January 8, 2002

MetaQuest: A New Way For You To Manage & Search Across Databases

Now available on the Libraries' web site is MetaQuest, a new product that will help you manage your favorite resources and allow you to search across multiple databases at one time. If you have ever felt overwhelmed with the vast number of online databases that the Libraries offer or are tired of having to search one database at a time, MetaQuest is the answer for you.

MetaQuest provides access to all of the Libraries' web-based databases currently found on the Libraries' Online Databases page. In addition, MetaQuest allows you to customize a list of databases, so that each time you sign-in, your list will appear within a My Resources List. You can browse databases by subject and search up to eight database at one time.

Whether you are researching psychology, art history, business, or nursing, MetaQuest will help you identify the appropriate resources for your research. You can search databases within MetaQuest by Author, Title, Subject, Year or All Fields. If you choose six databases to search, then all six will be searched at the same time and the results will be displayed for each database. You can select records and save them to your e-Shelf for up to 30 days, or you can e-mail or save records to a disk. MetaQuest also allows you to permanently save your search history, so each time you sign-in you can run previous searches that have been saved. For databases that are not searchable within MetaQuest you can connect to the database directly.

Top Ten Reasons to Use MetaQuest

  1. Link to resources organized by subject.
  2. Save a list of your favorite resources.
  3. Search up to eight databases across different disciplines at one time.
  4. Save searches and run them at a later date.
  5. Search author, title, subject and keywords across databases.
  6. Save records within MetaQuest without having to print or download them.
  7. Search up to eight Boston area library catalogs, including Quest, at one time.
  8. E-mail records from within MetaQuest.
  9. Locate books, documents and articles faster with SFX.
  10. Merge records from multiple databases into one list.