E-mail Information Services: Farewell AAQ, Hello to Us

After successfully participating in The Alberta Library's (TAL) Ask A Question (AAQ) e-mail information service for the more than 10 years, Medicine Hat College Library Services will be venturing out and launching its own in-house e-mail information service.

With our new submission form, we have streamlined the process to submit a question and users will also be able to submit a formatted e-mail message to us.

Despite the change in service delivery, patrons can still expect the same level of quality in the answers that they will receive. The Library Services Information Desk team will also be able to reply with formatted e-mails and provide attachments if necessary, both of which are helpful for APA and MLA citation questions.
ACCESSING THE SUBMISSION FORM

Patrons can locate the e-mail submission form by selecting the "ASK A QUESTION" link on the homepage or by selecting "E-mail Information Services" via the left-hand navigation menu on any Library Services page.

If you submit a question, please "white-list" the e-mail address: askus@mhc.ab.ca. Replies from the service will be delivered via this address and whatever e-mail service you employ might flag our reply as spam.

Patrons that want to use TAL's AAQ service can still do so, but Library Services' staff will not be replying.

Seasonal Hours: 18 December 2010 - 4 January 2011

Following the conclusion of exams on Friday, 17 December 2010, the libraries will be changing to their seasonal hours of operation.

Starting on Saturday, 18 December 2010 and running until 4 January 2011, the hours for the libraries will be as follows:

VERA BRACKEN LIBRARY

18-19 December 2010: Closed
20-22 December 2010: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
23 December 2010: 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
24 December 2010-3 January 2011: Closed
4 January 2011: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

BROOKS CAMPUS LIBRARY

18 December 2010-3 January 2011: Closed
4 January 2011: 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

With the seasonal break in operations, comes suspension of e-mail, instant messaging, telephone, and text/SMS information services; all services will resume on 4 January 2011. Any questions in the queues will be resolved then.

Both libraries will resume regular hours of operation on Wednesday, 5 January 2011—the first day of Winter Semester classes.

For more information on the libraries' hours, click here.

Changing Passwords

As a student starting at Medicine Hat College, the default user name and password follows this pattern (click here for more details):

• User name: firstname.lastname (all lowercase)
  
  
• Password: last four digits of student ID#, followed by first three letters of last name (with the first letter capitalized; e.g., 1234Las)

If you misplace your registration papers or Campus ID Card, it is possible for someone to intuit this information and access your personal accounts. To this end, it is in your interest to change these passwords.

In the past, if you changed one password, that change would be recognized/synchronized by all online services (Blackboard, computer log-in, and e-mail). These online/system services are now independent, so you will have to change them each manually. If you desire to do this, follow these directions for each:

BLACKBOARD

1. Log-in with default user name and password.
2. Select "Personal Information" in "Tools" box (left-hand side of screen).
3. Select "Change Password."
4. Enter and verify new password > click "Submit."
5. Once verified, click "OK," and continue with your Blackboard session.
6. Use your new password for your next Blackboard session.
   

COMPUTERS

1. Log-in with default user name and password.
2. Once logged in, click: Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
3. From the options, select: "Change a password..."
4. Follow onscreen directions (enter current password > enter new password > confirm new password >click "OK" or arrow buttons to continue).
   
   1. Password Creation Rules (3 of 4 conditions must be used, computers only):
      
      1. At least one upper case letter must be used.
         
      2. At least one lower case letter must be used.
         
      3. At least one number must be used.
      4. At least one special character must be used from the following set: @ # % - _ .
         
5. Change of password confirmation should be given.
6. Use your new password for your next computer session.

myMHC STUDENT PORTAL

When using the student portal, you will create your own unique password when creating this account. You can modify this password by:

1. Log-in with default user name and current password.
2. Select: "Menu" (near top left corner of portal's interface) > "My Profile" > "Change Password."
3. Enter: "Old Password" > "New Password" > "Confirm New Password" > Click: "Change Password"
4. Once verified, continue with your myMHC session.
5. Use your new password for your next myMHC session.

STUDENT E-MAIL

1. Log-in with default user name and password.
2. Select "Settings" (near top right corner of interface).
3. Select "Accounts and Import" tab.
4. Select: "Google Account settings"(in "Change account settings" area).
5. Click "Change password."
6. Enter: current password > enter new password > confirm new password > Save
7. Once confirmed, continue with you e-mail session, the next time you log-in, you will use your modified password.

If you want to test your relative password strength, click here.

For password assistance, please see the library's Information Desk or the Information Technology Services' Help Desk (located near B223 on the second floor of the B-wing).

Default User Name & Password

When logging into most online services (Blackboard, computers, and e-mail) at the college, you will initially use the following pattern:

• User name: firstname.lastname
  
  
• Password: last four digits of student ID#, followed by first three letters of last name (with the first letter capitalized)
  

For more information about the Campus ID Card, click here.

Click here to learn about changing your passwords.