TGIF Tips – 10/31/08, Issue 5

 

 ”The Director’s Chair” is our annual video contest where Florida high school students can submit a 30-second video promoting Ask a Librarian for a chance to win some great prizes, and we are excited to announce that we just received our first entry!  You can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/group/thedirectorschair.  Are your teen/YA groups working on entries?  Don’t forget to promote The Director’s Chair on your web site and programming.   Banners and icons for your web site and MySpace pages as well as a downloadable pdf of our flyer are available for promoting this great opportunity.  For more information on The Director’s Chair, visit www.askalibrarian.org/thedirectorschair. 

 

The Agent Room

Because the “Agent Room” appears in the same space as patron chats, some staff mistakenly use the Agent Room for communicating with patrons.  The “Agent Room” is actually a cool new group chat feature that enables you to quickly post comments, questions, or alerts to your Ask a Librarian coworkers.  Your posts to the Agent Room will be visible to all staff that are currently logged into the Agent Console.

Please take advantage of this exciting feature that allows you to communicate with others staffing the Ask a Librarian desks.  Messages need not be strictly business – use it to say “hi” to your fellow coworkers, and as a forum for tips & experiences in the new software.

To send a regular (non-urgent) post:

1. Click on the “Agent Room” tab.
2. Type your message in the text entry box at the bottom of the Agent Room.
3. Click the “Send” button or press enter.

To send an important post (something all staff should pay attention to):
1. Click on the “Agent Room” tab.
2. Type your message in the text entry box at the bottom of the Agent Room.
3. Check the “Alert” check box located above the “Send” button.
4. Click the “Send” button or press enter.

 When a new message is posted in the Agent Room, it will appear in black letters, and the text on the Agent Room tab will change to blue. When a new ”alert” message is posted, it will appear in red letters, and the text on the Agent Room tab will turn red.  This means that if you’re unable to follow the general discussion, you’ll still be alerted to more urgent posts. 

Remember, you can still send private messages to other staff – either double-click the desired name from the agent list or click once to highlight and click on the “Private Instant Message” icon below the list of agents. 

 

Important Java Update Information

(If you did not download Java JRE 1.6 update 10, please disregard these instructions.)
On October 16, 2008, Sun released Java JRE 1.6 update 10.  At this time, the InstantService Agent Console does not fully support Java JRE 1.6 update 10.   If you have made this upgrade, you will not be able to pick up customers (they will disappear when you click on them).

InstantService is recommending you uninstall Java JRE 1.6 update 10 and reinstall the recommended Java version (J2SE 1.6 update 2).   Check your version here: http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp  (do not upgrade if prompted).

If you have installed the Java JRE 1.6 update 10, we recommend the following:

*       Uninstall update 10.

        1.  On your computer desktop, go to Start -Control Panel – Add/Remove Programs.
        2.  Locate and select Java^TM 6 Update 10.
        3.  Click “Remove.”

*       Revert to a previous version (update 2).

*       Disable the Java Update.

        1.  Go to the Java Control Panel.
        2.  On the Update tab, clear the “Check for Updates Automatically” check box.
        3.  Click “Apply.”

[Remember, this is only for those of you who upgraded to Java JRE 1.6 update 10.  If you're able to pick up patrons in your agent console, you are just fine as you are.]

Monitored Practice Sessions

Join your colleagues across the state in next week’s monitored practice sessions for the new Ask a Librarian software:  

• Wed., Nov. 5, 2-4 pm
• Thurs., Nov. 6, 9-11 am

No registration needed, and you can enter & leave anytime.  To join as a librarian, please log in to the toolbox at http://info.askalibrarian.org/toolbox/login.asp, log in with your personal info, check the local desk option only (not academic or collaborative) & select “Training Room” from the local desk’s pull-down menu options.  Feel free to pick up any patrons that come into the training room.  To join as a pretend patron, please log in to the toolbox (link above), click on the “Practice/Training” link on the left, and click “Practice as a Patron”.  (You will not be asked for a patron name or question.)  I will be right there with you in case you have any questions, need a practice partner, or would like assistance.