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System Requirements:

In a network environment -

• .NET Framework 1.1 required for file server and client PC.
• MS Access (developed in MS Access 2003, but could be compatible with MS Access 2000 or above) - minimum one copy required to be installed on the file server.
• Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) required for client PC without MS Access.
• File server (or a desktop computer having a shared folder) that database can be placed in. Its memory and CPU should meet the minimum requirements to run MS Access.
• Windows network environments (server and client PCs should have MS Windows OSs) with properly assigned access rights to the database folder.

In a non-network environment -

The database is not connected from other machines and not shared among staff. It is possible, with simple knowledge of MS Access, to periodically combine all data collected by staff at the end of terms.

• .NET Framework 1.1 required
• MS Access 2003 - 1 copy per PC
• MS Windows based PC

Installation information:

Files -

The distribution of RefPole consists of following four files:

• Install.bat - installation program, modification required.
• RefPole.config - Configuration file containing information on the location of database and name of current librarian, modification required.
• Reference.mdb - MS Access database, modification allowed on informative tables such as lists of librarians, departments, and methods and types of questions. Those informative tables should be edited to meet your local needs. Reference table is a primary table collecting time and reference questions including reference (foreign keys) to other informative tables.
• RefPole.exe - main program, no modification allowed. It provides interfaces for collecting reference data, lists of previous reference questions/answers, statistical analysis, and report forms. It generates the item lists from database tables; therefore, if you want to change the listings, you can edit them from the table.

Procedures -

1. Open install.bat file and make sure all settings are okay with you. As a default, install.bat will create a folder named "RefPole" on your C drive and copy the Refpole.exe and RefPole.config files from the install file location to the designated location. If you want to change the locations, you can edit them in install.bat file.
2. Before you run install.bat, make sure the RefPole.config is set up to meet your environments. You need to change the location of database. It can be a shared folder on your file server, or can be your local machine. If it is not set up properly, it will generate Windows error message and stop progressing. You can change the Librarian key later when you run RefPole.exe.

Download information:

http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/pr/refpole

current version: ver. 0.5

Contact information:

Sarah G. Park, Reference Librarian
Owens Library, Northwest Missouri State University