GVPL Online Service Updates

In response to feedback from their customers, EBSCO have added several enhancements to the recently redesigned EBSCOhost interface.

GVPL Databases that use this interface include MasterFile Premier and Academic Search Premier.

Below is a summary of the new features available:

• A new Image Quick View limiter replaces the Articles With Images limiter
• The Image Quick View limiter includes multiple sort options by image type.
• Related questions:
• Can I limit my EBSCOhost search results to articles that have Image Quick View available?
• Can I set the Image Quick View limiter to display under Limit your results on the EBSCOhost Result List screen?
• Direct link to the Basic Search Screen from both the Basic and Advanced Search Screens
• Keyword renamed New Search
• Result List mouse over text changed from Refine Search to Search Modes and Limiters
• Entire phrase for cited references on Result List replaces the number of references in parentheses
• Search mode specified on Result List green bar
• Search History View Results anchor positioning improved
• Date Slider Bar with original search date ranges How do I use the Date Slider feature in EBSCOhost?
• Additional Help link added to Choose Databases Screen
• Publication name and date added to NewsBank results

We’ve added four new Help pages to assist our Catalogue users:

• Getting Started
• Keyword Search
• Subject Heading search and
• Save & Export Records.

We now offer three ways to find Children’s Picture Books at GVPL:

1. Basic Search page
   Enter your search term(s) and select Picture Book under Format (e.g., Keyword Horses and Format Picture Book will give you a list of Children’s Picture Books about Horses.)
2. Advanced Keyword Search
   Enter your search term(s) and select Picture Book from the Material Type drop-down menu.
3. Material Type
   Enter your search term(s) and select Picture Book from the drop-down menu.

Starting this week you’ll be able to limit your NoveList searches using radio buttons (highlighted with red border below) from the NoveList home page. Please note that these choices are optional and are recommended when you need to narrow your search:

Of course, if you would like to see all NoveList content associated with a given author, title etc., you can still type your term in the “Find” box without making these other choices.  Your results will include all book titles, Author Read-alikes, Recommended Reads and other articles and lists associated with your search term.

In the next few months these new features will become available through Library to Go.

Library to Go is the province-wide service that provides audiobook and eBook downloads. We’re sure these new features will make a great service even better!

1. Wish List
It’s difficult to browse through hundreds of great titles trying to remember which ones you’d like to check out. Not anymore. You’ll be able to add titles to a ‘Wish List’. Anytime you visit the service, you’ll be able to access a list of titles you’ve added to your ‘Wish List’. Titles will remain in the ‘Wish List’ until you remove them.

2. Edit Email Address on Current Holds
If you change your email address during the waiting time for a title, you’ll have the option to update it in your Digital Library account. You can edit your email address in My Account > My Holds.

Note: These instructions only apply to your Library to Go account for downloadable titles. We also provide instructions on How to Change Your Email Address or Phone Number in your GVPL library account.

3. Displaying ‘Also Recommended Titles’

When you view a title details page, you’ll see a new section labeled ‘If you like his title, then you might also like’. The titles chosen for display are those that have creator(s) and/or imprint and/or publisher and/or keywords in common with the title on the page you’re viewing.

4. Search by awards, and display of awards on title details pages

Currently, you can search by more than 60 awards in Library to Go. Soon, you’ll be able to search on these awards from the Expanded Search page. Additionally, if a title has received an award, this is displayed on the title details page. The award is shown as a hyperlink; you can simply click this link to view a list of titles that have received the same award. Some notable awards include Newbery Medal, PEN/Faulkner Award, Audie Awards, Best Books for Young Adults, Edgar Allan Poe Award and the Nebula Award.

5. Full Text Searching

The Basic Search will be updated to support full text searching. This increases response times, and will allow you to search more fields than before: Title, Publisher, Creator, ISBN, Subject, Publisher-supplied Keywords and Library of Congress subject headings. With full text searching, you’ll have the option to search on multiple terms. The search results will be ranked by relevance.

We hope you enjoy these new features! Please let us know if you have any questions.

Now that everyone’s back to school, don’t forget to make use of the graphs and data tables in CultureGrams.

Wondering about the number of internet users in Mali vs. Belgium? How about the literacy rates in various African nations? Build your own data tables to draw comparisons between the world’s countries or regions.

This is also a useful tool for students who want to compare statistics from their country with those from another part of the world.

Reminder: An all-new CultureGrams interface will go live in the coming weeks! Catch a glimpse of the new look before it goes live.

You may see the word vault written inside some of the books in our Local History Room.

They were kept in the large bank vault in the basement of the former Central Library — the old Carnegie Library on Yates at Blanshard. These “vault” book are an important part of our Local History collection.

Tales from the Vault is our ongoing look at local history.

In it we present some of the stories you’ll find in our Local History Room’s old and rare books, newspaper clippings and hundreds of more recently published books of local interest.

We now offer Date Due Alerts by Email — email reminders before your items are due.

When you use this service you’ll receive email notices:

• 1 day before your 7-day loans are due
• 2 days before your 14- and 21-day loans are due

To Use This Service

1. Use your library card number and password to login to My Library Account.
2. Click the Modify Personal Info button.
3. Make sure your email address is included in your account.
4. Make sure you have selected the Email notice option.
5. Click Submit to save your settings.

More information about Date Due Alerts by Email is available online.

You frequently ask questions about GVPL’s catalogue and My Library Account features. We use your questions and comments to improve our online services.

Now, answers to your most frequently asked questions questions about the catalogue and My Library Account are available from the Catalogue Help pages.

If you look under The Basics you’ll see a link to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Here’s a sample of what’s included:

Why doesn’t your website doesn’t remember my barcode or password?

You control these settings in your browser’s Tools options. (We don’t use cookies or related technology to store your barcode or password.) These sites provide information on how to manage these settings in Internet Explorer 6.0 (AutoComplete settings) or Firefox 2.0 (Privacy settings).

I placed a hold and it said it was successful. Why hasn’t it shown up on my list?

When you place a hold it can take up to 2 minutes for the item to appear on your holds list. If you want to make sure it’s there the best thing to do is log out of your library account and then log back in to check.

How can I delete my old library card number from my computer? It keeps popping up when I try to login to My Library Account.

This AutoComplete feature is controlled by your Internet browser. This setting retains your user names, account numbers or passwords. To delete an obsolete library account number:

1. Go to My Library Account.
2. Enter the number “2″ (the first number of your library card). This should prompt your browser to display a list of all cards associated with this web page on your computer.
3. Use the down arrow on your keyboard to highlight the obsolete number and press the Delete button on your keyboard.
4. Do this for each account number you’d like to remove.

For additional information:

• Firefox “Deleting autocomplete entries”
• Internet Explorer “To enter Web information more easily”

Now you can comment on newspaper articles you read in Library PressDisplay (Digital editions).

To read a comment: When anyone leaves a comment you’ll see a green “speech balloon” attached to the article’s headline. Click this speech balloon to read the comment(s).

To leave a comment: When you hold your mouse over an article’s headline a small toolbar with four choices will appear. Click the “speech balloon button” on the right to comment.

Comments are moderated by both NewspaperDirect (the company that sells Library PressDisplay) and the newspaper publishers.

Library PressDisplay (Digital editions) includes newspapers from 55 countries in 33 languages. It features full-colour images of every page – just like the print version. It also includes 60 days of back issues and lets you comment, listen, translate, magnify, download, save and share.