The Anchorage Daily News ran this editorial about why we need libraries, despite the ease of finding information on the Internet.

Forwarding messages in Eudora

No need to look up e-mail addresses or try to remember nicknames!
Here's an easy way to forward e-mail messages.

Go to your address book and click once on any name.
In the upper right corner, check the Recipient List box.
Go to the File menu and Save.
Open the Inbox and select a message.
Go to the Message menu. Slide down to Forward to. A list of the checked names will appear.
Select the desired name. A new message window will appear with the name in the To: field.

Restarting the Public PCs

A1 – A11 can be restarted from either computer at the Information Desk or from the Dell at the Lab Desk.

Open Internet Explorer.
Under the Favorites menu, click on either Restart A1- A5 or Restart A6 – A11.
Login using the information in the Toolbox binders.
A screen will appear showing a list of links to the computers. Click the link to the computer you wish to restart.
From the Action menu, choose Reboot. Click Apply. The computer will restart.

Spyware refers to programs that are installed on your computer without your knowledge from viruses or by downloading programs from the Internet. Spyware can track your online activities, take control of your browser, push you to deceptive Web sites, make advertisements appear, and cause your computer to misbehave in unexpected ways.

The U.S. government is taking action against spyware. The House recently passed a bill outlawing it, and a similar bill is pending in the Senate. Also, the Federal Trade Commission has filed suit against one company, claiming that it was responsible for spreading spyware.

You can take your own action against spyware. Here are three free tools that will delete it from your computer. After installing, run them once a week.

Ad-Aware

Spybot

SpywareBlaster

For more information about spyware, go to the FTC web site and click on Spyware Tips.

The web links for the Internet Security program can be found here. These include links to free virus scans, antivirus software, firewalls, and spyware blockers. There are also some sites that will scan your computer for vulnerabilities.

Headset Hijinks

I love the mobility that the wireless headset gives me. I was on the phone recently with a librarian at another library who was looking for a video. While he searched, I was able to deal with some problems in the lab. I juggled the phone call and solved three lab problems at the same time! Very cool.

To create a pdf file from a Word document:

After the Word document has been saved, go to the File menu and select Print. In the Print dialog box, go to the Destination menu in the upper right and select File. Choose a location and click Save. The file will be saved with the "ps" or Postscript file extension. Next, drag the file and drop it onto the Acrobat Distiller icon in the Items for Mac window. Distiller will create a pdf file of the document in the same place that the original file was saved.

RedLightGreen.com can help locate books and other research materials. It combines results from many different library systems and shows how changes in bibliographic records can permit universal access. This site was created by the Research Libraries Group and delivers information about more than 130 million books for education and research. It's intended mainly undergraduate students in academic libraries.

The new wireless headsets are now available. If you would like one, please see me.
Below are instructions for using the headset.

Refer to the headset's Quick Start Guide to assemble and adjust the headset pieces. You can either use the over-the-head or over-the-ear assembly.

The wireless phone system has two pieces. The small unit is called the transceiver, or remote unit. The larger unit is the base. They will stay at the Information Desks. There are two at the adult desk and one at the children’s desk.

When you go to the desk, plug the headset cord into the left side of the remote unit.

You can walk anywhere in the library with your headset and stay connected. Just pick up the remote unit and take it with you. Clip it to your belt or ID badge.

To answer a call, press the Talk button on the remote unit or the Talk button on the base unit. The phone handset will lift off the cradle and you can take the call. If you are away from the desk, you can answer a call using the remote unit. To place a call, press the Talk button.

You can still answer the phone with the handset. But if the headset is plugged into the transceiver, you will not hear the dial tone when you pick up the handset.

Use the Mute button when you need to talk to someone in front of you and you don’t want the caller to hear. You can still hear the caller but they can’t hear you.

On top of the base is the Page button. If you want to page your colleague who is away from the desk, press it once. Their remote unit will beep twice.

When you return the remote unit to the base holder it will recharge. Charging is complete when the battery charge light on the base goes off.