What is searched in Find Articles?
Find Articles is the single, most comprehensive information resource that iCONN has ever offered. It uses PowerSearch to search all databases and digital collections in iCONN -- except those databases that are licensed only to colleges, and except the following:
- Hartford Courant
- HeritageQuest Online
- Historical Hartford Courant
- Statewide Library Catalog - searched using
"Find Books, DVDs and more in CT Libraries"
Search results are automatically limited to full-text only and are returned in order of relevance to the search request. Over time, we hope to be able to include newspapers, and digital collections.
Academic Libraries
Find Articles for Academic Libraries uses the AGent search interface to automatically search the following databases at once:
- ABI Inform
- Academic OneFile
- Hartford Courant
- U.S. History In Context
- World History In Context
- Nursing (CINAHL)
- Psychology (PsychINFO)
- Science In Context
Search results are limited to full-text only and are returned in order of either relevancy or recency.
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After doing a search, how do I return to the start page?
There are three ways that you can return to the start page:
- Click on the Back button (more than once, if necessary).
- Click on the Return to Library link. (Note: your library may have customized this link to return to your library's home page)
- If all else fails, go to: iconn.org
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After clicking on any of the links under More iCONN Content or any of the links at the bottom of the start page, how do I return to the start page?
When you click on any of these links, the desired screen will open in a new tab on your browser. To return to the start page, simply close that tab on your browser.
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How do I select one or more databases that I can search simultaneously?
- The link on the start page called Search Individual Resources brings you to the
"classic menu" page where you can select any one database to search.
- On the Find Articles search results page, click the link at the top of the page named Change Databases. It will take you to a page that lists almost all of the databases available to public and school libraries in iCONN. You can select one or any combination of databases to be searched simultaneously. Search results will always be presented in one list sorted by relevancy with all duplicate results removed.
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What is the purpose of the Change My Library directory?
This directory has several uses:
- It allows a college student who happens to be in a public library to click on the direct link for their college library so that they can access the college library resource menu after entering their library card number
- It allows a public library user who happens to be in a college library to click on the direct link for their public library so that they can access the public library resource menu after entering their library card number.
- It allows any library participating in reQuest to have a direct link to their applicable resource menu (public or college), which includes their customized version of reQuest. This same link can also be posted on that library's home page for easier access. Using the direct link will bypass the screen that asks users (whose libraries are part of a group) to
"Please select one library"
Note: The previous ability that allowed a K-12 teacher or student at home to click on the direct link for their school library and access their
school library's resource menu after entering their public library card number was disabled after we realized that this same ability would allow
anyone with any CT public library card to potentially access local database resources that were licensed by a specific school for only that school's students and teachers. Regrettably, because this access path would effectively violate these license agreements, we had to disable this
feature for schools. As a result, currently, we do not have a method by which a student or teacher can access their school resource menu from home.
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How is the local library name at the bottom of the screen derived?
The "identity statement" at the bottom of the screen (Figure 3) identifies the specific library that iCONN associates you with based on how
you logged into the system (i.e., either by using the number on the library card that was issued by a specific library or by using the
Internet address of the library's computer).
Figure 3: Local library name appearing in identity statement at bottom of every screen
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Where can I find more information about how to use these databases?
You can find online tutorials, webinars and search tips for most iCONN databases
at http://www.cslib.org/iconnsitemap/staff/OnlineTrainingPublicSchool.aspx
If you are
a college student and have access to the college-only databases, you can find online tutorials, webinars and search tips
at http://www.cslib.org/iconnsitemap/staff/OnlineTrainingAcademic.aspx
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Why do I have to login first to use iCONN?
iCONN.org uses a single sign-on authentication system because we license resources from three different vendors, Gale, EBSCO and ProQuest,
each of which performs authentication differently. Without single sign-on, which allows you to freely access resources from all three vendors,
you would have to log into each vendor's resources separately, which would be confusing and frustrating to most users. To make single sign-on easier
to use, we added the "remember my card number on this computer" function that I referred to earlier, and also the Try This! Button that I encourage you to try
(it works 85%-90% of the time). Using either of these methods means that any CT resident can accomplish all the authentication requirements that our three license
agreements require us to satisfy with just ONE extra step at the beginning. Once that one step (one click) is accomplished, the user can use the entire site
as freely as any other "free" resource - except with no ads, with privacy protection (iCONN doesn't track searches), and virus-free - and you will be able to
access content that is not generally available at all through web search engines.
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