This has been going around the ‘net, but thought I’d share it, in case you hadn’t seen it before. It is pretty funny.

ILLiad, Drexel Libraries’ new Interlibrary Loan system, will make it faster and easier for members of the Drexel community to submit and track their loan requests.

With ILLiad:

• You can check the status of your request any time, anywhere without having to contact the ILL Department.
• All journal article requests are available electronically in PDF format. (Articles are housed on our server for 30 days during which time they can be viewed and printed.)
• Journal article forms are pre-populated if accessed thru SFX.
• You can renew your items online.
• You can view your borrowing history.
• You only have to enter your name, address, and other personal information into the system once, upon registration.

Many of you scan electronic bookstores such as Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble and publishers’ web sites for new books and forward book suggestions to your librarian. Now there is a quick way to check whether we own a book you’re considering, without opening our catalog and retyping the book information. A small Java bookmarklet, residing in your browser’s tool bar will automatically search our catalog for the book displayed on your screen, with a single click of the LookUp button.

Go to: http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/stories/2002/12/11/librarylookup.html
Here you will find instructions and videos explaining installation. The instructions on this page will work for the FireFox browser, but not IE. For IE browser, go to: http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2006/03/20.html, where you can watch a video for installation instructions.

The Java bookmarklet is based on the type of catalog system used by a library. Drexel University libraries’ system is Innovative. Just go to the Innovative list, scroll down to USA – Pennsylvania – Philadelphia – Drexel University – W.W. Hagerty Library and follow the installation instructions for your browser. (FYI: the catalog system for the Free Library of Philadelphia is DRA)

TIP: When you click on the Library LookUp button in your browser’s tool bar, it will invoke a popup window. If you have a popup blocker, you will want to adjust or pause it so as to view the search results.

Enjoy! And keep those book suggestions coming!

A paper by Dr. Thomas Yu, How data dependent is a nonlinear subdivision scheme? A case study based on convexity preserving subdivision , was recently published in SIAM JOURNAL ON NUMERICAL ANALYSIS 44 (3): 936-948 2006

An excerpt from the abstract:
The regularity of the limit function of a linear subdivision scheme is essentially irrelevant to the initial data. How data dependent, then, is the regularity of the limit of a nonlinear subdivision scheme?

Congratulations Dr. Yu!

We’ve added some new features to our Library Catalog system that you’ll see when you login to see your library record:

Preferred (Saved) Searches: Save catalog searches; re-run them to see updated lists of library materials that match your search strategy. Mark your Preferred Searches for email alert — at the beginning of every week, you’ll receive any email message alerting you to any new materials that match your strategy.

Persistent login: Login once to “My Library Record”; until you logout, or close your browser window, you won’t be required to login again to request library items, or to view electronic reserves. A real time-saver when you are accessing our site from off-campus.

Try it out: My Library Record, or download step-by-step info about saving searches (pdf).

Just recently launched, the Drexel E-repository and Archives (iDEA) is now available. iDEA (formerly DSpace) is a centralized virtual space to access unique digital resources produced by the Drexel community. Administered by the Drexel Libraries, iDEA is commited to providing permanent open access to the digital works of Drexel University.

Check it out at: http://idea.library.drexel.edu/