What’s New

Some Database Cancellations and Changes Coming July 1

Beginning July 1, several OhioLINK databases will no longer be available. The affected databases are funded through the combination of an Institute of Museum and Library Services LSTA grant awarded by the State Library of Ohio and the state appropriations of the Libraries Connect Ohio (LCO) partners, and are available to all Ohioans. LCO is a collaborative effort of OhioLINK, OPLIN, INFOhio, and the State Library of Ohio. Libraries Connect Ohio is constantly striving to provide the strongest portfolio of research resources possible within budgetary limitations to serve the diverse lifelong learning needs of all Ohioans.

The following databases will be modified or no longer be available as of July 1:

• Consumer Health Complete (EBSCO) – Try Health Source Consumer Edition instead.
• America's News Magazines (NewsBank) – Search for magazines in the E-Journal Finder instead.
• America's Newspapers (NewsBank) – State and national papers will no longer be available, except for four major statewide newspapers -- the Columbus Dispatch, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Toledo Blade, and the Dayton Daily News (as well as archives of the Cincinnati Post). This package is being funded by the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN). If state budget developments reduce the OPLIN budget to the point where OPLIN cannot afford this newspaper package, then it will be discontinued before the fall term. For other newspaper coverage, try LexisNexis Academic and Newspaper Source instead.

Got Research Questions? Get Answers Online from a Librarian! (Even During Summer)

Taking classes this summer? Tackling a paper or research project? Whatever the reason, sometimes you really need help from an information expert. When you have research questions, turn to the research experts, your librarians!

Save time and frustration, chat online with a librarian!
Even during the summer you can depend on KnowItNow Academic to get live online help with any and all research questions from a librarian at a participating OhioLINK library. KnowItNow Academic is available to students, staff and faculty members at OhioLINK member institutions. Summer 2009 hours: Mondays through Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursdays; from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Outside of these hours, or if academic librarians are not available, you can get online help with your research questions from public librarians using the regular KnowItNow service.

When you use KnowItNow Academic you may be helped by an academic librarian from another OhioLINK library than your own. If you prefer to talk to a librarian at your library, please contact your library directly.

More About KnowItNow
KnowItNow is a live online information service provided free of charge for the citizens of Ohio by the State Library of Ohio and your local public library. Professional librarians are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer your reference questions and assist you in finding information. KnowItNow is made available free of charge to all residents of Ohio through a federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant awarded by the State Library of Ohio.

Maintenance Alert: Quick Search May Be Unavailable During Maintenance, June 12, 12-4 AM

OhioLINK staff will be performing planned maintenance on the machines that run Quick Search @ OhioLINK on Friday, June 12, from 12-4 a.m. Quick Search may be unavailable or not fully-functioning during this time.

Other services that rely on Quick Search will also be affected during the maintenance period, including:

• the search options on the OhioLINK home page,
• the all EBC Collections search in the OhioLINK E-Book Center, and
• Quick Search boxes on local library Web sites.

Heading Home for the Summer? Don't Forget About OhioLINK!

Ah summer, time to hit the beach, travel to parts unknown, and grab every possible minute of sunshine. But if your summer plans also include doing research, please remember that you can have your OhioLINK books and other library materials delivered to any participating library, including two public libraries, Cuyahoga County Public Library and Westerville Public Library. Here's how: 1. Request an item from the OhioLINK Library Catalog. 2. Select your institution. Enter your name and ID. 3. Select a pickup institution (any participating library of your choice) from the list. 4. Select a pickup location at the pickup institution. You'll need to take your library card and a picture ID (for some people these are one and the same) with you when you pick up your requested materials. OhioLINK materials can also be returned to any participating library.

And whether you're leaving the state this summer or not, you still have millions of articles, 55,000+ e-books, 3,000 digital videos, online practice tests and much more available to you anytime, anywhere from OhioLINK and your library. All you need is your name and ID information to access OhioLINK online.

About the image: Little Girl at the Beach, a photograph by Ernst Niebergall, is part of the Lake Erie's Yesterdays collection. The collection is available in the OhioLINK Digital Media Center.

Maintenance alert: ETD Center, OLinks and more unavailable for maintenance, June 5, 12-1AM

Several OhioLINK resources and services, including the ETD Center, OLinks, E-Journal Finder, and OhioLINK EZProxy, will be unavailable while planned maintenance is performed on Friday, June 5, from 12-1 a.m. The following services and resources will be affected:

• the E-Journal Finder
• MyEJC
• Electronic Theses and Dissertations database (search/retrieval and submissions)
• EZProxy, which provides remote access to databases and resource not hosted at OhioLINK (e.g. you will be able to access the EJC during this time, but not EBSCOhost databases)
• the List of OhioLINK Databases, including By Subject, By Type and By Name or Title. The OSearch databases themselves will still be available if you link to them directly.
• member library contact information
• OLinks, OhioLINK’s linking service

New Interfaces for Scholarly & Reference and Literature E-Book Collections

A newly upgraded version of the OhioLINK Electronic Book Center software will go live on Monday, June 1, 2009. This process involves a DNS change which may take up to 24 hours to been seen by everyone.

While the main OhioLINK E-Book Center page found at http://ebooks.ohiolink.edu will not change, the upgrade allows for several improvements to the software that runs the Scholarly & Reference and American & English Literature Collections, including:

• The ability to narrow search results by subject (Scholarly & Reference Books Collection only) and date (both collections)
• The ability to limit advanced searches by a date range or single year
• Improved navigation and browse capabilities
• Persistent links for individual books
• The ability to e-mail title, date and URL of saved records