Do you ever wonder if there are tips and tricks you just don’t know about when it comes to INFOhio’s Library Services Platform? Ever feel like there might be an easier way to do something, but you aren't sure how to do it? Learn more as INFOhio’s Technical Team shares their top tips and tricks for navigating the tasks librarians and library paraprofessionals tackle each school day. The INFOhio Technical Team is sure to share a helpful tip you haven't heard before.

INFOhio's Technical Team includes nine support specialists from across Ohio with a variety of backgrounds in technology, education, and libraries. Technical team specialists focus on working with school library staff using INFOhio's Library Services Platform throughout Ohio. INFOhio’s Library Services Platform offers users a variety of products and services -- from the online catalogs, Fetch and ISearch, to library automation software, Workflows, BLUEcloud, MobileStaff, SymphonyWeb, and *coming soon* Data Control, a cloud-based reporting tool. Discover something new, or be reminded of the INFOhio Technical Team's favorite tips and tricks to help save time and effort as you foster a love of reading and learning in students.

Personalizing WorkFlows

Jim Martin, a Professional Technical Support Specialist with INFOhio, enjoys sharing ideas about how the library software can support library staff in everyday tasks. He has been helping to support librarians and teachers throughout Ohio for almost 18 years, or 6,528 days! Jim’s tip gives some customization options for the library software to help meet library staff needs.

WorkFlows library software is used frequently throughout the school day, and it only takes a few minutes to customize it. A few personalization options to take advantage of in WorkFlows are to:

• Allow Multiple Tabs
• Change Background Colors
• Adjust Font Size

Allow Multiple Tabs

Setting WorkFlows up to allow multiple tabs and to change the color are accessed from the same screen. At the top of the screen, click on Preference, hover over Desktop, and click Desktop Setup.

Scroll down if needed or resize the pop-up window to locate the setting for Multiple windows mode. Click the corresponding box to be able to have more than one wizard/tool open at the same time. Click in the next box, Tabbed windows, to have the separate wizards/tools display as tabs across the top of the screen like in a web browser. WorkFlows will need to be restarted before this option is enabled.  

Change Background Colors

To change the colors of WorkFlows, locate the drop-down menu for Themes. There are twelve colors for you to choose from; find one to match your personality or mood for the day. Please do not use the theme of Classic as that will put the tools across the top of the screen without words. Click the OK button to apply your selections. If setting up the options for Tabbed windows and color customization at the same time, both settings will be applied after restarting WorkFlows. If the only change is the theme/color, it will update immediately. 

Adjust Font Size 

Do the words for the tools and wizards in WorkFlows need to be bigger? Is there a font that has more style? WorkFlows does not automatically adjust the font to match your monitor but it can be customized. In WorkFlows, at the top of the screen, click on Preference, hover over Desktop, and click on Font Settings.

There are two entries on the next screen. The setting for Menu text will alter the font and size for the toolbar and wizard names. The entry for Window text will alter the font and size of the text in the middle of the screen. Click the gadget and select the Font, Font style, and Size for each setting. When you click the OK button, the screen will update immediately to the new setting(s). 

Check Out By Homeroom

INFOhio Technical Team member Kim Connett loves providing a sense of relief to library staff when able to answer questions or solve concerns. As a Technical Support Specialist with six years of experience working in school libraries helping to support school librarians, teachers, and students, Kim knows a few tips and tricks to help streamline daily workflow. Learn more about how checkout can go more quickly and smoothly by making a small adjustment to circulation.

If printing out Students’ User IDs by Teacher to help with checkouts, there is an easier way! Use your Check Out Properties to check out by Homeroom; no printing is necessary. Watch the Checkout By Homeroom video tutorial to show you how.

Please note that “Homeroom” could be the Teacher's Name or Room Number depending on how your records are loaded into WorkFlows,

 Delve into Data Control

Charles Schmiesing, the INFOhio Technical Services Manager, has been supporting librarians, library paraprofessionals, and teachers throughout Ohio since July 1, 1999. Charles' favorite part of working at INFOhio is learning something new all of the time, whether it be how schools manage their libraries and collections, why they have certain circulation policies in place, or how technical items such as the new operating environment and database system can support everyday work. Charles’ tip delves into Data Control, INFOhio’s newest library services platform product. 

Data Control allows users to create their own reports or start with a template that can be customized to meet specific needs. Examples of customizations users can make include the filters (selections), the fields included in the results, the order of the fields, and even the sorted order of the results.

When users have the output desired, they can directly print the results if it includes less than 100 records. They can also export the results in Excel or even MARC format. When exporting the results, users will have the option to export all records or just individually selected records. There are other features available in this flexible tool as well.

Data Control is new, so documentation and training are still being developed. Watch for further information from your ITC’s Library Support Staff and from INFOhio as the documentation is developed and posted in the Library Services Handbook.

 Accessing Content Through the INFOhio Website

For almost 19 years, Mike Ridinger, a Senior Web Developer with INFOhio, has been dedicated to supporting librarians, library paraprofessionals, and teachers throughout Ohio. What makes Mike’s experience at INFOhio truly fulfilling is witnessing how the support INFOhio provides and the tools and resources built, help teachers, librarians, and students in their various roles. He once saw a tweet that showed a picture of a student holding up a project she had just completed. On a computer screen behind the student was one of INFOhio's research and discovery tools. While the tweet wasn't about INFOhio, seeing the positive impact INFOhio had on that student and her teacher was something he will never forget. Mike’s technical tip involves the INFOhio website and how users are authenticated to provide a seamless experience when accessing INFOhio resources. 

Troubleshooting Access to INFOhio

INFOhio offers access to thousands of articles, eBooks, videos, and other content across many different platforms. Most of the content is licensed or purchased by INFOhio for Ohio students, parents, and educators only. INFOhio has implemented several security measures to make accessing licensed content as seamless and simple as possible, but there are a few unique situations that could prevent someone from accessing licensed content from certain platforms. Here are a few ways to troubleshoot access issues to INFOhio resources or content.

To troubleshoot access problems, it's beneficial to understand how INFOhio authentication works. When users visit the INFOhio website or access INFOhio-licensed content, the following security checks are completed:

• Step 1: Has the user logged in before? If a user has previously logged in to the INFOhio site, it will log them in automatically using the same credentials.
• Step 2: Accessing from school? INFOhio recognizes school IP addresses. If a user is at school, they should not need to enter a username and password.
• Step 3: Located in Ohio? If a user is not at school and has not logged in recently, INFOhio will attempt to verify that they are located in Ohio.
• Step 4: Log in. If INFOhio cannot verify that a user is an Ohio school student, parent, or educator, they will need to log in.

To find a school or district username/password, visit https://www.infohio.org and click the button at the top-left of the screen. Then select Find Password. Using the Find Password tool, users can find the username and password for any school. 

In case of problems logging in to INFOhio after hours or over the weekend, try a few of the troubleshooting tasks below.

Tip 1: Check the Browser

First, if a user has recently logged in to INFOhio, but the website doesn’t seem to remember, please make sure the same web browser is being used. If Chrome was used the last time, Chrome will need to be used again.

Tip 2: Turn on Location Services and Look Up Password Again

For security reasons, many people have turned off location services on their devices. If location services have been turned off, it will be more difficult for INFOhio to determine if a user is in Ohio or not. Try enabling location services, then visit https://www.infohio.org/login and look up the school district username and password. With location services turned on, it is much more likely to get instant access to a username and password. It may be necessary to Google how to turn location services on/off. Once a username and password has been found, don’t forget to turn off location services.

Tip 3: Check the Network.

If visiting friends or using public WiFi, the IP addresses may not be Ohio IP addresses, even though physically located in Ohio. Try turning off WiFi and using a cellular hotspot (if available). Another option is to try switching to a different WiFi network. Verify whether the IP is the issue by going to https://www.infohio.org/authcheck. This website will display the IP and login information. If it is an Ohio IP, that information will display. (See below - Red Arrow)

.

Tip 4: Clear Browser Cache

If a user has accessed INFOhio on the computer before, there could be a problem with something in the cache. Try clearing the browser cache, then restarting the browser. For some, pressing the CTRL key and the F5 key together will also help.

Tip 5: Time to Open a Ticket with INFOhio Support

If access problems persist, please visit https://support.infohio.org and let our team know about the issue. 

Curate Lists

Janah Shumaker, a Professional Technical Support Specialist with INFOhio, says her favorite part of working at INFOhio is being able to help and support librarians, library paraprofessionals, and teachers as they educate Ohio’s students. Janah has worked to support Ohio school librarians, paraprofessionals, educators, and ITC Library Staff since 2011, first as an INFOhio Provider and now as part of the INFOhio Technical Team. Janah’s tip involves creating and sharing resource lists with students and staff.

Curation is a task librarians and teachers do every day. Why not take advantage of software freely available to those automated with INFOhio’s Library Services Platform to create and save lists that can be used each year? BLUEcloud Course Lists, a resource list management tool, allows librarians and teachers to create lists of physical school library materials, INFOhio digital content, and educator vetted, online content. Curated lists can then be shared with students and teachers, helping them to find related content to what they are studying. In the example below, the Early Civilizations: Greece Course List uses BLUEcloud Course Lists to curate a list of helpful supplemental resources that combines print and digital text to support knowledge building. Students can access educator-created lists in BLUEcloud Course Lists through links posted by their school librarian or teachers. 

Check out the BLUEcloud Course Lists class found in INFOhio Campus and start curating lists of quality resources today!

Questions about any of the tips shared today? INFOhio is happy to help. Contact support.infohio.org or your ITC's Library Support Staff with any questions you may have.