July/August 2002 vol.8 no.4 issn 1082-4383
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Highlights in this Issue
Statewide Databases Update & Feedback
If you have any success stories resulting from your or your patrons' use of the databases we would love to hear from you.
The OCLC Products and Services Price List for the 2002-2003 Fiscal Year is now available on the NEBASE Web page.
More NEBASE OCLC Workshops Scheduled
NEBASE has scheduled OCLC workshops in Kearney, Norfolk and Wayne.
Online Database Training Classes
Online training classes for Books in Print and Electric Library are now available. Learn about the databases from the comfort of your own library.
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NEBASE |
STATEWIDE DATABASES UPDATE & FEEDBACK
It's that time of year when the Commission renews its statewide database
contracts and we are happy to report that all statewide contracts have been
renewed for the 2002-2003 fiscal year. The current statewide program includes
the FirstSearch Base Package, Wilson OmniFile, Wilson Biographies Plus,
Kiplinger Forecasts, Books in Print and Electric Library.
This summer we will begin to look at possible changes to the database offerings
as the Commission prepares its Biennial Budget Request. We welcome feedback from
our users across the state on the database program and would like to hear any
comments you have regarding the databases we currently subscribe to, as well as
any suggestions for enhancing or making changes in the program and its
resources.
If you have any success stories resulting from your or your patrons' use
of the databases, we would love to hear from you. These types of stories are the
most successful in demonstrating the usefulness of the program to Nebraska
libraries and their patrons. Please send any success stories to Network Services
.
We would love to hear from you!
Shannon Behrhorst
Network Services Director
Nebraska Library Commission
SHARE YOUR LIBRARY'S
WEB SITE
NEBASE maintains a list of member institutions on its Web site, along with links
to NEBASE member libraries. There are two lists, arranged by institution name or
by OCLC symbol at </netserv/nebase/OCLCMemberLibs.html>.
To add or update your library's link, contact Christa Burns
.
Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
OCLC PRICING - 2002-2003
The OCLC Products and Services Price List for the 2002/2003 Fiscal Year is now
available on the NEBASE Web page at </netserv/nebase/nebserv.html>.
These prices, in effect from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003, apply only to
NEBASE members. Charts highlighting some of the changes that will affect our
members are available at </netserv/nebase/pricelist02/pricechanges.html>.
If you have any questions, problems, or concerns related to these prices, please
contact Christa Burns at 402-471-3107, 800-307-2665 or email: Christa Burns
.
Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
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Training |
MORE NEBASE OCLC WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED
NEBASE has scheduled the following workshops:
Kearney Public Library & Information Center, Technology Learning Center:
Introduction to the New OCLC Cataloging Interface
ILL Basics Using the OCLC ILL Web Interface
OCLC CORC: Cataloging Internet Resources
OCLC CORC: Creating Internet Pathfinders
Neligh Public Library:
OCLC Cataloging Micro Enhancer: An Alternative to Passport
OCLC Interlibrary Loan Micro Enhancer for Windows Version 2.10
OCLC Union List Basics
Northeast Community College, Lifelong Learning Center, Norfolk:
ILL Basics Using the OCLC ILL Web Interface
OCLC CatExpress
Wayne State College - Conn Library Room 210B:
Introduction to the New OCLC Cataloging Interface
All sessions will include a lecture and demonstration as well as hands-on time
and will be conducted by Christa Burns, OCLC Member Services Coordinator for
NEBASE. Participants will receive 3 hours of CE credit.
To register to attend any of the workshops and to see descriptions as well as
dates, times and locations of each workshop, please go to </netserv/nebase/oclcworkshops.html>.
The registration fee is $10 per session for NEBASE members. If you have any
questions about workshop fees, please contact Jeannette Powell at 402-471-7740
or 800-307-2665 or e-mail: Jeannette Powell
.
Christa Burns
OCLC Member Services Coordinator
Nebraska Library Commission
NEED WEB PAGE TRAINING?
Have you wanted to create a Web page for some time, but just haven't had the
opportunity to go to a workshop or attend training classes? Well now you can
receive the training you need at your pace from your own computer.
MindLeaders a leader in online training has partnered with the OCLC Institute to
offer a number of low cost online technical courses for library staff. Now you
can take advantage of the offerings through NEBASE, your regional OCLC network.
The MindLeaders Technical Web Development series contains 81 online courses
covering a variety of topics from the bare bones of developing an HTML Web site
to learning Java and XML. Take only the courses you need or all of them for the
same price.
Interested? Try out a free demo course to see if online training is for you.
Just point your browser to the NEBASE home page </netserv/nebase/nebserv.html>
and click on the link for MindLeaders listed under the Training section.
Follow instructions listed on the MindLeaders page for placing an order and you
will soon be on your way to learning how to create your first Web page or
improving on your existing skills.
Shannon Behrhorst
Network Services Director
Nebraska Library Commission
ONLINE DATABASE TRAINING CLASSES
Online training classes for Books In Print and Electric Library are now
available. Learn about the databases from the comfort of your own library. These
classes are designed to introduce librarians to the databases and provide them
with the background information and hands-on experience they need to search them
successfully.
The classes contain a number of lessons that librarians can work through at
their own pace. The Books In Print class is seven lessons long and the Electric
Library class is six. Each lesson is about four pages when printed and consists
of informational text, search examples, screen shots and practice questions.
Each lesson includes an average of five multiple-choice and short-answer
questions. Our goal was to create questions that would provide students with
hands-on experience and at the same time highlight and familiarize them with
important features of the databases. Susan Knisely and I will e-mail feedback to
students after each set of answers is submitted online and reviewed.
Are you unsure if an online class is for you? Try taking the Common Database
Searching Techniques lesson. This lesson covers Boolean logic, phrase searching,
and wildcards. Don't let the length of this lesson scare you away. It is the
longest lesson you will have to complete! The class is located at: </netserv/class/>.
Students will have two months to complete the Books in Print or Electric Library
class. Students who submit all of the assignments by the end of the two month
period will receive one Continuing Education credit hour.
There is no cost to take these classes but you must register. To register
complete the online form located at </netserv/onlineclass.html>.
If you have any questions about these classes please feel free to contact Allana Novotny
or Susan Knisely
at 800-307-2665.
Allana Novotny
Network Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
Databases
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Databases |
BOOKS IN PRINT ENHANCEMENTS
The R.R. Bowker Company recently made two interesting enhancements to the Books
in Print database. The first enhancement is a link to OCLC's WorldCat database.
When users link to WorldCat from Books in Print, they access a modified version
of the WorldCat database intended to present users with brief records (author,
title, publisher, year, ISBN) for books identified through Books in Print. From
within each of these WorldCat records users can use a "Library Locator" to find
public and academic libraries that own the book.
To take advantage of this first enhancement, users must first perform a search
in the Books in Print database in order to identify books of interest. After
doing this, users must indicate which book they want to look up in WorldCat.
From the Search Results screen they can indicate this by a) checking the box to
the left of the book's title, or b) clicking on the book's title to access its
Full Description. Users must then scroll to the bottom of the Search Results or
Full Description screen, select "WorldCat" from the drop-down "Select a Library
Catalog" menu, and click on the "Search/Go" button.
At this point Books in Print searches the modified WorldCat database. If it
finds one match it presents users with a single detailed record. If it finds
multiple matches it presents users with a list of brief results. Users can click
on any title in the brief results list to retrieve a detailed record. After
retrieving a detailed record, users can scroll to the bottom of the record,
enter their zip/postal code, state, or country into the "Library Locator" text
entry box, and click on "Find" to retrieve a list of public and academic
libraries that own the book. Only public and academic libraries that have chosen
to add their holdings to OCLC will be listed.
The second recent enhancement to Books in Print is a "Search Online Bookstores"
link. This link appears at the top of the Full Description screen. Users can
click on it to search for a book at more than 40 online bookstores using the
AddALL Book Search and Price Comparison service (for more information on AddALL
see <http://www.addall.com>). If the online
bookstore search is successful, users are presented with a price comparison
chart listing book price, shipping charges, sales tax, total cost, order
processing time, and shipping time for each store at which the book is
available.
Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
SIRS OFFERS FREE PREVIEW OF
THEIR ONLINE DATABASES
John M. Martinez
SIRS Publishing, Inc. in conjunction with the Nebraska Library
Commission is offering your library a no-obligation free preview of
our online databases. SIRS Publishing, Inc. has been providing
reference materials to libraries and schools at all levels for
thirty years. The benefit to the students and library patrons lies
in the fact SIRS databases are easy to use and produce only quality,
full text results. Each database provides:
Databases to preview:
To have a free 30-day preview of all the databases, please contact: John Martinez 800-232-7477 ext.704,
or e-mail <johnm@sirs.com>.
Pricing and ordering information can be found on the Nebraska Library Commission
Web site at </netserv/pricing.html#sirs>.
Inside Sales Representative
SIRS Publishing Inc.
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NETFIRST DATABASE TO BE
INTEGRATED INTO WORLDCAT
At the end of July 2002, the NetFirst database will be completely
integrated into the WorldCat database. After integration, NetFirst
will no longer exist as a stand-alone database through FirstSearch.
This is of particular interest to Nebraska libraries because
NetFirst is one of 11 databases currently available through the
FirstSearch Base Package. Access to the FirstSearch Base Package is
paid for on behalf of all Nebraska libraries with state funds by the
Nebraska Library Commission.
The NetFirst database is a collection of authoritative Internet
resources that have been selected and cataloged by librarians. Even
though NetFirst is going away, librarians and end users will
continue to be able to search for Internet resources using the
WorldCat database. Virtually all NetFirst records have been part of
WorldCat since August 2000. WorldCat also includes records for
Internet resources that have been added by member libraries, making
it a more complete source of information on high-quality Web sites.
WorldCat searches can be easily limited to Internet-only records by
checking the "Internet Resources" box that appears in the "Limit
type to" area of the Basic, Advanced, and Expert Search screens. On
the Basic Search screen you must click on the "show document type
limit options" link to display this limit option. On the Advanced
and Expert Search screens it appears automatically.
Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
RECENT ENHANCEMENTS TO FIRSTSEARCH
Susan Knisely
Addition of WorldCat Subtype Limits
OCLC recently added several new subtype limit options to the WorldCat database
available through FirstSearch. These new limit options are available through
Audience, Content, and Format drop-down menus. These drop-down menus appear on
all WorldCat search screens immediately below the "Limit type to" options. On
the Basic Search screen you must click on the "show document type limit options"
link to reveal these menus. On the Advanced and Expert Search screens they
appear automatically.
Users can select the following limiters from the Audience, Content, and Format
drop-down menus:
Audience
Content
Format
Searches limited by subtype will only retrieve records which were fully
cataloged with subtype information.
Revision of Default "Rank By" Order for WorldCat Search Results
Previously the default "Rank by" order for search results in WorldCat was last
in/first out. As a result of recent enhancements, however, most WorldCat search
results will now be ranked by the number of library holdings attached to each
record. This means records with larger numbers of library holdings will appear
before records with smaller numbers of library holdings. Only the first 1,000
top-ranked records will be displayed. If a search retrieves over 1,000 records
and you need access to all of them, you will need to redo the search using the
"No ranking" option.
Result lists ranked by "Number of Libraries" will not appear in exact descending
order by the number of holdings attached. For example, records with 2,000+
holdings will appear at the top of the list, followed by records with
1,000-1,999 holdings, etc. Within the ranges of library holdings, records will
be arranged by date.
Redesign of FirstSearch Administrative Module
OCLC recently reorganized the FirstSearch Administrative Module to make it
easier to find information. As part of this reorganization, OCLC renamed the
tabs along the top of the screen to better reflect the categories of available
settings. New tab names include: Account Information, Authentication/Access,
Fulfillment, Resource Linking, and Interface Display. Settings have been
redistributed under appropriate tabs to streamline the customization process.
Example: Previously, ILL settings appeared on four different screens; now, all
ILL settings appear together under the Fulfillment tab.
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
MID-TERM SUBSCRIPTIONS STILL
BEING ACCEPTED FOR SELECT DATABASES/ONLINE SERVICES
If you were thinking about subscribing to a new database/online
service for the July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003 subscription
term, but missed the deadline for a July 1 start date, you may still
be in luck. The Nebraska Library Commission is still accepting
mid-term subscriptions for the following products:
In most cases, orders for these products will be accepted through
March 2003 and the subscription price will be prorated for the
months remaining in the subscription term. Please see the database
pricing page at </netserv/pricing.html> for
complete details.
Susan Knisely
Online Services Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
