Ebsco

November 2012 Database Training

The final database training of 2012 will be held on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 from 1:00-3:00 at Brentwood Public Library. This 2 hour eResource workshop will focus on literature and biography databases. Specialists from Gale and EBSCO will focus on Literature Resource Center, Biography in Context, Novelist, and other databases available to library users. The workshop will allow staff to become more familiar with when to use these resources and how to get the most out of them.

Registration is required at http://tinyurl.com/ab22t5z and the class offers 2 CE credits. Please note that the program will be cancelled if at least 15 people have not registered. For more information, please call Dustin Shilling, Northern Tier Library Director, at 724-449-2665.

Debi Ryder

Continue ReadingNovember 2012 Database Training

Wilson Databases Now Part of EBSCOhost

At the beginning of 2012 Wilson Databases and EBSCOhost merged.  Allegheny County residents have had access to Wilson Databases such as Omni File Mega and Science Full Text Select from the Pennsylvania PowerLibrary databases for the last few years.  Those databases are still available but have been migrated to the EBSCOhost platform. This is the same platform that is currently used with Ebsco’s MasterFile Premier and LISTA.

Ebsco has put together a handy guide to the transition which you can download in pdf format here.  More information can be found at support.ebsco.com

If you are in charge of your library’s website and would like to avoid the confusion of having to select from an array of databases you can use this URL to do a intergrated search of all EBSCOhost databases:
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cpid&custid=s4663075&profile=ehost

You can also download logos to create direct links to databases that increase usage and exposure. They can be placed anywhere on your website:
http://www.ebscohost.com/customerSuccess/default.php?id=190

Creating a direct database link is easy. You will start with this: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cpid&custid=s4663075&profile=ehost&defaultdb=
Use the link below to find the database code that you will enter after the “=” in the url. 
http://support.ebsco.com/knowledge_base/detail.php?id=1255&t=h

If you are linking directly to Novelist you will use this:
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cpid&custid=s4663075&profile=novelist

Remember to sign up for next week’s History Database Training at Monroeville or Green Tree.

-Dustin/Northern Tier

Continue ReadingWilson Databases Now Part of EBSCOhost

Auto Repair Reference Center

The cost of repairing your vehicle continues to increase – as does the price of purchasing auto repair manuals for the library collection.  These physical books also tend to be quite heavy and unwieldy.  The EBSCO database, Auto Repair Reference Center , is a terrific resource as it gives your patron online 24/7 access to  repair information and content that has been created by ASE certified technicians.  The step-by-step procedures are written specifically for the do-it-yourselfer, but comprehensive enough for professional technicians.

Every major manufacturer for domestic and imported vehicles is represented including auto repair manuals for most vintage makes starting as far back as 1945. New repair procedures/updates are added continuously, and technical service bulletins are added on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Content includes:

•    Coverage of more than 37,000 vehicles from 1945 to present

•    Millions of drawings and step-by-step photographs

•    Approximately 110,000 technical service bulletins & recalls issued by the original equipment vehicle manufacturer

•    Over 180,000 enhanced wiring diagrams for easy viewing and printing – (for those who can read schematics – I applaud you!)

•    Specifications & maintenance schedules

•    Labor Time Guide & Estimator

•   Video overviews of auto systems with AutoIQ – (how cool is this?!)

•    Quick Tips (a complete guide to vehicle ownership & maintenance)

•    Diagnostic information

Debi

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Goodreads now a part of the Novelist database

I thought of writing this post after a patron sent an email to me asking if the library would consider training library patrons on the features of  the Goodreads site. I reacted instinctively. Goodreads? what about Novelist, does she not know about that wonderful database?  So now I can happily have a training session that combines the two because…. the Novelist database now includes links to Goodreads, the largest reader’s social network which contains reader reviews and ratings. If you haven’t used Novelist, this database is a great  resource for finding information about fiction titles for all ages. Two Novelist databases are currently available, Novelist and Novelist K-8. 

Links to Goodreads can be found in your Novelist search results and on the title detail page

Goodreads in Novelist

 Clicking on the link to Goodreads in Novelist takes you to the Goodreads review section for that book. If you have a Goodreads account, you can add a review, or if you don’t have one, you can create one from this page. The link to Goodreads opens in a separate window so you can easily return to Novelist.

For more information on this and other new features of Novelist, go to the Novelist Support Center. And take a look at the new Novelist Facebook page for tips on doing things with Novelist you may have never considered.

Ann

Continue ReadingGoodreads now a part of the Novelist database