Library Catalogue / 'Search All Resources'

You may have noticed since we (again) upgraded to the latest version of the library catalogue, the occasional issue with access - not enough licences to use the catalogue, or the catalogue being unavailable at times. We scheduled a catalogue reset once a day every day, but this is not sufficient to ensure 24 hour access. Subsequently we have identified the source of the problem, and it seems to be 'Search All Resources'. As a consequence, we've taken the library catalogue out of 'Search All Resources'. We'll put in a link to a relevant page on the library website, but for now, no more searching the library catalogue on 'Search All Resources'

Search All Resources working again

See, that didn't take too long (I hope!). Access to EBSCO databases on 'Search All Resources' has been restored, apart from LISTA fulltext and SocIndex, which we're still working on.

Resultless Search All Resources

There's an issue that's arisen with 'Search All Resources'. Somewhere in the guts of WebFeat (the software behind 'Search All Resources'), some settings pertaining to how WebFeat and EBSCO databases talk to each other seem to have been reset. This means that when searching EBSCO databases, no results will be returned. In WebFeat, click the EBSCO database link to go and search individual databases, and you have no problems retrieving results (unless you search for something like "three legged hamsters"). Other, non-EBSCO databases work fine. To summarise: searching EBSCO Databases in 'Search All Resources' won't work, so search the individual databases instead, ok? We'll let you know when normal service is resumed. If you like searching multiple databases at once, then don't forget the forthcoming EBSCOHost Integrated Search (login with your student number and date of birth).

WebFeat ("Search All Resources") logins

I'm pleased to say that all students registered up until the 25th October should now be able to login to WebFeat ("Search All Resources") with their student number and date of birth. If your date of birth doesn't work, try your student number as your password. If your student number begins 00... only enter non-zero digits. Thanks for your patience.

Coming soon: ft.com off-campus

One of the reasons we are switching from WebFeat ("Search All Resources") to EBSCOHost Integrated Search (EHIS), is that more databases can be searched through EHIS. A beneficial side effect of this is that it means more databases are accessible off-campus. Encyclopaedia Britannica is now available off-campus (via EHIS) and I'm very pleased to say that very soon you'll be able to read the Financial Times off-campus too, again via EHIS. We'll let you know when it's available. Still waiting on a few other databases though, which is why EHIS is buried deep in the bowels of WebFeat

Library Catalogue and WebFeat

Yes, it's our seemingly demonically possessed catalogue again. This time it's been noticed that the library catalogue is not working in WebFeat. I suspect it's not been working since we upgraded the catalogue, but I don't imagine that WebFeat is often used as the gateway to the catalogue, either on or off campus. The good people of WebFeat have been informed and we'll let you know if they get it working.

WebFeat and off-campus access

There have been a couple of instances of users having problems off-campus with accessing WebFeat. They login with valid credentials and get a message saying "Access to this system from your IP address xx.xx.xx.xx has been denied". I've consulted WebFeat about this problem and received an unimpressive response:

After consulting with others in the Department, this appears to be a referring URL problem. The problem can be worked with by adjusting the security settings on the individual user's workstation (firewall/virus protection) or the institution changing to a different patron authentication method. The latter can be adjusted within the WebFeat Administration Console, Patron Authentication section.

I then asked them if they knew which settings were affected. Here's the (non)-response:

Unfortunately, I don't have that information. Internally, we have encountered this scenario in less than 1 percent of existing client cases. And we were not granted access to those settings in that 1 percent to maintain a log for other encounters. We have been unable to reproduce the problem internally.

So there you have it: there's an issue with security settings, but Webfeat themselves don't know what needs to be changed. Perhaps if you switch off your firewall if you have one switched on? You could also try changing web browsers. Perhaps dance around a yew tree at midnight? We'll look into this, indeed we are looking into this, on a number of fronts. Stay tuned

EBSCO on WebFeat /Search All Resources

We've changed the links to EBSCO databases that appear on WebFeat 'Search All Resources'. Now, when you click on the link for say Academic Search Complete, you will be taken directly to that database. The links were supplied by EBSCO themselves, and the Benjamin Franklin adage about consistency and small minds applies here*, as, while the links take you to the different databases, the page to which you are taken is not the same for each database - clicking on Academic and Business Source Complete, Computers & Applied Sciences Complete, Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text and Hospitality & Tourism Complete will take you to the publications page, while the links for PEP Archive, PsycArticles and PsycINFO will to you to the basic search page.

We've also added Regional Business News™ (the ™ is very important) to the list of databases available. This will be useful for anyone interested in US regional business news as it incorporates coverage of 75 business journals, newspapers and newswires from all metropolitan and rural areas within the US.


*Just kidding, we love EBSCO and this isn't their fault.

WebFeat - A clarification

Just to clarify things: WebFeat, our great federated search and access management system is accessed through the 'Search All Resources' graphic on the library home page or the 'Search All Resources' link on the 'Library Resources' page

WARC

The World Advertising Research Centre (WARC) is a good source of knowledge and insight into the global marketing and advertising market. It contains full-text articles from a number of journals (for example the International Journal of Advertising) and trade periodicals (for example Admap) as well as case studies, best practice, news, views and statistical information. Further to the long post on WebFeat below, WARC is now searchable in WebFeat. That's a whopping 16 DBS library-subscribed databases that can be searched simultaneously inWebFeat now.

Webfeat Up

Happily, WebFeat is now once again working normally. The problem was nothing to do with us either, an internal server problem at WebFeat headquarters.

WebFeat down

Wouldn't you just know it? A couple of days after I post some information about WebFeat, it falls over. I've been in touch with WebFeat technical support, who tell me that can't see any problems with it, so it may still be working off-campus, but on-campus the network pixies will prevent you from seeing any search results. Fortunately, you may still search databases individually by clicking on the appropriate link.

Everything you wanted to know about WebFeat but were afraid to ask

A couple of points to mention about WebFeat. WebFeat is a federated search engine which allows you to search multiple databases at the same time, thus saving time and effort. We are also trying to use WebFeat to cut down on the number of passwords that students need to remember. Thus, having logged into WebFeat off-campus, you can choose to search multiple databases, or search your favourite database individually without having to enter a user name and password. For example, you could login to WebFeat and choose to search Emerald and Business Source Complete together, or you could decide to search one then the other. Before WebFeat, you would have to enter a username and password for Emerald and then a different username and password for Business Source Complete. Thus WebFeat has cut down on the number of passwords required. Ultimately, our aim is to have one username and password for everything you do in the library and hopefully we'll have some news on that during the summer.

If you were a registered student before Thursday 22nd January 2009, you should have a WebFeat username and password. Your username and password should be your student number and date of birth. Because of the way registration works, it's entirely possible (particularly if you are a Portobello student) that you don't have a login. If you don't please contact me or the Issue Desk. We aim to update user lists every Monday. Also, please note that a few students get registered with a few personal details missing. These details sometimes include the date of birth. If, for whatever reason, we don't have your date of birth, then it's not possible for your date of birth to be your password. In this case you have been given a default password, which you can get from the Issue Desk or myself.

So what's on WebFeat and what can you search? On WebFeat, you can search all of the following at the same time though if you need to do so, you must have a very interesting search lined up ;-) There is a check box beside these that you click in order to search in WebFeat:

DBS Library Catalogue
Portobello Library Catalogue
Academic Source Complete
Butterworths Lexis Nexis
The Economist
Emerald
Film and Television Literature Index With Full-Text
FT.com
Hospitality and Tourism Complete
Lexis Nexis News and Business
Mintel
Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing Archive
PsycARTICLES
PsycINFO
WARC

Also in WebFeat, there are links to the following databases that you can only search individually. In these instances, the check box is greyed out and there's a note in the database description field to this effect:

A to Z journal list
Dawsonera
Encyclopaedia Britannica (not available off-campus)
Firstlaw
Justis
mad.co.uk (not available off-campus)
Westlaw

In time, some of these databases may become searchable in WebFeat. We have left in a link, with is non functional at this juncture, for Computer and Applied Sciences Complete. We had that database on trial, which has subsequently expired, however we hope to purchase it (fingers crossed)very soon. We hope to purchase a couple more databases too, in which case we'll tell you about them here and elsewhere.

Finally, if there is a link to that database, it is searchable by itself. Firstlaw requires a username and password, which should be visible to you. If you want to search Butterworths or Lexis Nexis News, you will need a user name and password that you can request at the issue desk OR you can search these databases through Webfeat and click to view one of your search results. This opens your search result in the appropriate database. You can then search that database by clocking on the search tab, which if memory serves appears on the top left of the screen.

I think this is enough for now!

Off-campus access to legal databases

After a bit of a struggle, we have secured off-campus access to Firstlaw, Justis and Westlaw. Access is through WebFeat (better known to many of you as the 'Search All Resources' link). Firstlaw remote access requires a username and password, which you can find on Webfeat. We are currently working on removing that requirement. We'll let you know if and when this happens.

Website feature of the day - Webfeat /Search all resources

Want to search across all the library’s resources at once?

Clicking the ‘search all resources’ button on the home page of the website brings you into a full list of all the library’s resources (catalogues, databases and ebooks). Enter your search terms, select a date range & the resources you want to search across to access all the library’s holdings on the topic in seconds.

Off campus Webfeat provides access to all the Library’s electronic resources. Login through the ‘search all resources’ button using your student number & date of birth to reach the list of resources & search all or select the individual database you want to browse.

Federated searching in the library

According to the handbook for Library Trustees of New York State, federated searching is "ability to search several subscription databases simultaneously or to search a database, OPAC or the Web and some combination simultaneously". The library has recently purchased WebFeat, a federated search program that allows you to simultaneously search DBS and Portobello library catalogues and most of the subscribed electronic resources that we have. Thus for example, business students can search Emerald and EBSCO at the same time, while arts students can search Psycinfo and Psycarticles at the same time.

The WebFeat search portal also acts as a links page for nearly all of our subscribed resources. Note that off-campus, the usual usernames and passwords for electronic resources apply. Note also that Westlaw.ie does not yet work off-campus.

WebFeat can be accessed by clicking the "search all resources" link on the library home page. You will need a username and password (the same one as for logging into college PCs) to access WebFeat.