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HELP
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Selecting Resources
To begin a search, select the resources that you will be searching in. There are three tools to help you do this:
If you know the NAME OF THE RESOURCEthat you would like to search (ie. ERIC, etc.) . . .
1) Resource Browser
Type in name of resource (i.e. ERIC)
Click
A list will be displayed with ERIC at the top of it and other resources following ERIC alphabetically.
If you know the SUBJECT AREAthat you need to research (i.e. History, Biology, etc.) . . .
2) Resource Categories
From the pull down menu:
select a subject area, i.e. Biology
Click
A list of resources related to the selected subject area is displayed.
If you want to DEVELOP YOUR OWN LISTof resources that can be saved to your account for use at any time . . .
3) My Resource List- Using methods 1 and 2 above, display a list of resources to add to your list.
Click the "plus sign"to the left of the resource you would like to add to "My Resource List".
If a Check mark is where the plus sign should be, this resource is already in My Resource List
This list is saved to your account even when you log off.
To use it, simply click the "My Resourcese List"link in "My Space" and the resources you saved will be listed.
Select the ones you wish to use for your search.
Delete a resource from My Resource List by displaying the list and clicking the - to the left of the resource.
For more detailed information about My Resource List, go to personalized search options.
NOTE: A resource is "selected"if there is a checkmark in the box to the left of it.
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Doing a search
Entering search terms
Now that you have your resources selected, you are ready to enter "search words"or "search terms".
In the middle of the Metalib Search Screen, you will see two empty boxes. You will enter your search word(s) here.
Select how to search
After entering these words, you must go to the drop-down menu to the left of the search box to indicate how you wish to search (i.e. "All Fields", "Subject", etc.)
NOTE: Selecting "All Fields"will allow the broadest search.
Select AND, OR, or NOT if typing search terms in both boxes.
Click
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Search results - What's Happening?
An individual search for EACH of the resources you selected will be carried out. You can "see"this happening while the screen refreshes during the search.
Once the searching is complete for a resource, an orange "target"
 will appear the left of the resource name and parts of the screen will turn from off-white to pink. Once the target
appears to the left of all of the resources, click one of them to view the results from all of the resources.
Search results
How results are displayed
The results of your search are displayed so that you will only see the Author, Title, and year of the item you located with your search.
Your result list will look different depending on how many resources you searched.
For example:
If you searched four resources, you will see four tabs with resource names on them;one will be colored blue (selected), the other will be colored gray (unselected).
When a resource tab is selected, the list of items found in the resource is displayed.
To display items for an unselected resource, you must click the resource tab. It is now the selected resource.
Refine your search
If your search has returned too many articles or items, you can Refine your search:
Click the Refine button
Select AND OR , or NOT
.. Select "Field to Search"
In the box provided, type word(s) to add
Click "Submit"
NOTE: Notice the text in red;these are the original search terms that you entered
NOTE: To start search over;click New Search
Merge results into one list
If you have results from more than one resource, try Merging the lists!
You can merge lists of results if you meet the following criteria:
You searched more than one resource
Less than 150 items retrieved from all resources searched
Getting "More" from your results
For more information on a particular item, click the
"MORE"button to the left of the author name.
STLMetalibrary and Full Text
STLMetalibrary does allow access to some full text in two different ways!
From the Result list . . .
1.
Click More button in item of interest
Scroll to bottom; look for External
If a link is present there, click the link
The article will open for printing
2.
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Click More button in item of interest
Scroll down and look for the word Text
If the text of the article is displayed . . . the text can be printed, saved, or e-mailed
STLMetalibrary and Books Status
Use Metalibrary to Check the status of a book before you try to find it!
Select STLCatalog as a resource to search
Type in appropriate search terms in boxes
From result list, click the More button next to the item that your are interested in
Scroll down to the end of the screen
View the line labeled Holdings
You will see . . .
- The area the item is found (STACKS)
- The call number for the item (RC155.5.B46 1989)
- The Status of the item (in this case MISSING)
Got results . . . .what's next?
Now that you have the result list, you can print it, e-mail it, or save it to disk*, but FIRST . . .
Selecting Items
You MUST select the items that you wish to print, save, or e-mail FIRST!
Print results (General – Author, Title, Date ONLY)
Check the box(es) next to the items you wish to print (STEP 1)
Click the View Selected Records (STEP 2)
Click File;then Click Print (Steps 3 and 4)
This method prints the entire list of items that you selected at once;just Author, title, and date will be shown.
NOTE: If you wish to print the detailed record of each item that you selected ONE AT A TIME, follow the guidelines below:
Print Results (Abstract and Full Text if available)
Click the More button (STEP 1) to the left of the record that you are interested in printing
From the Browser, Click File ;select Print (STEP 2 and Step 3)
Click Print in the Print Dialog Box
Go back to the result list and repeat for each individual record you wish to print
NOTE: If you wish to print the detailed records of many items that you selected ALL AT ONCE, you must e-mail them to yourself OR save the records to disk for later printing.
E-mail results (Send multiple detailed records)
Check the box(es) next to the items you wish to E-mail (STEP 1)
Click View Selected Records (STEP 2)
Click Send Records (STEP 3)
Keep Record Format as Standard
Subject line for e-mail (STEP 4)
You MUSTtype in an E-mail address (STEP 4 continued)
Click Submit (STEP5)
NOTE: If you e-mail results to yourself, you will automatically get all of the detailed information (including full text if available);not just Author, title, and date.
Save results to disk*(Save multiple detailed records)
Check the box(es) next to the items you wish to save to disk (STEP 1)
Click the View Selected Records (STEP 2)
Click the Save Records button (STEP 3)
Keep Record Format as Standard
Click Submit (STEP 4)
Click Save
Select where you want to save (A:/or C:/) (STEP 5)
Type in a filename with.doc at the end (STEP 6)
Example: results.doc
Click Save (STEP 7)
When download is complete, Click Close
NOTE: If you save results to disk in *.doc format, you will automatically get all of the detailed information (including full text if available);not just Author, title, and date, in MS Word.
* You WILL NOTbe able to save records to disk using the computers on the Main Floor. If saving work to your own floppy disks, please use the computer lab on the middle floor of the library.
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Personalized search options |
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E-SHELF
MetaLib allows registered users to keep selected records in a personal file for use in future sessions. Selections can be made from the Result List or from within the Full View of a record.
From the Result List, select one or more records with the checkbox, and click the ADD TO E-SHELF button. The records will be filed in the eShelf in a temporary folder.
To add an entry from the Full View of a record, simply click on the ADD TO E-SHELF button. A form will open where you can indicate a folder name and add an optional note.
Use the VIEW E-SHELF link from the STL MetaLibrary banner to access your E-Shelf. Items kept in the E-Shelf for future reference will not maintain their hypertext links but you can get SFX services relevant to them at any later time.
To view saved items, click on V (View) to see the full bibliographic record and to get the full range of services:SAVE, SEND and SFX. Changes to the E-Shelf folder names and comments are made by clicking on the U (Update) button. Remove entries by clicking on D (Delete).
E-Shelf records can be sorted by Folder name or date record saved to E-Shelf. |
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HISTORY
The HISTORY screen displays searches from the current session, which can be saved for future sessions, as well as previously saved searches. Both current and saved searches can be reactivated within the original resources by clicking on the underlined text.
Saved searches can be deleted by clicking on the DELETE button.
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ALERTS
Alerts are updates of a search that runs automatically on a set of resources you selected, at intervals of your choice. MetaLib will notify you by email each time new records have been added that meet the conditions of your search. The email notification will include a link allowing you to rerun the search and see the new records.
Searches can be made into Alerts from the SEARCH HITS screen or the Result List screen.
A number of fields must be filled in on the Alerts form. Mandatory fields are indicated with an asterisk. Assign a title to help identify the Alert. Make sure that the your e-mail address that appears in the form is the one to which a notification should be sent. Indicate whether you wish to receive notification each time the Alert is run, even if no new items were found. Indicate how often the Alert should run. Lastly, select the libraries or databases in which to run the Alert, and click on SUBMIT.
The Alerts button on the My Account screen brings you to a list of Alerts already created. From here you can modify an Alert, duplicate it (in order to run it on different resources), delete it, or run an alert search now.
If have questions about STL MetaLibrary not answered by this site please email your questions to
metahelp@lib3.newpaltz.edu.
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