New fines payment kiosk

Over the summer we'll be making some changes in automated library fines payment. As part of this. we've just installed a new fines payment kiosk at the Campus Library. You may never need to use it, but if you do, please let know what you think of it.

New card readers on self-service machines

After unfortunate supply delays the new Keele card readers have been installed onto our self-service machines in the Campus Library and the Health Library. Just place your card next to the card reader for a couple of seconds in the same way as you do when buying a coffee in the SU!

Catalogue Plus - 'more like this'

Another new feature was introduced in Catalogue Plus and the Classic Catalogue this morning. When you're looking at the full record for a book, underneath the 'Similar items' section you'll now see a 'See more' link. This brings up a pop-up window with links to similar books by subject, author, etc. complete with book covers. This should be very useful if you've found a useful book and are looking for other books on the same topic.

New feature in Catalogue Plus

This morning's upgrade to Catalogue Plus included a new Shelf Browse feature. If you click on the shelfmark for a book you've found, the system will bring up a popup window of a virtual library shelf, indicating the books shelved next to the one you've found. This could be useful for finding more books on the same subject. Hope you find it useful, and please let us know what you think.

Keele Research Repository and Catalogue Plus

This morning we launched another new feature in Catalogue Plus. Anything you put into the search box now searches across Keele's Research Repository as well as the Library Catalogue and most of our databases.The Research Repository aims to make Keele's scholarly research freely available.

When you've done a search you will see 'Keele Research' appear as an extra tab at the top left of the window and as an extra Collection in the column of facets on the left side, and you can of course click on the title to get more information. The technology isn't yet up to giving a direct link to the full text (although we're working on it), but it informs you of  the existence of the information which may be accessed using the link to the Research Repository on the bottom right corner of the screen.

New feature in Catalogue Plus!

We've just enabled a new feature in Catalogue Plus which is now under testing. When you look at the full display for a book there is now a 'Find it' button on the right of the screen next to its location and shelfmark.

Click on this and you'll see a map of where it is in the library, which should make it easier for you to find it:

This feature works on most modern browsers, and for Catalogue Plus and the Classic Catalogue. We hope you find it helpful, and please let us know what you think of it.

More new features in Catalogue Plus

In Catalogue Plus we want to give you as much information as we can anything you find so that you can decide whether it is useful to you. To that end we've now added 'Other editions', 'Similar items' and 'Subject tags' features, which tell you more about what you're looking at and link to other useful items. A picture probably explains this better, and below is a screenshot showing these new features in operation:

As you'll see, we have Other editions of Judith Bell's invaluable 'Doing your research project'. Catalogue Plus is also recommending Similar books on the same subject, and it also gives Subject tags which tell you more about what the book covers. 

If you have any questions on this new feature or would like to know more about it please let us know.

New feature in Catalogue Plus

A new feature has gone live in Catalogue Plus this week.If you have searched for a journal title which we have in print, such as New Scientist or Nature, you will now see a green @Keele icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. This is a link to the ejournals A-Z, so you can click on it and it will tell you whether we also have that journal in electronic format, and what coverage we have. Note that not all of our print journals are available in electronic format, and of course that we have far more journals available only electronically. Please let us know what you think of this new feature, or if you have any questions about it.

Keele Library widget

Have you ever come across a book on another website and wondered whether Keele has a copy? Up until now, you had to make a note of the title and retype it into the catalogue. Now you don't - we have a browser widget to do it for you. 

Simply click on a link in the Bookmarks bar in your browser and the widget goes away and checks for you, bringing up a link to the library copy - it doesn't even have to be exactly the same edition.

Developed in collaboration with our colleagues at LibraryThing, there are versions of the widget for most browsers. You can read more about it and download the widget to your PC here. Let us know what you think!

Looking for information?

Looking for information and don't know where to start? Why not try our new discovery service Encore?

This combines searching the library catalogue with some of our major journal databases at the same time, saving you time and complication.

Give it a try here, and let us know what you think.

New search system under test

http://encore.keele.ac.uk

Locating information for an essay or indeed any kind of research isn't always as quick or easy a process as it ideally should be. Having to repeat your search in multiple information resources such as the Library catalogue and journal databases can be inconvenient
and time-consuming. To meet this need, the Library has set up a new system called Encore which allows searches on the library catalogue and most of our major ejournal databases at the same time. The default search combines books and articles, showing the top 3 or 4 most relevant articles and giving direct access to the full text of journal articles. However if you click on the 'Articles' tab you can choose to focus your search on the most subject-relevant resources. Of course, due to database licensing, the full-text is available only to Keele staff and students, so you must login using either your IT username and password or your library barcode.

Please let us know what you think of the system. Although we've tested it thoroughly we'd be particularly grateful if you notice anything which doesn't appear to work as it should.