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.

The Biomedical Library will be temporarily closed for refurbishment from Saturday 17th to Friday 23rd December.  Access to the book stock will be on request from the Biomedical Library Issue Desk.

There will be no study facilities during this period.
However, study facilities are available in The Medical Library. Please check the honni site for details of the opening hours.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

The first phase of implementation of the new library management system took place in August 2011 and saw the introduction of a sophisticated new system for library lending, requesting and document delivery together with a fresh, modern online library catalogue.

The next phase, due to be implemented in February 2012, will see the introduction of a radically new way of searching for library resources.  Based on the Encore Synergy product from Innovative Interfaces, the new system will be more ‘Google-like’.  From a simple search box you will see results from the library catalogue (showing books and journals available from the library) and also articles from key resources to which the library subscribes, including full-text articles.

Results can be limited in various ways including by date, format, location, and tag.  If you make a typo the system will suggest the most likely term intended, and the tag cloud will allow you to link quickly to results for related search terms. You will be able to add items to a cart, request items (where appropriate), and save items to a list or email them.

At the same time you will still be able to avail of the traditional Boolean search capabilities and My Account features of the classic library catalogue, and you will still be able to connect directly to specific databases for detailed research.

From the user survey carried out by the library earlier this year we are conscious that the current system is cumbersome and involves too many steps and multiple windows which are hard to keep track of.  The new Encore system should offer a simpler, more intuitive experience with improved functionality.

In addition, we plan to integrate the honni website with Encore and the traditional library catalogue as much as possible so that the need to move between interfaces is minimised.   This will inevitably involve significant changes to the existing honni website, though we will try to retain the same basic look and feel that everyone if familiar with.

We hope the new system will be of much greater assistance to HSC staff in their busy professional lives.

Readers in Antrim Healthcare Library have discovered the benefits of using the Place Request option currently located under My Account in the Library Catalogue.

There was a significant increase in the number of book and journal article requests received by the library online during October 2011.  These requests are processed by library staff and usually, journal article requests in particular, can be forwarded to readers either in print or via email within a short period of time.

One reader explained:

“….it really takes the pressure off …… knowing that I don’t have to make a trip to the library to order material is really helpful as I live so far away from Antrim.  It’s also convenient to be able to order online, in my own time and from home through honni, as like all busy practitioners, I simply don’t get the time at work …..”

This facility is ideally suited to help meet the information needs of employees in the Northern Trust as the Trust is geographically the largest health and social care trust in Northern Ireland – operating from approximately 150 locations. With the Place Request option it doesn’t matter where you work or live, you can access it easily through honni.

A guide to Online Requesting via honni is available at www.honni.qub.ac.uk/BookDocumentSupply/MakingaRequest/OnlineRequesting/. Book requests are free; there is a charge of 50p for each article request which is added to your library account.

The Place Request facility is available to all HSC employees in the province.  If not already a member, join the library (www.honni.qub.ac.uk/membership).

Did you know that you can access EBSCOhost resources via your mobile devices such as an iphone?

EBSCOhost provides honni users with access to such databases as CinahlPlus, Health Business and Psychology & Behavior Sciences. Log on to any of the EBSCOhost resources via honni as normal and along the bottom of the screen you will see a link to the iPhone and Android applications (as shown below). Simply click on this and follow the instructions.

Learn more about EBSCOhost mobile

Please note that journals available from Proquest Medical Library can presently only be accessed via the honni e-Journals list. The database was temporarily removed from the A-Z Database list when Proquest moved to a new platform because the software provider did not have the appropriate connectors in place.

It will be restored to the database list as soon as possible. Meanwhile, please use the Find e-Journal module of honni e-Lib to access Proquest journals.

The new Library system went live successfully on Wednesday 3 August 2011. Thank you all for your patience during the migration period. The following notes give guidance on the current status in relation to each of our key services.

Borrowing and returning books
Full issue and return functionality in now available.

Reserving books
The facility to reserve books on loan to other users using the Library Catalogue has been restored.

Requesting
The request service has been restored. Requests may be placed via the Library Catalogue as before. It is not possible to view requests which were placed before the move to the new system.

Library Catalogue
The new Library Catalogue has been launched and the My Account functionality has been restored. It is not possible to view the history of your book loans before the move to the new system.

Online journals
The e-journals A-Z list (which can be accessed from links on the Catalogue and honni home pages) is the current mechanism for accessing e-resources. In due course, these records will be fully integrated in the Catalogue.

Notices, overdues, reminders, recall notices etc.
The Library has resumed sending out notices. Please note that in future the primary method of sending out library notices will be by email. It is therefore important that the Library has your correct email details.

If you have any questions, please contact one of the Medical and Healthcare Library staff on 028 9063 2500 or med.info@qub.ac.uk.

Recently we announced plans to introduce a new integrated Library System. This is just a brief message to keep you informed about progress.

The new system will be implemented in two phases. At the start of August the existing honni catalogue will be replaced. Towards the end of the year the 2nd phase of the project will be implemented. At that point there will be a new honni website with enhanced and integrated search facilities.

During Phase 1 you will need to use honni e-lib to locate all your e-resources and use the new catalogue to check our print collection.

Please also note that:
• You will not be able to reserve books on loan to other users for a short period of time in late July/early August (provisionally 21 July-8 August).
• Some features of the Library catalogue (eg My Account) may be unavailable for a short period.

Further details and confirmation of the dates quoted will be communicated as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please contact one of the Medical and Healthcare Library staff on 028 9063 2500 or med.info@qub.ac.uk.

The British Library has just issued an update with regard to their delay in supplying some inter-library loan requests. Although the restoration work is unlikely to be completed before the end of this year, there has been significant progress with regard to the availability of stock.

Journal articles
The most heavily used serials which accounts for 55% of the affected document supply orders will become available from the end of this month.

Books
From June, work to restore access to current monographs will get underway.

Alternative sources
The British Library have introduced a number of initiatives to try to complete orders from alternative sources. Also, local Library staff will continue to obtain material from other locations whenever possible in an effort to satisfy requests more quickly.

Further information
If you would like an update on any of your outstanding requests please contact the Inter-Library Loan Department on 9063 2551 (The Medical Library).