I'm nearly finished with a brief Banned Books animation, plus did an image map for the top of the page... though we're having some strange problems with TLC (the catalog company) where the persistent URLs I used go to a page that looks exactly like our normal catalog, but does not contain the call number. Some are also referring to our staff PAC, which I also don't understand as I never use the staff PAC. Anyway, here is the version of our library's home page with the Banned Books Week animation (warning: it has sound!):
http://www.lycoming.edu/library/index3.html
Cat update: Kim suggested here on my blog that I try something called "pill pockets" to help my cats get their medicine down. I bought some last night and they work wonderfully. They are absolutely genius, I hope their inventor is a rich person.
Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Citation Tutorial and Cat Update
I met with the head of the Writing Center this morning to discuss the citation tutorial we have been working on since Christmas. I think it's almost entirely done!!! There was one suggestion I haven't followed up with from an English professor, but it should be minor. I just wonder which version he saw, because today we found lots of technical glitches that were making the interactive parts not work properly. I can't believe I didn't check to make sure it ran smoothly before sending it out.
Now I need to brainstorm a way to find out how effective this tutorial is. I have two instructors involved at different levels, and could probably talk another one or two into participating. I would want a survey as well, but effectiveness is a key thing to measure.
Cat update: My girl cat is a week into her antibiotics for her bladder infection. That's cat #2 with a UTI in the past 2 months. While I was getting dressed this morning, I noticed my boy cat was backing up against the wall in a strange posture. I asked him what he was doing (because talking to a cat is always so productive), then he started peeing. I went to pick him up and he continued to pee. I described this to the vet this afternoon, who said it sounds more like a behavioral issue than a UTI symptom, but it doesn't hurt to get another sample. Sigh, it's not over yet!
Now I need to brainstorm a way to find out how effective this tutorial is. I have two instructors involved at different levels, and could probably talk another one or two into participating. I would want a survey as well, but effectiveness is a key thing to measure.
Cat update: My girl cat is a week into her antibiotics for her bladder infection. That's cat #2 with a UTI in the past 2 months. While I was getting dressed this morning, I noticed my boy cat was backing up against the wall in a strange posture. I asked him what he was doing (because talking to a cat is always so productive), then he started peeing. I went to pick him up and he continued to pee. I described this to the vet this afternoon, who said it sounds more like a behavioral issue than a UTI symptom, but it doesn't hurt to get another sample. Sigh, it's not over yet!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
My Discoveries & Cat Update
After many technical glitches, I attended a webinar this afternoon on Aquabrowser's My Discoveries feature. We have had Aquabrowser for two years now, and got it when it was owned by TLC. We have our catalog through TLC and they have excellent customer service, and give us special pricing as one of their few academic customers. We're seriously considering swapping Aquabrowser for Indigo either this Christmas or next summer, and have been involved in its development.
I am particularly interested in the Web 2.0 features in catalogs, more so after a discussion at CiL in April. My Discoveries adds Web 2.0 functionality to Aquabrowser, particularly the ability for patrons to tag, create lists, write reviews, and rate the books. It looks great, though the same thing as Indigo, which has these tools built into the main product. My Discoveries is out of the question right now because of cost, but I want to stay current on options and push for Web 2.0 whenever I can (at least when it's well-implemented). Whether or not our students will use it will be a completely different question.
The update on my sick cats is that now the other one has a bladder infection. Maybe she did the whole time, I didn't take her sample in since she didn't want to give me one. Today will be day three of the antibiotics, I am really hoping they get better soon!
The cats are having a difficult time adjusting to the new house. I finally got the girl cat to walk around the house with me, and she slept with us until the boy cat came in and made lots of noise and I had to kick them both out (you don't want to put a closed door between the cat and the litter box). This morning, the boy cat was exploring the bathroom while I was getting ready. He suddenly decided jumping into the medicine cabinet was a great idea. I guess at the top of his jump he realized there was no where to go, so he was dangling helplessly, holding onto the cabinet door. Sometimes I wonder what goes through his little mind.
I am particularly interested in the Web 2.0 features in catalogs, more so after a discussion at CiL in April. My Discoveries adds Web 2.0 functionality to Aquabrowser, particularly the ability for patrons to tag, create lists, write reviews, and rate the books. It looks great, though the same thing as Indigo, which has these tools built into the main product. My Discoveries is out of the question right now because of cost, but I want to stay current on options and push for Web 2.0 whenever I can (at least when it's well-implemented). Whether or not our students will use it will be a completely different question.
The update on my sick cats is that now the other one has a bladder infection. Maybe she did the whole time, I didn't take her sample in since she didn't want to give me one. Today will be day three of the antibiotics, I am really hoping they get better soon!
The cats are having a difficult time adjusting to the new house. I finally got the girl cat to walk around the house with me, and she slept with us until the boy cat came in and made lots of noise and I had to kick them both out (you don't want to put a closed door between the cat and the litter box). This morning, the boy cat was exploring the bathroom while I was getting ready. He suddenly decided jumping into the medicine cabinet was a great idea. I guess at the top of his jump he realized there was no where to go, so he was dangling helplessly, holding onto the cabinet door. Sometimes I wonder what goes through his little mind.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Book Chaos & Sick Cat
Am I a bad librarian if book chaos in my personal collection only drives me crazy because I think it should? We're in the process of moving, and as soon as I had a book shelf, I shoved whatever books were closest onto it. Knowing my husband and me, that's probably as organized as it will get.
We've been finding things around the house that are soaked in cat pee. We couldn't tell if it was old or new. The current wave of heat and humidity really brings out the odors of the old house (beyond the cat pee). It finally became aparent that he's still sick when my husband found the suitcase he used last week now smells of eau de chat. I tried to get a pee sample last night, but he didn't cooperate. I'll try again tonight with both cats...
We've been finding things around the house that are soaked in cat pee. We couldn't tell if it was old or new. The current wave of heat and humidity really brings out the odors of the old house (beyond the cat pee). It finally became aparent that he's still sick when my husband found the suitcase he used last week now smells of eau de chat. I tried to get a pee sample last night, but he didn't cooperate. I'll try again tonight with both cats...
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Cat Update
I got a urine sample from one of my two cats, the one I didn't suspect, and it came back positive for a urinary tract infection.
You know what they say about people who assume... that's really what I feel like since I yelled at the wrong cat and the "guilty" one wasn't being bad. The poor thing has been climbing in my bag, desperately looking for a place to pee that doesn't cause pain.
You know what they say about people who assume... that's really what I feel like since I yelled at the wrong cat and the "guilty" one wasn't being bad. The poor thing has been climbing in my bag, desperately looking for a place to pee that doesn't cause pain.
Friday, June 13, 2008
The little stinker struck again
Okay, I will get back to library stuff soon. However, today's incident is more related to libraries than the first one.
I went to leave this morning and pulled a few things out of my bag, to find that once again my cat had peed on them. Once again, our house purchasing contract was in the bag. There were four or five copies, but somehow I ended up with the original, so I can't get rid of this copy. I'm hoping the bookstore has some plastic sleaves I can put the pages in. I can tape them at the top, and no one ever has to touch it.
On top of that, the pee got all over my wallet, cell phone, lots of disposible odds and ends in my bag, and most importantly, all over a library book I had checked out at the very end of the day yesterday. I put that in a plastic bag and took it to the head of circulation. I'll leave it up to her what to do with it and what to charge for it.
I went to leave this morning and pulled a few things out of my bag, to find that once again my cat had peed on them. Once again, our house purchasing contract was in the bag. There were four or five copies, but somehow I ended up with the original, so I can't get rid of this copy. I'm hoping the bookstore has some plastic sleaves I can put the pages in. I can tape them at the top, and no one ever has to touch it.
On top of that, the pee got all over my wallet, cell phone, lots of disposible odds and ends in my bag, and most importantly, all over a library book I had checked out at the very end of the day yesterday. I put that in a plastic bag and took it to the head of circulation. I'll leave it up to her what to do with it and what to charge for it.
My mom thinks it is time to get rid of the cat. I don't know what is wrong with her. She clearly climbs down into the bag before peeing, she's not just peeing on top of it. This is not a habit of hers, and she wasn't locked out of the bedroom last night. I don't know what she had to be angry about. I can't get rid of her, I have had her for too long, and then again I am only 85% sure which cat it was... I have learned the pattern now, though. Don't leave any bags on the floor, and lock all important papers in rooms they can't go into.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
What librarians are all about
It's summer and most of the librarian blogger celebrities have slowed their posts down. Probably a lot of them are off for the summer... oh wouldn't that be nice. Not that I can complain, my boss is being great about all of the personal stuff I have to take care of during work time, and trusts me to make up the hours as needed.
Anyway, I hope you don't mind if I stray from being strictly a professional activities blog. I've stretched a bit in the past to include novels I read that are particularly good, and after all, librarians are all about books, food, and cats. So I have a funny story that relates to what librarians are all about.
My fiance and I are in the process of buying a house that was for sale by owner. But we're trying to figure this process out, and the seller is too. He is very accommodating, but his lawyer isn't. My lawyers are my parents, who aren't licensed to practice in PA but can give me some advice. We gave him a contract last week but his lawyer flipped out, and on closer inspection yesterday, I understood why. I made corrections as far as taking on more responsibility of paying the closing costs, re-printed the contract, and my fiance and I signed the heck out of them. I also printed off a third copy where I highlighted who is responsible for what, and annotated it to help the seller understand the gist of the contract that is 16 pages of legalese. This took me a long time and we don't have good computer access at home, so it meant a 20-mile round trip to print it last night...
... then overnight one of my cats peed on the contracts that were neatly stacked in a Morningstar tote bag by the door. I have had my older cat (the one I suspect) for nearly 6 years and she has only done her business outside of the litter box once before. What are the chances? Fortunately, he's a pet owner, and he laughed when I told him what happened and I was able to get him the better-smelling contracts only an hour after we had originally intended.
If this is only the first disaster of a long process, I'm not sure I can handle the rest! Don't worry, no cats have been harmed as a result of this incident, as tempting as it was.
Anyway, I hope you don't mind if I stray from being strictly a professional activities blog. I've stretched a bit in the past to include novels I read that are particularly good, and after all, librarians are all about books, food, and cats. So I have a funny story that relates to what librarians are all about.
My fiance and I are in the process of buying a house that was for sale by owner. But we're trying to figure this process out, and the seller is too. He is very accommodating, but his lawyer isn't. My lawyers are my parents, who aren't licensed to practice in PA but can give me some advice. We gave him a contract last week but his lawyer flipped out, and on closer inspection yesterday, I understood why. I made corrections as far as taking on more responsibility of paying the closing costs, re-printed the contract, and my fiance and I signed the heck out of them. I also printed off a third copy where I highlighted who is responsible for what, and annotated it to help the seller understand the gist of the contract that is 16 pages of legalese. This took me a long time and we don't have good computer access at home, so it meant a 20-mile round trip to print it last night...
... then overnight one of my cats peed on the contracts that were neatly stacked in a Morningstar tote bag by the door. I have had my older cat (the one I suspect) for nearly 6 years and she has only done her business outside of the litter box once before. What are the chances? Fortunately, he's a pet owner, and he laughed when I told him what happened and I was able to get him the better-smelling contracts only an hour after we had originally intended.
If this is only the first disaster of a long process, I'm not sure I can handle the rest! Don't worry, no cats have been harmed as a result of this incident, as tempting as it was.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
