After the successful launch of UMBrella and the rollout of our updated and mobile-friendly Library homepage, the Library is thrilled to announce another improvement:

As of TODAY, Library users will be prompted to enter their UMass Boston email username and password instead of their barcode when accessing the Library’s electronic resources from off-campus!

Migrating the Library’s off-campus access to the University’s single sign-on (SSO) system streamlines patrons’ access to the Library’s resources whenever and wherever needed.

Library barcodes are not going away! Patrons will still need their barcode to check out items from the Library, and, for the short term, to submit interlibrary loan (ILL) requests. 

Please continue to put UMBrella through its paces and share with us any issues you encounter or improvements you’d like to suggest. The feedback form awaits your comments!

Thank you to UMass Boston’s Information Technology Services (ITS) and UMass’s University Information Technology Services (UITS) for their continued partnership in helping us enhance library services and resources for the campus community!

Good news: UMBrella is live!  The Library’s new, powerful, state-of-the-art, single-stop information search and discovery tool can be accessed directly from the Library’s new and  improved, mobile-friendly library homepage.  We encourage you to jump right in to see how UMBrella enhances your research experience, and to let us know how it goes.

To help you get started, here are some pointers and links:

• • Healey Library invites you to sign up for one of our introductory UMBrella training workshops offered throughout the month of February. Other training materials will be made available online for those who cannot attend a workshop in person.

• • Please share your feedback about the new system so that we can continue to improve your search experience. Please fill out this comment form after you’ve had a chance to explore UMBrella.

• • As with any major platform migration, we are committed to addressing any questions, problems, or inconsistencies that arise from the migration process. We sincerely welcome your suggestions and feedback. Please direct questions or comments to Library.Systems@umb.edu so that we can address them as quickly as possible!

• • UMBrella users can search nearly all of the articles, books, videos, and e-books that the Library owns or subscribes to. In addition, users can search through multiple pathways. For example, users can access individual databases like CINAHL or JSTOR, or search specific journal titles through UMBrella.

Here’s what’s on the horizon in the near future:

• • Healey Library staff will be using your feedback and questions to inform our ongoing interface adjustments and to troubleshoot any issues that arise. This process will result in a continually improving research experience for our users!

• • We are pleased to announce that UMBrella uses the University’s Single Sign-On authentication system. Users log in to UMBrella the same way they access WISER and HR Direct, using their UMass Boston email username and password. We are in the process of extending the Single Sign-On system to replace the existing barcode and last name combination for off-campus access to databases and e-journal articles.

The launch of UMBrella is a joint partnership between Healey Library, Information Technology Services, and UMass Information Technology Services.  All of us wish you the best in your research journeys and look forward to your feedback on UMBrella!

via GIPHY

UMBrella: Covering All Your Research Needs is scheduled to launch at the end of this month!  

In preparation, could all faculty members please encourage their students, especially new, online, or transfer students, to contact the library to activate their library barcodes during the first week of classes?

At the bottom of this message you will find both text and a graphic that you can include in your course syllabi, Blackboard course pages, wikis, or other course handouts and materials to get this important message across to your students.

Here’s the full story:

As the UMBrella launch approaches, there will be a brief system-wide freeze scheduled on Sunday, January 28-Monday, January 29. Here are the highlights of what this freeze means for Healey Library patrons:

• During this freeze, normal library operations will still continue, and library patrons with current, active barcodes will still be able to check out materials, submit interlibrary loan requests, and access library resources both in person and online.
• However, during the period of Sunday, January 28-Monday, January 29, library staff will be unable to distribute or activate NEW barcodes. This means that, during this two-day system freeze, any student, faculty, or staff member who has not yet gotten or activated their library barcode will be unable to request items via interlibrary loan or access the library’s electronic resources from off-campus. (Users who request new barcodes during this two-day window will be able to check out materials from Healey Library during the freeze.)

With your help in encouraging students to get their barcodes during the first week of classes, we can ensure that as few patrons as possible are affected by the two-day systems freeze leading up to the launch of UMBrella.

As a reminder, you may also invite your students to sign up for one of our UMBrella workshops running in February. These workshops are open to the entire campus community and are intended to help our users make the most of this impressive new resource.

Text Announcement for Including in Course Materials:
Please be sure to activate your Healey Library barcode by Friday, January 26, 2018. Due to an extensive library system migration and upgrade, library barcode services will be unavailable Sunday, January 28-Monday, January 29. During this two-day window, only patrons with current library barcodes will be able to submit interlibrary loan requests or access Healey Library’s electronic resources from off-campus. For instructions on getting or activating your barcode, please see: https://umb.libanswers.com/faq/146320

Graphic for Including in Course Materials:

Healey Library welcomes your questions, comments, or feedback directed to Library.Systems@umb.edu!