The new Novanet was launched on Monday, December 22, providing an improved searching experience. For those of you who have been using WorldCat Local, the look of the search page has changed slightly, but you will still search the same way. In addition to getting search results, you will also be able to access the following things through the new Novanet (these functions did not exist in WorldCat Local):
Features of the New Novanet:
- Search for books, articles, and more, through one simple, streamlined interface (before you had to select by format and then search)
- Access full text eBooks and articles when available
- Place holds and Novanet Express requests
- Request material through the Document Delivery Service
- Access LiveHelp Chat for assistance with research questions
- Log in to your Novanet account to check your status and renew your loans online
Dalhousie’s Novanet instance also gives you the option of using 3 different search tabs:
Search
This tab searches books, journal articles and all other resources available through this search tool, including: e-books, journal titles, maps, videos, audio recordings, government documents, music scores, newspaper articles, reviews, and conference proceedings.
Books +
This tab searches books, e-books, journal titles, dissertations, technical reports, videos, audio recordings, government documents, and music scores available to Novanet institutions.
Articles +
This tab searches journal articles, journal titles, newspaper articles, reviews, technical reports, and conference proceedings available through many of the library’s electronic subscriptions.
We expect that you will find the new searching experience to be better. If you encounter difficulties, or need to report any problems with the new interface, we are actively seeking your feedback.
Elizabeth Powell says
Hello,
While I can appreciate the increased functionality of the new website, it is not well formatted for smart phones. Considering the relevance of smart phones to our culture at this time this is a large oversight.
Thank you,
Elizabeth
Margaret Vail says
Thank you for your comment. We are looking into fixing the mobile formatting issue in conjunction with the Novanet consortium.
Julia M. Wright says
Is there a way in the new interface of just searching “books”? The signal-to-noise ratio is considerably worsened by the + for some searches. Also, will the format be revamped? putting the publication year right after the dash for a living author’s year of birth (e.g.1967- 2005 for a 2005 book by someone born in 1967) makes people who are still alive, well, look like they’re not.
Margaret Vail says
Hi Julia,
After you execute your original search in Books+ you have two options to refine your results to only books.
The first option is to select books from the drop down refine menu. After you select books, you will need to click the Search button to update your results.
Click for example image
The second option is to select books, in the “Refine My Results” section of the website. By clicking on the link, the results will only display Book results.
Click for example image
The third way, would be to select the resource type of “Books” in the advanced search.
Click for example image
I will also look into the possibility of editing the author’s birth date and publication date so that there is no confusion.
Thank you,
Margaret
Jennifer Searle says
Ugh! This is awful. What happened to the previous search where you could search multiple fields at once???
Margaret Vail says
You can still search multiple fields at once through the advanced search option.
Pat Bee says
This is just awful. I have a list of some 20 books that have seemingly disappeared from search results since “the new novanet” has been implemented. Are books that are not within the Atlantic region no longer available to Dalhousie students? Yikes!
Margaret Vail says
Thank you for taking the time to comment on Dalhousie’s new Novanet Discovery Service. As you have noted this service includes only the book holdings of libraries of the Novanet consortium. Dalhousie users can still search the book catalogue that was included in our previous discovery service (WorldCat Local) at WorldCat.org for the holdings of libraries worldwide. Once a title is found in this service (or any other catalogue, bibliography, or other source) then you can, as previously, submit a Document Delivery request for the item and we do our best to get a copy for your use.
suyog says
what username and password should I use to login off-campus in this new Novanet?
Margaret Vail says
Hi Suyog,
You would use the barcode on the back of your dalcard as your username, the password would be the last 4 digits of your registered phone number. If you need further assistance or to register your library card you can visit a service point desk in any of our libraries or call a circulation desk. The phone numbers are available on this page http://libraries.dal.ca/locations_services/contacts/frequently_callednumbers.html.
Thanks,
Margaret