Information for this article was provided by Marlene Sue Heroux, Reference Information Systems Specialist at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
For many of us, the Gale databases and related resources are a lifeline for student research. Available to school libraries who employ certified school librarians, these resources offer access to numerous databases, including articles, podcasts, videos, websites and more. Marlene Heroux has been instrumental in helping schools maintain access to these resources, and recently offered some helpful advice about the current databases and related concerns via MSLA listserv. Here is a summary of her advice and information:
Regarding changes to the “My Account” feature in InfoTrac: Gale will be retiring the “My Account” feature in InfoTrac products including PowerSearch and encourages users to save documents to a Google account. Please note that this change will not impact most libraries, as the “My Account” feature was not heavily used.
This change will provide one simple, seamless login experience and enable you to access your saved documents with ease. Once logged in through Google, you can easily share and download articles—including highlights and notes—using Google tools like Drive and Docs. For more information, access our training instructions on migrating saved documents to your Google account.
The retirement of the Gale “My Account” feature will take effect in two stages to ease the transition:
Here’s what will be happening on April 28, 2016:
You can always email or download a document at any point during a session, and Google users can continue to utilize the “Save to Google Drive” option. For non-Google users, Gale is exploring the integration of other collaboration tools, including Microsoft Office 365.
For additional information and the full list of periodical products affected by this updated, please visit Gale’s blog. And have a look at Gale’s video tutorials for using Google Tools. Questions? Please contact your Gale Customer Success Manager at gale.customersuccess@cengage.com .
Tips for Troubleshooting Database Issues:
Below are some tips from Marlene’s Troubleshooting Statewide Database Access Issues LibGuide when you do run into problems. If the vendor has established that their is not a problem on their end, they will also contact the MBLC to see if there is something wrong with the MBLC servers. This is rare, but it does happen, which is why we recommend contacting the vendor first, besides the fact that Gale has Tech Support available 24/7.
If you click on a database link and can't seem to connect, the system might be down. If you've established that your Internet connections are working properly and your links are correct, the quickest way to get help is to contact the vendors directly. Each statewide vendor has technical/help desk support (Gale is 24/7) with toll-free numbers to provide assistance.The phone number for Gale's Technical Support is 1-800-877-4253 ext. 4, available 24/7. Be sure to tell them that you use geolocation authentication (most Massachusetts school and public libraries use this form of authentication), and tell them what database you were trying to access and the response that you received.
It is also important to have the following information when reporting a problem, also outlined on the troubleshooting guide.
Before calling or emailing for help:
When you do call for help, if you can provide all or most of the following about your situation, you'll be back online in no time.
Just remember FLATLINE:
File/product/URL in use - what product you are trying to search, and from what URL
Library/institution - name and your library's website URL
Authentication - how you recognize authorized users (most likely geolocation through the state, unless you are an academic library providing your own authentication)
Time/date of problem - when did the issue first happen?
Location ID - unique identifier for your library at the end of your login URLs (find your Location ID) for troubleshooting Gale access problems
IP address of computers not getting in - how to find your IP address
Name/version of browser - Firefox 30.0, Internet Explorer 9.0, Chrome, Safari, etc.
Error message - the screen that comes up instead of the database when there is a problem; may have an error message number
Regarding Eligibility for Accessing State Databases and Resources
Databases licensed by the MBLC and funded by MBLC and MLS are for all Massachusetts residents and students, regardless of whether or not their school library is a member of MLS. If a school is a member of MLS, they are assigned a unique code called a location ID for their library. This code is part of the database URL in the links the MLS member library can place on their website.
For those residents or students not affiliated with an MLS member library, the MBLC public portal, www.mass.gov/libraries, is where they would go to use the statewide databases. A Massachusetts library that is not an MLS member can also link to the public portal on their website, or alternatively link just to the public portal database URL, which is: http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?db=galesites
To further add to the confusion, the databases licensed by the BPL as Library for the Commonwealth can be used by all residents, but libraries cannot link directly to the databases, but can only link to BPL’s e-resources webpage.
Questions? The above information has been offered by Marlene Heroux, the Resource and Information Specialist at the MBLC. If you have further questions, you may contact her:
Marlene Sue Heroux
Reference Information Systems Specialist
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
98 North Washington St. 4th Fl.
Boston, MA 02114
Email: marlene.heroux@state.ma.us
Office: 617-725-1860 ext. 250
Fax: 617-725-0140
This change will provide one simple, seamless login experience and enable you to access your saved documents with ease. Once logged in through Google, you can easily share and download articles—including highlights and notes—using Google tools like Drive and Docs. For more information, access our training instructions on migrating saved documents to your Google account.
The retirement of the Gale “My Account” feature will take effect in two stages to ease the transition:
Here’s what will be happening on April 28, 2016:
- Existing users will be able to access their saved documents via My Account, but new accounts cannot be created.
- My Folder will continue to be a session-based feature. While logged in via My Account, new documents will be saved to My Folder for that session. New documents will not be saved for later retrieval.
- New search queries cannot be saved to “Saved Searches.” Existing saved searches will be accessible until Summer 2016, when the My Account feature will be fully retired.
- Users can use the “Create a Search Alert” feature to have new content emailed via a search alert. Existing search alerts will be unaffected.
You can always email or download a document at any point during a session, and Google users can continue to utilize the “Save to Google Drive” option. For non-Google users, Gale is exploring the integration of other collaboration tools, including Microsoft Office 365.
For additional information and the full list of periodical products affected by this updated, please visit Gale’s blog. And have a look at Gale’s video tutorials for using Google Tools. Questions? Please contact your Gale Customer Success Manager at gale.customersuccess@cengage.com .
Tips for Troubleshooting Database Issues:
Below are some tips from Marlene’s Troubleshooting Statewide Database Access Issues LibGuide when you do run into problems. If the vendor has established that their is not a problem on their end, they will also contact the MBLC to see if there is something wrong with the MBLC servers. This is rare, but it does happen, which is why we recommend contacting the vendor first, besides the fact that Gale has Tech Support available 24/7.
If you click on a database link and can't seem to connect, the system might be down. If you've established that your Internet connections are working properly and your links are correct, the quickest way to get help is to contact the vendors directly. Each statewide vendor has technical/help desk support (Gale is 24/7) with toll-free numbers to provide assistance.The phone number for Gale's Technical Support is 1-800-877-4253 ext. 4, available 24/7. Be sure to tell them that you use geolocation authentication (most Massachusetts school and public libraries use this form of authentication), and tell them what database you were trying to access and the response that you received.
It is also important to have the following information when reporting a problem, also outlined on the troubleshooting guide.
Before calling or emailing for help:
When you do call for help, if you can provide all or most of the following about your situation, you'll be back online in no time.
Just remember FLATLINE:
File/product/URL in use - what product you are trying to search, and from what URL
Library/institution - name and your library's website URL
Authentication - how you recognize authorized users (most likely geolocation through the state, unless you are an academic library providing your own authentication)
Time/date of problem - when did the issue first happen?
Location ID - unique identifier for your library at the end of your login URLs (find your Location ID) for troubleshooting Gale access problems
IP address of computers not getting in - how to find your IP address
Name/version of browser - Firefox 30.0, Internet Explorer 9.0, Chrome, Safari, etc.
Error message - the screen that comes up instead of the database when there is a problem; may have an error message number
Regarding Eligibility for Accessing State Databases and Resources
Databases licensed by the MBLC and funded by MBLC and MLS are for all Massachusetts residents and students, regardless of whether or not their school library is a member of MLS. If a school is a member of MLS, they are assigned a unique code called a location ID for their library. This code is part of the database URL in the links the MLS member library can place on their website.
For those residents or students not affiliated with an MLS member library, the MBLC public portal, www.mass.gov/libraries, is where they would go to use the statewide databases. A Massachusetts library that is not an MLS member can also link to the public portal on their website, or alternatively link just to the public portal database URL, which is: http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?db=galesites
To further add to the confusion, the databases licensed by the BPL as Library for the Commonwealth can be used by all residents, but libraries cannot link directly to the databases, but can only link to BPL’s e-resources webpage.
Questions? The above information has been offered by Marlene Heroux, the Resource and Information Specialist at the MBLC. If you have further questions, you may contact her:
Marlene Sue Heroux
Reference Information Systems Specialist
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
98 North Washington St. 4th Fl.
Boston, MA 02114
Email: marlene.heroux@state.ma.us
Office: 617-725-1860 ext. 250
Fax: 617-725-0140