12/1/2016 – The problem with logging in to “My Account” in SuperSearch has been fixed. Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for the inconvenience.
Articles posted by Andrew Welch
Cowles Library endorses ALA statement on inclusion and diversity
November 16, 2016
American Library Association president Julie Todaro recently issued a statement on libraries, diversity, and inclusion. Cowles Library fully endorses this statement, which reads:
“After a contentious campaign season filled with divisive rhetoric, we are now hearing from our members and in the news media about incidents of bigotry and harassment within our communities. From children acting out in schools to adults participating in violent acts, it is clear that our nation is struggling in the wake of this election.
During times like these, our nation’s 120,000 public, academic, school, and special libraries are invaluable allies inspiring understanding and community healing. Libraries provide a safe place for individuals of all ages and backgrounds and for difficult discussions on social issues. Our nation’s libraries serve all community members, including people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and the most vulnerable in our communities, offering services and educational resources that transform communities, open minds, and promote inclusion and diversity.
As an association representing these libraries, librarians, and library workers, the American Library Association believes that the struggle against racism, prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination is central to our mission. As we have throughout our 140-year-long history, we will continue to support efforts to abolish intolerance and cultural invisibility, stand up for all the members of the communities we serve, and promote understanding and inclusion through our work.”
The New SuperSearch is here!
June 6, 2016
Screenshot of the new SuperSearch
On May 25th, the Drake Libraries completed the migration to a new platform for SuperSearch.
Designed to increase efficiency, the new system should provide faculty, staff and students a more streamlined research experience while also significantly reducing the time required for library faculty and staff to maintain search platforms.
New System Highlights
- You can simultaneously search the library catalog and SuperSearch in a single interface.
- Many features remain the same in the new SuperSearch, including the ability to search across print and electronic collections, limit by peer-reviewed content, and export citations.
- While you can search SuperSearch without logging in, using your Drake credentials to log in allows you to access content licensed by the libraries and provides other options, such as saving searches and accessing and managing your library account.
- The next phase of this transition, which we hope will take place in 2017, will connect SuperSearch to the print collections of several other libraries in Iowa, including the three Regents’ universities, Wartburg College, Grand View University, and others. Drake users will be able to search across the physical collections of, and place requests for physical materials from, those institutions. This collaboration will not include access to databases and e-journals, but it is nonetheless a major step forward in our access to scholarly content.
Mastering the New System and Migrating Personal Content
- We hope you find the new system to be fairly intuitive to use. Formal training opportunities will be offered in the fall. Once the system is running, librarians will also be happy to provide individual demonstrations and training upon request.
- A SuperSearch research guide provides additional information about the new system and how to successfully use it. The guide also has a form for providing feedback, so you can help us continue to improve your experience using SuperSearch. We will be adding more information, tips, and tutorials to this guide in the coming days.
- The current SuperSearch will be available through June 30, 2016. If you have folders set up under your personal log-in, please sign in to your SuperSearch account, open any folders with content you want, mark the items you want to save, and then use either the save or email options. Contact a reference librarian for further assistance.
New Library Platform Coming Soon
May 9, 2016
Screenshot of the new SuperSearch
The Drake Libraries are in the process of migrating from our current library platforms to Ex Libris’ Alma and Primo products. We anticipate going live with the new system on May 25.
Designed to increase efficiency, the new system should provide faculty, staff and students a more streamlined research experience while also significantly reducing the time required for library faculty and staff to maintain search platforms.
New System Highlights
- You will be able to simultaneously search the library catalog and SuperSearch in a single interface, which will retain the SuperSearch name.
- Many features remain the same in the new SuperSearch, including the ability to search across print and electronic collections, limit by peer-reviewed content, and export citations.
- While you will be able to search SuperSearch without logging in, using your Drake credentials to log in will allow you to access content licensed by the libraries and provide other options, such as saving searches and accessing and managing your library account.
- The next phase of this transition, which we hope will take place in 2017, will connect SuperSearch to the print collections of several other libraries in Iowa, including the three Regents’ universities, Wartburg College, Grand View University, and others. Drake users will be able to search across the physical collections of, and place requests for physical materials from, those institutions. This collaboration will not include access to databases and e-journals, but it is nonetheless a major step forward in our access to scholarly content.
Access During the Transition
- You will still be able to search the catalog and check items in and out during the May 13-25 transition period. There will be a 2-day period, May 23-24, during which holds and renewals will not be processed.
- The official transition will occur on May 25, 2016. Until then, the new SuperSearch is available for viewing in preview/beta mode. Keep in mind that any actions you take in this beta version (placing holds, saving searches) will not transition to the new SuperSearch.
Mastering the New System and Migrating Personal Content
- We hope the new system will be fairly intuitive to use. Formal training opportunities will be offered in the fall. Once the system is running, librarians will also be happy to provide individual demonstrations and training upon request.
- The current SuperSearch will be available through June 30, 2016. If you have folders set up under your personal log-in, please sign in to your SuperSearch account, open any folders with content you want, mark the items you want to save, and then use either the save or email options. Contact a reference librarian for further assistance.
Bibliography of Native North Americans
October 26, 2015
This is the seventh in a series of “Resources and Services” posts from the Faculty of Cowles Library, intended to increase awareness of the quality resources and services (many of them new!) available to Drake students, faculty, and staff. Earlier posts are listed at the bottom of this page.
Bibliography of Native North Americans (BNNA) is one of the Library’s key resources for researching the culture, history, and life of native North Americans. BNNA considers native North Americans to belong to one of the following broad groups:
- Aleuts, which include Eskimos or Inuit of Greenland, northern Canada, Alaska, and eastern Siberia; and
- other native peoples (i.e. “Indians”) of Alaska, Canada, the United States, and Mexico north of the northern boundary of Mesoamerica.
BNNA includes more than 188,000 citations from books, journals, essays and government documents. BNNA is not a primary source collection. For manuscripts, photographs, letters, and other primary sources related to native North Americans, Cowles Library offers Indigenous Peoples: North America.
More than 30,000 citations include direct links to full text, with thousands more available via “Check for Full Text @ Drake” links from Sabin Americana, Gale Virtual Reference Library, Early English Books Online, and others. In all, roughly half of the citations in BNNA will lead you to full text.
BNNA is an EBSCO collection, so all of the content in this collection can also be found when you search SuperSearch.
Date coverage: 1602 to the present, although most content was published after 1944.
Geographic coverage: Greenland, Canada, eastern Siberia, United States and Mexico north of the northern boundary of Mesoamerica.
Previous Resources and Services announcements:
1) New York Times Digital Subscription
2) Chronicle of Higher Education
3) Oxford Very Short Introductions
4) Vogue and Women’s Wear Daily
5) Business Expert Press
6) Statista – Statistics for the Rest of Us
Interlibrary Loan unavailable from 10 am to noon, 9/3/14
September 3, 2014
Due to a software upgrade, Interlibrary Loan services will be temporarily unavailable between 10:00 am and noon on Sept. 3, 2014. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Access to Library and Interlibrary Loan accounts temporarily unavailable
December 16, 2013
Update, 12/17/2013 – This issue has been resolved.
The ability to log in to your Library Account or Interlibrary Loan with your Drake ID and password is temporarily unavailable. We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and we appreciate your patience.
Free access to articles by 2013 Nobel Prize Laureates
November 22, 2013
Elsevier is providing free full-text access to a variety of articles by Nobel Prize Laureates in the following categories:
SuperSearch Changes Coming
October 9, 2013
EBSCO will be making a number of interface enhancements to SuperSearch and EBSCOhost databases at the end of October (on or after Oct. 29th), and they’ve given us a preview. Many of these changes were driven by users asking EBSCO to simplify the results display and make more results available on the first screen.
Click on the image to the right for a larger view of the following:
- “Add a Row” has been replaced with +/-.
- Number of records returned by the search appears directly above the Results List; page navigation relocated to the bottom below the results.
- The “Preview” and “Folder” icons move to align together to the right side of the column, maintaining a consistent location. Publication type icons now appear below the title.
- Expand/Collapse controls move to the outside corners (includes right column).
- Catalog and institutional repository links now appear in the Full Text link area.
- Publisher names will be displayed, in lieu of Source.
In addition, and not necessarily shown in the preview image:
- Updated styling, including the font, allows for additional display space.
- Selecting a Limiter, such as Full Text, will immediately update the Results List without the need to click an “Update” button.
- Preview hover is now centered inside the screen.
- Addition of access to relevant eBook pages from the Search Results list for titles in your collection.
Access to SuperSearch and EBSCOhost databases will not be interrupted during the upgrade.
No more PINs!
March 7, 2013
As of February 2013, current Drake students, faculty and staff can use your Drake ID and password (the same one you use to access blueView and Drake webmail) instead of a PIN to access your library account.
Special users, and those without a current University account, will still need to use a PIN.