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Tag Archives: nebraskaccess
Navigating NebraskAccess: MAS Complete
This past summer the Nebraska Library Commission added two new EBSCO K12 databases to its NebraskAccess lineup—MAS Complete and Middle Search Plus. In this post I’d like to introduce you to MAS Complete.
MAS Complete is a research database designed specifically for high school libraries. It provides searchable access to full text articles from 540 periodicals, plus indexing and abstracts of articles from an additional 160 titles. It also boasts 55,000 full-text primary source documents and 75,000 videos from the Associated Press.
When selecting material to include in school databases like MAS Complete, EBSCO’s first priority is making sure it is “educational, age-appropriate (in reading level and context), support[s] curriculum requirements, and [is] applicable to the subjects taught at specific grade levels.” EBSCO takes a multi-pronged approach to this task, consulting publication subscription information, title level reviews, and Lexile® measurements of text, in addition to discussing content needs with both teaching professionals and customers and having staff review each publication. Finally, EBSCO employs both human curation and technology to further fine-tune inclusion decisions.
Because high school students possess a diverse range of academic and developmental needs and abilities, you will find a correspondingly diverse range of materials in MAS Complete. Periodical coverage includes everything from general interest news and entertainment magazines, like TIME, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and Sports Illustrated, to discipline-specific publications aimed at interested non-professionals, like History Today and Scientific American. Peer-reviewed scholarly journals are included to meet the needs of high ability learners and college-bound upperclassmen, but there is also enough title overlap with Middle Search Plus that students reading below grade level should be able to find accessible content, too.
When using MAS Complete, librarians, teachers, and students will find an array of tools at their fingertips to help focus their searches on just the content that matters to them. Limit options, which can be applied before or after a search, include Full Text, Peer Reviewed, Publication, Publication Date, Source Type, Cover Story, and Lexile® Reading Level. Wielded creatively, they can empower searchers to retrieve vastly different result lists in response to identical initial searches.
MAS Complete is available to search as a stand-alone database using the EBSCOhost interface. It is also one of several databases that can be searched or browsed simultaneously through Explora for High Schools. MAS Complete and Explora for High Schools are available through both the NebraskAccess High School Databases page and the All NebraskAccess Databases page.
Posted in Education & Training, Information Resources
Tagged Databases, EBSCO, MAS Complete, nebraskaccess
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Announcing the New NebraskAccess
This summer we have been busy reconfiguring NebraskAccess to accommodate new content, new database access pages, and new authentication options. NebraskAccess continues to offer the databases available in the past, as well the updated Websites Selected by Librarians, which provides the best information on Nebraska-related topics, including living and working in the state; researching Nebraska government, history and genealogy; planning a Nebraska visit or exploring the state; finding services, entertainment, education; and other frequently asked questions.
What’s new?
Content
Two new K12 databases have been added to the NebraskAccess lineup—MAS Complete, designed for high school libraries, and Middle Search Plus, designed for middle school libraries. The Explora for High Schools interface has been added, and Explora Primary is now Explora for Elementary/Middle Schools.
Database Access Pages
To support libraries that prefer to direct their users to a ready-made database access page on the NebraskAccess website, there are now three options. We will continue to maintain a page that links to all NebraskAccess databases. Additionally, we have taken the opportunity provided by our new MAS Complete and Middle Search Plus subscriptions to create two new database access pages—one aimed at high school students and one aimed at elementary/middle school students—each with customized versions of databases we think are most likely to meet the everyday research needs of those students.
As always, Nebraska libraries can link directly to individual NebraskAccess databases from pages on their own websites. This is a great way for libraries to integrate access to state- and locally-funded resources. It also gives librarians, who know their patrons best, control over which NebraskAccess databases to promote and how to present them. Information about linking to the individual databases can be found in NebraskAccess Librarian’s Toolbox: Linking to NebraskAccess.
Note: Biblionix users please stay tuned. We are working with Karl Beiser to make adding new content to your Biblionix Electronic Resources section as smooth as possible.
Authentication Options
Current methods of authentication will continue to work but there are changes in the password option, as well as other new authentication options.
To accompany the three new access pages, we will distribute three unique NebraskAccess passwords to each participating library—one for each access page. These passwords will be updated annually, on August 1. This is a change from our past practice of distributing a single NebraskAccess password to each library, and updating it twice per year.
To help you distribute passwords to patrons for home use, customizable business cards can be found in the NebraskAccess Librarian’s Toolbox.
New options for implementation of IP Authentication are available, so we ask that you read NebraskAccess Linking and Authentication to find the best option for your library.
EBSCO, the vendor responsible for many NebraskAccess database offerings, now provides an SSO (Single Sign On) option for students. K12 schools not already set up but interested in this option should contact Allana Novotny, 402-471-6681, 800-307-2665.
Notes:
- The NebraskAccess URL remains the same.
- The Databases Available to Nebraskans page will remain available until the passwords issued in March 2022 expire on October 1. It will then redirect visitors to the new Databases for Nebraskans page.
- Be sure to check out the NebraskAccess Librarian’s Toolbox for more information on the new NebraskAccess site.
NCompass Live: NebraskAccess – A Library Branch for Your Patron’s Living Room
Patrons stuck at home + Librarians stuck at the library = The perfect time for a NebraskAccess refresher! Explore ‘NebraskAccess – A Library Branch for Your Patron’s Living Room’ on next week’s FREE NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, May 6 at 10:00am Central Time.
Join Allana, Devra, and Susan for an overview of NebraskAccess, Nebraska’s statewide database program: What is in it? How can patrons access it from home? Why is it valuable? Where can you learn more?
NebraskAccess is a program of the Nebraska Library Commission, funded by the State of Nebraska and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services for Nebraska residents.
Presenters: Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director; Allana Novotny, Technology & Access Services Librarian; and Susan Knisely, Online Services Librarian, Nebraska Library Commission.
Upcoming NCompass Live shows:
- May 20 – Reading for Justice: A Database for YA & Youth Literature
- May 27 – Pretty Sweet Tech
- June 3 – Automating Virtual Student Library Cards
- June 10 – Identity and Impostor Syndrome in Library Makerspaces
- June 17 – Who are These People & Why are They in My Library? Using Empathy & UX to Understand Your Library Patrons
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
