More SOLO workshops

If you need a little help navigating SOLO or learning how to get the most out of it, the Bodleian Libraries are continuing to run regular SOLO workshops for readers. Upcoming dates are as follows:

WISER: Finding Stuff – Books etc on SOLO
Thursday 23 September 9.30-10.30 at the Radcliffe Science Library
> Book your place by emailing usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk quoting your name and 23 September 9.30-10.30

WISER: Finding Stuff – Books etc on SOLO
Monday 24 October 9.15 - 10.00 at Oxford University Computing Service.
> Booking will open soon

WISER: Finding Stuff – Books etc on SOLO
Friday 28 October 9.30-10.30 at Oxford University Computing Service
> Booking will open soon

WISER: Finding Stuff – Books etc on SOLO
Monday 14 November 10.00-10.45 at Oxford University Computing Service
> Booking will open soon

Bank holiday closing

The library will be closed on Monday 29th August for the August Bank Holiday.

Follow me to visit libraries and archives in the USA

(Cross-posted to the VHL Resources blog)

In April, I was selected as the 2011 recipient of the CILIP/ESU Travelling Librarian Award, which supports a UK librarian to travel to the United States to visit libraries and archives. The award is designed to promote and develop UK-US library links, and is an excellent opportunity for me both to learn more about historic library collections in the US and to share information on the American collections at Oxford with librarians in the United States.

I'll be flying out to the US one month today, on 17th September, and will be blogging my trip at http://travellinglibrarian2011.blogspot.com. I'll also be tweeting as @jlrawson. You can view my itinerary on the blog at http://travellinglibrarian2011.blogspot.com/p/itinerary.html - I'll be visiting a variety of libraries and archives with significant historical collections, all in the east coast area. Follow me as I travel and gain an insight into the places that I visit!  If you have things you'd like to know, or questions you'd like me to ask while I'm there, feel free to let me know.

SOLO update: what's now working, what's still not quite!

The various bugs and glitches with the new library system and SOLO are gradually getting sorted out.  Here's an update on things that have been fixed and things that are still problematic:

• Hold (stack) request notifications: You should now receive emails when your stack requests arrive at the reading room. This should help with the problem of knowing when to expect things, as SOLO no longer gives you an expected arrival date/time. In general, the standard advice is that requests take 24-48 hours to arrive, but with the notifications you will now know as soon as they do, whether they take longer or (hopefully usually!) shorter than that.
• VHL stack requests: These are still not fully working, but progress has been made and I'm hopeful you will be able to put in requests 'properly' via SOLO soon.  In the meantime, we will continue to fetch things up using the manual request slips.
• VHL stack location - "remote store": All stack books from all libraries, regardless of location, are listed as being "remote store" on SOLO. Please be reassured that if you see "remote store" for a VHL book, it is not remote at all, but is in fact in our stack here on-site. 
• Hold (stack) requests for multivolume works: It is not currently possible to request more than one volume of a multivolume work via SOLO.  We can override this from the staff side, so if you want more than one volume of a work let us know and we will place the request for you.
• e-shelf data: This has now been migrated, however there are reports of a few people who still can't see their old data as the systems failed to match properly.  If this applies to you, then please let a member of library staff know and we will ask for your data to be migrated to you.

Otherwise, things are working ever more smoothly. If you do come across problems using SOLO/placing hold requests etc, please let us know or report them using the feedback link on SOLO itself.  If you're having difficulty finding your way around SOLO in the first place, then take a look at the online guide or ask us for help.

Library opening late Wednesday 10th August

Due to a planned electrical shutdown, the library will open at 9.30am next Wednesday (10th August).

Having trouble with SOLO? Training sessions available 9th & 24th August

If you're finding SOLO difficult to use, and are struggling to find things, then help is at hand! As well as the online guide, the Bodleian Libraries are running training sessions on using SOLO for readers - details as follows:

WISER:  Finding Stuff on SOLO
This hands on workshop will focus on search techniques for finding books, journals and other Library materials in print and online using SOLO. The session will also cover placing requests and reservations using SOLO, book renewals and using the SOLO e-shelf and saved searches.

Dates:   This workshop will run on the following dates (you only need to attend one session). 

• Tuesday 9 August 14.30-15.30  at the Social Science Library
• Wednesday 24 August 10.00-11.00  at the Radcliffe Science Library

More dates will be added over the summer, please check http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/training/solo-workshops for more details.

Who may attend:    All Bodleian Libraries and College readers may attend but please book your place.

Booking:  Booking for these workshops is essential. Please book your place by emailing usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk quoting the date of the workshop that you wish to attend.