September 27, 2007

Dear Sassy: Help!?! I just had a patron call and was unable to view a html/pdf article in PubMed but I could open it just fine on my machine in the library. The patron is located in the BRI and is accessing PubMed through our website. They are getting an "application error" or a request to pay $30 for the article. What is going on?
~Low on Cash

Dear Low: Yikes! Sassy has had two cases of this problem today! Sounds like you asked the patron all the right questions: they are physically located on campus, are accessing PubMed through our website which assures them our subscriptions and you are able to access the article so we know that we haven't lost access to the title. What Sassy suggests is to clean out the cookies (no, not drown yourself in chocolate chips) on the computer. Open up an Internet browser, at the top click on Tools > Internet Options > General and then click on Delete Cookies. This will not do any damage to the machine, unless you spill milk on the keyboard.

December 4, 2006

Dear Sassy: During the “Geeks Bearing Gifts” class Michelle talked about making sure our computers were up to date on the anti virus software. How do we check that?
~ Anti Virus in the Cold Weather

Dear Anti Virus: This is a very good question, Sassy is SO glad that you are in tune with keeping your computer safe. First let me explain a little about the functions of the anti virus software. For our purposes there are two important aspects to remember regarding McAfee (our anti virus software.) One is that viruses are always popping up so new definitions are made to block those viruses.

So this makes it very important to Update your McAfee so that it has all the new definitions. And two, after your McAfee is updated, it is also very important to Run the software. Both of these steps go hand in hand, and Sassy can go on and on about their importance… so update and run

Most, if not all, of our machines update and then run on a daily basis. To check to see when your machine is scheduled Click on Start >> Programs >> Network Associates >> VirusScan Console. This will open up a new window where you should see AutoUpdate and Scan. You can change the schedule by double clicking on each feature. Let Sassy know if you run into any problems, I would be glad to assist.


Dear Sassy: I was attempting to perform a search in PubMed, and received the message below. What does this mean?

Bad Gateway!
The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server. If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.
Error 502
~ Hating the Bad Gateway in Caddo

Dear Hating: Wow, it appears by your signature that you have a lot of frustration. Maybe you need to get a cheeseburger from Herby K’s? Never fear, this really isn’t as bad of an error message as it appears. Let me explain what it means. The 502 Bad Gateway error is an HTTP status code that means that one server received an invalid response from another server that it was accessing while attempting to load the web page.

Whew! And now the jargon free explanation is that there was a connection problem between the two servers. The best thing to do is to try to access PubMed again by clicking Refresh. If you are still experiencing problems accessing this page, you may want to contact the webmaster at the address listed on the error page and advise them of the error message you received. Most importantly this error message does NOT mean there is anything wrong with your machine or the internet connection.

October 10, 2006

Dear Sassy: I found an article in PubMed but there isn’t a LSUHSC-S icon on the PubMed screen. The e-journal is listed on our e-journals page and my article falls between the years of coverage. Why isn’t there an icon in PubMed and who should I contact?
~ Icon missing in the Library

Dear Icon: This is a great question but not necessarily an easy one to answer. There can be several reasons that the icon in PubMed is missing. Not all of the journals and/or publishers are listed in LinkOut, which feeds our holdings into PubMed. So therefore if the journal and/or publisher is not listed then our icon will not be present. Make sense?

Plus Ebsco likes to control its own PubMed icons. When our holdings change through Ebsco, they are responsible for updating LinkOut. Also when our holdings change with other publishers there is a delay in getting PubMed updated. Sometimes we are notified by the publisher about these changes but other times we aren’t so lucky..

Now as far as who you are to contact when you come across a record in PubMed that should have our LSUHSC-S icon… that lucky individual is our own Montie’ Dobbins. Applause… Applause… Hmm, Sassy may owe Montie’ chocolate for this announcement. But seriously just send Montie’ an email with the e-journal title, year and if possible the PMID. The more you send her the more informed she will be in tackling the problem.


Dear Sassy: I have noticed the Reach Out and Read donation box by the Circulation desk. I know that we can place books in this box for the ROR but how would I make a monetary donation?
~ Dollars for ROR

Dear Dollars: Thanks for the question, this is a little off topic for Sassy but still very pertinent to the Library. I spoke with resident ROR Queen Kerri Christopher for guidance in answering your question. She suggested filling out the United Way Donation slip that was included with your payroll stub and marking 51. LSUHSC-S Reach Out and Read Program as the recipient of your gift. You can designate a one time or a continuous gift.

July 10, 2006

Dear Sassy: In PubMed, what does the filter “Link to Full Text” mean? When I perform a search and use this limit I get journals that we don’t have a subscription and requests money for viewing the article.
~ Full Text but not free in Shreveport

Dear Full Text: This is an amazing question, this one stumped Sassy (and several other brilliant minds). After a lengthy call to PubMed I have got some answers for you. You performed a search in PubMed and added the limit “Links to Full Text.”

What this limit is referring to is ALL full text, not necessarily full text that we have a subscription for. The “Full Text” phrase that is used here also includes the Publisher since technically they do offer “Full Text” we may just not subscribe to it.

If you are wanting your search results to consist of “Full Text” articles that we (LSUHSC-S) have a subscription to you will need to include this line in your search strategy: AND loprovlsuhsclib [filter].


Dear Sassy: I noticed in the computer lab a workstation that did not have all the links or icons on the desktop like it should, nor could it send jobs to the printer. What was going on?
~ Linkless on Kings hwy

Dear Linkless: Sometimes users log on to the workstations using their username and password. When that happens, they do not have access to the printers and some of the icons. If you come across a machine like this, just log off and log back on as the workstation. The usernames and passwords of each workstation are listed on the login screen.
As always, if you would like a member of the Systems Department to assist you with this or any other problem, please let us know.