eBrary bookshelf migration

As indicated in an earlier update, LLR customers who previously logged in to the eBrary eBook platform using an Athens username and password and who wish to retain access to their customised eBrary Bookshelf content can have that content moved across to their new eBrary account (based on their university username and password).

Instructions on how to arrange the transfer had been added to a ‘Bookshelf Migration Instructions’ button in the banner of the eBrary interface.

However, initial experience suggests that some customers have found the process difficult to follow. As a result, migration requests will now be mediated by the eServices team who will liaise with eBrary support on the customer’s behalf to arrange the transfer. An updated and simplified version of the instructions now reads:

From 1 September 2009, access to ebooks on the ebrary platform for Nottingham Trent University staff and students is by university username and password.

If you have logged into ebrary previously (using an Athens username and password) you may have stored notes, bookmarks and highlighted sections of text in your ebrary Bookshelf.

If you do not want to retain any of the ebrary Bookshelf data that you previously created under your Athens login, you need take no further action. However, if you want to transfer this Bookshelf data so that you can access it with your university username and password, please do the following:

Send an email with the subject line eBrary bookshelf migration to eServices email address and include your university username in the body of the email.

LLR will then arrange with ebrary support to have your bookshelf content migrated to your new university username and password login.

Once confirmation has been received from eBrary that the migration has been completed, the eServices team will contact the customer by email and ask them to confirm that the process has been successful.

JISC eBook Observatory Project – ‘in perpetuity’ eBook titles

Work to update the catalogue records for 36 eBook titles involved in the now-concluded JISC eBook Observatory Project has been completed. The 20 titles for which ‘in perpetuity’ access has been granted are the following (the first value is the ALEPH system number for the record):

426766
Engineering materials 1

426784
Engineering materials 2

426788
The dynamics of employee relations

426792
Measurement and instrumentation principles

426795
Power without responsibility

426797
The public relations handbook

426800
Media, gender and identity

426803
Media institutions and audiences

426804
Writing for journalists

426805
Cinema studies

426808
Marketing strategy and competitive positioning

426855
Integrated marketing communications

426858
Organisational behaviour and analysis

426859
Management

426860
Structural and stress analysis

426861
English for journalists

426868
Coulson and Richardson’s chemical engineering

426869
Fundamentals of wireless communication

426870
Aerodynamics for engineering students

426871
Coulson & Richardson’s chemical engineering

All these titles are on the MyiLibrary platform and access is by university username and password (using the Shibboleth framework). A note in the MARC record for each of these titles indicates: “This eBook is a legacy item from the JISC eBook Observatory project collection, access to which has been granted in perpetuity.”

RefWorks – workflow for any mismatched accounts for returning students

The account migration from Athens to Shibboleth authentication on the RefWorks platform has gone extremely well, with only a tiny number of individual account issues requiring further intervention. However, it is possible that, as returning students begin to login to RefWorks in greater numbers, more issues may arise. We have become aware that if a student mistyped their university username at the point that they first registered for RefWorks the identifier that Shibboleth releases to RefWorks will not match, and they will not be associated with their previous saved record set.

If you encounter any instances where returning students (or staff members) logging in to RefWorks find that previously saved references (stored under their Athens login) are ‘missing’, please send the customer’s details to the Lib eServices mailbox, and reassure the customer that previously saved records will be restored to their account. eServices can then make the necessary account changes to reinstate access to that saved content.

COPAC – new combined search option

Through the COPAC union catalogue search interface, it is now possible to search the Nottingham Trent University Library catalogue alongside the collected records in the COPAC index. To access this option it is necessary to login to COPAC using a university username and password (using the Shibboleth framework). A guide to making use of this combined search facility has been added to the eServices Support wiki.

Resource trial: EBSCO Art and Architecture Complete

Trial access to the EBSCO Art and Architecture Complete database has been enabled in eSearch. The trial continues until 30 October 2009. Access is direct on-campus and by university username and password from off-campus. This new EBSCO resource remains in ‘beta’ – meaning that all of the content and possible functionality of the resource may not yet be available. The resource is described as follows:

Art & Architecture Complete – BETA is a bibliographic database that provides indexing and abstracts for more than 630 academic journals, magazines and trade publications with full text for over 240 periodicals and 140 books, as well as selective coverage for over 50 publications. The database has been designed for use by a diverse audience that includes art scholars, artists, designers, college students, and general viewers.

Please share feedback on this resource trial with ALT member Rachel Campbell.

Engineering Village – Shibboleth access restored

Off-campus access to the Compendex and Inspec databases (on the Engineering Village platform) which was reported as unavailable on 5 Septermber is now available once again. On-campus access is direct and off-campus access is by university username and password (using the Shibboleth framework).

FAME – Shibboleth authentication

A guide to logging in to the FAME service using Shibboleth has been added to the eServices Support wiki. Access on-campus continues to be direct, with off-campus access now available using a university username and password. Please note that to pick up the appropriate login link, it is essential that off-campus customers access FAME through eSearch.