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Frequently Asked Questions for Librarians

Please review questions and answers on Frequently asked questions for the Public along with these additional responses.

Access Issues

1. What should a librarian do if their library can't access MARVEL?

If your library receives new computers, you must register their IP numbers. Please email Cheryl.Ramsay@maine.gov with the new IP numbers or for any other problems.

2. Which IP numbers are needed for a direct connection?

There are two scenarios:

a. Your connection to the internet does not go through a gateway or proxy server; in this case MARVEL! system administrators will need the entire IP address range for the computers you intend to use.

b. You have a gateway server through which all your computers connect to the Internet.

• Technically, only the IP of the server that links to the internet is needed.
• However, MARVEL! system administrators would prefer to have both that IP as well as the entire IP range of the other machines; this is in case the computers ever use a different internet access method at a later date.
• In addition, MARVEL! system administrators would like the contact phone number/email of someone at each site in case any problems arise.

3. Can my library patrons access MARVEL! from home?

Yes, they can. To access MARVEL! from a computer outside the library network or from their home, there are three ways: If they have a Minerva or URSUS library card, they can login using their last name and the barcode on their library card, if their Internet Service Provider allows direct access, or the patrons will be prompted to register for a username and password. See Getting Started for more details.

Promotion

1. Can I put an MARVEL! icon on my local library computers and on my library web site that leads patrons directly to MARVEL!

Yes, we encourage you to add the MARVEL! icon! See the requirements.

Location:

• Your website
• An icon on computer desktops in your building
• Email signatures

Requirements:

• MARVEL! is for use within Maine only.
• MARVEL! link must only be to the MARVEL! home page: http://www.maine.gov/marvel/ and not directly to any of the individual databases themselves.
• Use only the copyright @ icon, available in different sizes: (100 x 39 pixels)
• More icons on library publicity page. (This MARVEL! logo was created by a New Century Grant)

Directions to add icon to a web page:

1. To save MARVEL! for your web page or computer desktop, right click on it or control-click and then choose "Save Picture As" or "Save Image as" to your computer. Navigate to a location on your computer to save this image. It's best to save your images in an image folder inside your web site folder.
2. Please follow the directions for your web editor since "inserting an image" can be different for each software.
3. General: Align cursor where you want the image placed.
4. Select the "Insert" or "Insert Image".
5. Browse to the location on your computer where you saved the MARVEL! image and select it.
6. Be sure to upload this image to your web server so the image will show.
7. Add alternative or "alt" text for any image on your web pages. "ALT" text makes information about the image available to visually-impaired users. Follow directions for ALT for your web editor or add alt="MARVEL! logo" or alt="MARVEL! Maine's Virtual Library" within the image tag of the HTML code.
8. To use MARVEL! as a link, choose the image and follow the directions of your web editor.
9. Need to remove the blue border around "MARVEL!" image when it is a link? Set the image tag attribute border to zero. Example: <a href=http://www.maine.gov/marvel"><img src="marvel3.gif" alt=MARVEL! logo" border="0"> </a>.

2. Are there brochures, bookmarks, handouts available that I can print to use at my library?

There are a number of promotional materials for MARVEL! available on MARVEL Resources. You will find a brochure, a bookmark, and instructional handouts that may be used as they are, or edited to include local information.

There are also possible handouts, tips and guides available on sites created by various vendors. These include:

• Gale
  • Product Education
  • User Guides
• Encyclopedia Britannica (PDF)
• EBSCO: Lists of the publications in specific databases supplied by EBSCO are available at www.epnet.com/titlelists.asp
• BiblioLine: Quick Guides and tutorials are both available at the Help link in Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide and Child Abuse, Child Welfare and Adoption Database.

3. Where can I find MARVEL! usage statistics by individual library?

We do not compile MARVEL! statistics for individual libraries. With the implementation of the proxy servers, we no longer are able to compile EBSCO statistics based on user IP. The only IPs that the vendor now sees are the IPs of the three proxy servers in use.

There are significant advantages to using proxy servers: we only have to manage three IPs instead of 3000+ IPs for each vendor. Additionally, we can now update IP addresses locally in a few minutes, whereas without proxy servers an ip update with the vendor could take 3-4 days.The proxy servers have also greatly reduced the number of users experiencing problems with browser compatability.

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