A: Institutional trial subscriptions can be set up using IP ranges so users throughout your institution can access Guide to Reference for a defined time period. Please contact us at guidetoreference@ala.org to set up your free institutional trial.
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
Q: How do I purchase a subscription?
A: For institutional subscriptions, please contact us at guidetoreference@ala.org.
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ACCESSING GUIDE TO REFERENCE
Q: Why am I having trouble accessing content?
A: You or your institution may not be subscribed; the contents of Guide to Reference are available through authentication only. You can sign up for a trial to get immediate access if you have not previously had a trial subscription.
A: You may not have logged in yet. You need to be logged in as a subscriber or authenticated user to use the Search and Browse functions. Enter your username and password in the boxes in the upper right area of any screen.
A: You may have tried to log in using your ALA member username and password. Your ALA member username and password is not used to access Guide to Reference.
A: Even if you have logged in, you may get this message if your session has timed out.
If you have spent a long time reading without clicking on the screen, or if you have stepped away from your search session for several minutes, Guide to Reference automatically logs you out. If you get this message, enter your username and password in the login boxes as usual. Once you have been authenticated and gained access to Guide to Reference again, you may need to initiate the action you had requested before authentication again.
Q: Can I use my ALA member username and password to access Guide to Reference?
A: No, your ALA member username and password is not used to access Guide to Reference.
Q: Can I access Guide to Reference from my home computer, or just at work/on campus?
A: If you have a personal subscription, you can access it from any computer. If your institution has a subscription to Guide to Reference and can authenticate a remote connection through a proxy server, you should be able to browse and search in Guide to Reference from a remote Internet-enabled computer. If you have registered as a member and can log in with a username and password, you will be able to browse, search, print, and e-mail, and use all the personalized features.
Network Administrators: Institutional subscriptions give access to Guide to Reference based on registered institutional IP addresses. To make the database available to members of your institution who work off-site with IP addresses that are not registered to the institution, you can use a restricted proxy server to give access to Guide to Reference.
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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Q: Does Guide to Reference work with all browsers?
A: Guide to Reference works best in Mozilla Firefox 3.x and Internet Explorer 7.x. It has been tested with Internet Explorer 6.x and 7.x, and Firefox 2.x and 3. If you notice that something appears not to work correctly with your browser, please notify us using the Feedback link on the left panel of most content screens. Please note that for all browsers, you must disable pop-up blocking. Also, in order to use the personalized functions (e.g., User Profile, Saved Searches, User Lists, User Notes) you will need to be logged in as a personal member.
For best results you should have the Arial Unicode MS font installed on any computer used to access the Guide to Reference site. With Arial Unicode MS specified in the font settings of your browser, you will be able to display the diacritics and other special and foreign language characters used in a web-based resource with international scope like Guide to Reference. Arial Unicode MS is bundled with Microsoft Office and Mac OS X v. 105. and later. It can also be purchased separately (as Arial Unicode) from Ascender Corp., which licenses the font from Microsoft.
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SEARCHING, BROWSING AND REVIEWING RESULTS
See also Search Tips and Strategies.
Q: Do I need to pay attention to capital letters when I search?
A: No, searching in Guide to Reference is not case-sensitive.
Q: When should I use the single-box Search and when should I use Advanced Search?
A: Use the single-box Search when you want to find your search criteria no matter where it appears in an entry. Use Advanced Search if you want to search on multiple characteristics or search specific fields, or if you wish to search the Editor's Guides.
Q: How do I save a search strategy?
A: Saved Searches are part of the personalization of Guide to Reference, so you must be a registered member and have logged in to save your strategy. First, using either Advanced Search Entries for bibliographic content or Advanced Search Editor's Guides for introductory essays, select search criteria and carry out your search. On the top right of the Search Results page there is a link called Save Search. Click that link and fill in the form with a search name and description. You may find it helpful later to indicate your strategy in the Description box when saving a search. Note: You will not be returned to a search results page after saving a search strategy. Use the navigation bars at the top or your browser back button to continue your session
Q: What parts of an entry does a Keyword search scan?
A: The single-box Search looks through the entire entry, including title and text. In Advanced Search Entries, you can search on Keywords in: All, Title, Author, Publisher, or Annotation; in Advanced Search Editor's Guides, you can search on Keywords in: Title or Guide (text). You can also search on Keywords in more than one of these categories at a time; use the drop-down Search On boxes to select your fields.
Q: Why don't my searches result in all possible reference sources in whatever area I have searched in?
A: The Guide to Reference editors have picked what they consider the most useful and authoritative sources to include, so you will only see recommended sources. You may use the User Notes (personal or global) to make additional suggestions for yourself or others, or you can e-mail us directly to suggest additional sources at guidetoreference@ala.org.
Q: If I get results that don't seem right to me, how can I check my search strategy?
A: In Advanced Search, your search strategy appears at the top left of the page under the heading Search Criteria. Review that to see whether you need to enter or delete criteria. Click the Refine Search link to return to the Advanced Search form and make changes to your criteria. In some cases, when performing repeated searches, Guide to Reference may hold criteria from a previous search request. In that case, you may want to click the Clear Search button and re-enter your desired criteria.
Q: I revised my Advanced Search, but the results are puzzling.
A: Previously selected terms are not automatically erased when you click new terms. Scroll through the entire taxonomy to make sure you only have those items selected that you want selected. You might want to click on the Clear Search button at the top of the Advanced Search screen, which will remove all search criteria and return to default settings.
Q: How can I make Guide to Reference better fit the way I search?
A: You can personalize some of the features of Guide to Reference through the Edit My Profile feature, found in the upper right area of any screen, or in the My Guide menu. Here you can specify how you prefer results to be sorted and how many entries are displayed per page.
See also Search Tips and Strategies.
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MY PROFILE
You must be logged in as a personal user to create a User Profile. Click on Edit My Profile in the top navigation bar and fill out the personal registration information. You can also edit your User Profile by clicking the My Guide Button.
Q: Why should I register to use Guide to Reference?
A: If you register, you will be able to use the full personalization features of Guide to Reference, including saving lists of sources adding notes to entries, and saving search strategies. Register as a member or free trial user by clicking the Register link and fill out the form to create your User Profile.
Q: How do I get a password?
A: You create your own username and password when you register for a free trial subscription or when you register as a member. After registering, you should receive a pop-up message saying that your account has been activated. You may use your username and password to log in immediately to Guide to Reference.
Q: Can I change my registration information?
A: You may update your contact information at any time by going to Edit My Profile and making a change in the form. You must re-enter your password to save changes to your User Profile.
Q: Can I share my login information?
A: We advise against sharing login information, as others will have access to your personalized profile, lists, notes, and saved searches. Other users who are within an institution that has a subscription to Guide to Reference may easily and freely register as personal members. Potential users without an institutional subscription may register for a free trial.
Q: I'm entering my username and password, but I get rejected. What can I do?
A: First, completely delete any typing in the username and password boxes and re-enter your login information. If you still get rejected, try closing the browser and starting again. If you are still rejected and you are sure you are using the correct login information, contact us at guidetoreference@ala.org.
If you are unsure of your password, click the Forgot Your Username or Password? link next to the Login boxes, fill in either your username or your e-mail address, and click the Send button. Your password will be sent to the e-mail address with which you are registered in Guide to Reference.
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USER LISTS AND USER NOTES
Q: What are Global User Lists and User Notes?
A: If your User Lists or Notes are coded "Global," anything you enter is viewable by all users of Guide to Reference. The notes are always attached to the specific entry of the title in the database. If you do not wish others to read your lists or notes, be sure to code them "Personal."
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EXPORT TO REFWORKS AND ENDNOTE
Q: How do I import into RefWorks or EndNote the citations I've exported as RIS format?
A: Both RefWorks and EndNote require you to specify options to correctly identify the type of file you're importing. In RefWorks, select Filter: RIS Format; Database: RIS Format UTF-8; Encoding: UTF-8. In EndNote, select Import Option: Reference Manager (RIS).
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GETTING INVOLVED
Q: How do I become an editor for Guide to Reference, or participate in other ways?
A:If you'd like to be considered as an editor, go to the About page and click the Participate link. You can also become involved by contributing Global User Lists and User Notes, sharing ideas, tips, information, and subject area expertise with all users.
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UPDATES AND OTHER FORMATS
Q: How often will Guide to Reference be updated?
A: The editors will be continuously working to identify new and revised sources, and new or updated annotations will be added on an ongoing basis.
Q: Will new titles be added to Guide to Reference as soon as they're published?
A: Guide to Reference is a highly selective work, and titles must prove their quality and usefulness to be included. This evaluation process can take time, and not all titles will satisfy our selection criteria. For more information about how our editors determine what to include in the Guide, please read our Selection Criteria. Also, we welcome recommendations of new sources to consider. Please email us to suggest a resource.
Q: Can I purchase a print or CD-ROM version of Guide to Reference?
A: Since Guide to Reference is updated on a continuous basis, we are not producing any "fixed" versions.
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TECHNICAL GLITCHES
See also the Guide to Reference Update site for information about development, enhancements, server and related issues. It will describe fixes that ALA is working on.
Q: What if characters with diacritics or other special characters are not displaying correctly?
A: Guide to Reference displays by default in the font Arial Unicode MS because of it supports an extensive set of diacritics and special characters. To best display diacritics and other special characters, please:
- Have the font Arial Unicode MS installed on your computer or work station and enabled in your browser.
- Make sure your browser is using Guide to Reference's default font styles and sizes. In Internet Explorer you need to uncheck the "Ignore font styles" and "Ignore font sizes" options under Tools > Internet Options > Accessibility. In Firefox you need to check "Allow pages to choose their own fonts" option under Tools > Options > Content > Fonts & Colors > Advanced.
Even after taking these steps there may be configurations specific to your system that interfere with the proper display of diacritical marks and other special characters.
Q: Nothing happens when I click Print to print results or when I click E-mail to send them.
A: You must have "Allow pop-ups" enabled on both your Web browser (Internet Explorer, for example) and your Internet security software (Norton, for example) for Print and E-mail to work.
Q: I still can't get the E-mail to go. When I click, I get an error message and then the page returns to the previous one.
A: Please note exactly what happens and what error message results and discuss this with your system administrator and contact us at guidetoreference@ala.org.
Q: Why didn't the person I sent an e-mail to receive it?
A: It may be because e-mails generated in this way are commonly blocked by spam filters or routed to a spam folder. Ask your colleague to check the spam folder and to query his or her system administrator.
See also the Guide to Reference Update site for information about development, enhancements, server and related issues. It will describe fixes that ALA is working on.
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