LIAS on the Web . . . Brings the Library to You www.lias.psu.edu
Added Functionality for LIAS on the Web
LIAS on the Web . . . Brings the Library to You www.lias.psu.edu
Added Functionality for LIAS on the Web
LIAS users can now easily conduct complex searches in The CAT, the Libraries Online Catalog of more than 2 million items, and other local LIAS databases such as Periodical Abstracts, ERIC (education), and ABI/Inform (business).
A new page, called the Detailed Search Page, provides several boxes where users can construct searches using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT, ADJACENT, WITHIN) to pair concepts together. These Boolean operators permit the user to expand or limit search results by joining or eliminating specified words. The boxes are arranged so that the user chooses the Boolean searching criteria from dropdown menu choices, and then types search word(s) in the empty boxes. No guess work is needed as to how to construct a complex search.
A Detailed Search button appears on all Web LIAS pages, so it's easy to find.
Some searches simply join two different concepts together, and deliver results that contain all requested words. The words don't have to be adjacent; they can occur anywhere in these LIAS Headings: Authors, Titles, Subjects, or Series. Example:
coffee AND brazil
More complicated searches permit nesting terms in parentheses, so that nested operations are performed before other operations. For example, the following two searches yield very different results:
coffee AND (brazil OR venezuela)
[27 hits in The CAT]
coffee AND brazil OR venezuela
[2722 hits in The CAT]
Detailed Searchingdelivers a lot more power in LIAS database searching. Although Boolean capabilities have been available in LIAS databases since 1993, their inclusion in a Web-based page allows difficult searches to be executed with ease.
I Want It... or, I Don't Want It
I Want It,a button on The CAT, lets users "reserve" any currently available item, or "recall" any item previously on loan to another user, at any Penn State Libraries location. Now, if you decide you no longer need the item, you can CANCEL the request on the Web, using the same I Want It button. Requesting items on the Web is easy, and now canceling requests is easy too!
Journals & More Database
To make it easy to quickly find journal information, a subset of The CAT has been extracted to create a new database called Journals & More. This database contains descriptions about all the journals that Penn State Libraries owns, including call numbers, holdings information, and locations. It is especially useful when users are searching any of the numerous Web journal databases that LIAS provides access to, such as Medline and Current Contents; users can open a simultaneous session of Journals & More to verify if journals they find are in the Libraries' collection. Although journal information also resides in The CAT, this database, focused solely on journals, is a definite time saver.
LIAS Change of Address Form
A web-based Change of Address Form now lets you update your email or local street address in LIAS on the Web. Keeping address information up-to-date ensures that Overdue, Recall and other library notices are delivered quickly and correctly. Formerly, this procedure was handled by filling out a form at the Circulation desk. As an added convenience, this Web page includes a link to Penn State's Address Updates web page, where students can find instructions on keeping their address current for other University correspondence.
DCE Authentication
Effective August 10, 1999, LIAS requires undergraduate and graduate students to use their Penn State Access Account User ID and password to access the full range of LIAS services. Previously, they had the option of using their Access Account OR their Last Name and 9-digit ID number. The Last Name/Nine-Digit number is no longer supported for students.
Faculty and staff can continue to authenticate both ways, since some of these users don't have Access Accounts.
