New PowerPoint Presentations Available Online

Two new PowerPoint presentations, "The Power Library Network: A Reintroduction to the Resources," and "The Power Library Network: CyberSmarts," are now available on the POWER Library website. To access them go to the Library Use Only section of the POWER Library website and click on Using POWER, then select Training Resources.

POWER Library Brochure Available Online

The new POWER Library brochure is available for all libraries to download in PDF format and maybe printed for distribution. To locate the brochure, visit the POWER Library website at http://www.powerlibrary.net and scroll down to the link labeled Power Library Resources.

Reminder: POWER Library Support

The Schuylkill Intermediate Unit #29 provides support for POWER Library. If you need assistance accessing POWER Library or any of its databases (except for the Access Pennsylvania Database), please use the Technical Problem Form (http://www.powerlibrary.net/Secure/TechForm/TechForm.asp). This will provide POWER Library support staff with the needed information to resolve your issues as soon as possible.

To access this form, you will need to enter your "Library Use Only" username "(your county)" and the POWER Library website password. If do not know the POWER Library website password, or you experience problems with the form, please call 570-544-9131 ext. 1274.

IMPORTANT Reminder: Responders - Cancel Reply-Yes

Responder requests in the status of Cancel pending indicate that the requesting libraries, for whatever reason, no longer need the items shipped to them. To quickly remove requests in the status of Cancel pending from your responder results list, follow these steps:

1. After logging into VDX, click on the Work Queue button located along the top of the ILL Request Search screen. Click on the number in the Cancel Requested column. The results list will display the requests in the status of Cancel pending.
2. Click the down arrow to the right of the Select an Action box and highlight Cancel reply-yes and click the action button. Click the submit button on the Action: Cancel reply-yes page.

Within seconds, the requests will disappear from your responder results list as there is nothing more that needs to be done with them.

That's it for this week. The News is published on a weekly basis from September through May, with special reports as necessary at other times.

Since variants of your email address may be subscribed to multiple source lists, there is a chance that you may receive more than one copy of this notice. Although we consolidate the source lists in an attempt to eliminate duplication, the process cannot distinguish address variants. We regret this, but ask that you just delete the duplicates. If you miss an Access PA News or wish to read previous issues, you will find them on the Access PA web site at http://www.accesspa.state.pa.us under News & Tips. On the infrequent occasion when Access PA News is not issued, there will be a notice to that effect on the web site in place of the News. If you have received the News from a colleague and wish to subscribe directly, please visit the Access PA web site and click on Subscribe to Access PA News.

-- HSLC  support@hslc.org