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Introduction

Introduction. What is Thomson Gale PowerSearch Features and new design revisions Advantages of PowerSearch What are the changes to customers? How/when this will affect users What will the new interface/menu look like Questions & answers. Introduction.

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Introduction

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  1. Introduction • What is Thomson Gale PowerSearch • Features and new design revisions • Advantages of PowerSearch • What are the changes to customers? • How/when this will affect users • What will the new interface/menu look like • Questions & answers

  2. Introduction Thomson Gale™, a part of The Thomson Corporation, is pleased to announce a new technology platform that is transforming the way library users access, find, assimilate, and manage information. • Our improved delivery platform was developed according to information gathered from customers. • Our product development and technology teams discovered that librarians and users were looking for several ways to improve the access and research process. • The future of Thomson Gale’s online products lies with a complete merger of user interfaces into one single platform - with a simple, common look and feel.

  3. What is Thomson Gale PowerSearch? • Thomson Gale PowerSearch is Thomson Gale’s new super-powered search engine • Cross-searching capabilities will allow users to access all the Thomson Gale content in their library’s collection • Explore one, several or all available databases simultaneously - while organizing results effectively • Provides easy access to a solution for managing a wealth of periodical, reference and primary source information, utilizing a single system

  4. What are the features of the new platform? • Links to library holdings • MARC records • Marked lists • OpenURL 0.1 and 1.0 • Print • Publication search • Quick search • Search history • Search within results • Sorting • Subject assisted search • TOC display • Usage: ICOLC, COUNTER • Z39.50 Support • APA, MLA and Z39.80 Citation Export • A single user interface • Advanced search • Basic search • Breadcrumb navigation • Browse-able indexes • Citation export • Citation generation • Context-sensitive Help • Cross product searching • Customer branding • E-mail • InfoMark Generator • Link to any Web site • Link to WorldCat

  5. PowerSearch Advantages • Precision searching, combined with powerful recall of search history and award winning content create powerful system for novice or advanced researches. • Consistent presentation and features lessen the learning curve. PowerSearch is easy to introduce to patrons / students / staff, simplifies training and support, and is a great choice for remote and independent use. • Publication Search feature, as well as links to current Title Lists from both the common menu and from within the user environment allow librarians and users to quickly identify included content and range of coverage in any Gale product.

  6. PowerSearch Advantages • PowerSearch and InfoMarks: Tailor Gale content to the library’s collection. Customize your library's presentation of Gale content and maximize ease-of-access for your library's local and remote users. • The accuracy and convenience of Subject searching via controlled vocabulary terms. New, user-friendly presentation of the relationship of Subjects to Subdivisions aids librarians and teaching staff in delivering bibliographic instruction, information literacy services, training, and curriculum support. • Context-sensitive Help feature supports bibliographic instruction needs, as well as independent and remote usage

  7. PowerSearch Advantages • PowerSearch increases ease and speed of research. The ability to Search and/or Limit by Publication Format, Target Audience, and Document Type gives librarians & users the ability to quickly access and identify sources of information specific to course assignment requirements. • Consistent citation presentation of publication and source metadata for all Gale content simplifies bibliographic instruction, heightens users' abilities to make informed selections, and simplifies citing. • How To Cite feature provides assistance to librarians and teaching staff supporting the needs of students, and offers the same level of assistance to independent and remote users

  8. The changes to customers • We are moving our products to a new ‘user interface’ – which will be phased by product over two years. • This will affect the way that your ‘individual databases’ will look • We are also moving our products to the new Thomson Gale PowerSearch common menu. • This will affect the way that your ‘common menu’ will look – this is the screen that displays your collection of Thomson Gale databases • The changes begin in Jan 2005 and will be phased over two years

  9. How will this affect our customers? This will affect users depending upon which Thomson Gale databases/collections they have access to • GVRL was migrated to the new user interface Jan 05 • Customers do not have to use PowerSearch immediately, this is an optional switch-on. Users can still access their databases EXACTLY as they do now (typically from the library Web site/portal that describes the database) • The following slides describe the situations for customers depending upon the databases they have

  10. GVRL / eBook customers • The Gale Virtual Reference Library (2.0) was the first product to be migrated to the new ‘user interface’ in January 2005. • At the same time, users who have GVRL and InfoTrac have the option to switch their ‘common menu’ to the new Thomson Gale PowerSearch interface. This will allow them to see their Thomson Gale collection of databases and cross-search their InfoTrac products alongside their GVRL collection

  11. InfoTrac customers • From January 2005 customers have the option to switch their InfoTrac databases over to the new ‘common menu’ (database collections page) Thomson Gale PowerSearch • This will allow users to see their Thomson Gale collection of databases and cross-search their InfoTrac products alongside their GVRL collection

  12. Resource Center customers • From January 2005 customers have the option to switch their ‘common menu’ (database collections page) to the new Thomson Gale PowerSearch menu • InfoTrac and GVRL will be cross-searchable from this time, however Resource Centers will not be cross-searchable with the other databases until well into 2005 • The Resource Centers will appear under a separate link to ‘additional databases’ on the Thomson Gale PowerSearch common menu

  13. “First Look” Start page offers you database search options for PowerSearchable as well as non-PowerSearchable databases. Allows you to carry your search across other Thomson Gale databases.

  14. “Clean, Simple Design” Simple and consistent UI design minimizes product learning curve, minimizes hurdles for new product purchases, lowers product training and support burden for our Customers Combines the best of the InfoTrac Web user experience with the best of the Resource Center user experience

  15. PowerSearch “Exposed Thesaurus” is really smart and will never lead the user to a dead end. PowerSearch “Search”

  16. Customers can create and search custom collections of journals and newspapers with their GVRL(eBook) subscription PowerSearch Custom Products

  17. Browse-able Indexes Helps users easily navigate through our vocabulary to find and search on Gale terminology

  18. “This appears to be one of the best-implemented linking facilities I have seen in any journal publisher or information aggregator. It's fast, fault-tolerant, and gets the user right to the content.” Eric -- Eric Hellman, President Openly Informatics, Inc. OpenURL

  19. ILL with a single click of the mouse Inter-Library Loan

  20. Customer Branding PowerSearch takes branding to whole new level Customers can add up to five links for linking to 24x7 Help, Student and Staff Directory, Ref Site, ILL Form, Catalog, Mailto, etc.

  21. What will happen to InfoTrac and existing databases? • The InfoTrac platform and other Thomson Gale platforms that customers are familiar with will eventually be phased out as our databases move over to the new common user interface and Thomson Gale PowerSearch • However there will be a ‘transition period’ where InfoTrac/Resource Centers will run alongside the new interface

  22. Questions about links to the databases Will I need a new URL to view my Thomson Gale databases? •  No, any transition will be seamless and URLs will not be affected Will my InfoMark Links still work? • Yes, InfoMark links will still work

  23. Support materials Will Thomson Gale be providing new support materials for the new interface? • Thomson Gale will be updating tip sheets and navigation guides during the course of the transition

  24. Activating the new menu/interface Do I have to do anything to see the changes? • The GVRL new ‘user interface’ is now active for all customers • Other databases will be migrated to the new ‘user interface’ over the coming two year period • When customers want to make the optional switch to Thomson Gale PowerSearch from January 2005, they can contact the Gale Technical Support Group at: • Phone: 1-800-877-4253 (press 4)E-mail: gale.technicalsupport@thomson.com

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