solution for MS-Vista non-compatibility

Recently some students who have just purchased new computers have discovered they can't open documents created with MS Office 2007 on any computers on campus--MS Office 2007 is not automatically backwards compatible. I called ITD about this problem and discovered there is a relatively simple solution. The student should open the document on their new computer and click Save As to save it in older Word format (Word likely being the program we'll encounter most frequently with which this occurs). I didn't see how the student got to Save As (it's not as simple as clicking on the File menu, since there is no File menu) but when she got to the Save As dialog box, she got a very obvious option to choose something like "MS Word 1999-2003." After saving this way, students should then be able to open the document on LC and other Unity lab computers.

Michele

P.S. ITD said they hoped to be rolling out Office 2007 by fall.

Business Info Network - guides

FYI, I have added some new guides to the Business subject/help guides collection at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/business/resources/guides/ . There's one on business plans, and one that lists common statistical sources I'm asked for frequently. I also continue to add to the Business FAQ at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/business/resources/guides/FAQ.html as questions arise.

Please let me know what you think of the business guides as a whole - if there are other business topics you'd like to see addressed, in the form of an FAQ or otherwise, just let me know. I'm interested in getting feedback on how these guides are working in general - are they helpful? Are they useful when answering questions at the desk? Are you able to get patrons the info they need with the assistance of these guides, or are there things you'd like to see improved/added? Let me know!

Thanks, Katherine

Amazing Newspaper Database

Carol just pointed out this database to me: Library Press Display. It's amazing! It allows for full page, full color newspaper browsing of major foreign and U.S. newspapers. It even has the comics!

However, there are a few caveats: it only has the most recent 60 days and it doesn't have the N&O. But on the plus side, some newspaper articles even have an audio component!

Happy browsing!

Print Quota price in LC

Print Quota is ten cents (.10) (10¢) in the Learning Commons, not six cents like students and people like myself think. 

Something else to consider when students claim to have
enough PQ but can't their document(s) to print.

Quick Search does it all

Anyone noticed that Quick Search is now the greatest thing since sliced bread? It searches the catalog. I repeat, it searches the catalog! Try it. Or just see http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/search/?q=cloud+atlas

Endeca was a great step. Now you don't even have to go to the catalog to search the catalog. And mobile access is on the way. After that, I want sharks with frickin' laser beams!

Josh B

Color copier

Speaking of color options, is everyone aware that there is now a color copier in the Photocopy Services room? Or am I just slow at noticing these things?

Color Printer?

I just sent a patron to find a"color printer" print job. Does anyone have any idea where this printer is? I'm guessing that it's either going to be in the DML or the original Unity Lab but I'd like to know for sure.

Thanks,
Amy

Phase diagrams

We've had several questions on from students looking for phase diagrams lately. The short answer is, they aren't easy to find, because there are numerous places to look. Unlike a lot of searches, there's no "one place" to go. I'm going to get an FAQ and a guide up as a result.

If you're curious just what the heck these things are, have a look at these guides:
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/phaseeqia/phasediags.html (fairly understandable to a general audience, but not a citeable page)
http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/CH_434%5Cphase_diagrams (a bit more sciency)

Here's a quick and very incomplete guide to finding them:

For elements:
Phase Diagrams of the Elements, in reference QD503 .Y68 1991

For pure substances (not elements, not mixtures of multiple substances or alloys; e.g., water, carbon dioxide), try these databases:
-NIST Webbook (search for the substance, check Phase change)
-DIPPR (change search to "this title only", search for the substance)
-Knovel (search "phase diagram" and substance name)
-If inorganic: Thermochemical Properties of Inorganic Substances (QD511.8 T47 1991) in reference

or even search the catalog for the substance and thermodynamics. Note that you'll often find only data from which the diagram can be constructed, not the diagram itself.

For binary/ternary alloys, Knovel or the reference books devoted to this in QC/QD, and the Ts.

There are a lot of other places to look. There are several indices and resources in reference, and you may need to do a literature search in Web of Science or SciFinder. Or pass the search along to me.

Catalog phenomenon

Perhaps you're already aware of this, but I just learned the cause of an occasional weird catalog behavior.

Someone reported that when they found a book in Endeca, its status was shown as Available. Then, clicking on the title (thereby going into Web2), it was shown as checked out. I wasn't entirely sure what to tell him, but Emily and Charley confirmed that this happens because the Endeca information is merely a snapshot of the day's data, and is updated only once per day. So, Web2 data is the more trustworthy source of status information.

Subscribe to comments of this blog

I just figured out how to subscribe to the comments (as opposed to the posts) of this blog. I gave my RSS reader (Bloglines) this URL:
http://referencematters.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default

Subscribing to the posts is much more obvious --
http://referencematters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Am I telling anyone anything they didn't already know?

Josh B