Author Archives: Terry Simpkins

LibrarySearch!

LibrarySearch is here!

The library has switched its discovery platform from Summon to one from EBSCO, which we are calling “LibrarySearch.” LibrarySearch will work very much like Summon: it will still retrieve results from the library catalog (MIDCAT), and it will still find article-level results from our subscribed journals and databases (as well as beyond, if desired).

We made this switch for a number of reasons. LibrarySearch:

offers better discovery of non-full-text indexes such as MLA Bibliography and RILM (in fact, these databases are not indexed by Summon, due to their dissatisfaction with how Summon handles non-full-text databases)
has features not available in Summon, such as a view into which databases search results are coming from, and the option to save search results directly into online storage providers such as Dropbox
is more tightly integrated with the library’s catalog than Summon
is (like Summon) a very stable and widely-used system
is highly customizable
is also now available to students and colleagues at the William Tell Coleman library at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies

Of course, since LibrarySearch is provided to us by a different vendor, you will see changes in how search results are ranked and displayed, and the interface will look somewhat different.

Please see go/librarysearch to try out the new system. As with any new system, there are bound to be some bugs, broken links, unexpected results or behavior, etc. Please submit problems, or suggestions for improvements, to Terry Simpkins in the Library (x5045).

Interlibrary Loan Service changes

Dear Library Patrons:
You may have noticed that turnaround times to complete ILL requests
have of late at times been slightly longer than in the past. As a
result of workforce planning, we have reduced the number of staff
working in this department by .5 FTE. We will of course continue to
fill requests as quickly as we can, but do bear this in mind when
submitting requests with hard deadlines. Please note the following as
well:

* ILL requests submitted with incomplete or erroneous bibliographic
information may be returned to you as unfulfilled and/or in need of
additional information

* ILL staff may not be able to devote quite as much time as in the
past to filling requests for particularly rare or hard-to-acquire
items

You should continue to use our online form
(http://go.middlebury.edu/illiad) to submit ILL requests and as noted
above, provide as much and as accurate bibliographic information as
possible. If you need to speak to a member of our dedicated ILL
staff, you can stop by the Davis Family Library circulation desk
during the following hours:

Monday – Thursday: 9am-5pm
Friday: 9am-3pm

We apologize for any inconvenience these changes may cause. If you have questions or comments about these changes, please feel free to contact:

Michael Roy, Dean of Libraries (mdroy@middlebury.edu)

Terry Simpkins, Director, Access and Discovery Services (tsimpkin@middlebury.edu)

Summer Reading!

Summer’s almost here! The library has added 30 new titles to our print browsing collection, and another 30 (including many non-English titles) to our collection of e- and audiobooks (go/overdrive/). These books are available for borrowing by the entire College community, so enjoy the copious Vermont sun with some lemonade and a new book!

Problems with Format Limits (“Scopes”) in MIDCAT (Library Catalog)

MIDCAT, the Library catalog, is currently experiencing some problems with searches limited to certain media formats (“scopes” in library lingo). This problem is affecting searches limited to formats selected from the drop-down menu as well those selected using the tabs across the top of the search screen:

Specifically: searches using AUTHOR, TITLE, etc., indexes in combination with the format limits are NOT working properly (we definitely have CDs with “Beethoven” as the author!):

The easiest way to work around this might be to simply use a KEYWORD search. KEYWORD searches in combination with the limits (scopes) seem to be unaffected:

If a KEYWORD search returns too many results, or is undesirable for some other reason, another way to work around this issue is as follows:

1) Perform a search of any kind WITHOUT using one of the media limits. This search can be a search of a specific index (e.g., AUTHOR, TITLE, SUBJECT, etc.) or a KEYWORD search.

2) Once you receive your results, click either the “Modify Search” button (if you searched by KEYWORD) or the “Limit/Sort Search” button (if you searched using an AUTHOR, TITLE, etc. index)

3) From the next screen, you can choose a format limit and click “Submit”

We apologize for the inconvenience this is causing, and hope to have this corrected soon.

Terry Simpkins
Director, Discovery & Access Services
Davis Family Library 135A
Middlebury College
110 Storrs Ave.
Middlebury, VT 05753
802-443-5045
tsimpkin@middlebury.edu

Upcoming library catalog (MIDCAT) downtime – Monday, June 11

In preparation for our migration of the Middlebury and MIIS library catalogs to a new version of Innovative Interfaces, Inc., software, the library catalog (MIDCAT) will be unavailable on Monday, June 11, 2018.

The library will remain open, but you will not be able to check out, return, or renew materials until the system upgrade is complete. We do expect Summon (go.middlebury.edu/summon) to remain functional if you need to search our journals and databases, or if you simply want to use it to lookup an item to see if the library owns it.

Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Terry Simpkins
Director, Discovery and Access Services
Davis Family Library
802-443-5045

MIDCAT downtime tomorrow, Tuesday, 3/6/18

Hello again

This is another reminder that MIDCAT will be unavailable on Tuesday, Mar. 6, between 4AM-8AM. This includes staff client side functions as well as the webPAC (go/midcat/) and includes all lookup and checkout functions, among other services.

Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Terry Simpkins
Director, Discovery and Access Services
Davis Family Library
802-443-5045

Upcoming library catalog (MIDCAT) downtime – take 2

Greetings!

As most of you probably are aware, Innovative’s first attempt at adding a 2nd serials and acquisitions unit to our Millennium library catalog was not successful. Therefore, we are trying again on Tuesday, Mar. 6, between 4AM-8AM. As with our first try, during this period, MIDCAT will be unavailable, including lookup and checkout functions.

Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Terry Simpkins
Director, Discovery and Access Services
Davis Family Library
802-443-5045

Upcoming library catalog (MIDCAT) downtime

In preparation for our upcoming merge of the Middlebury and MIIS library catalogs, our vendor, Innovative Interfaces, Inc., will be adding a 2^nd serials and acquisition unit to our Millennium installation. This addition requires a short period of downtime, which will occur on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 4AM-8AM. During this period, MIDCAT will be unavailable, including lookup and checkout functions.

Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Terry Simpkins
Director, Discovery and Access Services
Davis Family Library
802-443-5045