LTS DIGEST — April 27, 2011 Lehigh University Library and Technology Services
CONTENTS:
Libraries Student Research Prize Recipients named
Google Apps Update: Meet Picnik for photo editing
Google Docs adds discussion feature
PALCI EZ-BORROW has gotten EZ-ER
Wireless access for Lehigh visitors/guests
Relocation or disposal of Lehigh-owned computing equipment
Customizing the Windows 7 task bar
Final Exam library hours
LIBRARIES STUDENT RESEARCH PRIZE WINNERS NAMED!
LTS and the Friends of the Libraries offer congratulations to the co-recipients of the 2011 Libraries Student Research Prize: Virginia Nyikadzino, a senior in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Emily Rojer, a senior in International Relations. On April 19th, President Alice Gast presented the Prize certificate and checks for $500 to Nyikadzino and Rojer at The Writing to Improve Learning at Lehigh (WILL) Colloquium.
The winning research papers emerged as the most outstanding submissions of a strong pool of over sixty papers and projects. The selection process included librarian analysis of the bibliographies, independent faculty review of the papers, and interviews with both the students and the professors sponsoring the research papers. The Prize will be offered annually, and papers completed in 2011 are eligible for 2012. For more information about the Prize winners, their papers, and the Prize, go to http://www.lehigh.edu/libprize/
MEET PICNIK FOR PHOTO EDITING
Recently Lehigh's Google Apps added a suite of new applications to include the offerings that are available from the consumer/commercial version of Google Apps. One great new app is Picnik, a photo/image editing tool that is available anywhere you can log into Lehigh Google Apps. The easy menu-driven interface will appeal to novices, and the advanced feature set is pretty impressive.
Among the options for photo-editing are:
- Rotate, crop, resize, sharpen
- Save as jpg, png, bmp, gif, tiff, and pdf
- Auto-color adjustment and auto-exposure adjustments (as well as expert/manual fine-tuning)
- Facial touch-up such as blemish fix, teeth whitener, and redeye reduction
- You can upload a local image for editing and save the edited image back to your local drive, OR you can edit images stored on sites such as Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, and Photobucket
- Insert text and clip-art (called "stickers" in Picnik)
- Effects such as black and white, sepia, soften, matte, texture, sketch, pixelate, posterize, etc.
Some caveats:
- Some features are PREMIUM features not available in the free version (all features listed above are free).
- Connect to and edit images stored locally or on sites such as Flickr, the free version of Picnik will only store five photos.
- Any/all data stored on Lehigh Google Apps will be deleted if/when you leave Lehigh -- make sure you save or transfer images and other data prior to your departure!
To access Picnik:
- Go to Lehigh Google Apps http://www.lehigh.edu/google
- Log into any service (Sites, Docs, etc.) with your Lehigh username/password
- Select More from the navigation menu at the top of the screen
- Select Even more
- Select Picnik from the resulting list of software options
If you have questions about Picnik and other Lehigh Google Apps, contact the Help Desk helpdesk@lehigh.edu or 610-758-4357.
GOOGLE DOCS ADDS DISCUSSIONS FEATURE
Google Docs facilitates collaborative writing by allowing many people to edit and contribute to a document's content. Have you ever found yourself editing the same section of a document as one of your collaborators? Now it's easy to communicate with them! The discussions feature is enabled in any document created on or after March 16. Just look for the "Discussions" link in the upper right-hand corner and select "Show Discussions" to see any previous posts from collaborators and add your own posts. Discussions permit you to mark target comments to a particular collaborator, and it's integrated with email. Individual comments can be marked "resolved" as needed. For more information, see http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2011/03/introducing-discussions-in-google-docs.html
PALCI EZ-BORROW HAS GOTTEN EZ-ER
If you have used the PALCI EZ-Borrow Interlibrary Loan System recently, you may have noticed it has a new and improved interface. The new Relais interface replaces the older ‘URSA’ interface. Some key advantages of the new interface include more streamlined (and faster) searching, advanced search features, better and condensed search results, and improved search retrieval time. All the PALCI libraries are searched at once rather than being divided into search groups as they were previously. The search results are more relevant and you now have the option of sorting by relevance, title, or publication date. You will also see item availability upfront, including if it's available at Lehigh. If Lehigh owns the book, you will be given a link to ‘transfer’ to ASA to continue your search there. Additionally, if a book is not available through PALCI EZ-Borrow, you will be given the option to request the title via ILLiad, where the ILLiad form will be auto-filled from the PALCI EZ-Borrow system.
Any questions or comments regarding PALCI EZ-Borrow may be sent to your subject librarian or to the Help Desk helpdesk@lehigh.edu or 610-758-4357.
WIRELESS ACCESS FOR GUESTS
Many departments or staff/faculty bring visitors on campus, such as vendors or colleagues from other universities. LTS now offers an easy way to obtain a temporary (seven-day) guest account for wireless access and use of public site computers. For more information, go to http://www.lehigh.edu/wireless/guest.shtml
RELOCATION OR DISPOSAL OF LEHIGH-OWNED COMPUTER EQUIPMENT
Lehigh-owned computers no longer in use can be: (1) relocated within a college or department; (2) sold or donated either at Lehigh or off-campus; or (3) offered for disposal. Please follow the Computer Disposal Procedures for additional direction.
To comply with Lehigh’s software licensing guidelines, and to ensure that no confidential data is visible or would be able to be restored, the Hard Drive Erasure Utility procedure link from the above web page must be followed for relocation or disposal.
CUSTOMIZING THE WINDOWS 7 TASKBAR
Preview the desktop with Aero Peek: To quickly show the desktop when you have multiple windows open, move your mouse pointer to the Show Desktop button at the right end of the taskbar (to the right of the date and time). The windows you have open will minimize. Click on the Show Desktop button to maximize the windows again. To see the desktop icons on top of applications you have open, add the Desktop toolbar. Right click in a blank area on the taskbar and click on Toolbars and then Desktop. To see your desktop icons, click on the double right-pointing arrows next to the Desktop toolbar which now appears on the right of your taskbar.
To change how programs and buttons appear on the taskbar:
Open Taskbar and Start Menu properties by right-clicking on a blank space on the taskbar. Then click on Properties. In the taskbar tab window, select one of the options from the Taskbar buttons list:
Always combine, hide labels: default setting – each program appears as a single, unlabeled button even when multiple windows for a program are open. A single button represents both a program and open windows.
Combine when taskbar is full: shows each window as an individual, labeled button. Collapses multiple single windows into a single program button when taskbar becomes crowded.
Never combine: shows each window as an individual, labeled button, but buttons never collapse into a single button. Buttons decrease in size and eventually scroll within the taskbar as more and more windows are opened.
FINAL EXAM LIBRARY HOURS
http://library.lehigh.edu/content/library_hours
Free Coffee, Cookies, and Popcorn!
LTS and Dining Services are sponsoring an Exam Study Break
Monday, May 2 through Thursday, May 5 from 9:00 - 11:00 pm in Linderman Cafe and Fairchild-Martindale Lounge (next to the Media Center, lower level).
Fairchild-Martindale:
Starting Monday, May 2 at 8:00 am, Fairchild-Martindale will be open continuously (24 hours) until Wednesday, May 11, when it closes at 10 pm.
Linderman:
Monday, May 2 through Friday, May 6 – 8:00 am – 2:00 am
Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8 – 9:00 am – 2:00 am
Monday, May 9 and Tuesday, May 10 – 8:00 am – 2:00 am
Wednesday, May 11 – 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday, May 12 – 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday, May 13 – 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday, May 14 - CLOSED
Sunday, May 15 – CLOSED
