The journal Retina is now available as an electronic journal on honni. To access the journal just type the title into the new honni search box.

The new honni website uses advanced web searching to combine book and article searching in a single interface to make resources easier to find. The new approach provides a radically different way of searching for library resources and has required complex and detailed development work which will be ongoing for some time. Please bear with us in this initial phase as we complete the full range of enhancements.

We are keen to know what you think of the new site. Do you find it easier to use? Are you able to access easily the resources you are looking for? Do you like the look and feel? Or any other comments you may wish to make.

Your Comments

29 May 2012

We have received comments from some people expressing concern about the new search facility.  Your feedback is much appreciated.  Posts received to date, however, were so general in nature that it was difficult to respond in any useful way.  After speaking to each blogger individually we have identified the specific problems as follows:

You asked us how to access e-journals on the new system.
All you have to do is type the journal title into the search box.  When the title is displayed click on the link with the most suitable date range.  Do not click on the icon.

You asked us how to access databases.
Just type the database name (e.g. Medline or Cinahl) into the search box, and click the link which says ‘Go to this resource’.  You can then carry out a detailed literature search as before.

You asked about logging in. 
To reduce the number of logins you now only have to login at the point you access the full text of an article or connect to a database.

You asked about the Advanced Search.
This only searches titles on the catalogue.  It does not apply when you click the Articles tab. As always, to do an advanced search for articles you need to do this from within a specific database.  We are considering either renaming ‘Advanced Search’ to ‘Advanced Catalogue Search’, or removing it altogether.

When providing comments please be as specific as possible. We will contact individuals to explore the problem in greater detail and offer assistance as required.

The new system works in a very different way from the previous one, and is based on the principle that initial searching should be as simple as possible.  Library staff are running training sessions throughout the Trusts to help users make the transition, and can always be contacted by phone or email at any time (http://www.honni.qub.ac.uk/Contacts/).

This problem has been resolved.

There is currently a problem with the article requesting facility on honni and we are working to resolve it as quickly as possible. In the meantime it is still possible to request articles by completing the ‘Place Request’ form on My Account.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

This problem has been resolved.

There is a problem with the login page which is affecting access to some electronic resources. We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible and will update this post when a solution is found.

The refurbishment at Altnagelvin Library is now complete and has vastly improved the library and study area for all staff and students. There have been improvements in lighting, heating and the general environment. Altnagelvin Library has re-opened for business and is providing all of the following services:

• Book/ article requesting

• Customer support

• Inter-branch and ILL loans

• Issuing/ renewing books

• Literature searching

• Study space

• Training

For further details, please contact tel. 028 7129 6168 or alt.inter@westerntrust.hscni.net

A new honni website is imminent, expected in March 2012. As promised, it will provide a radically different way of searching for library resources. Searching will be much more ‘Google-like’ so that, from a simple search box, you will see both results from the library catalogue and articles from key resources, including full-text articles. You will be able to limit results in different ways, request items (where appropriate) and save/email items. Whilst even more functions and features will be on offer, the site will nevertheless be easier and more intuitive to use. Watch out for this exciting development.

The BNF (British National Formulary) and BNFC (British National Formulary for Children) is freely available to all NHS professionals who register with the BNF.org.  However from 13th March 2012 there will be some changes to how the content is delivered as BNFC.org will be retired from this date.  Both the BNF and BNFC will be delivered from the same site, BNF.org.

As a result of this change you will be asked to re-register in order to accept new terms and conditions.  For further information please go to http://bnf.org/bnf/changes.htm.

There is now a full text electronic journal collection available on honni called the Taylor & Francis Behavioural Science Collection.  The collection contains 141 titles covering a range of subject areas including neuroscience, counselling, psychiatry, psychology and psychotherapy making this collection relevant to various professions.  In addition it allows access to some journal titles that have been on our wishlist including:

• Child & Family Behavior Therapy
• Counselling & Psychotherapy Research
• Journal of Aging & Social Policy
• Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect
• Marriage and Family Review
• Occupational Therapy in Mental Health

The collection can be accessed by logging in to honni e-Lib.

In order to deliver a more efficient, higher quality document supply service, the British Library has introduced a number of changes to its service which will affect your Inter Library Loan requests from 1st March

 Avoid the expense of unnecessary renewals

• The British Library are introducing an automatic renewal for any item which has not been returned on the due date stipulated by them. This will incur an additional cost at the library’s expense.  In order to avoid unnecessary expenditure the library has taken the decision to loan ILL books for a maximum of 4 weeks. This will allow time for the book to be returned to the library and posted back to the British Library.

However, should you still require your ILL item, we may be able to renew it if necessary (subject to approval by the British Library).

No early recall for in-demand items

• You will be allowed to retain an ILL item for the normal loan period even when it is in demand by another user.

More time to retrieve your SEDs

• You will have 30 days to open articles emailed to you by the British Library and we will remind you, one week before it expires, if you have forgotten to do this.

New colour copying

• Where possible, the British Library will now scan and photocopy articles and book chapters in colour.

Help and assistance

Articles emailed to you by the British Library will no longer come from ‘Archie’ but will be from noreply@bldss.bl.uk. As the address suggests, you cannot reply to this address with any queries, but Library staff are always available to help if you have a problem.

This problem was resolved on 27th January 2012.

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There is currently an intermittent problem that occurs when searching the Cinahl resource. There have been reports of the following message appearing after entering a search term:

Application Level Exception
To continue with the session, click here

The fault has been report to EBSCO, the supplier of Cinahl, who are investigating but at the moment are not clear why this is happening. If you do get the above message, please log off and on and try your search again.