The beginning of classes brings a powerful new search option to the arsenal of databases available through the Hope College Library. The OneFile PowerSearch option is a federated search engine that combines search results from InfoTrac OneFile, the new Academic OneFile and the Gale Virtual Reference databases. The OneFile PowerSearch link is available from the Library | Databases for Research | General Research web page.
Many Hope users are familiar with the Gale InfoTrac OneFile database (now called General OneFile). It is the database that students learn first in FYS and English 113 classes and is the most heavily used database on Hope’s campus. Now with the OneFile PowerSearch link, the number of resources searched is expanded to included more full-text scholarly journals and full-text reference sources. Some of the reference titles included are the World of Sport Science, the World Mark Encyclopedia of Nations, The Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism and Encyclopedia Judaica. The scholarly journals drawn from the Academic OneFile database are published world wide across all disciplines.
The PowerSearch interface includes a number of enhancements just released this month. Users can set up search and journal alerts and RSS feeds. Improvements have been made to navigation including the creation of document tools (print, email, cite, download and translate) that appear in a visible box on each document. Users can get better results with new enhanced limiting and search-within-results features.
The biggest noticeable change may be in the way results display. Results now appear under tabs by type of material: Magazines, Academic Journals, Books, News, and Multimedia. Reference books appear under the Books tab, and Multimedia includes the transcripts and audio from National Public Radio broadcasts.
The PowerSearch interface can also be used to combine searches in 40 separate Gale databases including specialized academic collections like the InfoTrac Communications and Mass Media Collection, the InfoTrac Diversity Studies Collection, the InfoTrac Environmental Studies and Policy Collection, etc.
Whether searching small subsets of the database or doing federated searching across several databases, the OneFile PowerSearch interface gives users a lot of access to full-text journals. If you have questions about the PowerSearch interface, contact a Reference Librarian at x7904.