Archer Library • Website Updates

Library Website Updates

In anticipation of our new library services platform, we are making both content and design updates to the library website which will enable us to better support the new catalog and discovery layer. The first wave of updates include:

About the Library: Image Gallery

Thanks to web content specialist Bethany Frazer, we have a new image gallery adjacent to the Welcome to Archer Library introductory information. Here we will feature photos from around Archer Library that spotlight different areas and resources, as well as important news & events.

Library Mission & Vision

Content, resources, and platform updates being made this summer support our stated mission and vision. Including these statements in a more prominent place is a natural progression of the same. Archer Library's mission and vision statements continue to be available on our Faculty & Staff page.

Numismatics Center

The Leo and Laura Thomas Numismatic Center now has its own web page. The Numismatic Center is located on the sixth floor of Archer Library. Visit their new page to discover more!

Library Access Wednesday 6/3

The library will remain closed through Wednesday, June 3rd, and will return to regular summer hours on Thursday.  Online library resources will be inaccessible part of Wednesday as the changeover to the new electical system is made.  If you have problems or questions, please write to us at library@ashland.edu.

Library Website Gets a New Look

The Ashland University Library website has been redesigned around a new way of searching library resources called "OneSearch."  OneSearch allows you to search the AU Library Catalog, the OhioLINK Central Catalog, and most of our databases from a single search line on the library main page.

Over the upcoming weeks we will use this blog to highlight various aspects of OneSearch and the new website.  In the meantime, let us know your thoughts or questions.  You can write to us at library@ashland.edu, call us at 419-289-5402, or text us at 419-768-6106.

Take some time to explore OneSearch and see what you think.

Library Resources & AU Homepage

"In preparation for the AU homepage launch this weekend, the main AU webpage will be offline for several hours Friday evening (11/18/11). This outage will have no effect on other services (e.g. Student Email, Employee Email, ANGEL, Mediasite, etc.) however, your ability to access these systems via the main AU website will be temporarily unavailable. AU web services that are bookmarked will be available but there will be no access through the main www.ashland.edu website for a few hours what the site is prepared for cutover to the new homepage." -- AU Campus Communications, Information Technology

Many library resources will remain available during the scheduled AU web site down time;  please use the following links for direct access:

• AU Library LibGuides - Research Guides
• AU Library Catalog
• AU Library Electronic Reserves
• AU Library Journal List: A to Z
• Your Library Account: View & Renew

You may also use OhioLINK for access to databases:

• OhioLINK Catalog
  
• OhioLINK Databases
  
• OhioLINK Quick Search

Please feel free to call the library with questions regarding access to these resources. AU library will open at the regularly scheduled time for weekend services: Saturday (10 am to 5 pm) and Sunday (1 pm to midnight).

Website Downtime Thursday

The Ashland University website, including most Library web pages, will be down for several hours Thursday, July 28th, beginning at 4:30 p.m., as the University launches a redesigned site for Future Undergraduates.  We expect that various Library resources will remain accessible via these links:

• Library Catalog http://library.ashland.edu/
• OhioLINK Catalog http://olc1.ohiolink.edu/search/
• OhioLINK Databases http://www.ohiolink.edu/resources.cgi
• Research Guides http://libguides.ashland.edu/
• Reserves http://eres.ashland.edu/

Library Resources Unavailable Wednesday after 9:00 pm

A scheduled power outage for several campus buildings Wednesday night, May 19th, is likely to take all library resources offline from about 9:00 p.m.to about 12:30 a.m.  This will affect both on-campus and off-campus access to the library catalog, databases, and the library website as a whole.  It will also prevent access to OhioLINK resources that require authentication and will make it impossible to order OhioLINK books as an AU student.



All resources should be fully functional by early Thursday morning.

Planned Internet Outage

Please note the following message from Public Relations & IT:

Planned Internet Outage:

Our Internet Service Provider will be performing emergency network maintenance tonight, Feb. 12, from 12 midnight to 3 A.M.

During this time all services available from off campus including ANGEL, the AU website and Exchange will be unavailable. On-campus users can expect to have access to all campus resources with the exception of internet access. While we expect around 5 minutes of down time, some resources may be down for the entire duration of the maintenance window.

Off campus use of the Library Catalog, LibGuides, and OhioLINK should not be affected by this outage. During this time, please use OhioLINK for your database access.

Log in questions?

We have had questions regarding the web site login option located in the gold bar, top right corner of each web site page (see green arrow). This is not the login for library database access.

This login is a component of the new university web site, it allows users to personalize their web site experience. Select the login option to view the User Account page; enter your AU Username and corresponding password and log in.


After login, you will be directed to the tab and information best suited for your needs. Students will see the Current Students tab and Faculty & Staff their information page. Remember, the library is a direct link below online resources for current students!


If you are using a public access computer, feel free to log out after you have finished. On your personal computer, it will generally remember your login. Keep in mind, this particular login option is for the web site, not library databases. Off campus users will continue to authenticate using traditional means.

Update: Off Campus Authentication

The library database authentication page, a necessary component for off campus use of Ashland University Library and OhioLINK resources, has been successfully updated to reflect the new University web site. Users accessing databases from off campus are immediately directed to the log in via the library proxy server (see image below).


To authenticate, enter your Ashland University ID number (without the "au-" prefix) and your last name. Upon completion, you will be directed to your database or electronic book selection.

Problems? Help is available directly from the blog. Feel free to contact us using the blog chat widget, any of library help quick links in the sidebar, or call the reference desk @ x5402.

AU Library Catalog: E-Books & Journal Access

Journal Access & AU Library Catalog

• Restoration of access to 74,000+ journal links from the library catalog has begun.
• Records are being restored in batches of 5,000 each morning before the library opens.
• We anticipate the process will be complete within the next six to eight weeks.

Remember, access to research databases using Journals A to Z, LibGuides, and the library's Databases by Title web page is fully restored for users on and off campus.

Electronic Books & AU Library Catalog

• We are continuing to restore access to our e-book collection from the library catalog.
• There are currently 46,000+ e-books in the catalog from different vendors.
• It is anticipated full access to e-books in the catalog will be restored by the end of the term.

Looking for an e-book? We recommend starting with the E-book web page. Remember, access to OhioLINK's electronic book collection is possible from the AU library catalog and the library's E-Books web page.

Library Hours

A quick reminder, library hours are incorrectly posted on two pages within the new university web site, please note our regular fall hours have not changed:

• Monday - Thursday: 7:45 am to Midnight
• Friday: 7:45 am to 5:00 pm
• Saturday: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Sunday: 1:00 pm to Midnight

Thank you for your continued patience.

Library web site news

The library is now one giant step closer for users! Students may now access the library directly from the online resources menu.

Main AU web site > to

Current Students > to

View Online Resources, Library

Quick Links Menu

Academic Search Complete and The Chronicle of Higher Education, both located on the Quick Links menu on the library web site and library web site students, are currently incorrect.

These resources remains available, please use the library's Databases by Title page for quick access to all of our databases. Thank you for your continued patience.

Update: 10/21/09 @ 3:00 pm - Links have been restored.

Finding Help

HELP! is back ...

A HELP! link has been added to the Library more information site below the About the Library. The link will take users to the help page index detailing various help resources offered by the library.

At this time, our traditional help links will remain on the library blog sidebar for easy access.

Finding Help

Library help pages remain absent from the collection of links on the library more information page. In addition to placing our popular chat widget on the blog sidebar, we have added links to the various help pages.

With the help links, back by popular demand, is "My library account." Remember, in addition to this helpful link, it is possible at any time to renew books online from the library catalog by choosing View Your Library Record and Renew Items.

Library Hours

A quick reminder, library hours are incorrectly posted on two pages within the new university web site, please note our regular fall hours have not changed:

• Monday - Thursday: 7:45 am to Midnight
• Friday: 7:45 am to 5:00 pm
• Saturday: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Sunday: 1:00 pm to Midnight

Thank you for your continued patience. We are working diligently to submit help tickets necessary for corrections and appreciate everyone who has contacted us regarding problems with the site.

Journals by title

Access to Journals by Title, the Journals A to Z information portal providing information to journal availability within the Ashland University Library database collection, has been restored. It is once again possible to enter a journal or periodical title into the search engine and learn which database may contain the collection.

We are confident this resource works on campus. At this time, off campus access has not been investigated. If you have problems using Journals by Title from an off campus location, please be sure to let us know.

Update: database access

Electronic Books & AU Library Catalog: On and off campus access to electronic books, from the library's E-Books web page, has been restored. Access to OhioLINK's electronic book collection is possible from the AU library catalog and the library's E-Books web page. We are continuing to trouble-shoot electronic book access from other vendors via the library catalog and recommend searches for electronic books begin with the E-book web page.

Databases Access & Searching: Access to all databases from on and off campus has been restored, please begin any database search from the library's database by title page. If you are having problems linking to the databases, please refresh your browser and try again.

Feel free to contact us regarding database access from either of these resources. We continue to work with database problems within LibGuides, the Library Catalog, E-Res (electronic reserves), and Journals by Title.

Chat from the Blog!

We have added the chat function to our blog sidebar!

Please feel free to use this chat widget in addtion to the those placed in LibGuides and on the library help page. If chat happens to be off line, leave a message (if you need an answer be sure to include contact information) or stop back again soon.

Missing Help Pages

It has come to our attention links to essential library help, including the popular Ask Us! chat page, are not currently available on the new web site. Please be assured even though direct access to the information was eliminated, the pages remain.

• Ask a Librarian
• Ask Us! Chat with a Librarian
• Connecting to Library Resources from Off-Campus
• Library FAQ's
• OhioLINK Requests
• Schedule a Research Appointment
• Finding Help in the Library

We hope to be able to rectify this problem once access to content is released back to the library. Remember, chat options are available throughout LibGuides.