Firefox Toolbar
December 20, 2006
The Firefox browser (from Mozilla) has gained popularity because it is capable of extensive customization. Using this capability, the library has created a toolbar for Firefox that will allow you to perform several different types of searches directly from your Firefox browser. Here is a complete list of the features available in the toolbar:
- Direct access to the following library webpages:
- The library homepage
- Contact information
- Step-by-step research guides
- Library hours
- Floor maps
- Group study room reservations
- My account (renew books online)
- Interlibrary loan (borrow materials from other libraries)
- Directly search the library’s resources:
- Search multiple databases simultaneously (including the library catalog)
- Search Google Scholar
- Find journals
- Search only the library catalog
- Directly link to BYU resources:
- Route Y
- Blackboard
- Search the library catalog using Amazon.com
- Perform a library catalog search directly from Amazon.com (will automatically insert a link into Amazon.com’s record of a book)
Screenshots are available and the toolbar itself can be downloaded from Mozilla’s Add-ons page or directly from the blog. It is available for all platforms that support Firefox 1.5 and above.
Please let us know what you think about the toolbar by commenting on this post. Any suggestions or bug reports would be greatly appreciated.
ummm. . . the toolbar sounds like a great idea but I won’t use it nor do I think many others will. The reason is desktop space. Taking up precious pixels for yet another toolbar doesn’t sound like a winning idea. Instead of implementing the library search as a toolbar, why don’t you instead create a search engine add-on for the search bar in the top-right corner of the screen?
I like the toolbar, but there is no way to customize it. I use it to search the catalog, not “multiple databases.” Every time I use it I have to change what is being searched. More customization would be helpful.
Agreed, pixel space is everything and despite resolutions getting smaller and smaller on average it seems to be growing in tandem with the number of apps we have open. Here I am in Vista, I have a sidebar (mostly useless), trillian up in a sidebar, and that’s 1-4 of my deskspace for two apps.
To be honest i am really sick of toolbars, i hate the way some are sneaked in with installers for other software.