Changes to our online services and systems

Here is an update about key changes to our online services and systems that are happening soon.  It is meant to summarize some of the key changes and how they fit together.



1. Proquest databases and content are moving to a new platform.

Proquest has built a new platform for all its databases and content. Over the next two weeks, you begin to see the new Proquest interface as we update our Proquest links. By August 5, all Proquest resources will be available through the new interface. If you have included direct links to Proquest resources in your web pages, your old links will continue to work over the next few months; they will be automatically redirected to the new URLs. Please update them, and contact Marc Lalonde if you have questions. Marc is in consultation with librarians throughout this system as he manages this migration process.



2. Scholars Portal Search discontinued

Proquest is also discontinuing the CSA Illumina platform, and as you may know, CSA Illumina powers Scholars Portal Search.  Scholars Portal article databases that are available through Proquest will be migrated to the new Proquest interface, and other Scholars Portal article databases to which we are subscribed will be available through their providers' interface.  Please note that this change does not affect any of the many other Scholars Portal services including Scholars Portal Books, Journals, ODESI,  and Research Management



3. Summon Search introduced

Coinciding with the discontinuation of Scholars Portal Search, we are introducing Summon Search from Serials Solutions as a replacement. Therefore, as of August 5, the Article Search box (on the library homepage, Blackboard Library Resources pages, and elsewhere) will be powered by Summon. You will see the Summon search interface continue to be refined throughout August, and we invite your feedback about the new interface, using the feedback links on Summon web pages. Summon introduces some great new fulltext search features and pulls millions of journal articles and much more into a single, powerful search interface.  -- please look for updates.  Staff training for this product will begin in the Fall.  In the meantime, a group of staff have been experimenting with Summon. Their findings are noted on the LibGuide found here: http://guides.library.utoronto.ca/aecontent.php?pid=219660&sid=1824343. Debbie Green has been coordinating a librarian team in gathering these findings.



4. Serials Solutions ERM replacing SFX/Verde ERM

In early Fall 2011, our new Serials Solutions Electronic Resource Management system will go into service, allowing us to manage our burgeoning e-resource collections more quickly and easily. The new system includes 360 Link, which will replace SFX as the Open URL resolver software powering Article Finder. This migration culminates the work of a large team of staff from across the system.



5.  New look for library homepage

As of September, the library homepage will look familiar but streamlined, and will include a new feature. In addition to our current homepage search options -- catalogue, articles, e-journals -- you will have the option of searching across all resources at once (catalogue, articles, e-journals, and library web site). You will also continue to have, as now, the options of searching just the catalogue, e-journals, or article databases from the homepage. We'll send out a preview of the homepage's new look in the week of August 2-5.



If you have any questions, please get in touch with us.



Caitlin Tillman and Sian Meikle

on behalf of the Serials Solutions and Summons implementation teams

July 25, 2011

Changes to Scholars Portal link on Gerstein's homepage

I wanted to let you know about the change to the Scholars Portal link on Gerstein's homepage (under Major Resources). When you click on it, you come to an interim page that states this database will be changing at the end of this month. Both the interface and collection of databases will change.

At the end of July, I will remove this link from our homepage. If someone needs to search a broad multidisciplinary database, they can use Scopus or Web of Science.

The change to Scholars Portal Search will also affect the search box (see image below) on the Search for Articles tab. This search box will be removed at end of July as well.

Heather Cunningham
July 20, 2011

Linking to Multiple Databases in Scholars Portal

This is also an fyi on how to combine databases on Scholars Portal if you like. The information is online at http://spotdocs.scholarsportal.info/display/spsearchdocs/How+to+link+to+ScholarsPortal+Search.

You will see you can link together as many databases as you want and of your choice. The list of long names is not up to date on the site above.

To find the names not listed on the link/page above when you're on the search page at Scholars Portal and go to the list of specific databases, put your mouse over the ?, question mark and you can see the database long name needed in the menu bar of your browser. Our user info is utca and utca416.

Richard Hydal
Sept 30, 2010