Freeport Community Library 207 865 3307 www.freeportlibrary.com

This presentation will explain what MARVEL! is, will introduce you to some of the databases in MARVEL!

and will demonstrate how to use them.

Introduction to

October 10, 2012

Robin Lowell, MLIS Technology Librarian

Freeport Community Library

10 Library Drive Freeport, ME 04032

207-865-3307 – rlowell@freeportmaine.com

What is MARVEL? • MARVEL! is a group of databases that provides

all Maine residents with free access to full text articles and abstracts from respected and credible sources such as magazines, newspapers, journals and reference books

• MARVEL! can be accessed from public & academic libraries and schools and also can be used at home and other locations in Maine with internet access.

• According to the Maine State Library’s site, “The value of the resources provided in these databases would be over $700,000 per library!”

Who provides MARVEL?

Statewide licensing for the databases is funded by:

• Maine State Legislature

• Maine State Library

• University of Maine

• Colby, Bates & Bowdoin Colleges

• Public Utilities Commission

• Maine Telecommunications Educational Access Fund (also known as State E-rate)

Who can benefit from using MARVEL?

• Students from grade school through college

• Educators

• Business people

• People interested in getting information from reputable sources

• People looking to improve their technology & job skills or prepare for an exam

• Public library patrons like you!

MARVEL! sounds great! How do I get there?

Accessing MARVEL!

• If you are at a school or library, you just need to go to the following web site to get into MARVEL! - http://maine.gov/marvel

• If you are at home or another location with internet access, you will need to create a username and password before you will be able to use resources in MARVEL!

Accessing MARVEL! from home or another location with internet access

• Go to http://maine.gov/marvel

Accessing MARVEL! from home or another location with internet access

• Once you’ve clicked on one of the MARVEL! resources, you’ll be prompted to login.

• The left side of the login screen is only for those who have a library card from a Minerva library, an URSUS library or Portland Public Library. (Not Freeport)

• The right side of the screen is for those who login with a username. It includes a link for “New Users” to register.

How to register for a MARVEL! username and password

Click on this “New User? Register here” link

How to register for a MARVEL! username and password

• This info is needed because MARVEL! is limited to Maine residents.

• Your username can be your email address (good idea) or something else.

• You can create your own 6 character password (you don’t need to use their randomly generated password suggestion).

MARVEL! registration confirmation

• Once you have filled out the registration form and clicked on the registration button, you will see a “Thank You” page and can begin using the MARVEL! Resources.

• You’ll also receive an email message with your username and password.

MARVEL! home page

Resources organized by subject I don’t recommend using OneSearch

Resources organized alphabetically with helpful “About’ info

Choosing a MARVEL! resource

• The subject-organized resources section can help if you know your general topic of interest but don’t have a specific resource in mind.

• The alphabetical list of resources is handy if you know the name of the specific database you want to search – for example: NoveList

• If you are looking for information from a specific publication but you don’t know if it is available or not, use the link to “find journals, magazines & newspapers by title” to find out what database that journal is in.

Resources organized by subject Here’s an example of the resources listed under the subject of Health

Alphabetical list of resources • Click on the individual letters to jump to that part of

the list or scroll down the page to see the whole list

Find journals, magazines & newspapers by title

• Let’s say you want to find an article that you know appeared in the September 2012 issue of Consumer Reports.

• Click on the link that says “find journals, magazines & newspapers by title”.

Find journals, magazines & newspapers by title

• Type the name of the magazine you want in the search box and click the search button.

Find journals, magazines & newspapers by title

• Consumer Reports is in the MasterFILE Premier database • Click on the database link to find Consumer Reports articles

(you may need to login to MARVEL! at this point if you haven’t already)

Find journals, magazines & newspapers by title

• From here you can either click on the year to drill down to the specific month you want or use the “Search within this publication” link to search for keywords in Consumer Reports articles such as washers, dryers, cars…

Here’s a list of some of the magazines & newspapers available through MARVEL!

•American Heritage •Architectural Digest •Atlantic Monthly •Audubon •Daily News •Bloomberg Business Week •Globe •Morning Sentinel •Christian Science Monitor •Consumer Reports •Fortune •InStyle •Journal •Kiplinger’s Personal Finance •Sun Journal •Maclean’s •Macworld •(The magazine) Antiques •Money •National Review •Nature •New York Times

•New York Times Book Review •New York Times Magazine •New Yorker •Newsweek •Organic Gardening •PC World •People •Popular Mechanics •Popular Science •Press Herald •Psychology Today •Real Simple •Rolling Stone •Runner’s World •Scientific American •Smithsonian •Sports Illustrated •Time •U.S. News & World Report •Value Line Investment Survey •Vanity Fair •Wall Street Journal

Here are just a few of the resources in MARVEL!

• Academic Search Complete • NoveList • Maine Newsstand • Value Line Investment Survey for Public Libraries • Learning Express • AHFS Consumer Medication Information • Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center • Britannica Online Public Library edition • Ancestry (this database can only be used at the

library)

Once you’ve found an article… • You can email the article to yourself or others. • You can print the article.

Printer icon

Email icon

If you have any questions about the information covered this evening…

• At our next meeting, we’ll get to practice using MARVEL! You can bring a laptop/iPad/tablet with you. If you don’t have one, you can look on with someone else.

• Feel free to sign up for a tech appointment with me. I have the appointment book with me tonight or you can stop by the front desk another day.

• If you write down your name and email on the sign-in sheet, I will email you a PDF of the presentation.

• I post my presentations up on the library’s site along with other helpful tutorials at: http://freeportlibrary.com/tutorials.htm

Thank you for attending!