JSTOR reported problem with PDF and Mac Preview

This is the message they sent out:

We have recently become aware that certain versions of Mac Preview are incompatible with the newest generation of JSTOR PDFs. For some users, this means that only the cover page is displaying. Other users have reported that the downloaded article appears to be missing the first portion of the article—it begins somewhere after the first 10 pages of the article. The article is in fact intact and complete, but some pages are not displayed properly. We are working to fix this and plan to continue to support the use of Preview with JSTOR PDFs. We apologize for the problems that this is causing for Mac users.

For now, the quickest workaround is to download the latest free copy of Adobe Reader, available on the Adobe web site:

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2_allversions.html

Once Adobe Reader is downloaded, please check to make sure that the default PDF viewer is set to Adobe Reader rather than the original PDF viewer installed on your Mac.

The default viewer for PDF documents in Mac OS X is Preview. To change the file association for PDF files:

Select any PDF file and choose File > Get Info.
Choose the application that you want to open PDF files from the Open With menu.
Click Change All, and then click Continue.
You will also want to make sure that the popup blocker is turned off for the JSTOR site. The new PDF files are set to open in a new window and popup blockers may affect this.

Student jobs in the library

This is the time of the year when we get a lot of requests from students interested in working in the library. If a student asks about a library job when the chief librarian's office is open, direct the student up to see Annette Ruiz, who will answer all their questions and let them know about any openings. If it is an evening or weekend when you get the request, have the student fill out the application form (kept in the file cabinet drawer at the reference desk); then, you should find a way to get that completed form to Annette (via interoffice mail, drop it off yourself, etc.)

Exhibit on Advertising Personalities at SIBL

SIBL is presenting an exhibit on "The Real Men and Women of Madison Avenue and Their Impact on American Culture" that runs through September 26th. It is accompanied by a reading list compiled by John Ganly that includes a chronology of key titles covering decades from 1860 to the present.

Lockers

Students are inquiring about locker rentals. Please direct them to this URL:

https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/Lockers/

Bureau of Labor Statistics Site

The BLS has completely revamped their website. Instead of being immediately confronted with a list of every statistic they collect, everything is now nicely buried under a number of menus and submenus. So if you had a favorite page or link that you've come to rely on, you'll want to surf around the site and see where it went:

http://www.bls.gov/

IDEA to replace EDGAR

The SEC announced last week in a press release and hour long webcast that the EDGAR depository of corporate filings will be replaced by IDEA. The IDEA acronym stands for Interactive Data, Electronic Applications and will be the platform for interactive filings based on XBRL tagging. The SEC did not unveil a new database, they simply announced the new name and logo, so expect more details before the end of the year.

The SEC did say that they expect IDEA to be fully functional in three years at which time EDGAR will become an archive for historical documents. The first filers are expected to be Fortune 500 companies filing their 10-K for the 2008 year.

Thank You

Thanks to all for a successful first day of the semester, especially everyone who pitched in when we were busy. The team work was fantastic. I saw five librarians working the desk at 4 PM. We managed to keep the lines moving and the students satisfied.

Lines for graphing calculators

Given that the line for the 6:30 pm distribution of calculators today started forming 2 hours early, when speaking to students at the reference desk about procedures for getting a calculator, we may want to emphasize the need to get in line early (and bring something to read).

Accounting 9110 syllabus left at ref desk

Someone in Acc 9110 left his/her syllabus at the reference desk. I turned it into security.

Scientific American on Privacy

The September issue of Scientific American is a special issue devoted to privacy in the age of the internet. Interesting reading for students in LIB courses. Articles cover privacy issues related to wiretapping, RFID tags, medical genetics and social networking. Ester Dyson writes about "Reflections on Privacy 2.0" and in an article I found fascinating, Daniel J. Solove discusses "The End of Privacy?" Scientific American is available on the Ebscohost platform in Academic Search, Business Source and the General Science Collection.

SeeThroughNY.net

SeeThroughNY website: Search government payrolls, contracts, expenditures (state legislative expenditure reports and community projects), and other data.

Site is sponsored by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, part of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

SeeThroughNY links to another site, OpenBook New York, to search state contracts. This site has a section for searching state agency spending by quarter. From the Office of the State Comptroller.

New Reference Titles

The Book of the States (REF JK2403 .B6 2008)
The 2008 edition of this standard reference title includes some interesting essays including “No Child Left Behind: Trends and Issues” which lists the number of schools in each state in each sanction phase, and “States Invest Venture Capital to ‘Grow their Own’ New Economy” which lists all investments in venture-backed companies by state.

The Chicago Guide to Writing about Numbers (REF T11 .M485 2004)
Fascinating book on statistical literacy. The “Tools” chapters covers topics such as types of quantitative comparisons, creating effective charts and tables, and choosing effective examples and analogies.

Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources (REF DESK, 2008 ed.)
If you have never used this book, take a look. It’s one of the best places to identify key resources for industries. It also covers business functions related to accounting, marketing, trade and management. It is especially useful for identifying periodicals, statistical sources, and trade associations.

Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior (REF JA74.5 .O93 2007)
Essays written by leading scholars examine political behavior in terms of communication and belief systems, modern culture, participation, values, behavior and public opinion.

Slavery in the United States (REF E441 .S635 2007)
This encyclopedia, published by ABC-Clio, covers the social, political and historical aspects of slavery. It includes many biographical essays. Each article includes a short list “For Further Reading.”

Standard & Poor’s Global Stock Market Factbook (REF HG5993 .E57)
This annual data compendium covers both developed and emerging markets. Ten years of data focus on local market and S&P index performance. Data includes total market cap, trading value and number of listed companies for each stock exchange.

And for accounting students interested in international financial reporting, we have two Wiley handbooks:
International GAAP 2008 (REF HF5626 .I5847)
IFRS 2008 (REF HF 5626 .E678)

Tips for reporting e-resource problems

If an e-resource is not accessible, the fastest way to get help is to contact me directly by email.

I do receive copies of blog postings, but as a rule, only read them in "down times," whereas an email message with a subject heading saying that you can't access "X" becomes my immediate priority and helps me track the problem through its resolution.

To expedite resolving a problem, in your email please include if possible:

- Was the person accessing the resource on campus or off campus?

- Were they coming from our database page, our Full Text Journals page from Serials Solutions, or from somewhere else (especially if they were accessing from off-campus)?

- If accessing from off campus, where they able to get into any other resource that day? Have they been able to access resource remotely in the recent past?

- What was the error message you got? A screen shot would be very helpful if possible.

- It is useful if you can give me the exact steps the person took so I can try to recreate it.

Printing Accounts Activate on First Day of Classes

Student printing accounts will be activated on the first day of classes, Wednesday. On your mark, get set, print.

Although Lab is Closed BCTC Helpdesk is Open

I spoke with someone this afternoon at the helpdesk who said that the Helpdesk is open and that students can get there if they can get somone behind the turnstiles to let them in.

He also said that students can call x1010. He reccomended students press 1 or 2 when calling and confronted with the phone tree.

The lab will reopen on Wednesday, the first day of classes.

Project Muse

Project Muse launched their new interface over the weekend.

About the "Newsweek books" and boxes of books in the closet of Room 135

The storage closet off Room 135 is being used to temporarily store some boxes of books that we have received from the Newsweek library (due to their upcoming move.) I have been going through these boxes and taking out the books that I think would be possible additions to our collection. (Mike and his staff will then work to see what might be duplicates and what to add to the collection.) These books have been placed on the white storage shelves and I have placed a sign to save them. Many of the books to be added are on music, theater, art, New York-related topics, or political science/social issues or biographies or company histories.

The boxes of books not to be added have been marked with the type of books the box contains. Many of the boxes have older yearly statistical compilations, or titles that I know we already have. We are expecting another delivery of books from Newsweek on Tuesday afternoon.

I will see that the boxes of books result in the smallest interference of the use of this closet as possible. If you have any comments/questions, please let me know.

Mergent WebReports is back up.

Accunet/AP images is now AP images

And it's working.

Update on Printing for Incoming Grad Students

I talked this morning with Ginny Goldberg, Director of Graduate Student Life in Zicklin, about the problem of incoming grad students needing to print out their resumes, who are not yet eligible to use the Pharos printing system. She acknowledged that this was a "glitch" on her staff's part which will be addressed for future orientations. There are about 75 incoming fulltime MBA students who are supposed to bring their resumes to a workshop and redraft as necessary. Most of them have already done this; some are still redrafting. We agreed that the staff at the Reference Desk would print out the drafts at the desk for the rest of this week, but that for future orientation workshops like this, Ginny's staff would provide printing.

So for the next three days, please print out the resumes for the fulltime MBA students...it shouldn't be more than a handful of students.

Jerry

PsychInfo not loading

The database PsychInfo isn't loading. There is a psychology assignment due Thursday in which the students were told to use this database. We were able to get the Sage psych database to work and found articles on the topic and the years required for the assignment.

Ebscohost still a problem for remote users

Someone called and reported that remote access to Ebscohost is still a problem.

Patience, Fortitude and Stuart Little

For an interesting article about one of the first children's librarians in America, who also tried to repress the publication of E. B. White's Stuart Little, see Jill Lepore, "Lives and Letters: The Lion and the Mouse, The Battle that Shaped Children's Literature" New Yorker, July 21, 2008, pp. 66--73. Anne Carroll Moore was the children's librarian in an experimental position at Pratt Institute when "libraries were popping up in American cities and towns like crocuses at first melt." Later Moore tried to stop distribution of White's landmark book while working at the New York Public Library.

Question about incoming MBA students needing to print their resumes

How are people handling the requests for incoming MBA students who need to print their resumes for orientation? Because they have not yet started classes their printing accounts are not yet available. Some only need one copy of one page. To direct them to a vendor printer and guest log-in accounts doesn't seem the best way to welcome them to the library to me. I have been letting them print the resume at the reference desk, but I would like to know what others are doing.

No access to AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive

When you try to connect, you get a pop-up that says, "Your userid is expired, please contact system administrator."

Problems with EBSCOhost databases

For the past week, there have been intermittent problems accessing or completing searches in EBSCOhost databases. A few other CUNY schools have reported problems, which suggests that the problem may be with EBSCOhost and not us. As Mike Waldman is away on vacation this week, Saad Abulhab will be investigating the problem.

Catalog functionality limited during software upgrade period

At 5 pm on August 6, CUNY Office of Library Services staff will begin migrating CUNY+ to version 18 of the Aleph software. Between August 6 (5pm) and August 10, the catalog will be limited in the following ways:

• There will be no up-to-date holdings information. This means that after 5 pm on August 6 and through August 10, if someone wants to verify whether or not an item is checked out, they will have to visit the shelves to do so.
• Patrons won't be able to use the "request" feature to have books delivered from other CUNY libraries.
• Patrons won't be able to access the "My Account" system. This means, renewals can't be done online.