About MetaLib and Get it!

• About 'MetaLib: your resource gateway'
• About Get it!
• Off-campus use
• Copyright
• Problems with using MetaLib
• Help, guides, video tutorials, and contacts
• What does MetaLib include?

About 'MetaLib: your resource gateway'

MetaLib and Get it! constitute the library resource portal/gateway, which enables you to:

• find and use information resources to which we have access, such as databases, library catalogues, subject-based web gateways, ejournals, ebooks, and selected Internet resources;
• use a common interface to simultaneously cross-search these resources (up to ten at one time, where enabled by the supplier), then view and save your results;
• locate journal titles available in print or online and link to full text where available, via Get it! (context-sensitive linking).

Both products are from Ex Libris, the supplier of Aleph, which powers the Library Catalogue (http://www.lib.bristol.ac.uk/ALEPH/).

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About Get it!

Get it! provides you with the options to get items that are available to you as a member of the University of Bristol. These options could include a link to the full-text, a link to the record for the item in our Library Catalogue or, where these aren't available, a link to our Inter-Library Loans service. As well as appearing on MetaLib, we have arranged with key database suppliers to add 'Get it!' buttons or text to their interfaces, eg Web of Science, and we will add it to others when possible. For further information, please visit the Get it! Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page.

Off-campus use

If you are a member of the University it is possible to access many resources via MetaLib and Get it! off-campus, including electronic journals and databases which are normally restricted to use on campus. See the advice and details on our access to external electronic library resources and databases page.

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Copyright and licensing restrictions

Electronic resources are protected by copyright law, in the same way as printed publications. Their use is also usually subject to the terms of a licence agreed between Information Services and the publisher. All users of these resources are required to comply with both the copyright law and publishers' licence terms. For more details see the Copyright and licensing restrictions page.

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Problems with using MetaLib

Planned maintenance periods will be announced on the MetaLib home page and in the IS website news and announcements section. When MetaLib is unavailable the links at the foot of this page can be used to access many of the key resources.

If you have problems accessing MetaLib at other times please contact us.

Other pages detail browser requirements and accessibility of MetaLib and Get it! and known problems with MetaLib and Get it!

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Help, guides, video tutorials, and contacts

Online help is available in MetaLib by clicking the Help link on the right hand side of the top navigation bar. This help is contextual, so you should find help displays for the section of MetaLib you are using, though you can also link to any other section of help too. You may also find our general advice on finding information useful. Get it! frequently asked questions (FAQs) are available, and also the following MetaLib guides and video tutorials:

• MetaLib miniguide (Word, 725 KB)
• Introduction to MetaLib (Word, 247 KB)
• Using MetaLib - four video tutorials about using MetaLib

If you would like help, or wish to make comments or suggestions, please see our Contacts page.

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What does MetaLib include?

MetaLib will facilitate your access to the following resources:

• Library Catalogue
  Your guide to the printed and microform and some other non-book materials held in all of our libraries.
• Electronic journals
  Access to approximately thirteen thousand online journals.
• External databases
  For finding references to published research, and often the full text. Web of Knowledge and ZETOC are examples.
• Electronic books and reports
  Access to thousands of online books.
• Inter-Library Loans
  For material which is not available in our own libraries or on the Internet.
• Selected Internet resources
  Including links to selected Internet resources including Libraries, archives and catalogues; Online bookshops, and Quick reference tools.
• Subject resources
  Including subject Internet links information and quick reference tools.
• Internet searching
  To help you use the Internet effectively there are specialist subject gateways, or more general search engines.
• Special collections
  We have very extensive collections of rare books, manuscripts and archives, many of which are catalogued separately and may not be found in the online catalogue.

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