New Library Search Launched

Searching for recommended readings.

Looking for books and articles on a research topic.

Doing a literature review.

What do these three familiar activities have in common? Among other things, they all entail the use of the library system to retrieve relevant library resources.

Since 23 July 2020, students and staff have been using a new library system to search for library resources and access their library accounts. So, what's new in the library system?

For new students, the first question would probably be: what is a library system?

Also known as a “discovery system” in library jargon, such tools provide a “one-stop search” covering most of a library’s collection. This would include all the physical items (such as books, journals, audio-visual materials, archival items etc), as well as ebooks, online journals and videos. Most importantly, such systems offer the convenience of searching many library databases simultaneously. This saves students and faculty members the effort of duplicating their searches in different online databases. Because of the large number of items and databases that are in a search, the number of results tends to be large.

So, how is the new system different from the old one?

Results with Full-text Articles Shown First

One main difference between the two systems is the display of search results.

Search results used to consist of a mixture of full-text articles and those with abstracts only.

In the new system, search results will automatically display full-text articles only. This offers more convenience as many users would prefer to view results where the full article is available, before examining those that do not provide full-text.

To include results which do not provide the full articles, conduct the search using the “Search beyond Library holdings” option.

Check the box "Search beyond Library holdings" to see complete results.

Single Login Access

Previously, to access either online resources or your library account, you would have to login separately. Now, a single login (using your NIE login account and password) allows you to access both online resources and your library account simultaneously.

Seamless Process for Item Requests

Previously, accessing items from our Singapore Education Resources (SEDU) collection and Closed Stacks required additional efforts from the users’ end: first, they need to retrieve the item’s location and status from the library catalogue, then locate and complete the online request form on the Library Portal.

In the new system, users can now access our online request forms directly from the search results page with just a single click.

Try it yourself today and discover new ways of searching and access!