Fix for Linking Errors from OneSearch to EBSCO Databases

EBSCO fixed the problem on their end that was causing error messages when users tried to go from links in OneSearch records into EBSCOhost databases for the full text (see last week’s blog post for details). Ex Libris is still updating its system in Alma for handling those links based on changes made by EBSCO, so some residual errors may crop up. If you have any linking problems from OneSearch into any database, please report them ASAP to Mike Waldman or me.

Linking Errors from OneSearch to EBSCOhost Databases (resolved)

Most (if not all) links from OneSearch records that lead into EBSCOhost databases dead end at an “OpenURL Connection” error page from EBSCO that looks like one of these:

Version 1:

Version 2:

This is the same problem that cropped up in June that EBSCO and Ex Libris eventually fixed. It’s now back again. Until the two vendors sort this out (again), here is the workaround:

Look for another database link in the OneSearch record that goes to something other than an EBSCOhost database
Use the A-Z list of databases to get to a link to the relevant EBSCOhost database and then run the search for the article within that database.

Facets Now on Left Side of Search Results in OneSearch

Last week, the CUNY Office of Library Services moved the facets that appear on the search results pages from the right side to the left side. By placing the facets on the left, the layout of search pages now is similar to the layout of most of our databases (EBSCO, ProQuest, etc.) as well as to search results pages on shopping websites.

It is hoped that by putting the facets in OneSearch this familiar location, our users will be more likely to use them. Using reports in Alma Analytics, we should be able to spot any change in facet usage in the coming months.

Occasional Link Errors from OneSearch to EBSCOhost Databases (resolved)

There’s a known issue with the way EBSCOhost databases handle incoming links from OneSearch. In some cases (but not most), the link in OneSearch that leads to an EBSCOhost database will lead you to an “EBSCO OpenURL Connection” page that is essentially a dead end (see below for the simple workarounds).

Here is a link to a sample OneSearch record where this EBSCOhost problem occurs:

Bennett, L. K., Scruggs, X., & Woods, J. M. (2020). Surprise, Hurt, and Anger as Emotional Responses to Expectancy Violations Following Feedback Messages. Communication Research Reports, 37(1-2), 22–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2020.1737000.

Here is an annotated screenshot showing which database link in that record is the problem one:

If you click the “Communication & Mass Media Complete” database link, you get to a dead-end error page from EBSCO that looks like this and has options that you’ll want to ignore:

Workarounds to this problem

Until EBSCOhost can fix this occasional problem, try one of these workarounds:

Look for a link in the OneSearch record that goes to something other than an EBSCOhost database (in the above example, that would be the link for “Taylor & Francis Online”)
Use the A-Z list of databases to get to a link to the relevant EBSCOhost database and then run the search for the article within that database.

OneSearch and Alma Down for Scheduled Maintenance May 29-30

Beginning on Saturday, May 29, 2021, at 9:00 PM, and lasting until Sunday, May 30, 2021, at 9:00 PM, OneSearch and Alma will both be down while the vendor (Ex Libris) migrates these systems to a new data center.

Workarounds during downtime:

Articles: search in our databases directly
Ebooks: search in our ebook databases directly (start with Ebook Central, the largest one)
Print books: search in WorldCat (although our print collections are still not available for borrowing)
Videos
- If the video is being used for a specific class, check the course page in e-reserves
- Check our guides to videos

OneSearch Tip: Broad Searches

If you wanted to find all of our materials that were in French, you can do that in the advanced search mode by using “*” (with the quotation marks around the asterisk) and then selecting “French” from the “Language” limiters.

Once you have that search run, you can further refine it by additional terms or using any of the limiters on the side. Here are some ways you can drill down further:

Print books: Select “Currently on Shelf” in the “Limit To” options
Ebooks: Select “Full Text Online” in “Limit To” and “Books” in “Resource Type”
Works by a specific author: Select the “Author” field and enter the author’s last name. Example: all works in French by Ousmane Sembène, which returns both his works of fiction and the films he directed.

OneSearch Tip: Locking Filters

If you want to ensure that any filters you’ve set in OneSearch are locked in place for any subsequent searches, you’ll want to use the “Remember all filters” option, which is found above the list of filters on the right side of search results pages. This feature is essential when you’re sharing a set of search results with a patron, as it is likely that after the patron has received the search results page you sent them they may then run additional searches from that page and be assuming that the active filters are still in place.

Here is the location of the “Remember all filters” function that you can apply once you’ve selected one or more filters:

Once you click “Remember all filters,” each of the active filters will display a lock icon to let you know they are set:

If you’ve locked any filter, you can unlock it by mousing over it and selecting the unlocked padlock icon that appears.

Bonus Info about URL Syntax of Search Results

If you look closely at the URLs for a search results page with unlocked active filters and for a search results page with locked filters, you can see that the latter includes an “lk” indicator just after the specific facet that’s been locked (highlighted below in orange):

Unlocked active filters:

https://cuny-bb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,turtles&tab=Everything&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&vid=01CUNY_BB:CUNY_BB&mfacet=rtype,include,book_chapters,1&mfacet=rtype,include,articles,1&offset=0

Locked active filters:

OneSearch Tip: Searching Local Notes Field

With the help of CUNY OLS, we now have indexed the local notes field in our Alma records. This means that you can now do things like find:

all the books that are part of the Segall Fund
all the books that are part of the Technical Analysis Educational Foundation

If you go to the advanced search screen and then the field search option menu, “Local notes” is now one of the options you can use.

OneSearch Tip: Find Print and Ebooks by Browsing by Author, Title, and More

Since our move from Aleph to Alma in August 2020, the “Browse Search” option in OneSearch now has the expanded ability to let you find ebooks as well as print books. The fields indexed are:

Author
Title
Series
Call Number
Subject

Here’s a screenshot showing how to get to an author browse in OneSearch:

OneSearch Tip: Using Citation Trails

In many (but not all) records for journal articles in OneSearch, you’ll find one or more red arrow icons that let you run a new search to find either records for the sources cited in that article or records for sources that have cited the article you’ve found. This ability to navigate in either direction along the chain of citations is similar to what you can do in Web of Science or in Google Scholar. While this feature will aid in the discovery of related items, if you’re looking for an authoritative and more comprehensive source of citation data, Web of Science is the place to go.

In the brief record display that you see in search results pages, some records will feature none of the icons, some will fill feature one of the icons, and others will have both. Here is a screenshot showing two records in the search results where one record has one icon and the other has both:

If you mouse over the icons, you’ll see tool tips that explain what each icon does:

Icon with two arrows pointing up = “find sources citing this”
Icon with one arrow pointing down = “find sources cited in this”

If you click through to the full record for journal article record, at the bottom of the page, you’ll see the icons repeated along with explanation of what each one does:

This page of documentation in the Ex Libris Knowledge Base explains where the citation data comes from and which citations are actually visible when you run searches using the citation trail icons:

Primo currently matches the metadata provided by CrossRef with the records in PC (Primo Central) to build the citation trails. Only records that belong to the collections that your institution has activated in PC will appear in the lists.