Category Archives: Resources

About a library database, index, monograph, title

Lean Library- How it Works

May 20, 2024 Grace Ottesen Leave a comment

Get Lean Library

Lean Library is a browser extension that provides quick and simple access to any library-subscribed content. When you are on a website that contains library-subscribed content, your browser will notify you that library access exists. You will be provided with a “Get Access” button to authenticate your UMass Boston login. If Healey Library does not have full access, the extension will provide a link to interlibrary loan to request that item from another library.  For more information, see Healey Library’s Lean Library Research Guide: https://umb.libguides.com/leanlibrary.

How it Works

The best way to learn how to navigate Lean Library is to install it and go about your research. For an authentic experience of the ways Lean Library works through Healey Library, I am providing my own research as an example. I am currently in the process of submitting a proposal for my final project, and these are some ways Lean Library has assisted me in the process.

Get access to content we have licensed access to

If you land on content licensed by Healey Library, you will get a pop-up prompting you to authenticate to access the material.

For example, I tried visiting jstor.org. (Note that I also used my Boston Public Library eCard that I obtained as a student attending school in the state of Massachusetts!)

Find alternative access to articles and ebooks

If there is no access to the article or book through the current site, Lean Library will find alternative access in another Healey Library-licensed resource or through open access channels. For books, Lean Library will take the IBSN on a page and match it up to our holdings. This will also work with Amazon, Google, and Outlook (web)!

Here is an example of my Google search for a journal article by Nancy Bentley, “Clannishness: Jewett and Zitkala-Sa.” I copied and pasted from an annotation in a book I’m using for research into Google, and the article popped up. Though not accessible through this site, you can see that Lean Library will search in other places to find the article!

Improve your Google Scholar experience

You will notice our “Find It@UMBrella links appearing beside some full text. Run a search in Google Scholar to test it out. Here is a Google Scholar search for Religion, the Secular, and the Politics of Sexual Difference.

After clicking “Find It@UMBrella,” I received direct access to the book I was searching for.

A Convenient Link to Interlibrary Loan

If Lean Library finds the full-text version of your article isn’t available, a Request-Article pop-up will appear that will guide to make an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Request. The ILL form will automatically assign all necessary article details, no need to copy and paste!

I tested this out by trying to find full access to a plethora of articles, however it seems that the sources I am searching for are easily accessible through Healey Library. However, for an example of what it would look like, I will include an example from our LibGuide on Lean Library. They searched, A Systematic Review of Seizure-Freedom Rates in Patients with Benign Epilepsy of Childhood with Centrotemporal Spikes Receiving Antiepileptic Drugs.

Highlight & Search in UMBrella

With Lean Library, you can highlight any text on a webpage and search it in UMBrella. Do this by using the context menu of your browser, i.e., by right-clicking on a webpage. Select the Search UMBrella @ Healey Library from the option menu.

Bonus- Improved PubMed experience

Though I do not use PubMed as an English major, Lean Library provides convenient access to the article you’re wanting to access. Lean Library will look up full-text access for the article you’re interested in. Healey Library’s “Find It” links will appear on the records for the articles. Test this out by going to pubmed.gov and looking up an article. For example, try searching for the article Mass coral bleaching causes biotic homogenization of reef fish assemblages.

I am an English MA student at UMass Boston, and Lean Library has cut my research time back immensely. While the resources I have been directed to as a student have been crucial to my research process, I’ve learned that Lean Library is supplemental to it and finds articles in places I didn’t even think to check.

For more information and to download the Lean Library browser plugin, go to https://umb.libguides.com/leanlibrary.

Research Tips, Resources, What's Cool

Want to Make Finding Full Text Articles Easier? Download the Lean Library Browser Extension

November 3, 2021 Louisa Choy 2 Comments

Lean Library is a browser extension that provides quick and simple access to Library-subscribed full-text content – whenever, wherever you need it. When you’re on a website that contains library-subscribed content, the browser extension will notify you with a pop-up alert in the bookmarks bar that library access exists. The pop-up will provide you with the Get Access button to prompt you to authenticate with your UMass Boston login. If we do not have full-text access, then the extension will provide a link to InterLibrary Loan.

You don’t have to interrupt your workflow to find Healey Library; Healey Library will find you! Download the extension, select University of Massachusetts Boston, and start browsing for articles!

Here are some other ways Lean Library can help:

Find alternative access to articles and ebooks. If there is no access to the article or book through the current site, Lean Library helps find alternative access in another Healey Library-licensed resource or through open access channels. For books, Lean Library will take the ISBN on a page and match it up to our library holdings. This also works with Amazon, Google, and Outlook (web)!

Improved Google Scholar experience
You will notice our Find It@UMBrella links appearing beside some full text. Run a search – engineering education for women- in Google Scholar to test it out. Without Lean Library, you will have to go through Google’s multi-step Library Links set-up.

Highlight & Search in UMBrella
With Lean Library, you can highlight any text on a webpage and search it in UMBrella. Do this by using the context menu of your browser, i.e. by right-clicking on a webpage. Select the Search UMBrella @ Healey Library option from the menu.

For even more information about Lean Library, including FAQs, please visit our Lean Library Guide.

Resources

Take a break and explore your recreational reading and streaming options!

March 12, 2021 Lucas E Hall Leave a comment

Do you need some new recreational reading, watching, and listening to brighten your spring? Between Healey Library and the Boston Public Library, we’ve got you covered!

At Healey Library

Reading — We have some eBook and physical book options whether your recreational reading involves novels, biographies, or reading about any subject of interest to you. To find a book, type in the title of the book you’re looking for in Umbrella, and then, on the results page, select the filter for “book”. We also have quite a few eBooks. To search for those, type in the title of the book, and then, on the results page, select the filters for “book” and “Full Text Online”. You can also explore our Anti-Racism Guide, which has a few reading lists attached to give you ideas of something to read next. Whatever we don’t have, can most likely be found at the Boston Public Library.

Watching — Kanopy Streaming Video has a ton of leisure viewing. You can click “browse” on the homepage to view groups of movies by genre. While Kanopy is definitely our most extensive source for streaming video, you can explore our database list of streaming video options for more.

Listening — To search for online audiobooks and CDs in UMBrella, type in the title of the book or CD, and then, on the results page, select the filters for “Audio” Material Type and “Full Text Online” Availability.

At Boston Public Library

The Boston Public Library is an excellent source of recreational reading, watching, and listening. Did you know that all Massachusetts residents, including students, are eligible to register for an eCard from the Boston Public Library, the Library for the Commonwealth?

eCard holders have access to most of BPL’s online resources — here’s a flyer describing them all, called What BPL Can Do for You, and here are a few more links to help you get started:

Reading — BPL’s eBooks page has booklists with eBooks and plenty of eBook titles to browse. For a wide selection of national and international newspapers and magazines, start at the BPL Stream & Download page and scroll down a bit until you see Press Reader (for newspapers) and RB Digital (for magazines).

Watching — If you aren’t familiar with Kanopy yet, the Most Watched Kanopy Films of 2020 is a great list to start with. Also, visit BPL’s Movies and TV page for links to Kanopy and Hoopla and lists of new purchases.

Listening — BPL’s audiobooks page includes audio booklists and titles to browse. BPL’s music page lists new purchases in many genres.

Announcements, Library Services, Resources

Teaching Information Literacy: A New Tool for Faculty and Students

October 17, 2019 Mary T Moser Leave a comment

Introducing Credo Instruct

Healey Library is excited to introduce a platform called Credo Instruct, a set of standalone, interactive information literacy modules. These modules are used in the Library’s in-person instructional program and are also available for independent faculty use.

Information literacy addresses critical thinking and research skills by teaching students:

How to identify an information need
Where to locate the information they need
How to evaluate the quality and reliability of the information they find
How to use the information they find ethically

These interactive Credo Instruct modules include text tutorials, videos, and interactive exercises, and they allow students to test their learning with graded quizzes. The interactive modules include:

How Can Faculty Use Credo Instruct?

Faculty can choose individual videos and activities to incorporate into their classes as needed, or they can assign students to review entire modules. Faculty may select and assign the lessons independently, or they may assign specific modules or lessons to their students to review before a library instruction session. When students view the modules before a session with a librarian, students have more opportunities during that session to engage with library and information resources and expand on larger conversations about research and critical thinking.

For more information, please review the Faculty Guide to Credo Instruct, which contains the full menu of Credo Instruct learning objects.

Contact the reference department at library.reference@umb.edu if you have questions or need help with the links.

Evaluating Information Module Menu of Lessons — Each video, tutorial, and quiz in Credo Instruct can be used individually or as part of a larger module. Faculty can pick and choose from the Credo Instruct “menu” which lessons they want to incorporate into their course content.

Screenshot of Credo Instruct Plagiarism Video with Transcript — All the videos in Credo Instruct are fully captioned, and video transcripts can be downloaded as separate files. Playback speed can also be adjusted up or down.

Feedback from Faculty and Students

Since the introduction of Credo Instruct this year, faculty feedback has been incredibly positive.

Faculty have told us:

“Tell me how I get your wonderful Credo segments into my class’s Blackboard page, so I can have them well prepared before they come to visit the library.” (Nursing)
“This is great!” (English)
“In advance of your visit, I had the students review Credo Instruct, choose a module that would be helpful for them, and then write a short paragraph explaining why the info was helpful.” (Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures)

Students have told us:

They like the content, pacing, and activities, especially the Test Your Knowledge segments.
The citation activities give them a better understanding of what a citation is and its different parts.
Viewing the module Presenting Research and Data gives them an understanding of how to synthesize information for a research paper. One student said, “In high school, I never even thought about where information was coming from. My teacher would give me an article and tell me to write about it. I didn’t have to do research; in high school everything was given to me. Until I viewed the module, I didn’t realize how complicated information is.”
“I watched the Evaluating Information module. My main takeaway was how ineffective Google is when evaluating for quality.”

Review the Faculty Guide to Credo Instruct, and contact Library.Reference@umb.edu for more information about using these modules in your classes!

Healey Library: We’ve Got You Covered

We want to begin the new school year by reaffirming our mission to support our users. “We’ve Got You Covered” is our commitment to the campus and our community partners. If you need something, we will do everything we can to try to get it for you, whether it’s a specific research resource, research or classroom support, or any of the services offered by Healey Library staff. We’re here to help you and your students succeed, so please let us know what we can do for you.

Announcements, Resources, Trial period for a resource

New Resources at Healey Library!

March 7, 2019 Mary T Moser 1 Comment

Healey Library is pleased to share some new resources with you, including a trial resource on which we are seeking feedback!

Flipster

Enjoy the print magazine experience on your computer or phone screen. Flipster digitally recreates print magazines, page for page, complete with high-quality, full-color images (and cartoons!). Healey Library’s subscription provides access to issues from the last 3 years for these 10 popular magazines:

You can search for these magazines in UMBrella or find Flipster on our Databases A-Z list. Be sure to also check out the Flipster app for Android and iOS.

**Skillsoft (*formerly Books 24×7***)

Access e-books and audiobooks covering business analysis, business skills, engineering, information technology, productivity tools, and personal well-being via Healey Library’s subscription to Skillsoft. You can also search for these books in UMBrella. Skillsoft’s new and improved platform is mobile-compatible, offers enhanced accessibility, and gives users the ability to take notes, save items to their personal bookshelf, and download PDF chapters of books. Here are a few of the latest releases available via Skillsoft:

ATTENTION FACULTY! If you have previously used Books 24×7 books in your classes as assigned or suggested readings, please update the links to direct to the new Skillsoft platform. Contact Library.Reserves@umb.edu for any help with updating your links to course materials.

**AccessMedicine (*trial resource ending April 25***)

Healey Library is currently offering trial access to AccessMedicine, a McGraw Hill collection of professional resources for nursing and health science students and faculty. These resources are a mixture of medical textbooks, such as Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, and online teaching tools, such as animated anatomy modules and procedural videos. This collection was designed to help residents, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants facilitate decision-making at the point-of-care.

The library welcomes and encourages feedback on this trial resource from all of our users. In particular, we’re interested in the response from faculty in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Would faculty consider using the textbooks in this collection as the primary text for their courses? Let us know!