#5 – Sort Gmail messages by size and get rid of data hogs.

#3 – Access Gmail when it’s down.

#2 – Set Gmail as your default email client.

If you use an iPod/iPad/iPhone for your Gmail, you may also be interested in:

#4 – Set up Gmail on iOS like it was meant to be.

What’s your favorite Gmail feature/tip/trick?

1. Recommend to library – allows cardholders to browse the entire OverDrive catalog and suggest the purchase of titles to the library.  Within the recommendation screen, you can choose whether to be emailed if the item is purchased, automatically added to the request list, or both.
2. Buy it now – if a title is unavailable for immediate download, there will be an additional option to purchase the title (for personal use, not for the library) from a list of vendors.  Side note:the library system gets credit toward e-content for every purchase made through the OverDrive catalog.
3. Advertising – There will now be a space for advertisements from publishers, OverDrive, and member libraries.  When the pilot program is concluded, the library system will receive credit towards e-content in exchange for the ad placement.

Hopefully, these changes will be a win-win.  Patrons will be able to have a say in the development of our e-collections, as well as the option to get immediate access to desired content.  Libraries will not only benefit monetarily, but will also be able to build collections that may more accurately reflect the tastes of our patrons.

Let us know what you think of the changes, once the new catalog is up and running.  We look forward to your feedback!

The ePub and audio versions of the books are not affected.  We’ll let you know when this issue is fixed.  Thanks for your patience!

While several options are available in the Send To menu by default, you may want to send items to a location that isn’t listed.  To do that:

• Click the start button.
• In the search box, type %appdata%/Microsoft/Windows/sendto and hit “Enter.”
• In a new (second) window, open the folder that contains the location you would like to include.  (Example:  To add the Pictures folder to the Send To menu, open C:/Users/[your profile name here] folder in a new window.  Please note that opening the “Libraries” folder will not work for creating a shortcut.)
• Right-click the My Pictures folder and select “create shortcut”  This will create a shortcut in the same folder.
• Click and drag the new shortcut to the open Send To folder and release the button to drop it in.
• Once it is in the Send To folder, you can rename the item to remove “Shortcut” from the title.

Next time you right click a file or folder, the new folder option should appear.

If you tried to use our library’s contact form on February 15th or 16th, you may have had some trouble.  Yesterday, I received an email from JotForm, the service we used to create and host our form.  The email stated that the JotForm.com domain had been suspended by GoDaddy, and proceeded to give instructions on how to get the form up and working again easily.  I must say I was very impressed by the speed at which JotForm users were contacted with a solution to this issue.  In fact, no one had even complained about the form on our site being broken yet!  I am thankful we weren’t one of the users who had upwards of 50 forms to fix, though.

Because the email was vague, my curiosity got the better of me, and I did a bit of research.  As it turns out, GoDaddy was responding to a government order, and JotForm was under investigation by the Secret Service.  Despite my initial panic (what had I gotten the library into?!?), I read on to learn that one of JotForm’s millions of users *might* be using JotForm for a phishing scam.  JotForm was eager to work with the government to resolve the issue, but was put off because “a few days” were needed to review the case.  Meanwhile, those millions of users are stuck finding staff/personal time to fix all of those forms.  My question is, why couldn’t the case have been looked at *before* shutting down an entire domain with no warning, inconveniencing all those people and companies?  I can appreciate the interest in protecting the public from a phishing scam, but the reaction seems a bit like clear-cutting a forest to take care of a single diseased tree.  It also feels a bit like SOPA/PIPA to me.  Is anyone else nervous?

For more on the JotForm story, see this c|net article.

The short answer is publisher fear.  Some publishers refuse to deal with libraries for fear their profit margin will shrink.  Others impose a variety of restrictions that make purchasing an e-book far more expensive than purchasing a print copy.  For an example, check out this post from Library Journal that explains why our library no longer judges purchasing titles from HarperCollins to be a wise use of taxpayer money.  Still others, such as Penguin, have issues with Amazon, and libraries get caught in the middle.

For an excellent explanation of this convoluted mess, see this summary by the Times Colonist.  Please understand that we, as librarians, would love to be able to purchase all of the e-books that you, our patrons want to read.  We are doing are best to convince publishers that allowing library patrons to borrow their books may stimulate sales, rather than steal them.  If you would like to add your voice, the publishers in question include HarperCollins, Penguin, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan.  Contact them and let them know what you think about their policies concerning e-books and libraries.

After writing the first draft of this post, I saw an article in Consumer Reports about publishers named above, who are currently under federal investigation for fixing prices on e-books in the US and Europe.  It will be very interesting to see how this plays out…

Updates in OverDrive Media Console 2.4:

• Ability to return audiobooks early. (E-books have always had the capacity to be returned early.)
• Use the dictionary feature to look up words while reading.
• Use Wikipedia search while reading.

If you already have the OverDrive Media Console app installed on your device, it should update automatically next time it is opened.  If it does not, try downloading the new version from the Android Market or directly from the OverDrive site.

Happy reading!

Fight for the Future, one of the driving forces behind yesterday’s internet strike against the SOPA and PIPA bills, reported in an email that the protest succeeded in getting the attention of lawmakers.  Before the protest, only 5 senators spoke out against the bills.  Now, the count is 35!  For more details about how the strike went, see the SOPA Strike website.

The fight is not yet over.  It will take 41 solid “No” votes to permanently stall PIPA (and SOPA) in the senate.  Please continue to contact your legislators (easy email form!) to let them know you value your freedom online.