Posts Tagged ‘jisc_collections’
Well, this was a surprise. Last week I emailed Edina to inquire whether it was possible to download films from their Film and Sound Online service, change their format and upload the result to devices such as the iPod Touch to loan out to students. I thought I was being quite cheeky, but was totally surprised at the response. See the message below. I think the lesson to be learnt here is to not presume, but always ask!
—–Original Message—–
From: EDINA Support [mailto:edina@ed.ac.uk]
Sent: 27 January 2010 09:44
To: Turkington, Chrissie
Subject: Re: Film and Sound OnlineHi Chrissie
Thank you for your message.
Technical advice regarding encoding can be found on the Film & Sound Online web pages at – http://www.filmandsound.ac.uk/support/technical/ so it would appear that what you are hoping to do is permitted. It is not stated in the terms of use that you may not change the format. See terms of use – http://www.filmandsound.ac.uk/description/termsofuse.html
I hope this helps, however please do let me know if you need anything further.
Best wishes
EDINA helpdesk
The Launch of JorumOpen
Posted on: January 26, 2010
JorumOpen has now launched – (see the press release at: http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/news/142-learning-resources/1501-the-next-phase-of-jorum-sharing-using-jorumopen-and-jorumuk). This has been in the planning for a long time. Basically what it now means is that any resources that are contributed to JorumOpen are freely available to anyone on the web under a creative commons licence. This now makes one service of Jorum open to ACL, WBL and beyond!
http://open.jorum.ac.uk/xmlui/ gives a good indication of what is currently available in the catalogue. It should grow very quickly from here. The “traditional” Jorum still exists as JorumUK and in order to access the resources within here users need to be part of an FE College or Higher Education Institution and have either an Athens or Shibboleth account.
Unfortunately contribution is still restricted to UK FE Colleges and HEIs, but this is definately a step in the right direction.
Since colleges started getting the ebrary system for their eBooks for FE collection, there have been quite a number of problems installing the ebrary Reader for the additional functionality which this provides. The good news is that for this particular collection the ebrary Reader will soon no longer be required. See Anna Vernon’s message below that was circulated at the end of 2009 which includes other updates - I know, I’m behind in my blog posts 
In the New Year you may notice a number of changes to the ebrary platform, the main enhancement being the integration of functionality previously found within the ebrary reader to a html based reader. In other words, you or your users will no longer need to click on the ‘ebrary reader’ button or to install Java to use the advanced functionality. I have asked ebrary to remove the button for all colleges so you do not have to take any action.
There have been a number of updates to the MARC records within the collection to reflect newer editions. So that your catalogue lists the correct edition listed please update your MARC records. Non Heritage users can update their MARC records by logging into their Partner site (details were sent in your welcome letter by Sara Bowler) and completing the following steps:
- Click on the ‘get MARC records’ link
- Click the button ‘update MARC data’
- Any available MARC records will then be displayed by date and time
- When prompted, save the file to your computer as required. (The MARC records include a unique URL to point users to each individual book title)
If you have any issues with the MARC records or new interface please contact jisc-support@ebrary.com
Heritage Records for systems without the MARC import module will be made available as soon as possible in the New Year.
Customising ebrary
Posted on: November 16, 2009
Did you know that you can customise how the ebrary eBook library looks?
Top Bar
It is possible to customise the top bar of your ebrary site to show whatever you wish; provided that you ensure that all links open in a new window and that the new page is 42px high. This page can be hosted on your own college server and updated whenever you wish. Try creating a new page with your college logo, links to your other online resources and your college catalogue.
Homepage
The right half of the homepage can also be customised and hosted on your own college server thereby enabling regular updates as required. You can showcase your most popular eBooks or highlight all the set texts that are included in the collection.
A public example of a customised site is available at: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/csli/home.action
ebrary Reader InfoTools
The InfoTools menu within the eBrary reader can be customised as you wish to link to web sites of your choosing. This can include any site with persistent links such as Infotrac or your library catalogue. At present only the InfoTools menu within the ebrary reader can be changed, but ebrary are working on enabling this customisation with the InfoTools menu of the QuickView. See my previous post for details of how to get the ebrary reader working on your college network.
How do I start customising my college’s ebrary site?
You need to contact jisc-support@ebrary.com with details of how you would like to customise the site.
Further details
Full details of how to customise ebrary are on the ebrary site at:
http://www.ebrary.com/kb/librarian/basic_implement.jsp#site
Thanks to Hilary Richmond at Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College for letting me assist with customising her college’s ebrary site to understand how this all works.
JISC Collections Letter of Variation
Posted on: May 21, 2007
I have recently learnt of a new addition to the licences for the JISC Collections. There have been issues for a long time now concerning lecturers delivering HE courses within FE Colleges that are not employed or affliated to the university. Even though the course is a university course, the lecturers have no entitlement to JISC Collections subscribed to by the university. This is about the change. Check out the email below:
JISC Collections has prepared a Letter of Variation for all existing licence agreements: The Letter of Variation requests that publishers agree to an amendment allowing HE institutions that subscribe to a resource, to make that resource available to teachers not employed by the HE institution, but teach students of that HE institution.
The negotiations with publishers are now underway and we aim to complete by the end of August.
A web page will shortly be available from our website which will provide the community with an update on progress.
It should be noted that there is no indication of cost, neither is it guaranteed that all publishers will sign up to it.
I know I don’t post much on this blog for HE, mainly because my background is FE and therefore the majority of my work is still within this sector. However, just reading through the CILIP update I’ve come across the following useful (hopefully!) tool for HE. http://www.andrews-consultancy.com/jisc_database_assessment/
JISC Collections have funded Andrews Consultancy to produce a tool that automatically compares the content of 15 major databases and also the platforms within which they run or are compatible (in the case of the Shibboleth Athens gateway).
The site contains a useful user guide and also the report detailing why the project was established. Have a go and see what you think.
Additions to Infotrac Onefile
Posted on: February 23, 2007
The JISC Collections have recently released the following article regarding Infotrac Onefile.
Since July 2004 over 1000 new full text titles have been added to InfoTrac OneFile, ranging from the practical to the vocational to the academic and covering the full spectrum of subject disciplines and topics of general interest. Thomson Learning continue to work on additions that have been recommended by FE customers which they hope to licence in the coming months in time for the September renewal. In the meantime, they welcome new recommendations on what you would like to see added. Please contact them with your suggestions: tlemeamarketing@thomson.com
The full article is available at: http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/news_and_events/news_articles/infotrac_220207.aspx
Thank you to everyone that suggested titles to me towards the end of last year. I am extremely pleased to say that, as reported above, Thomson Learning are currrently working at including the majority of these titles into the Onefile database.
European Sources Online
Posted on: February 20, 2007
(Please find below details concerning the future of European Sources online.
In 2004 ProQuest and JISC negotiated an arrangement whereby European Sources Online and KnowUK was available to the FE sector as a joint package. This arrangement comes to an end in May 2007. No parallel arrangement was made for the HE sector, although a number of HE establishments took out subscriptions directly with the publisher. In 2006 ProQuest decided for strategic reasons to focus on other information products and to cease publishing European Sources Online. From an editorial perspective, it is acknowledged that European Sources Online is a successful and worthwhile information service in the area of European information.
Consequently, Cardiff University, which has been the editorial base of European Sources Online for many years under European information specialist Ian Thomson, has decided to take over the publishing of European Sources Online. The existing European Sources Online will continue to be partially updated by ProQuest until May 2007. After that time an archive version of European Sources Online will be available until the end of 2007 (to be confirmed). The re-launched service will be available from January 2008. Please note that the service may be re-launched with a new title by Cardiff University.
The Guardian & The Observer – NOW AVAILABLE ON INFOTRAC CUSTOM NEWSPAPERS
Posted on: February 6, 2007
Please find below a very welcome announcement for FE Colleges from Thomson Learning concerning Infotrac.
“Dear Subscriber Thomson Gale and JISC Collections are delighted to announce that The Guardian and The Observer are now accessible to the FE community on InfoTrac Custom Newspapers. Our licensing team has been working to achieve this for some time, and as a result, your users will now have access to both newspapers as part of your existing subscription.Access to The Guardian from 1995 and The Observer from 1998 will be made available in the next few weeks. In addition, a further five years backfile was negotiated as part of the agreement. This should be available by Easter, providing coverage from 1990 for The Guardian and 1993 for The Observer.Please feel free to share this good news with your colleagues and students. For further information about InfoTrac Custom Newspapers, please visit http://www.galeuk.com/jisc/newspapers.htmOur Solutions Consultants are in the process of adding these newspapers to your account and a confirmation email will be sent to you when this is done. In the meantime, if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at tlemea.enquiries@thomson.com, or on 020 7067 2500.Thomson Gale Marketingtlemea.marketing@thomson.com“
As I’m sure colleagues who are responsible for the JISC collections within their insitution are aware, there is an item in the Model Licence concerning a “Walk in User”. The description of a Walk in User from the Guide to the Model Licence is below:
Any person who is NOT a current student, faculty member or employee of the institution, but who is permitted by the institution to access its secure network from computer terminals while the person is located physically within the library premises . This person is referred to as a Walk-in User because they can access the resource by ‘walking in’ to the library but are restricted to using it only within library premises.
However, this does create some issues with regards other licences that the institution holds e.g. JANET and Microsoft Select agreement. See the email below concerning the use of JANET for Walk in Users not affiliated to any academic institution.
…the advice is that a Proxy Licence is NOT required so long as the visitor is a member of or in some way affiliated to an academic organisation.However, if JANET is being used by a member of the general public then a Proxy Licence is required.
See Clause 3 and Explanatory Note 3 of the JANET Connection Policy – http://www.ja.net/services/publications/policy/connection-policy.html
Recommendations
- if you allow access to your licensed JISC Collections to members of the general public (i.e. not members of any other academic organisation) then you must ensure that your institution holds a JANET proxy licence
- if you will be allowing members of the general public access to your computer network and/or stand alone PCs, you must ensure that your software licences permit this type of use
