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What's New
SBL members may now enjoy enhanced online access to the Journal of Biblical Literature.

Up to now, members have been able to access issues of JBL from 2003 up to and including the current issue in pdf format by logging on to SBL's website and downloading individual pdfs. Now, through MetaPress, the world's largest scholarly content host, members will be able to enjoy significant enhancements, such as

  • full-text searching of all JBL issues beginning with JBL 120 (2001);
  • automated table of contents and downloadable pdfs; and
  • a personalized home page where members can save searches, manage saved items, set automatic email alerts, and more.

Members and non-members alike with institutional affiliation may also continue to access JBL through a variety of aggregates, including the ATLA Religion Database (from 1960), EbscoHost (from 1973), Literature Online (from 1999), and ProQuest (from 1997). In addition, all issues of JBL are archived through JSTOR and members may access these archives either through their institutions or by logging on to the SBL site.

Although all SBL members now have free access to JBL via MetaPress, we encourage members to recommend that their institutions also subscribe to JBL online, so that everyone, professor and student alike, can freely access the latest and best of biblical scholarship. Institutions and individual nonmembers may also access JBL online by subscription. For information on how to subscribe, visit our website at http://jbl.metapress.com/.http://jbl.metapress.com/

How to Access JBL Online
To access JBL through MetaPress, an SBL member simply needs to log in with his or her SBL membership number on the SBL website, navigate to the JBL home page, and then link directly to JBL online at the MetaPress site. Once there, members will need to register. Registration is free and takes only a moment.

By registering, you create your own personal account, which allows you to save your information and personal searches. Your personal login allows you to save your alert setups, create and manage labels for content in your own folders, create you own order history, and more.

  1. At the SBL website (http://www.sbl-site.org/), enter your membership number in the box at the top right.
  2. Click on the link to the Journal of Biblical Literature on the right.
  3. On the JBL page, click on the link to access JBL online (on the left).
  4. In the Welcome! box, click the button for "Register" and then click the button for "Individual registration".
  5. Enter the information in the boxes shown on the page. We can not process your registration without this information.
  6. Please choose a username and password that match the following criteria: Your username must be at least four characters in length and may have either alpha or numeric characters. Your password must be at least six (6) characters in length, may not contain your username, and must contain at least one (1) alphabetic character and one (1) numeric character.
  7. Click OK.
Once you are registered, the blue Welcome! box will recognize you as the Society of Biblical Literature. You are now ready to take advantage of all the features JBL online has to offer!

Searching the Journal
To search by keyword or for a specific article or author, after accessing JBL online, enter your search criteria in the "Search" box at the top of the page and click "Go." This will pull up list of all articles that contain the keywords in your search.

In order to narrow down your search options, click on the "more options" link on the homepage to the top right of the "Search" box and enter the specific field(s) you wish to search and then click the button "Find."

For Example,

  1. From the Search box enter "Bible" then click on "GO."
  2. A list of articles containing the word "Bible" will appear. To narrow your search, click on "more options" in the "Find" box at the top right.
  3. You may also use the "Starts With" option on the right hand side to narrow your search even further.

Saving Items and Setting Alerts
Once you have located the article you are searching for you can save it to your personal menu by clicking on "Add to Marked Items" on the top righthand side. The "Marked Items" will be purged when you log out. To store articles or issues longterm, select the article or issue, and click on "Add to saved items" to put the item in your "Saved Items" menu.

Once you have clicked on "Add to saved items" you will be brought to the SAVED ITEMS Page. Here you will have the option of applying an existing label or creating a new one. Labels are simply folders that allow you to organize your saved items. Common examples of labels might be "Favorites," or "OT" and "NT." Having the ability to create your own labels allows you to put items into categories that are meaningful to the user. You may also view "All" saved items. You can edit your Saved Items by selecting Manage Labels on the right-hand side.

To set an alert, do a "Find" for your keyword, such as "Paul," then click on the "Save this list" icon (it looks like a floppy disk). Create a Label named "Paul" and then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and select whether you want that alert sent in "plain text" or "html," then click "Register."

Members with questions about using JBL online should contact Billie Jean Collins.

Comments on this article? email: forum@sbl-site.org
Let us know if you would like your comments sent to the author or considered for publication as a letter to the editor. Please include your full name and, if you would like, your affiliation.

Citation: , " JBL's New Online Enhancements for Members," SBL Forum , n.p. [cited Feb 2007]. Online:http://sbl-site.org/Article.aspx?ArticleID=626

 


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