Penn State University Libraries - LionSearch

General Questions

What is LionSearch?
LionSearch is a single interface to the combined resources provided by the Penn State University Libraries.  The software, called Summon, is licensed from Serials Solutions and provides a single gateway to search the extensive electronic resources of the Libraries.

Can anyone use LionSearch? Do I have to be an authorized user?
All users are able to use the LionSearch interface however only authorized users will have access to licensed resources. Essentially, access is the same as access to the CAT.

Can I use LionSearch on my iPhone/Blackberry/mobile device?
Yes. LionSearch should recognize your mobile device and provide you with a mobile-friendly version of the site. You can select the Standard Version link on this site if you wish to use the full version.

Is there a LionSearch widget for PSU?
Yes.  It will be on tools and widgets page when available.

Scope

What is included in LionSearch?
LionSearch includes (a) records from The CAT; (b) electronic resources; (c) local Penn State collections.

Is there a title list of what is included in LionSearch?
Yes.  There is a webpage at the Serials Solutions website (http://www.serialssolutions.com/summon-content-and-coverage) but the data is not always as up to date as we would like. It is almost easier to search for a title using LionSearch itself.

Is everything in The CAT included in LionSearch?
Almost, but not quite. A small number of records have been excluded such as temporary records (in staff parlance, shadowed records are excluded). Some course reserve materials are also not included due to copyright restrictions. (You can access these items from within the CAT’s course reserve module.)

What databases/electronic resources have been included in LionSearch?
All our online databases and e-resources are included in LionSearch. The Serials & Acquisitions department manages access via the administrative module.  (Note that the initial default in LionSearch is to show only materials owned by Penn State. To see all results you must select the box “Include results from outside your library's collection”.)

What local collections have been included in LionSearch?
All of our local (digital) collections are in LionSearch except for those that are works in progress.

Is everything Penn State licenses included in LionSearch?
So far, but there is always a possibility that a publisher may not allow Serials Solutions to index their content in the future, in which case that content would not appear.

How often is the data in LionSearch updated?
New and changed records from The CAT are added to LionSearch every night. Changes that we make to our electronic resources holdings will appear the following day. Data from local collections are harvested every two weeks. Database updates are less frequent but approximately monthly.

Searching

How does LionSearch work?
LionSearch presents a single search box for entering search terms.  The LionSearch engine quickly collects all the relevant material and presents the results sorted by relevance along with a number of facets that may be used to refine the results, such as date, language, and content type.

Does LionSearch work like a “federated search”?
Yes and no. LionSearch is not designed to search a selected group of databases; instead it searches everything and does it much faster than a federated search.Federated searches send the same query to each of the databases and wait for the database to send back some results (seldom complete). LionSearch searches a single index managed by SerialsSolutions.  This index is created by pre-harvesting metadata from the source databases. So you search a single index and get a single result set. On the other hand, the metadata harvested by SerialsSolutions is the same metadata that is searched in the individual databases. Searches in LionSearch are no smarter than federated searches, but they are more comprehensive and much faster.

How extensive is the indexing?  Does LionSearch index all of the full text of an article?
It depends on what the publisher allows.

When I enter a search, several suggested options appear in a box underneath. Where is this information coming from?  Sometimes the information is truncated and I’d like to get the full text.
LionSearch has an autocomplete feature, which provides users with suggestions as they type in a search box. These suggestions come from a collection of open access sources freely available on the Internet. Major sources include the Library of Congress, Open Library, PubMed Central, and Wikipedia.

When is it more appropriate to use the Advanced Search?
The Advanced Search has multiple pre-set search boxes to facilitate Boolean searching by keyword, authors, title, source and so on. It is most useful if you are looking for a known item or citation since you can limit by volume, issue, and date.  It is also possible to limit the search to just items in the CAT using the Advanced Search.

Can you access a database from a LionSearch search?
Yes.  To access a particular database via LionSearch, simply search for the database by name then follow the link.

Does LionSearch support non-Roman character searching or sorting?  Can we turn on a non-English language interface to LionSearch?
We have not enabled these features at this time.

Can I use LionSearch to find a specific, known title?
Yes. Search for the title of the item using the LionSearch box or use the advance search.

Are there any instances when it is better to NOT use LionSearch? When should I go directly to a database versus use LionSearch?
One circumstance might be if you need to do a specialized search of a particular database. Most databases support more sophisticated searching if you utilize their internal, individual search software. Some offer unique searching features not found in LionSearch, such as cited reference searching.  In the case of the CAT, the records themselves are indexed in more detail by the CAT software than that of LionSearch so your search results might yield more results.  Also, since LionSearch only supports one Content Type for each record (many items have multiple Content Types, e.g., e-book and government document), its results are very misleading if you are searching for a particular Content Type.

Facets

What are facets and how should I use them to refine my search?
Facets are used to display the results of your search in several pre-determined categories, such as language and date. The facets display on the left side of the results screen. By default, “Any” is checked to show all results. Clicking on one of the categories will keep the results that fall into that category, while eliminating everything else. For instance, clicking on the Language “English” will limit results to items in that language. For more precise control, click on “more options” at the bottom of the list of categories; you can “include” or “exclude” each category separately. To remove the limits, click on “Any” to see the full list of results. Within the “more options” link, the sorting order can be changed from a frequency sort to an alphabetic sort, if desired. Each of these facets work independently; in other words, you can choose categories within different facets in order to refine your search.

What facets are available to refine search results?
LionSearch includes the following facets:

• “Refine your search”: a few very general limits, such as “items with full text online”
• Content Type: resource categories such as “Book” or “Journal Article”
• Author
• Subject Terms (collated from the subject terms in the search results)
• Publication Date
• Library Location
• Language

Why don’t the content type facets yield better results?  Sometimes they just seem wrong!
LionSearch assigns a single Content Type to each record no matter how many different content types the item may actually have (e.g., government document and book).  Also, we have no control over what content types the various database producers assign to their records. For our library’s catalog records, the Content Type mapping of records from The CAT is based on the Item Type element. We developed a hierarchy of Item Types to map our records into the LionSearch Content Types (see below).  Since a record could only be assigned one Content Type the results are not ideal.  For example, we have many records that have both print and microform Item Types, such as theses, dissertations, and journals.  Since the microform Item Type was near the bottom of our hierarchy, it gets assigned only if no other Item Type applies to the record.  This means that our microform collections are under-represented as a category because the Content Type “microform” is never assigned when the same record has print holdings.

Hierarchy of Item Types used when assigning Content Types:

1.     Thesis/dissertation

2.     E-book

3.     E-journal

4.     Web resource

5.     Journal

6.     Archival material

7.     Map

8.     Music score

9.     Newspaper

10.  Audio recording

11.  Video recording

12.  Electronic resource (e.g., CD-ROM)

13.  Kit

14.  Book

15.  Pamphlet

16.  Microform

17.  Equipment

How can I use facets to refine my search?
The left column of the LionSearch results display provides a number of facets listing categories which can be used to refine a search. By default, “Any” is checked to show all results. Clicking on one of the categories will keep the results that fall into that category, while eliminating everything else. For instance, clicking on the Content Type “Book” will eliminate everything that is not a book from the results list. For more precise control, click on “more options” at the bottom of the list of categories; you can “include” or “exclude” each category separately.  To remove the limits, click on “Any” to see the full list of results.

I wanted to restrict my search to materials in the Arts & Humanities Library but I don’t see that as an option on the Libraries Location list.  Why not?
Given the way call numbers are assigned to materials in the Pattee and Paterno Libraries, Summon had difficulty separating materials accurately by floor/subject library.  For LionSearch, we decided to treat all libraries within the Pattee and Paterno Libraries as one location.  If you want to search for materials specifically in one of the subject libraries in Pattee or Paterno, you should use the interface in the CAT, which allows much more granular searching by location.

Why don’t the results retrieved under the content type facets add up to the same number of total records?
A few of our resources did not match any of the Content Types allowed by Summon.  Rather than map these resources to the wrong type, we chose to not map them to any particular type instead.  An example would be various types of equipment, such as laptops.

Results

Can I print and email records I find in LionSearch?
Yes. Use the “Save this item” feature that shows up in the top right corner of each record to save that item to a temporary folder (see the Refworks/Endnote screencast above for details). Open the “Saved Items” folder (in the bottom right of the screen) and choose either to print or email your list of records.

Does LionSearch work with bibliographic managers like Refworks, Endnote, and  Zotero?
Yes. LionSearch offers direct export with Refworks and Endnote as well as the option to export to a Bibtex file which many other citation managers can read. Here is a brief screencast of how this feature works for Refworks and Endnote: http://screencast.com/t/x8maRsftpg. For a video about how to use Zotero with LionSearch, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz4YR5b6uqY

Can I select multiple items simultaneously?
Not yet that we can tell.

Why aren’t the most recent materials at the top of the results?
Initial results are ranked according to relevancy but you can modify the order of display to a date order using the drop box in the upper right of the results screen.

How does the relevancy ranking work?
This is a proprietary algorithm that uses keywords, citation counts and other factors.

What is the difference between “Citation Online” and “Full Text Online”?
“Citation Online” means there is a link to a description of that work whereas “Full Text Online” means you can actually access the work itself.

How does LionSearch handle duplicate and overlapping content?
The software uses a match & merge process when records are ingested.  It keeps the best elements from multiple sources to create a merged record.

When a single item (article, e-book, etc.) can be found in more than one e-resource, the results screen lists a link for each access point.  Will we have the ability to rank the databases according to our preferences?  Since the order in which databases are listed may affect usage statistics, will this ranking preference be provided to staff?  
Yes, we can control the order of display in 360 Linker.  If no preference is given, then the resource with the oldest coverage displays first, following by an alphabetic sort.

Can you tell if a citation came from a particular database?
Usually, although Summon combines data from multiple sources for the records. Click on the title of the item in LionSearch and you will be taken to an intermediate screen with the title “360 Link” (this is similar to the Get It screen). On this screen you can see a list of  databases/resources for retrieval.

How does the database referral feature work?  How does LionSearch choose which database(s) are relevant?
Summon uses an algorithm based upon auto analysis of search results to rank the two most useful databases.

My friend and I did the same search but our results were different.  What happened?
There are several possibilities. Using the copy-and-paste functions will sometimes yield different results from a typed search due to hidden characters in the record.  Also, since the LionSearch data is updated frequently, search results will vary over time.

Why do I get different results when searching the CAT using LionSearch than when I’m using the CAT interface?
LionSearch does not index as much of the CAT record as we do in our local interface, so the CAT interface tends to result in more records retrieved.

I am now a student at Hershey.  Why do my [results] look different from when I used LionSearch at Mont Alto?
Hershey’s version of LionSearch is slightly different and so your results may vary somewhat.  (Note: We are working towards having a single version for all locations.)

LionSearch and the CAT

If the CAT is down, can I still useLionSearch?
Yes, but you won’t see the real-time availability of the item and its shelf location.  Instead, “Check Availability” will be displayed for the item’s availability.

LionSearch says there are more copies of a book but when I follow the link, I just see other volumes? Why?
LionSearch cannot discern the difference between volumes and copies.  It calls all multiple pieces “copies”.

How do I place a hold on an item in LionSearch?
After you identify an item you would like to hold, click on its title in LionSearch. This will take you to the item’s record in the CAT, where you can then choose the “I Want It” button to place a hold.

What is the ‘C’ code that I see when LionSearch links to a CAT record?  E.g., “C4212328”
This is the CAT key, a unique code key provided to LionSearch to link to a specific record in our catalog. It is not searchable by any other interface, nor should it be used as an identifier.

Implementation

Where will the LionSearch search screen be placed on our website?
During the beta test period, March-August 2011, there will be a link from the Libraries' home page (and all campus home pages) to LionSearch.

A search using the mobile site search box gives really different results.  What happened?
The search widget/interface on our mobile site {beta version} used to take you only into the CAT. Changing to LionSearch provides superior results for users and includes CAT resources as well as much more.

How can I request changes or provide feedback? 
There is a link to feedback in the right hand corner of every LionSearch page. The Summon Implementation Task Force welcomes your feedback!

Who decides whether to make the change I suggest?  (How do I report problems?) 
Any changes that are suggested will be carefulyl reviewed by the Summon Implementation Task Force. Some changes can be made directly by one of the Working Groups. In some case, a suggested change will need to be submitted to Serials Solutions as an enhancement request.

How was the name “LionSearch” selected?
In Fall 2010, the Libraries solicited names from students, faculty and staff. From those names, the Summon Implementation Task Force came up with a "short list", and then we let the students decide.  Over 600 students voted for their favorite from the list, and the overwhelming winner was "LionSearch". 

Management

Is it possible to get a report on the searches performed in LionSearch?  For example, a list of the most common keywords.   
We will be able to get some data from the administrative console (?).

How will future changes to targets/resources included in LionSearch be handled?   
Contact Serials & Acquisitions Dept.

If I want to suggest a new resource to include, what is the process?  
Talk with the publisher to allow OAI harvesting.  Submit suggestion to Serials Solutions.

Who lets LionSearch know when we cancel a database or want a resource removed?  How long does it take for the change to take effect?   
The Serials & Acquisitions Dept. manages the database and can make changes.  Changes generally take effect within 24 hours.

Known Issues

The following databases are not currently working with LionSearch:

• Access World News (4/2011)
• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (4/2011)
• NewsBank (4/2011)

We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, thoughts and comments.

Feedback

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Download and print this overview of LionSearch!

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LionSearch Basic Search guide (PDF)

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