December 11, 2002

Libraries Announce Greatly Improved catalogUSMAI 
and New SFX Linking Technology to Full-Text Resources
 

Library users of the University System of Maryland will discover a new and improved online catalog—catalogUSMAI-- to assist them in accessing the Libraries' collections, beginning Monday, January 6, 2003. 

The new web-based online catalog will provide University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) students, faculty, and other researchers with more advanced features than the previous automated library system used by the Libraries since the early 1990s.  

The Libraries are also configuring a new citation/resource linking technology called SFX that will link together the Libraries' databases and e-journals, making it easier to find the online full-text of an article or track down additional information about a topic.  Students and faculty searching in the Libraries' research databases will be able to 
click on an SFX button to link directly to an article's full-text or to look up a journal title in the catalog,
saving time and effort. Patrons with a citation for an article will also be able to enter that information in a simple form and find online full-text, wherever it is available. Watch for SFX links in the Libraries' databases and e-journals this winter. 

Ex Libris (USA) of Chicago, a leading worldwide developer of high performance applications for libraries and information centers, developed both the new online catalog system as well as the SFX linking technology. Ex Libris’ fully integrated library system, called Aleph 500, is now in use by three million users and in place in over 530 installations in 41 countries.

Some of the new capabilities of catalog USMAI include:
 

· An enhanced Basic Search, with on-screen tips to guide users in searching and the ability to do keyword searches in specific areas of the catalog records, such as words in the title area;

· Ability to refine a list of search results to show only the available items, screening out items that are checked out, lost, or otherwise unavailable;

· A powerful Advanced Search capability, with options to:

•  combine keyword searches in different parts of the record (e.g. in the author field, search for "Beethoven" and search for the word "piano" anywhere in the record).
• limit searches by format (e.g., theses, or videos, or online resources), by language, by range of dates, or by library collection
• browse lists of authors, titles, subject headings, or call numbers
• use command language searching to create complex searches with maximum control over your search

· Ability to create lists of catalog records and save them to consult when searching the catalog at a later date

· Ability to save favorite search strategies and repeat the searches at a later date

Library users will also be able to use the new catalog to place requests for materials in other USMAI libraries if the item is not available at their home institution, and to view their own accounts to see lists of library materials they have borrowed and review requests they have made.

On its initial release January 6, catalogUSMAI will provide access to the library catalogs of Bowie State University, Coppin State College, Frostburg State University, Morgan State University, Salisbury University, Towson University, the University of Baltimore and the University of Baltimore School of Law, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the University of Maryland University College, and the University of Maryland Law School.  Access to the library catalogs of the University of Maryland Health Sciences and Human Services Library and St. Mary’s College of Maryland will be added to catalogUSMAI later in 2003.
 
 

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