GOOD TO KNOW
Katie Rose McEneely
Issue date: 10/30/08 Section: News
Looking it up gets a whole lot easier: Encore, explained
Mossey Library staff and student workers welcomed Encore, a new comprehensive search system, to the list of available library databases earlier this year. But most students still don't know how the new system differs from the old library catalogue, why it's such an innovative search tool - or even how to use it.
Encore uses a cloud system, which means when a student searches for, say, Shakespeare, not only does a list of relevant terms pop up, but so does a sidebar with a jumble of words associated with the search term. The more often a term is associated with the search word, the larger it appears in the cloud. For example, the most prominent words associated with a search for Shakespeare are "DVD" and "English drama"; clicking on one of these tags narrows the search to catalogue items falling under both the categories.
But the cloud system isn't the only way students can narrow their search terms. There's also an option to refine a search, or set a filter in place. These filters include searching by format - book, video, e-books, music and spoken record - language, publish date and "search found in," which refers to where the search term is located in the result (subject, title or author). If a refining option, called a tag, is chosen in error, it is easily removed by clicking on the red circle next to the tag.
If the library system doesn't have what a student is looking for, the sidebar once again offers more options. Not only can students use Research Pro, an online core database search system, but there's also a direct link to the Michigan e-Library system MeLCat.
As in any library situation, if students have more questions, ask a reference worker or a library staff member for more details.
Mossey Library staff and student workers welcomed Encore, a new comprehensive search system, to the list of available library databases earlier this year. But most students still don't know how the new system differs from the old library catalogue, why it's such an innovative search tool - or even how to use it.
Encore uses a cloud system, which means when a student searches for, say, Shakespeare, not only does a list of relevant terms pop up, but so does a sidebar with a jumble of words associated with the search term. The more often a term is associated with the search word, the larger it appears in the cloud. For example, the most prominent words associated with a search for Shakespeare are "DVD" and "English drama"; clicking on one of these tags narrows the search to catalogue items falling under both the categories.
But the cloud system isn't the only way students can narrow their search terms. There's also an option to refine a search, or set a filter in place. These filters include searching by format - book, video, e-books, music and spoken record - language, publish date and "search found in," which refers to where the search term is located in the result (subject, title or author). If a refining option, called a tag, is chosen in error, it is easily removed by clicking on the red circle next to the tag.
If the library system doesn't have what a student is looking for, the sidebar once again offers more options. Not only can students use Research Pro, an online core database search system, but there's also a direct link to the Michigan e-Library system MeLCat.
As in any library situation, if students have more questions, ask a reference worker or a library staff member for more details.
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