Library News » Completed Projects http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news Just another Lib.byu.edu weblog Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:47:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Firefox Toolbar http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/12/20/firefox-toolbar/ http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/12/20/firefox-toolbar/#comments Wed, 20 Dec 2006 17:22:56 +0000 news https://blog.lib.byu.edu/wwg/?p=16 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.

Download the Firefox Toolbar

]]> http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/12/20/firefox-toolbar/feed/ 4 Finding Databases http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/12/18/finding-databases/ http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/12/18/finding-databases/#comments Mon, 18 Dec 2006 21:11:34 +0000 news https://blog.lib.byu.edu/wwg/?p=14 Currently, to find a database you must either go to a subject page or go to the databases A-Z page. If you know the exact database you are looking for, you must either go to an appropriate subject page or scroll through approximately 1,400 links on the databases A-Z page before you can access the database.

To make finding specific databases easier and faster, the Web Working Group is proposing the following:

  1. The ability to browse databases by first letter be added to the front page. When clicking on a letter, only databases that begin with that letter are loaded. This should speed up the finding process significantly.
  2. The ability to search for a specific database be added to the front page. This would search for both database titles and database descriptions (see the “Database Descriptions” post).

A mock up of this proposal is available for those interested in seeing how this would be implemented.

We hope to make a decision on this by January 2nd so please send us your feedback soon.

]]> http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/12/18/finding-databases/feed/ 1 Reference Desk Information added to Subject Pages http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/10/05/reference-desk-information-added-to-subject-pages/ http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/10/05/reference-desk-information-added-to-subject-pages/#comments Thu, 05 Oct 2006 21:36:43 +0000 news https://blog.lib.byu.edu/wwg/?p=11 Reference desk information will be added to the subject pages. This will help students and others to quickly identify a reference desk that can give them help on their research needs as well as the subject librarian who can answer more sophisticated research questions. For an example of what the pages will look like see http://www.lib.byu.edu/betsy/biology.html

Subject librarians were asked for their feedback and modifications were made to the page based on the information received. The project is moving forward and will be a part of the new subs utility program. The estimated project completion is 6-8 weeks.

]]> http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/10/05/reference-desk-information-added-to-subject-pages/feed/ 3 FAQ Updates http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/10/02/faq-updates/ http://lib.byu.edu/sites/news/2006/10/02/faq-updates/#comments Mon, 02 Oct 2006 16:32:33 +0000 news https://blog.lib.byu.edu/wwg/?p=9 We are in process of updating the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). When the pages are updated we will let you know here. If you have any comments or questions regarding the FAQs, please comment here.

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