Monthly Archives: March 2019

The revamped erec site is nearly ready for prime time and should be available by later in the day on Monday.  This may sound like an April Fools joke, but we kid you not!

The main goals for updating the site were to improve navigation and ease-of-use.  While our committee was at it, we made quite a few changes.  You’ll find:

• New logo
• New name — eLibrary (eLibrary.einetwork.net), though old links will still work.
• Improved navigation (and this will change even further in a few weeks)
• Streamlined subject categories
• Re-worded descriptions — more concise and lower lexile level
• More easily updated in the future — no more discontinued resources appearing in surprising places
• Responsive and mobile-friendly site

We feature so many terrific resources, and we want to get the word out.  We will provide marketing files such as bookmark templates, flyers, website buttons and banners, and logo images to help each library introduce the site to both patrons and staff.

We hope that everyone will enjoy using the new site, and we will be asking for feedback next month.  We must also give a shout-out to thank Brad at the Help Desk for his assistance.

Here is a sneak preview:

For posterity, this is the current site:

Informe Academico is a great resource for those needing research materials in both Spanish and Portugeuse about Latin America. If you and your patrons are familiar with Academic OneFile then you will have no problem navigating Informe Academico. Informe has articles and research both from Latin America and on topics relating to Latin America in one easy to use database.

Searching for articles and other resources on Informe Academico is setup just like Academic OneFile for easy use! So even if you cannot read Spanish and you do not want to translate the page to the language you use the most it will still be easy to navigate through the main page.

Here is Informe Academico’s Main Page:

Academic OneFile’s Main Page:

You can see both Informe Academico and Academic OneFile have a Topic Finder in the lower left have corner. They both also have subject guide search and publication search options directly below the basic search bar. And finally both have Top Searches directly to the right of the Topic Finder option. Informe and OneFile even both share a counter at the bottom of their main pages showing how many articles they currently house.

That being said – if you do not read Spanish but know you need to search for an article from Informe Academico simply choose a more familiar language from the drop down menu as pictured below.

Once you have chosen an article you can have it translated into another language via a drop down menu but it does take time and the parent company Gale does give a disclaimer that this translation is likely imperfect. However, if you have a student who is studying a topic that is based in Latin America, an individual who is a native Spanish or Portuguese speaker and looking for research articles, or simply a student looking to practice their Spanish and Portuguese comprehension then this is the resource to recommend!

¡Disfruta leyendo!

-Adrianne, Northland Public Library

In the next few weeks, keep your eyes on the county electronic resources website. The Digital Resources Committee (DRC) is making some changes to the site starting in early April.

We are adjusting the navigation, appearance and terminology of the site. Once the changes to the site are made, we will be asking staff and customers for feedback.

In May, the DRC will be hosting a training on the new site so be on the lookout for information about the training.

~ Hilary Lewis, CLP Coordinator, eResources

Do you have teens or parents who are looking for career advise but don’t want to use a book? Then EducationPlanner.org is the site for them. This great resource, provided by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), offers information for students, parents, and even high school counselors.

The section for students lets teens and middle-schoolers explore different career paths by taking simple assessment tests based on their interests and what classes they do well in. There is also a Self-Assessment section for students to learn what type of student they are, what their study habits are and what type of character they have.

For parents, EducationPlanner.org helps them tips on saving and paying for college, help with searching for scholarships and advice on filling out FAFSA.

And the section for counselors gives tips on hosting a student aid event and how to use EducationPlanner as a computer lab activity.

Be sure to share this great resource with your patrons!

Tracy Happe ~ Monroeville Public Library