Research Blog : technology, fyi

Services available to laptop users at EVPL libraries

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:31:00 GMT

Do you have a laptop? Bring it in on your next visit to the EVPL to take advantage of the following services!

Wireless Internet Access

Wireless internet access (aka Wi-Fi) is available for free at all locations. If your laptop has a wireless network card (odds are that it does), you'll simply need to enable it and connect to the "evpl-public" network.

Wireless internet access is compatible with Windows & Mac laptops, and most portable devices containing a Wi-Fi radio (such as cellphones, PDAs, etc). Check out our Wireless Internet Access page for step-by-step instructions on connecting with your specific operating system.

Wired Internet Access

If your laptop doesn't have wireless capabilities, wired internet access is also available at all locations. Bring an ethernet cable with you and ask a staff member for assistance. Wired internet access is compatible with Windows & Mac laptops.

Laptop Printing

A service we just recently added, laptop users can now print to library printers while at any EVPL location! By running a small print client from our website, library printers at the user's current location will appear on their laptop just like locally-connected printers would. Upon printing from the laptop, the print job can be paid for & retrieved from any Print Release Station at the user's current location.

Laptop printing is compatible with Windows laptops; Mac compatibility is not available. Check out our Laptop Printing page for step-by-step instructions on using the Mobile Print Client on your laptop. As the Mobile Print Client is only available on personal laptops used within the library, the "Launch Mobile Print Client" button is purposely disabled on all other computers.

With the increasing popularity of laptops, netbooks, and other connected portable devices, we're pleased to offer these connectivity options to our users. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please post them in the comments section below!

Library Elf now a paid-subscription service; here's our free alternative!

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:07:00 GMT

Library Elf, a free service that library patrons all around the world could use to keep tabs on their & their family's due dates, is no longer free. Check out their announcement here, which details the reasons for the change.

Since Library Elf began, we've been adding features to our own "My Account" section, many of which duplicate Elf's features. This means two things:

The EVPL is not currently planning on subscribing to Library Elf.
You don't need to either!

As long as we have your email address on your library account, you'll receive these email notifications free of charge! Follow these steps to make sure we have your correct email address on file:

Hit up the My Account page and log into your account using your name & library card number.
Click on the "Modify Personal Info" button.
Make sure the "I would like to receive my notices from the library by" option is set to "Email", and ensure we have your correct email address.
Click the "Submit" link.

Once this is completed, you'll begin receiving the following notifications via email:

Hold Pickup Notice: When an item you've had on hold is available at the requested library, you'll receive this notice within 24 hours.
Due Date Reminder: These emails get sent out 2 days before an item is due. A nice reminder to avoid those late fines!
First Overdue Notice: Sent out when an item is 4 days (for feature DVDs & Bestseller Express titles) or 7 days (all other materials) overdue.

Patrons are still free to subscribe to Library Elf's Premium service; however, the need to do so has greatly diminished. Those with Library Elf accounts who will be relying on our own email notifications from now on have been asked to close their Elf accounts; instructions on doing so can be found at http://www.libraryelf.com/FAQ.aspx#closeAcct.

If you have any questions or comments about our email notifications, please post them in the comments section below. Questions, comments, or feedback about Library Elf should be submitted to them. Library Elf is and has always been a third-party company with no affiliation to the EVPL, offering their notification services to patrons at libraries all over the world.

OverDrive @ EVPL now Mac compatible!

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:31:00 GMT

OverDrive @ EVPL is a collection of downloadable materials (including audiobooks, eBooks, movies, & music) available free of charge to all EVPL cardholders. Since launch, patrons with Windows PCs have been downloading countless items from this digital collection...unforunately, Mac users were out of luck.

That is no more, as a Mac version of the OverDrive Media Console (the software required to download items) has just been released! Mac users can now download MP3 audiobooks and transfer them to iPods.

Unfortunately, there are a couple caveats for Mac users:

OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks are the ONLY compatible format available for Mac users. OverDrive WMA Audiobooks, OverDrive Music, & OverDrive Video all use Microsoft-based DRM and therefore are not compatible with Macs. Unless Apple were to license this DRM, which is very unlikely, these formats will never be playable on Macs.
OverDrive Media Console (aka OMC) for Macs can only transfer content to Apple iPods. Transferring to a MP3 player/portable device other than an iPod requires the Windows version of OMC, which only runs on Windows-based PCs.
OMC is unable to transfer content to the iPod Shuffle. Owners of these devices can transfer content to their device using iTunes.
Windows users with iPods will continue to use the Windows version of OMC to transfer content to their device. The Windows version of OMC is also compatible with a wide variety of additional devices, including the Microsoft Zune, Creative Zen series, and more.

Visit OverDrive @ EVPL, browse our collection, install the required software, and download to your heart's content! If you have any questions about the recently-added Mac compatibility, or if you have any questions/comments about OverDrive in general, please post them in the comments section below or contact us via Ask EVPL.

More Information

OverDrive @ EVPL: Visit our OverDrive site to start downloading our digital materials!
What is OverDrive?: Check out this guided tour of OverDrive to discover what it is and how to use it.
Compatible Portable Devices: A list of compatible portable media players that can be transferred to using the Windows version of OMC.

New computers at EVPL libraries

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:29:00 GMT

Public-use computers at all EVPL libraries are being replaced with new Dell Optiplex 755 computers. With Windows XP, Core 2 Duo processors, and 2GB of RAM, these computers are much speedier than our old ones! These computers also include DVD burners (that burn CDs as well) and memory card readers (for use with memory cards from digital cameras).

Due to the unreliable nature of floppy disks (mysteriously losing files or getting jammed in disk drives), these new computers do NOT have floppy disk drives. We recommend patrons upgrade to one of the following storage methods to work on files at EVPL libraries:

Flash Drives (recommended): These plug into a USB port and are accessed just like a floppy disk. However, they are much more reliable and spacious than floppy disks. Flash drives with 1GB of storage can be purchased for $10 at all EVPL libraries.
Memory Cards: Memory cards, like those used in digital cameras, can be inserted into the memory card reader and used as a disk.
CD-R/DVD-R: Files can be burned to writeable CD-R or DVD-R. However, working with files on a CD-R/DVD-R is much more cumbersome than with a flash drive/memory card; CD-R/DVD-R is not recommended for files you'll be updating regularly. CD-Rs with 700MB of storage can be purchased for $1 at all EVPL libraries.

These new computers are already available at East, McCollough, Red Bank, Stringtown, & West. They'll be installed at Central, North Park, & Oaklyn by the end of the month.

Finally, we're having a Computer Sale this Friday at 9:00am. We'll be selling off some of our old computers. Stop by if you're looking for a good deal!

Recent changes to our website

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:32:00 GMT

Ever since launching our new website on May 1, we've been implementing minor tweaks based on feedback from patrons and staff. One suggestion I've received regularly was to make our digital materials easier to locate.

As of this morning, our "Virtual Library" section has been replaced with a redesigned "Downloads" section. Click the "Downloads" tab above to check out this new section, featuring the following content:

OverDrive @ EVPL: While we've offered downloadable WMA audiobooks & eBooks for some time, our new OverDrive section also features downloadable MP3 audiobooks, video (including movies & TV shows), and music! All it takes is a library card and installation of some free software. OverDrive @ EVPL replaces the EVPL Digital Catalog and MyLibraryDV services previously on our site.
EVPL Toolbar: Installing this toolbar on your home computer gives you one-click access to important areas of our website, as well as searching our online catalog! An optional scrolling ticker also keeps you up-to-date on library happenings.
eNewsletters: We have 25 different newsletters, on a wide variety of topics, that you can subscribe to via email. Receive lists of recommended titles, with links to our online catalog, in your inbox!

We're committed to making our website have the best browsing experience possible. If you have questions or comments about our new "Downloads" section, or have suggestions for improving other areas of our site, we'd love to hear them! Please submit them in the comments section below, or submit them via Ask EVPL.