Downtime Alert! Catalog & Circulation Systems Offline January 3


Resolved 01/03/19 at 4:30pm: All library systems are now back online. Please let us know if you experience any problems. Thank you!


Update 01/03/19 at 3:30pm: We’ve run into a problem with this morning’s migration. Access to the catalog is currently unavailable. We will continue to post updates here. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience!

Due to a planned system migration, the library catalog, Encore search platform, interlibrary loan, reserves, and circulation system will be unavailable on Thursday, January 3, from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

You may still access our databases, ebooks, and streaming films during this time.

We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Please contact the Reference Desk at refdesk@bentley.edu or 781.891.2300 if you have any questions.

Downtime Alert! Circulation & Catalog Systems Offline Fri. 10/19, 4-8am

The upgrade that was initiated on Monday is scheduled to be completed this Friday, October 19, between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. During this time the library’s catalog, Encore, Interlibrary Loan, reserves, and circulation systems will be unavailable. You may still access our databases, ebooks, and streaming films.

We apologize for any inconvenience this causes, and thank you for your patience. Please contact the Reference Desk at refdesk@bentley.edu or 781.891.2300 if you have any questions.

How Do I Find Books & Articles While Encore Is Down?

We are sorry to report that we are still experiencing intermittent problems with Encore (aka the search box on our home page).  As you know, Encore search is used to find books, DVDs and articles from some of the library’s databases.  But did you know that when Encore is down you can easily find these things using other search tools and databases?

How do I find a book, DVD, streaming film, audiobook or eBook?

  • Use the library’s “Classic Catalog”.  There is a link to the Classic Catalog underneath the Encore search box on the library’s home page.

How do I find articles or other research materials on a topic?

There are two ways to access the library’s databases when you want to search for articles on a topic:

  • When you know exactly which database you want to search (e.g. ABI Inform, Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, Mintel, etc.), select that database from the Databases A-Z page. There is a link to Databases A-Z  underneath the Encore search box on the library’s home page.
  • If you want to choose from a list of databases in a topical/subject area (e.g. management, psychology, companies and industries, etc.), start at the Databases by Subject page. There is a link to Databases By Subject underneath the Encore search box on the library’s home page.

How do I find an article when I know the title of the article and the name of the journal that the article appears in? (i.e. you have a citation)

If you know the title of article and the name of the journal, you can track down the article using the “Journal Finder”:

  • Go to the library’s home page and click on the Journal Finder tab above the search box.
  • Enter the title of the journal in the Journal Finder search box. The Journal Finder will tell you if the full-text is available, the database it can be found in, and the dates available.
  • If the journal appears in one of the library’s databases, click the link to go to that database. When you have landed in the database, you will usually have two options for finding the article:
    • Use the database’s search box to find the article.  Use the title of the article or the author’s name as search terms/phrase.
    • Use the database’s browse-by-date options to locate the article.

If you need help with anything listed above, just ask!  To get help from a reference librarian please visit the Reference Desk, call 781.891.2300, email refdesk@bentley.edu, use our chat/IM widget, or text 781.990.2273.  You can find the Reference Desk hours on the Ask a Librarian page.

Intermittent Search Problems Affecting Encore Article Search

alertThe search box on the library’s homepage (a.k.a. “Encore”) is not functioning properly. We’re working to get it fixed, but in the meantime you can search for books & DVDs using the “Classic Catalog“.  To search for articles please start at either the Databases A-Z page or the Databases by Subject page.

If you need help locating library items or conducting research, please stop by the Reference Desk, email refdesk@bentley.edu, call 781.891.2300 or contact us via IM/chat. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Alert: Encore Search Issues Affecting Library Catalog Searches

alert[Update – 1:42 p.m., October 4, 2013]: The “Encore” search feature has been fixed. You can once again use the search box on our homepage to search the library’s catalog and article databases.

The search box on the library’s home page (a.k.a. “Encore”) is not functioning properly. Searches performed using Encore fail to retrieve any items from the library’s catalog, which includes books, DVDs, streaming films and eBooks. Users needing to search for these library materials are advised to use the library’s “Classic Catalog” at http://libcat.bentley.edu/.

At this time, Encore can only be used to search and retrieve articles from the EBSCO, ProQuest, JSTOR, Project Muse, LexisNexis Academic and Factiva databases.

We will update you when Encore has been fixed. If you have questions or need help, please contact the Reference Desk. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Database of the Month: Encore

The Bentley University Library is pleased to announce the launch of our new discovery service, Encore.  Over the past few years, in both formal and informal settings, patrons have told us they wanted the ability to search topics from multiple resources, including the LIBCAT library catalog and articles from aggregated database vendors such as ProQuest and EBSCOHost, with one search interface. The Encore discovery service provides users with ability to do just that and to filter results with multiple facets.  Over the coming months patrons will see the Encore search box appearing on Bentley Library webpages and online research guides.

  • The Bentley Library Encore homepage can be accessed by pointing your browser to http://encore.bentley.edu. (The Encore search box also appears on our homepage at http://library.bentley.edu).  Because Encore provides access to licensed electronic resources it is only available to current Bentley University students, faculty and staff.  You will need your Bentley University Email Address and Network Password to login to Encore.

  • To use Encore simply enter a search term in the search box and click the arrow.  Use and “and”, “or” and “not” to expand or narrow a search.  To limit a search to just those items in LIBCAT or the Library’s articles databases click on the “Articles” or “Catalog” (the default) options at the top of the page.

Encore Search
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  • Encore provides an “Advanced Search” option that allows patrons to search using keyword, author, title, and subject indexes just like LIBCAT.  Users can also limit their search by language, format (book, DVD, E-Resource, etc.) and date range.

Encore Advanced Search
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  • Once the search is completed it is now time to filter and organize the results. By default Encore will return results by relevance. If the search was completed using the “Catalog” option, items from LIBCAT will be listed first, followed by links to articles from aggregated databases vendors.  There is also a link to “WorldCat” on the results page, under Other Resources, that will search the WorldCat multi-library catalog for items not owned by the Bentley Library that may be available via Interlibrary Loan (see the “Database of the Month: WorldCat post from April 17, 2012).  Searches completed using the “Articles” option will only return results from databases.

Encore Search Results
Click to enlarge image.

  • Users who wish to continue using the classic LIBCAT search interface can simply click on the link titled “Classic Catalog” or point your browser to http://libcat.bentley.edu.
  • Encore does not search all of the Bentley University Library’s databases.  It is designed to search articles databases from aggregated vendors such as EBSCO, ProQuest, JSTOR, Gale/InfoTrac, Project Muse,  Elsevier, CQ Researcher, IEEE, and ACM Digital Library. The “Article” search will return by broad subject categories from those vendors indexed by Encore.

For questions regarding Encore (or any library service) please contact the Bentley University Library Reference Desk at 781.891.2300 or refdesk@bentley.edu.