Minimize the window through which you initially accessed your online service, and minimize (or close) any other web documents opened prior to this point. (To minimize, click the box containing a "_" in the top right hand corner of the screen.)

Relaunch Internet Explorer, Netscape or other web browser by double-clicking the icon on your desktop. In the new Internet Explorer, or Netscape browser window, enter the following in the "Address" (for I.E.) or the "Location" (Netscape) field near the top of the screen: http://www.pwpl.org.

When you reach the Port Washington Public Library website, click the "Research" link in the top navigation bar.

Other Useful Tips
Make sure your browser is set to accept cookies (in the "preferences" area).

Turn off any filtering program that filters out certain Web content (Norton, pop-up blocker, etc.).

Disable Call Waiting on your telephone service. Call Waiting will bounce you from a database whenever a call comes in.

Most of the databases work fine with either Netscape or Internet Explorer. If you have problems searching in one, you might try the other.

If you get "bumped out" of the database, you may have "timed out." You may have paused in your searching, or spent a lot of time reading a particular document. If this occurs, you will need to log in again.

If you can't get into a particular database, there may be too many people accessing it at the moment. Wait a few minutes and try again, or search another database.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view images or documents from some databases. This is a "helper application" that helps you to download and view files ending in .pdf. These are image files, often scanned images of the original journal article or document. Acrobat Reader is sometimes bundled with Web browsers, so it may already be on your machine.

To download Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to the Acrobat Reader home page and download: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.

If you can't open a .pdf file, try the following:

Find the .pdf file on your desk top or in your download folder. Double click on the icon. If Acrobat Reader is on your computer, the file will open.


Electric Library

NOTE: Version 6 of Internet Explorer interferes with the loading of frames - patrons can either try accessing this database by using Netscape, or by doing the following in Internet Explorer:

1. Click on Tools
2. Click on Internet Options
3. Click on Privacy
4. Move slider down to "Low" setting (2nd hashmark from the bottom)
5. Click on Apply
6. Click on OK ProQuest

Proquest

If you are having difficulty using the ProQuest database service, please check for the following potential causes:

1. A missing, blocked, or corrupted cookie. Be sure to clear your cookies, check your browser settings and make sure that you are allowing cookies. Also check for any security software that might be running, and set that software to allow cookies from the .umi domain.

2. Make sure that you are not bookmarking ProQuest directly. Any bookmark that you attempt to save will include a timestamp that is built into Proquest's URL. It will eventually expire, which can cause problems as well.

Please note: We provide these links as a convenience for our patrons. We do not have any control over the contents of these sites, nor can we guarantee their accuracy or completeness. Likewise, we cannot control the links included in any of these sites, and therefore cannot endorse the sites. We ask our patrons to kindly inform us of links that are no longer valid.