A: NOVELny is an online library of hundreds of magazines, newspapers, maps, charts, research and reference books that are available to every New Yorker.
A: The NOVELny databases are free to every resident of New York State through their local public, academic or school library, or through the NOVELny site.
A: First, you need to be a registered borrower of your local public, academic, or school library and have a borrower number and/or PIN. Libraries offering remote access can give you the URL and password for each database.
A: No, there is no time limit. However, some people may occasionally lose their connection or be "timed-out", depending on their Internet provider.
A: The number is unlimited.
A: Individual library users may seek assistance in using the NOVELny databases from their local library staff. Regional training sessions for librarians are conducted periodically; member libraries are notified of these opportunities through their system offices. Webinars for library staff are also provided by the database vendors. Webinar information is posted on NYLINE and webinar and other training information is also available on the website.
A: Title lists are included in each database by clicking on the appropriate link.
A: If you are an individual library user, contact your local library with which you are registered. If you are a registered NOVELny library, contact the Help Desk. Always check the messages on the NOVEL-DB e-mail list where any general problems with databases will be posted and updated.
A: Assistance in citing the NOVELny database resources (magazine, newspaper, journal articles, etc.) is provided within the databases themselves. Columbia University and The Chicago Manual of Style are excellent resources as well.
A: If you are an individual library user, contact your local public, academic or school library for this information. If you are a registered NOVELny library, the NOVELny Help Desk may be able to help you.
A: If you are an individual user, please contact the library through which you are registered for the NOVELny databases. If you are a registered NOVELny library you should first check to see if the IP addresses have changed. Next, determine whether a "firewall" or a proxy server has been installed. Contact your library's technical systems person to ask about other possible changes. If all else fails, contact the individual vendors (see vendor contact information on the Help Desk page).
A: Visit the New York State Office of General Services website, and search for vendor.
A: The NOVELny Internal Team at the New York State Library creates a Request for Quotes (RFQ), which is sent to vendors who are on state contract. Only vendors on state contract are eligible to be selected as vendors for the NOVELny databases. After the proposals are received from the vendors, a working group from the NOVELny team evaluates each proposal and, after receiving the pricing information, recommends a suite of databases (or possibly a few different options) to the NOVELny Internal Team. Selected databases are announced to the field in advance of the July 1 start.
A: The NOVEL-DB e-mail list is the prime source of current information for the NOVELny databases. Subscribe here.
A: Yes. We suggest that the NOVELny logo be integrated. Please remember that due to contract agreements, the library’s database passwords may not be listed on the website.
A: School librarians may provide the URLs and passwords to teachers and students so that they can access the NOVELny databases anywhere in the building or from their homes. The URLs and passwords may not be published on the school library’s website, but can be provided in hard copy to faculty, administrators, and students. If your library is using the geolinks provided by Gale (see Help Desk page for geolink information), access should not require a password while at school or at home in New York State.
A: A library must be a not-for-profit member of one of the 72 library systems in New York State. Currently, corporate libraries are not eligible to participate (a vendor decision). Proprietary colleges (example: business institutes, vocational colleges) are eligible to participate if they are accredited by the New York State Education Department, are degree-granting institutions, and are current members of a library system in New York State. Charter schools are eligible if they have a library, a library collection of a certain size based on the number of pupils and a librarian. Please contact the Help Desk for more information about eligibility.
A: IP stands for Internet Protocol. Each computer has a unique IP address. An IP address is recognized by the database vendor and allows the library's computers to access the Internet without using a user name or password. If you don't know your library's IP address, please check with your technology contact. You will also need the IP address of the library's proxy server, if there is one.
A: Call the NOVELny Help Desk to verify that your registration was received. Some database vendors can take as long as six weeks to process an application. Registered libraries are notified by an e-mail which gives them their URL and password information.
A: Contact the individual vendors to update your IP numbers. See the Help Desk page for vendor contact information.
A: Each database vendor has a different procedure, but it is possible to get monthly and yearly statistics. Contact the individual vendors to get your admin username/password for accessing your library’s statistics. See the Help Desk page for vendor contact information.
A: If your library’s IP is shared with another institution (example: all libraries in a system use one proxy server), the statistics may be captured by another library's code. To find your library’s statistics, please check to ensure the library is using the correct URL. Contact the individual vendors to get more information about your statistics. See the Help Desk page for vendor contact information.
A: Geolinks allow access based on your location. If the geolinks are used your students/patrons should not need to enter a username/password as long as they are in New York State. See the Help Desk page for geolink information.
Back to top
