Summon

Please provide feedback on Summon database

Tue, 07 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Start the survey here

The libraries are constantly seeking to improve how the Summon database works: how search results are returned and displayed, how facets can limit and focus the number of results, and how results are linked to full text. Previous feedback has directly influenced changes in all of these areas. We are seeking additional feedback to continue this progress. Please take a few minutes to complete a brief survey on how you use Summon.

Start searches for ebooks in Summon (ebook records are being removed from Addison)

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 04:00:00 -0400

The number of ebooks available through the Virginia Tech Libraries has increased exponentially in the last year, to over half a million. Our new E-preferred monograph acquisitions (ebook) policy means that the majority of our book purchases are the online version. The list of titles available to us as ebooks fluctuates every day; publishers' changing title lists and changing platforms means frequent updates to these lists. As a result of these frequent changes, we are no longer including records for these ebooks in Addison, the library catalog. We recommend searches for ebooks (and books and much more) begin in Summon . Summon includes records for almost all of the ebooks available to us through purchased packages, subscription packages, full-text databases, and open access/freely accessible ebooks, plus records for all of our print books, videos, and more from the library catalog. This one-stop database is the most comprehensive source of ebook (and book!) records.

Summon has changed display and linking of citation-only records

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 04:00:00 -0400

Summon has implemented a new way to display and link to content that exists only as a citation in its database (as opposed to those available in full text). Currently this includes many records provided by Web of Science and ERIC (and soon MLA International Bibliography) which previously would have linked to these sources, even though the full text of these articles is not available in these databases. Now Summon will show an intermediate screen [above] that displays the full citation and record details, including the source for this citation (as a link so you could go to that database for further searching). Included on this page will be a Request button that will display the familiar Get VText screen, where you can manually search for the full text or request it via Interlibrary Loan.

Full text and Summon

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:00:00 -0400

Summon both indexes full-text books, articles, and more from many providers and knows what sources we have online in full text.

Using Summon for scholarly research

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 07:00:00 -0400

Summon makes performing scholarly research easier. Because Summon search results are a mix of content from many providers, including records from Addison, the library catalog, major journal publishers, and several scholarly databases, one search can reveal many kinds of resources, whereas prior to our acquiring Summon, many separate searches in the catalog and databases would have been required.

What is Summon?

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 07:00:00 -0400

Summon is a new kind of database or library search engine that includes records for books, articles, conference proceedings, theses and dissertations, videos, music, images, manuscripts, standards, maps, and more. We have added all the records from Addison, the library's catalog, to Summon. It indexes citations from over 80% of the journals to which we subscribe. It also has records from other publishers, government agencies, database providers, and the numerous other libraries that participate in Summon. A single search in Summon can return records from all of these sources. It can be related to Google Scholar, though Summon has many advantages over Google Scholar.