What is Thomson Gale PowerSearch

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 Gales 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 Gales new
  super-powered search engine
• Cross-searching capabilities will allow users to
  access all the Thomson Gale content in their
  librarys 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 librarys 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 Search
PowerSearch Exposed Thesaurus is really smart
and will never lead the user to a dead end.
16
PowerSearch Custom Products
Customers can create and search custom
collections of journals and newspapers with
their GVRL(eBook) subscription
17
Browse-able Indexes
Helps users easily navigate through our
vocabulary to find and search on Gale terminology
18
OpenURL
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.
19
Inter-Library Loan
ILL with a single click of the mouse
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 [phone] (press 4)E-mail
  gale.technicalsupport_at_thomson.com