Minrva – The New Wayfinder App for MPAL

Have you ever found an item in the catalog only to realize you don’t know where the item is in the library or what those call numbers mean? Minrva can help!

Minrva is a locally developed mobile tool for libraries that helps students stay organized and find what they are looking for, all on the go! Originally designed for the Undergraduate Library at UIUC, the Minrva app has expanded to include the Music & Performing Arts Library. By selecting the Music & Performing Arts Library, students can use the Wayfinder module to locate specific items within the library on a map.

Minrva%20Icon.png Minrva also provides the following useful functions:

  • Search the entire UIUC catalog
  • Search all I-Share libraries
  • Check your account for checked out materials, requests, blocks, and fines
  • Check for course reserves
  • Search online journals for articles
  • Cite sources using the new citation module

Download Minrva for Android here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.illinois.ugl.minrva&hl=en
or scan the QR Code below with your phone:
MinrvaAndroidQRCode.jpg

In order to use the Wayfinder tool…

1. Start at the home screen and select University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign >> Music & Perf. Arts as your location

MinrvaHomeScreen%26Location.jpg   MinrvaSelectLocation.jpg

2. Go back to the home screen by selecting the house icon in the upper left corner
3. Select Catalog Search to look for items
4. Go back to the home screen and select Wayfinder

MinrvaSearch.jpg   MinrvaHomeScreenwithWayfinder.jpg

5. Use Wayfinder to locate the items you have searched for on the map

Here, the location of Guide to Chamber Music is shown on the map with the red dot in the upper right. Wayfinder will also keep a list of items that you have searched for using Minrva under Book Sel.. on the bottom right. All searched for items that are listed in the Recent Search History can then be located on the map using Wayfinder.

MinrvaWayfinderMap.jpg   MinrvaSearchHistory.jpg
*** There is a Minrva app available for Apple products but it has not yet been updated with MPAL capabilities. Stay tuned! ***

iPads Available 1/21/14 at MPAL

Did you know that the Music & Performing Arts Library now has iPads available to check out? (Starting 1/21/14) Well, we do!

Starting Spring semester 2014, MPAL will circulate 5 iPads that are pre-loaded with apps. These are available for check out by all i-card holders for one week. All you need to do is go to the MPAL circulation desk with your i-card ready, ask for an iPad, and fill out the form. Yes, it’s that easy to have an iPad! Feel free to take it to class, use it in the practice room, or play with it at home! Some of the apps that are on the iPads include:

  • Beatwave
  • Compass 2g
  • Dropbox
  • Google Drive
  • Groove Maker
  • InsTuner
  • Metronome+
  • NPR Music
  • Pandora
  • Pocket Salsa
  • Shakespeare
  • VEVO
  • Plus many more, and more to come!

These iPads do have several restrictions put on them for security reasons (both yours and the library’s), so there are a few things you can and can’t do. For more information about this, some helpful tips for using the iPads, additional policies, and a complete list of pre-loaded apps, check out the MPAL Loanable iPads LibGuide.

We’d like your feedback about how useful the iPad was and whether any of the current settings made the iPad less useful for you. You can fill out the brief feedback form that is included in the case, or, you can send an email to us and share your thoughts.