Newsletter #15 December 2005

Dec. 1, 2005

RESOURCEMATE® NEWS The Official ResourceMate® Newsletter - Winter 2005, Vol. 15

Welcome to the fifteenth issue of the ResourceMate® newsletter. As always, we strive to keep you and your organization informed about new features and changes as well as offering you tips on using ResourceMate® more effectively.

MESSAGE FROM BRIAN WATSON
President, Jaywil Software

Change, change and more change.

ResourceMate® 3.0 Regular has been shipping since August. 3.0 Plus began shipping on Dec. 9 with bar coded circulation, fines, family circulation, history reports and multimedia storage.

Stay tuned to our web site for future Plus announcements as more features become available. If you haven't let us know what Plus features you need in place before we ship your boxed product, please let us know so we can send your copy as soon as possible. You will be able to download updates from the web as they become available.

We have appreciated your patience in this process. Your support of ResourceMate® is greatly appreciated.

All of the staff at Jaywil Software Development Inc. wish you Seasons Greetings.

- Brian

CONTENTS

WHAT'S NEW?
3.0 Regular and Plus Released
Price Increase as of January 2006
4000 Registered Users

RESOURCEMATE® TIPS & TRICKS
The "New" Button in Full
ISBN Retrieval vs. Import from Internet
Notes and Librarian Comments

LIBRARIAN'S TIPS
Increasing your Library's Patronage

WINDOWS™ TIPS
Windows Key Shortcuts

REMINDERS
Upcoming Training
Video Series
Offsite Backup

IN CLOSING...

WHAT’S NEW?

3.0 Regular and Plus Released!

As of December, both ResourceMate® Regular and ResourceMate® Plus have been released! We'd like to thank those who have purchased the program for their patience in eagerly awaiting our releases.

Our response to 3.0 Regular has been overwhelming, and people are truly enjoying the changes and additions we've developed in 3.0. Features like ISBN Retrieval, the Grid, Step-by-Step Add Item, new Reports, and Advanced Searches have so far been favourites amongst our users new and old.

We have extended the pre-sale pricing on all ResourceMate® Plus products until all its features are up and running, so you'll find that December is a great time to order ResourceMate® 3.0 and you can have it in hand to be ready to start up fresh in the New Year.

Also in 2006, we look forward to the upcoming release of our Multi-User Version and our Modules. Keep on the lookout for more information on these releases.

Price Increase as of January 2006

Beginning January 1, 2006 there will be a price increase in all of our ResourceMate® products. ResourceMate® Regular will be $195 and ResourceMate® Plus will be $395. For a complete list of all our updated prices, go to ResourceMate.com.

This is the first price increase in 10 years and reflects the superior quality and features of our 3.0 products. Even with this slight change, you'll find that ResourceMate® is still an amazing value in library automation software.

4000 Registered Users

4000 small- to medium-sized libraries worldwide have registered ResourceMate® as their choice in library automation software. This is a special accomplishment for us, and it’s been fuelled by the release of the latest version of our popular library automation software – ResourceMate® 3.0. To share in our milestone, the 4000th ResourceMate® user to register, Newberg Christian Church of Newberg, Oregon receives one free year of technical support and updates.

ResourceMate® TIPS & TRICKS

The "New" Button in Full

When you create a new item you may be used to clicking on the "New" button. But you also may have realized that it is basically a two-part button. The left part of the button says "New," but the right part has a small down arrow on it that looks like this:

Have you ever clicked it?

Try it out. If you click the down arrow you'll get a small menu listing other options for creating items. Each of these options is an alternative to the Step-By-Step Add Item. If you like entering items in the tabs (as you might have done in 2.0) simply select "Add a New Item." Experiment with the other options, but you'll find that all of them are great options for entering your items.

ISBN Retrieval vs. Import from Internet

There are two main features in ResourceMate 3.0 that will help you enter book data into your catalog much quicker. The first, ISBN Retrieval, is brand new to 3.0 while Import from Internet is one of our top features from 2.0. With 3.0 out now and ISBN Retrieval available, some customers are wondering why they would ever use Import from Internet again. Both are quite similar, but are slightly different in a few ways. Let's compare:

ISBN Retrieval - To search beyond the 137,000 isbn's on the local tables, you need to have internet access on the computer with ResourceMate® on it - It retrieves one book's cataloging data at a time - You do the whole process within ResourceMate® - Import from the Library of Congress at this time - You only need to type in the ISBN of the book to find its cataloging data - It's available to registered users with active support

Import from Internet - You need to have internet access but not necessarily on the same computer with ResourceMate® on it - It retrieves one book's cataloging data at a time (unless you have Plus) - You need to use both a web browser and ResourceMate® - You can import from any z39.50 format library site - You generally use the ISBN but you could use other information (like title and author) - It is available to any user

Comparing the two features shows that ISBN Retrieval is a much faster way to import a book at a time. This is great for all your popular or current books. For more rare, international, or older books you'll find that Import from Internet's flexibility will help you more. We always recommend using both features anytime you're cataloging for maximum efficiency and accuracy.

LIBRARIAN'S TIPS

Increasing your Library's Patronage

A library's success comes into fruition when patrons are borrowing. But what happens when no one is coming in to your library? How do you get more people to visit and to actually borrow? There are many popular ways to get the word out to let people know that a library is available to them. These ways of promotion are great, but what about the people who already know but aren't interested? What can you do to attract them? Two principles from marketing - understanding your audience and cross-promotion - may be two ways that you can increase your library's patronage.

First off, as a librarian you must realize that your library serves a certain group or area - not just anybody. Whether this is the people who attend your church, the employees at your office, the students at your school, or the residents in your community, these are the people you service. They are, in a way, your audience. Knowing them will assist you tremendously.

Knowing your audience can help you tailor what you have in your library. If you have things that no one is interested in borrowing then you may have patrons visit, but few actually taking anything out. So no matter what else you do, if you have things that no one wants, you won't have any patrons borrowing anything.

Aside from weeding out the bad, knowing your audience will also help you stock your library with the kind of things that people do want. Think of this principle. People can come to a library and borrow things for a preset time and this is generally for free, but people can also go to a video store and borrow things for a shorter preset time and have to pay. So why are video stores so popular when they're clearly the worse deal? Because they have what everyone wants! You have to do the same. Now maybe you can't have the latest and greatest movies, but that's not the only thing people want. So finding out what they do want is crucial to your success. Imagine that you could find all the books and movies and more that your patrons want...then give it to them for free! Your door would never have a chance to close!

Now that you know what your audience is like, you can try a little cross-promotion. Basically, cross-promotion is joining with another group, person or organization to promote each other's service. Does your church have sub-groups with a particular interest that would benefit from using your library? Can a teacher help by promoting use of the library for their class? Are there community groups that are popular that also service the same audience as you? If you can find any of these then you can cross-promote your library. All you need to do is strike a deal where they promote or recommend your library and you promote their service in return. You can do this by word of mouth, flyers, doing a presentation...that part doesn't really matter. The key is that you'll have a captive audience that you know already has a possibility for interest in your library. It's that easy, and it works wonders.

Using both of these tactics really only takes some thought and creativity to make effective. They don't require a lot of extra resources to make happen. They just need a little focus. So try these out and continue to use them over time. As you figure out who uses your library and how to get your message to them, you'll notice that your patronage will definitely increase and your items will flow a little more quickly off your shelves.

Windows™ TIPS

Windows Key Shortcuts

You may have looked at that one key on your keyboard that never seems to have much use. The one right between the Control Key and the Alt Key that looks like this:

That little elusive button is the Windows Key, and you might find that it actually can be quite useful. Here are 12 shortcuts that utilize the Windows Key that you may never have heard of before, but will definitely save you time on many of your most often used procedures.

1. Windows Key + E

+

Opens a new Explorer Window. This is one of the best Windows Key shortcuts. Two easy keystrokes gets you right into your files.

2. Windows Key

This one simply, displays the Start Menu. Quick and effective.

3. Windows Key + D

+

This shortcut minimizes all your active programs and gets you to your desktop.

4. Windows Key + D

+

Press this when your desktop is visible and it opens all your windows and takes you back to where you were.

5. Windows Key + F

+

Displays the Find All Files screen. It's a very quick way to start a search.

6. Windows Key + L

+

Lock your Windows XP computer. If you have passwords, it will log you off the current user.

7. Windows Key + M

+

This shortcut minimizes all open windows.

8. Windows Key + Shift + M

+ +

Restores all previously open windows to how they were before you minimized them.

Note: Shortcuts 7 and 8 work very similar to shortcuts 3 and 4. Use them as freely or as interchangeably as you like.

9. Windows Key + R

+

Displays the Run command. Always useful, because this command can often get a little hidden in the Start Menu.

10. Windows Key + F1

+

Displays the Windows Help menu.

11. Windows Key + Pause/Break

+

Displays the Systems Properties dialog box. This one is really handy when you want a quick way to find information about your hardware.

12. Windows Key + Tab

+

Cycle through the buttons on the Task Bar.

So those are the Windows Key shortcuts. It may take a little while getting familiar with actually using that key. Once you do, however, you'll find that these little shortcuts make using some of the most common features of Windows® more accessible.

REMINDERS

Video Series
With our new version of ResourceMate®, we have also released new training videos. Instead of just one, we now have a series of three videos (available in VHS and DVD) to help you learn about ResourceMate®. Each video can be purchased individually or in packages of any two videos or all three videos. The videos in the 3.0 Training Series are:

• Level 1 Fundamentals - a general view of the basic features of ResourceMate® and how to use it in your library.
• Level 2 Advanced/Plus - shows you how to use more advanced features of ResourceMate® as well as all the features of ResourceMate® Plus.
• Level 3 The Power Grid - demonstrates the incredibly useful and flexible grid that is one of the main features of ResourceMate® 3.0.

Visit our Order Page for more details!

Upcoming Training
Our schedule for 2006 Training courses is now available. If you’re interested in any ResourceMate® 3.0 training at our Guelph facilities keep these dates in mind:

• Friday, January 20– Level 1 ResourceMate® and Windows Basic
• Friday, March 3– Level 2 ResourceMate®
• Friday, April 7– Level 1 ResourceMate® and Windows Basic
• Friday, June 9– Level 2 ResourceMate®
• Friday, September 22– Level 1 ResourceMate® and Windows Basic
• Friday, October 20– Level 2 ResourceMate®

For more information visit our Training Page.

Offsite Backup
We have a *free* service that may give you peace of mind. You may have read how important it is to take your backup offsite. If your organization suffers a fire or break in, your data could be lost forever. With our new Offsite Backup Service, you can send us backups of your ResourceMate® data, via e-mail or on any type of disk, and we will keep that backup safe in case you may need it in the future. This is a free service to all registered users with active support.

IN CLOSING...

We hope this issue of ResourceMate® News has been helpful and enjoyable. Let us know any topics you would like to see in future issues. As always, if you've got a great ResourceMate® tip, send it along! It could help others.

- ResourceMate® Customer Support and Sales & Marketing

TO UNSUBSCRIBE...

This mailing has been sent to all registered users of ResourceMate® and to those who may have contacted Jaywil Software with questions about library automation software. If you wish to be excluded from future mailings, please drop us a line at unsubscribe@resourcemate.com or call toll-free at 800-815-8370.

Jaywil Software Development Inc.
P.O. Box 25005
Guelph, ON, N1G 4T4 Canada

North American Sales 1-800-815-8370 Phone 519-837-8370 Fax 519-837-8656 sales@resourcemate.com

Developer of ResourceMate® - The Solution to Cataloging, Searching and Circulating, your Library or Collection - beginning at $149. Now with over 4,100 registered users across North America and around the world. Ask us about putting your library on the Web using ResourceMate® and about safe-guarding your data with our Off-Site Backup service.

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