A New Way to Access Information : MetaLib
Have you ever been frustrated by the need to search our Library's catalog, then each of our databases, one after the other, looking for information? Have you ever wished you could search several of these sources at a time, in one easy step? Now you can do this, with our new metasearching instrument known as MetaLib.
MetaLib provides a convenient way to combine your choice of information sources and search them all at one go, using a very simple Google-style interface. You can retrieve records from various library catalogs or databases, material from electronic journals ... and if the content is available in full text, you can link straight to it and read it online.
You can make use of sets or groups of resources created by our Library staff to guide your work. Or, you can compose your own sets of the resources you use most often. You can access them this way without having to cope with the unique characteristics of each native interface -- one search method works for them all.
In this tutorial, we will present some of the techniques you are likely to want to try. We think you will find this new capability will help you pull up the information you need in a quick, easy and flexible way.
How
to connect to MetaLib online
On our Library public website, choose MetaLib. This brings you to the Quick Search screen. Notice that some of the resources are "locked" with yellow padlock symbols. In order to gain access to those resources, you need to Login. Look for the tiny padlock symbol in the upper right corner of the screen. Click on that symbol.
It is possible to search MetaLib as a Guest, but we don't recommend it, because you will be prevented from accessing any of our subscription databases and full-text resources, which we are not allowed (because of vendor site license restrictions) to make available to the general public. Faculty, students and staff of our three Richmond Theological Consortium institutions are authorized to use this resource.
TO LOG IN : It's necessary for our campus Information Technology office to have a current network user ID and password on file for each person who wishes to use these resources remotely.
For Union-PSCE students, staff and faculty : your network login (the same one you use for our campus email system or Blackboard) should give you access to MetaLib. Do not use the UTSNT\ prefix; just use the personal name part of your network user ID (such as jane.doe or jdoe).
For students, staff and faculty of BTSR : you may need to check with our Librarian for Academic Computing Support, Leland Deeds, to make sure your current ID and password are entered into our proxy server. Please contact Leland at 804-278-4217 or ldeeds@union-psce.edu for further information
Enter your User ID and Password, and click on the Login button.
If you have logged in successfully, you now have access to all of the indexes, full-text databases and electronic journals owned by the Morton Library, and you will be able to save information and customize the MetaLib program for yourself, using the techniques that are explained in this tutorial.
Please note : we are still working on the implementation of the MetaLib program, including the login protocols. We are trying to make this process simpler and more consistent. While this work is in progress, you may detect some problems with it. For individual help, please contact our Reference Librarian.
