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productsIf you have a new product that you would like considered for this section please email your press release, along with a high-resolution photograph or screen shot, to Siân Harris at sian@europascience.com. FOCUS ON CHEMISTRY
NEW JOURNALS
Dialog enables structure searches in multiple databases |Apr 06|DialogLink 5 can be used to carry out chemical structure searching in multiple drug pipeline databases simultaneously. Dialog claims to be the only information-services provider to offer this ability, which it says minimises the risk of missing a critical piece of information and saves researchers time and money. Files that can be searched in this way include Beilstein Facts, Derwent Chemistry Resource, IMS Patent Focus, IMS R&D Focus, Index Chemicus, Pharmaprojects, Prous Science Drug Data Report, and Prous Science Drugs of the Future.
ChemSketch and Chmoogle integrate |Apr 06|Advanced Chemistry Development (ACD/Labs) has integrated its commercial and freeware ChemSketch application with eMolecules' Chmoogle web site. Chmoogle is an open-access chemistry search engine with the mission to discover, curate, and index all of the public chemical information in the world, and make it available to the public for free. The integration is said to give ChemSketch users direct access to Chmoogle's structure and substructure searches. 'Chmoogle makes the world's chemistry searchable by structure. Just draw a molecule using your favourite structure drawing tool and hit Go! We are very intrigued by the clever integration of structure drawing and searching in Chmoogle that ACD/Labs is providing and we are even more excited about the fact that it is free for chemists around the world,' said Dr Klaus Gubernator, eMolecule's chief executive officer.
Wiley's Asian chemistry journal |Apr 06|John Wiley & Sons has announced a partnership with four Asian chemical societies to launch a new publication. Chemistry - An Asian Journal will be published by Wiley-VCH, the company's Weinheim, Germany-based operation. The new journal is published on behalf of the Chinese Chemical Society, the Chemical Research Society of India, the Chemical Society of Japan, and the Korean Chemical Society. In addition, the new publishing venture is supported by the German Chemical Society (GDCh). It is a sister journal of Chemistry - A European Journal (published on behalf of the Editorial Union of European Chemical Societies) and Angewandte Chemie (published on behalf of the GDCh). The new journal will appear monthly in print and electronically through Wiley InterScience and publish full papers and reviews from all areas of chemistry.
New tool helps track materials |Apr 06|Elsevier MDL has introduced MDL Logistics. This new reagent procurement and inventory management application has been developed in collaboration with customers to meet the needs of research organisations. It is said to simplify the process of locating, purchasing and tracking essential chemical materials. It also offers regulatory capabilities such as managing, tracking, and reporting on controlled substances in an organisation. MDL Logistics provides access to the MDL Available Chemicals Directory database (a collection of chemical supplier catalogues) as well as to the in-house inventory. It integrates with leading commercial purchasing systems and laboratory hardware devices (barcode printers, scanners, balances, inventory robotics), and offers support for multiple workflows at different sites.
Mass spectral register updated |Apr 06|Wiley has launched the 8th edition of its Registry of Mass Spectral Data. The latest edition is said to contain nearly 400,000 mass spectra with over 183,000 chemical structures. Most spectra are accompanied by the structure and trivial name, molecular formula, molecular weight, nominal mass, and base peak. New features in the latest edition include chemical warfare precursors; combinatorial library compounds; high molecular diversity for fragmentation analysis; new high-resolution organics; structure and substructure search capability; and more spectra with retention indices.
WIT Press launches publications |Apr 06|The International Journal of Ecodynamics is the first of three journals that WIT Press will launch this year. It covers all aspects of ecosystems and sustainable development, ranging from physical sciences to economics and epistemology. The objective of the journal is to encourage and facilitate interdisciplinary communication between scientists, engineers, economists, and other professionals working on ecological systems. In addition to this launch, the first issue of International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning will be available soon, to be followed by International Journal of Design and Nature.
Peer-review model changes |Apr 06|Biology Direct is a new online open-access journal from BioMed Central. It will operate a completely open peer-review system, where named peer reviewers' reports are published alongside each article. The journal also requires authors to approach Biology Direct editorial board members directly to review the manuscript. This novel review process is expected to give authors the opportunity to discuss points raised directly with the reviewers, and to revise their manuscript as much or as little as they wish, according to the suggestions or criticisms of the reviewers. Ultimately, reviewers can express reservations about the manuscript but publication can still go ahead unrevised (if the author wishes) unless there are ethical or scientific problems with the manuscript. The aim is to publish the most complete, informative, and interesting manuscripts possible but not to obstruct publication except in extreme cases. The journal launches with publications in the fields of systems biology, computational biology, and evolutionary biology, with an immunology section to follow soon. Biology Direct considers original research articles, hypotheses, and reviews.
Instrumentation inspires journal |Apr 06|Journal of Instrumentation (JINST) is a new multidisciplinary online-only journal created by the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA) and the Institute of Physics (IOP). It is a sister publication to Journal of High Energy Physics (JHEP), Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP) and Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment (JSTAT).
Humanities researchers get online reviews journals |Apr 06|Blackwell Publishing has launched a series of online reviews journals designed for researchers, students, and teaching faculty working in the humanities. History Compass, Literature Compass, and Philosophy Compass are available now and will be joined by a further six titles over the next two years. Each Compass journal publishes 100 peer-reviewed survey articles from across their entire discipline each year. The articles are described as succinct and accessible . They are said to provide overviews of current research in the field as well as fresh thinking on key issues.
New IEEE journals go online |Apr 06|The first issues of IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine and IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security have been published and are now available online through the IEEE Xplore digital library.
DataStarWeb gets new tools for knowledge sharing |Apr 06|Dialog has launched two new products for use with DataStarWeb. AlertsManager is designed for the information professional seeking a more effective way to govern the information flow of their organisation. It provides information managers with the ability to publish, track and manage access to alerts. Once the information manager has created an alert, end-users can be invited to subscribe to available alerts. ReportAid facilitates post-processing and distribution of search results and is said to reduce the time taken to refine search results and create publishable information dossiers for distribution to decision makers. The tool allows DataStarWeb searchers to: post documents from different searches and later assemble those documents in a single, comprehensive report; rearrange documents and fields and automatically create an index; add text to a front page, include images and define the report layout; and output the report in three versatile formats (PDF, RTF and XML).
Portal makes sense of terminology |Apr 06|A new tool should enhance the value of the terminological resources (glossaries, dictionaries, thesauri) developed by public research and higher education institutions and help to build up a common terminological reference base. The development of TermSciences was initiated by the CNRS Directorate for Scientific Information in France and has been conducted jointly by three laboratories in Nancy, INIST; LORIA; and ATILF. This terminology database should help users make better use of bibliographic databases and the web in general by allowing them to formulate their queries - often simple terms or expressions - in multiple ways, including as synonyms or translations. This will allow them to retrieve documents that are relevant even if the term actually sought does not appear in them. The navigation system will also enable users to exploit a network of hierarchical and associative relations to broaden or narrow down their initial query.
Free-text query service goes on trial |Apr 06|CrossRef is trialling a new free-text query service for its member publishers. In partnership with Inera, CrossRef has deployed a custom version of Inera's eXtyles refXpress that parses unstructured, free-text references into granular and valid XML and returns any matching digital object identifiers (DOIs) for those references. A simple cut-and-paste form accepts one or more references formatted in common bibliographic styles and returns the DOI for the article if one is found in CrossRef. CrossRef is inviting its members to comment on their experiences of using this pilot service (a link to a feedback form is provided from the FTQ site). The hope is that some smaller publishers will experience this interface as a viable alternative to CrossRef's batch query interface and that, as a result, more publishers will be able to implement reference linking using CrossRef.
New patent tool goes beyond IP professionals |Apr 06|PatentCafe has launched the newest generation of its patent research and intellectual property management solution, ICO Suite V.2. The new release is said to coincide with the most significant restructuring of PatentCafe's web properties since its founding in 1996. The company claims that the new ICO Suite V.2 delivers more patent research, analysis and IP management capability than ever before and is now tailored to both patent and non-patent professionals. It allows organisations to add on special function modules. These include ICO Patent Portfolio Manager, ICO Competitive Patent Alerts, patent team Blog collaboration, patent landscape charts, and statistical qualitative analysis patent reports.
Helping institutional repositories integrate with bookmarks |Apr 06|Nature Publishing Group (NPG) has released new software that enables institutional repositories running EPrints to integrate with the social bookmarking services Connotea and del.icio.us. The software allows content within institutional repositories to be bookmarked, tagged, and linked to related content. The work behind this development was funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) as part of its PALS Metadata and Interoperability Projects 2 programme. Once installed in a repository, the software will enable users to bookmark documents in that repository using their Connotea or del.icio.us account, assigning their own tags without leaving the web page. They can also see what tags have already been assigned to the document they are viewing in the repository and click on links to related content, either within the same repository or elsewhere on the web.
Scopus's fresh look at citations |Apr 06|The Scopus Citation Tracker provides researchers and librarians with a user-friendly way to check and track citation data for the purposes of gaining intelligence about articles, authors, their own published work and research trends. The result of intensive development with librarians and researchers, the Scopus Citation Tracker offers at-a-glance intelligence about the influence of a set of articles, an author or group of authors over time. This helps users to spot trends. Users can control the specific articles and date ranges they want to evaluate and easily navigate through the cited and citing literature using a visual table of citations broken down by article and chronology.
Clinical data repository launched |Apr 06|Oracle has introduced a product that it claims will help life sciences organisations make decisions based on more accurate and timely information. Oracle Clinical Data Repository supports the task of integrating clinical data from multiple sources and provides a repository for the integration and reporting of clinical and non-clinical data that enables regulatory compliance. It does this by managing all aspects of the integration process - data access, transformation, persistence and distribution - in a compliant framework. The tool is designed to receive and present data using current and future data exchange standards. All data objects are said to be fully audited and version-controlled. This provides complete traceability from the data source, through the transformation process, and to the data and reports themselves.
New version of Unicorn |Apr 06|The newest version of the SirsiDynix's Unicorn library management system is available this spring. Unicorn GL3.1 includes updates to all modules and addresses critical issues such as ISBN 13 support and patron privacy. It is also said to provide libraries with better resource-sharing capabilities with the new Unicorn Collection Exchange module.
Dialog adds world patent index |Feb 06|The enhanced version of Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI) is being added to the Dialog online service. Thomson Scientific's DWPI is a comprehensive database of value-added patent information. The enhanced DWPI database (Files 350, 351 and 352 on Dialog) will extend the content and functionality of the database. It is expected to improve the ability of searchers to find the patent records they need. The file is being re-designed to accommodate the requirements of the International Patent Classification (IPC), Version 8, which came into force on 1 January. As a result of the changes to the IPC classification, all DWPI records affected by the patent office reclassification will be updated on an ongoing basis and IPC fields will be added in the online file, allowing users to distinguish between original and re-classified IPC data. Another new feature will be the 750,000 documentation abstracts that are now available in a text-searchable format. The enhanced file is also said to include new family member sub-sections. These provide first-level data such as the original patent titles and abstracts, extra bibliographic data such as full names of inventors and associated addresses, patent assignee addresses and patent agent information.
Contact: www.dialog.com
Enhanced Derwent World Patents Index joins STN |Feb 06|The enhanced version of Derwent World Patents Index is also being made available on STN International (The Scientific & Technical Information Network). Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI) the comprehensive database of value-added patent information, has been reloaded at FIZ Karlsruhe, which operates STN in Europe, in 'a considerably improved form'. This is said to comprise enhanced features to fully exploit the additional wealth of data now provided by Thomson Scientific.
Contact: www.fiz-karlsruhe.de
INCOM launches patent information alerts |Feb 06|Germany's INCOM IPS has launched a new patent information alert service. The service allows quick cross referencing of all patent publications that are held under key national patent offices (US, JP, DE, AU, GB, FR, etc.), the European Patent Office, and the World Intellectual Property Organisation, regarding specific patent citations. Subscribers are automatically notified via email when a document containing a patent number relating to their area of interest is published. The online option of PatCitation allows for timely, practical checks and enables the user to follow a selection of more than 45 million citation links. Each month, new publications released by these patent offices are checked for patent citations in a chosen subject area. An exhaustive report is then produced for the patent document under observation by exploring its entire backward, forward and collateral citation relations. Options for sorting and viewing the information allow for efficient, perspective-specific analyses. The service is also able to supply a bibliography of non-patent literature. All bibliographic data, the complete documents, as well as members of the family and their legal status are accessible online.
Contact: info.ips@INCOM.de
New resources help semiconductor researchers |Feb 06|Knovel has added the Electronic Materials Information Service (EMIS) Datareviews and the Electronic Materials and Semiconductors systems from Springer-Verlag's Landolt Bornstein to its Semiconductors & Electronics Subject Area. These resources should help researchers in the semiconductor industry meet increasing demands to deliver smaller boards and chips and faster process times. The EMIS Datareviews series, published by the Institute of Electronic Engineers (IEE), offers guidance on the most appropriate materials to use for particular applications, based on input from experts in the field. Landolt Bornstein, Group IV, Volume 5, presents phase equilibria and thermodynamic data of binary alloy systems.
Contact: sales@knovel.com
Inspec Archive back to 1898 is available via EBSCO |Feb 06|The new Inspec Archive - Science Abstracts 1898-1968 database is now available via EBSCOhost. The archive, created by IEE (Institution of Electrical Engineers), provides access to the digitised version of the entire collection of Science Abstracts Journals, which was the precursor to the current Inspec database. This database provides coverage dating from 1898 to 1968 and contains more than 870,000 records, each retaining its original classifications. The archive's indexing is aligned to the current Inspec Thesaurus Terms and Inspec Classification Codes. This additional indexing is said to assist in creating a seamless search environment for users of both Inspec and the Inspec Archive. This database features longer abstracts which often include tables, graphs and figures from the original source document.
Contact: www.ebsco.com
Mechanical engineering launches planned |Feb 06|Professional Engineering Publishing, which is the publisher for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, is launching a new journal in May 2006. Proceedings of the IMechE Part O - Journal of Risk and Reliability will sit alongside its 16 existing peer-reviewed journals. In addition, the publisher's entire IMechE Proceedings Archive (1847-1996) will be available online for the very first time. This contains more than 200,000 pages of information including technical papers, obituaries, technical drawings and meeting reports and will be of great interest to engineers and historians alike.
Contact: marketing@pepublishing.com
Xplore digital library provides alerts by email and RSS |Feb 06|Researchers who use IEEE Xplore digital library may now receive notification of the posting of new IEEE journals in either email or RSS format. Users of this free service select which IEEE journal(s) they want to know about, then receive notification whenever a new issue is posted online, along with a link to the issue's table of contents in the IEEE Xplore digital library. In addition, all users of the IEEE Xplore digital library now have free access to non-indexed, ancillary content from IEEE publications. This includes content such as editorials and book reviews.
Contact: onlinesupport@ieee.org
Conversion technology helps migration to structured data |Feb 06|Content conversion company Exegenix has enabled its XML conversion technology to simplify the migration of unstructured material into structured XML data in IBM's next version of DB2, which is code-named 'Viper'. This is expected to help organisations in industry sectors such as insurance, financial services, and healthcare, to remove the barriers between structured and unstructured information. IBM's DB2 Viper adds a Native XML store to its DB2 repository to combine XML and relational systems. The majority of material exists in unstructured formats such as PDF, Word, and WordPerfect, and the applications that are used to create new material generate structures that are inadequate for today's XML content applications. Almost all methodologies that convert unstructured documents or content into XML rely on 'mapping' - the manual designation of combinations of formatting codes as specific XML constructs. But, according to Exegenix, these rules-based conversion maps can change from document to document, depending on the formatting discipline of each document's author. The company's alternative approach uses visual cues to uncover each document's structure automatically, in much the same way that humans do. Exegenix's technology interprets a document's logical structure based on the appearance and position of its components, with no dependency on consistently formatted input. This rules-free XML construction process, it claims, requires no mapping, no scripting, and no programming, yet produces the most consistently structured and highest-quality XML available.
Contact: mail@exegenix.com
Emerald launches librarian toolkit |Feb 06|Emerald Group Publishing has launched the 'Emerald Librarian Toolkit'. This series of free guides should enable librarians to better market electronic full text, reviews and abstracts to their faculty and student user base, in order to encourage optimum use of services. The toolkit comprises modules covering topics from training users to monitoring usage and promoting Emerald within the institution. Topics covered by the Librarian Toolkit include how to create links to full text, how to set up usage patterns and reporting, and how to view subscriptions and edit user profiles. Toolkit resources comprise a mix of reporting tools, online learning tools, printed 'how-to' leaflets and promotional items, such as posters. Materials are already available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan with Greek, Italian, French, Russian, Farsi and Turkish in production and Japanese and Mandarin to follow shortly.
Contact: information@emeraldinsight.com
Wiley buys tribology journals |Feb 06|Wiley has acquired a list of tribology journals from Leaf Coppin Publishing, a publisher of international reference books and journals in the field of tribology. The three journals acquired are Lubrication Science, The Journal of Synthetic Lubrication and TriboTest. Wiley plans to make the journals available via Wiley InterScience in 2006. The acquisition follows the purchase by Wiley of the book list of Professional Engineering Publishing (PEP), the publishing arm of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The PEP list includes more than 500 titles in areas such as automotive and aerospace engineering, fuel cells and nanotechnology.
Contact: cs-journals@wiley.co.uk
DynaMed users get PDA access |Feb 06|EBSCO Publishing now offers PDA access for DynaMed subscribers. PDA users can choose from a downloadable version of DynaMed, or access a live version of the database through available wireless connectivity. DynaMed provides clinically-organised summaries for more than 1,800 topics. It is updated daily. The point-of-care clinical reference tool was created by a physician for physicians and other health care professionals to replace most routine textbook and article searches. This resource is also used by medical students.
Contact: Info@DynamicMedical.com
EMBiology launched on Ovid platform |Feb 06|EMBiology, the new bibliographic database from Elsevier (producer of EMBASE), is available exclusively through Ovid. Intended for small to mid-sized academic institutions as well as all pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, EMBiology focuses on basic and applied biological literature not covered in EMBASE, but also includes biological science that is within the scope of EMBASE. The database contains more than four million bibliographic records dating from1980, covering international biological science literature.
Contact: www.ovid.com
Swets enhances user experience |Feb 06|Swets has released SwetsWise version 4.0. This release is said to include a new, modern look and feel to the SwetsWise user interface that is completely customisable. New functionality includes budget control reports and enhanced approval cycles. These options have been developed in order to aid customers with the planning and management of their budget spending.
Contact: info@nl.swets.com
Wiley provides MARC records for online books |Feb 06|MARC records are now available for all titles in Wiley InterScience OnlineBooks, the company's online book platform. MARC records are provided in MARC 21 format free of charge to Wiley InterScience customers for their online book holdings. MARC, or Machine-Readable Cataloging, is a data format that allows computers to exchange, use, and interpret bibliographic information. MARC records make it possible to catalogue online books more quickly and efficiently, and help facilitate access to those titles.
Contact: wissales@wiley.co.uk
Obesity journal is launched |Feb 06|Elsevier will publish a new journal, Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, in partnership with the Asia Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity (AOASO). This will be Elsevier's first journal on research and practices in obesity. The AOASO aims for this to be an international journal highlighting the global growing problem of obesity and specific regional problems.
Contact: www.elsevier.com
Dialog offers new pricing plan to academic institutions |Feb 06|Dialog is now offering its Dialog Choice pricing plan to academic institutions worldwide. The plan gives unlimited access to key research databases at fixed annual rates. With Dialog Choice, graduate schools, universities and other academic institutions can provide direct, desktop access to high-value databases of scientific, technical and medical research, as well as news, business intelligence and other current awareness content, aggregated by Dialog from leading information publishers. The plan currently includes 92 databases of research, intellectual property, business intelligence and news content.
Contact: www.dialog.com
Swets launches new tool for federated searching |Feb 06|SwetsWise Searcher is a new federated search solution from Swets Information Services. Built on Vivisimo's metasearch and clustering technology, the tool is said to facilitate faster and more effective federated searching by dynamically organising search results into meaningful categories for users.
Contact: info@nl.swets.com
Dialog offers alerting service for CSA databases |Feb 06|Dialog is now offering alerts subscriptions to CSA research databases for its customers in the corporate and government markets. Dialog is said to be the only content aggregator providing access to the CSA Technology Research Database. Alerts subscriptions to that database (File 23) are available immediately. Alerts subscriptions for more than 30 more databases of CSA scientific and technical research will be available in upcoming months as the databases are added to Dialog. The new alerts subscriptions will allow Dialog customers to receive email notifications when relevant new CSA research is added to Dialog's online service. In addition, information specialists in the Dialog Alerts Bureau will develop search strategies to match customers' individual research-monitoring needs.
Contact: www.dialog.com
Thesis repository adds flexible subscription options |Feb 06|INDEX TO THESES, which is said to be the only comprehensive repository of British and Irish theses, has announced a series of flexible new subscription options to complement its recent expansion of coverage. INDEX TO THESES, published by Expert Information, is currently available as a combined print/online edition; customers receive print editions seven to eight times per year alongside unlimited access to the publication's web service. From 2006 customers can dispense with the print or online editions as appropriate, subscribing to the print edition only, the online service only, or continue with the combined offering.
Contact: contact@theses.com
EBSCOhost expands image collections |Feb 06|EBSCO is adding more than 98,000 new images to its image collection, which is available as part of EBSCO's full-text databases. This collection will now feature a total of 188,323 images (photos, maps, and flags) from a variety of sources. The new image content includes 20,000 additional archival/historical images from Getty Images (with images added monthly), 71,000 new current events (sports, politics and news) images from United Press International (also with new images added each month), and 9,700 new images from the Motion Picture & Television Archive. This image content can be searched simultaneously with the full-text resources found in EBSCO databases. This ability is said to allow users to locate any applicable visual references that may complement the other textual information yielded by their search results.
Contact: www.ebsco.com
New journals and mobile service target clinicians |Feb 06|Nature Publishing Group (NPG) has expanded the Nature Clinical Practice series with four additional journals. The journals are published monthly, in print and online. The titles are: Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology & Metabolism; Nature Clinical Practice Rheumatology; Nature Clinical Practice Nephrology; and Nature Clinical Practice Neurology. Nature Clinical Practice has also recently launched a mobile service. Clinicians can access the service using any web-enabled mobile phone, smartphone or Blackberry device, as well as any Palm OS or Pocket PC-powered PDA. A range of formats, from text-only to mobile PDF, are available.
Contact: www.nature.com
Registry system helps digital preservation |Feb 06|The UK's National Archives at Kew (TNA) has announced a new technical registry system that it claims addresses the challenging problem of the rapidly changing IT sector. Designed for electronic record keeping, PRONOM 4 contains a database with detailed information on the technical dependencies of an electronic record. The latest version has a new tool, DROID (Digital Records Object Identification), which is able to automatically identify those formats using a file's binary signature. As signatures are added or updated in the database, DROID is updated with the latest information. PRONOM and the new DROID tool has been made freely available on the web. TNA welcomes the input and participation of all interested parties to help in developing this tool further, for example by submitting new information for inclusion in the database. In particular, TNA says that it is keen to collaborate with all who have specialist knowledge of particular types of electronic record, such as scientific data formats and software tools.
Contact: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pronom
Free software helps institutional repositories |Feb 06|VTLS has announced the availability of free, open-source components that will work with FEDORA and/or VITAL, two leading institutional repository products. The open-source software, developed on behalf of ARROW (Australian Research Repositories Online to the World), consists of: the Metadata Extraction Service via JHOVE; the Handles System, which assigns, manages, and resolves persistent identifiers for digital objects and other resources on the internet; and the Content Model Configuration Service, which allows customised content models to be created to suit the institution's needs.
Contact: Robert Pillow, pillowr@vtls.com
Bentham launches publications |Feb 06|In 2006 Bentham Science Publishers will launch 11 new titles for the pharmaceutical and health research community. The titles will focus on patent pharmaceutical sciences, clinical trials in drug safety, drug therapy and bioinformatics. The patent journals will publish state-of-the-art reviews of recent patents in therapeutic areas. The titles of the new publications will be Recent Patents on Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery, Recent Patents on CNS Drug Discovery, Recent Patents on Cardiovascular Drug Discovery, Recent Patents on Anti-Infective Drug Discovery, Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy, Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials, Current Drug Therapy, Current Drug Safety, Current Clinical Pharmacology, Current Bioinformatics, and Current Signal Transduction Therapy.
Contact: subscriptions@bentham.org
Combining semantic knowledge modelling and robust content management |Feb 06|SiberLogic, which provides XML content technology, has announced the DITA Edition of its content management system (CMS), SiberSafe. This is described as the only DITA solution currently on the market that combines semantic knowledge modelling with a robust, feature-rich CMS. Semantic knowledge modelling is the development of a set of facts and their relationships that captures and formalises all essential technical knowledge about a product. Semantic knowledge modelling is said to be ideal for DITA's topic-based approach to content development. Using SiberSafe Visual Modeler, knowledge is contributed directly into the semantic model by the subject matter expert, leaving no possibility of factual misinterpretation. The user interface is optimised for DITA-compliant topics and components, and can be pre-populated with concepts, tasks, and references that support individual specialisation requirements. This is said to shield the users from the complexities of DITA whilst ensuring precise content development planning and production. Information can be incrementally added to the semantic model as it becomes available during the product development life cycle, so there is no need to wait until all information is available before starting the modelling process.
Contact: general@siberlogic.com
Web-based tool improves reference management |Feb 06|Thomson Scientific and Thomson ResearchSoft have announced EndNote Web, a web-based bibliographic tool for managing and citing references. Annual EndNote Web subscriptions are expected to support a wide variety of users on campus - from students writing papers to faculty publishing in scholarly journals. EndNote Web provides a full range of bibliographic management on the web. Users can import and edit references via a personal web account and use these references to cite in papers and create bibliographies. EndNote Web searches ISI Web of Knowledge, PubMed and hundreds of online library catalogues to help users build their personal reference collections. EndNote Web enables ISI Web of Knowledge subscribers to integrate with dynamic links to 'times cited' and related records, giving users one-click access to the latest information on a reference article. Each EndNote Web library is said to be able to store thousands of records and create bibliographies in more than 1,300 publishing styles. The Cite While You Write technology is available as an optional plug-in for anyone using MicrosoftWord to create bibliographies instantly. EndNote Web is available as a stand-alone subscription combined with EndNote and ISI Web of Knowledge.
Contact: www.thomson.com
Content management tool targets publishers |Feb 06|PubFusion from Wolters Kluwer Health is described as a new, online content management solution designed to enable professional publishers to streamline the publishing process. PubFusion, offered as either a hosted or in-house solution, provides a single-source/single-view to all supporting documents. It includes a complete integrated schedule; collaboration, automatic notifications, and alerts to enforce production timelines and multiple formats; and on-demand outputs from one set of files. PubFusion also allows publishers to manage their library of original content and supporting material, such as advertisements, editorial art, print layout, and permission information. Key features of PubFusion include version control; real-time audits; centralised progress monitoring; revision and proof monitoring; collaboration tools; and flexible output. It also supports interactions with suppliers, such as online aggregators, print production facilities, and advertising agencies, as well as integration with all major commercial manuscript submission systems, delivering a true digital end-to-end publishing pipeline. Wolters Kluwer is offering PubFusion in a hosted version, and is partnering with Flatiron Solutions to deliver an in-house solution to customers who prefer the system on their own site.
Contact: www.wkhealth.com
Platform supports web-based tools |Feb 06|Innovative Interfaces will launch an online public-access platform called WebPAC Pro that drives a set of web-based tools for libraries. WebPAC Pro is said to offer improved information retrieval using RightResult search technology and enhanced display functionality, such as more opportunities to customise content and features. WebPAC Pro will be offered to all Millennium customers free of charge as part of the 2006 Millennium Release. RightResult search technology returns a grouped result set based on a relevance-ranking algorithm developed by Innovative. The result, says Innovative, is that the patron is most likely to find the title in question immediately and at the top of the results display.
Contact: info@iii.com
Knovel releases plastics resource |Feb 06|Knovel has released Knovel Plastics, a resource which is said to contain three important components that will improve research and increase productivity in the plastics industry: reliable information, intuitive search capabilities and integrated software tools. Knovel Plastics includes over 160 titles from publishers including William Andrew Publishing, Hanser Gardner, Springer-Verlag, Society of Plastics Engineers, John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier Science and McGraw Hill. Knovel Plastics is also said to offer an impressive collection of analytical tools that calculate data, resolve equations, sort and export tabular data, and extract data from graphs. Many of these tools are useful to professionals in several industries but it also contains a set of specialised tools that are primarily utilised within the plastics industry.
Contact: sales@knovel.com
Nursing and allied health database is launched |Feb 06|Elsevier Bibliographic Databases has introduced the beta version of EMCare, a new bibliographic database that includes nearly two million records from the nursing, allied health and biomedical literature. EMCare is described as an affordable alternative to other nursing and allied health databases, providing an important information resource for professionals engaged in patient care, scientific research and education. EMCare indexes more than 2,700 international source titles, including peer-reviewed journals, trade publications and electronic-only titles. It currently has a 10-year backfile and promises to add almost 250,000 new records each year. EMCare features 1,200 titles that are not covered by its sister database EMBASE.
Contact: EMCare@elsevier.com
New release works with SUSHI standard |Feb 06|Innovative Interfaces claims that Electronic Resource Management Release 2006, the third major release of the product, will enable libraries to more easily access vendor statistics on e-resource usage by library patrons. Using web services to provide easy-to-understand, uniform, and up-to-date information, library staff will be able to make informed judgments about how they allocate funds to e-resources. The current version of software, Innovative ERM Release 2005 (which was released in June of last year), has the ability to import usage statistics from content vendors in COUNTER format. The new release will improve collection analysis further by facilitating transfer of resource usage data from content vendors to libraries using web services technology.
Contact: info@iii.com
Cell Research journal joins NPG |Dec 05|From January 2006 Nature Publishing Group (NPG) will publish Cell Research on behalf of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), which is affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Cell Research, which publishes exclusively in English, is said to be China's leading journal in the ISI category of Cell Biology with an impact factor of 1.936. NPG claims that this new partnership will mean that papers published in the journal will receive exposure through nature.com, more press coverage and quick publication, including publication ahead of print.
Further information at www.nature.com
Abstracts service gives dictionary links |Dec 05|Users of EMBASE.com, the web-based abstracts service for biomedical and pharmacological published literature, can now link seamlessly from EMTREE Thesaurus drug and disease terms to definitions from Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. This should enable EMBASE.com users to find more information on specific terms. For example, a user looking for records relating to terms such as 'cholestatic hepatitis' within the thesaurus will now automatically find a corresponding definition within the search results.
Access to content from Dorland's is available to EMBASE.com licensed institutions at no additional fee.
For further information, contact: ebd-marketing@elsevier.com
Full-text enhancement to CAB Abstracts announced |Dec 05|CABI Publishing is launching CAB Abstracts Plus. This full-text enhancement to CAB Abstracts promises to provide researchers with access to thousands of additional full text documents direct from the database. The main component of CAB Abstracts Plus is CAB Abstracts Full Text Select, which is a repository that initially contains more than 10,000 full text articles. Content will be made up of conference proceedings, reports and journal content not available through the major aggregators. Currently, much of this literature is not in electronic form or not permanently stored anywhere online. Some material is available on the internet for a short period of time, but then it is often moved or deleted. CABI Publishing will be permanently preserving and storing this research, and making it easily accessible via CAB Abstracts.
Other full-text content available as part of CAB Abstracts Plus includes: CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources and CAB Reviews Archive. In addition, CABI publications such as Distribution Maps of Plant Pests, Distributions Maps of Plant Diseases and Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria are being made available electronically for the first time as part of CAB Abstracts Plus.
For further information, contact: publishing@cabi.org
Open-source software manages theses |Dec 05|VTLS is celebrating its 20th anniversary by offering VALET for ETDs for free. This open-source software is a web submission solution for managing electronic theses and dissertations. The software is the result of collaboration with the NDLTD project at Virginia Tech, the FEDORA Project, and the Australian Research Repositories Online to the World (ARROW) Project, led by Monash University in Australia. The product is described as simple, flexible, adaptable and easy to implement.
A typical process allows for thesis submission by students, editing and approval by faculty, approval by the graduate school and final deposit into a FEDORA-based institutional repository. The institution can configure the number of steps in the process and the details of each step. The software minimises errors and offers instant, form-based validation. When a thesis enters the repository, the software automatically creates standardised metadata. The initial version supports submission via a web interface but the next version will also support submission via email.
Further information at www.valet.vtls.com
Innovative launches products for delivering content |Dec 05|Innovative is launching a suite of content and metadata delivery products known as the Content Access Service (CASE). These include a MARC record service and a web-based profile manager. Together, the CASE services are expected to simplify library administration of e-resources and ensure that patrons get the most comprehensive and easy-to-use digital library available. CASE will be available to Innovative customers using integrated information discovery tools such as Electronic Resource Management, the Millennium library management system, and the WebBridge smart-linking solution.
The CASE MARC Record Service, planned for early 2006, should enhance patron access to e-resources by providing in-depth, pre-catalogued information for any e-serial a library offers. The company says that CASE Profile Manager, which is also scheduled for the first part of 2006, will make it easy for libraries to create their particular profile of e-resources through an easy-to-use web-based tool.
For further information, contact: info@iii.com
Further education gets search service |Dec 05|Fretwell Downing Informatics (FDI) has developed a new federated searching service for further education that will enable establishments to provide their electronic resources to users through one single interface. The new tool, called Aspire, has recently begun a pilot project with Rotherham College of Arts and Technology and Loughborough College of Further Education. The two UK-based development partners will advise FDI on the growth and progress of the new service from a user's point of view over the coming months.
The new service will initially be developed for the UK Further Education market and will be available as an application service provider (ASP) model, where FDI will maintain and run the service.
For further information contact Katie Anstock: katie.anstock@fdisolutions.com
Collaborative tool refines database coverage |Dec 05|Blog technology has been incorporated into the workflow for refining the serial sources which make up Engineering Information's Compendex database, the bibliographic database of engineering literature covering journal sources, conference proceedings, and trade literature. This development was driven by the Compendex Scope and Coverage committee, which is an independent body of Compendex customers that advises on the editorial direction of the Compendex database. The Compendex Scope and Coverage Committee blog was established in August 2005 to promote communication between committee members and help in the selection of content for the database. The blog allows committee members to share recommendations, post and review documents, and collaboratively discuss coverage issues. Some members have chosen to receive RSS alerts to notify them when new commentary is posted. The blog environment is said to create an ongoing conversation between participants while reducing the logistical issues of coordinating schedules of professionally active people situated across multiple time zones.
All committee members were provided with password protected access to the blog. Each member has the ability to create their own posting and comment on the postings from other members. Postings can be added at any time and all of the postings and comments are retained as a record of the committee's decision making process.
For further information, contact: eicustomersupport@elsevier.com
Taylor & Francis starts to digitise backfiles |Dec 05|Journals falling under the imprints Taylor & Francis, Routledge and Psychology Press, will be digitised and released over the coming months, according to the Taylor & Francis Group.
The first subject archives to become available will be the education archives, which includes access to 113 titles and over 1.1 million pages of backfile articles, and the business, management and economics archives, which has 45 titles and 250,000 pages. All articles include full cross-searching capability, article abstracts and references. The next backfile due to be digitised will cover physics, chemistry and materials science.
For further information, contact Ashleigh Bell: ashleigh.bell@informa.com
Peer review system gets update |Dec 05|Aries Systems, which makes web-based manuscript tracking and peer review systems, has released a new product. The company says that Editorial Manager Version 4.0 includes advanced features that enhance decision making by editors and reviews. With the new version, author-submitted bibliographies are automatically validated and linked to external resources such as PubMed and CrossRef. This means, says Aries, that reviewers and editors can more easily assess the quality of submissions and access the full content sources cited in manuscripts. Bibliographies can now also be automatically formatted to a specific journal style for reviewer and editor convenience, and to optimise downstream production tasks. Another enhancement is that journals can specify customised title, keyword and author name searches that are targeted at external databases such as GoogleScholar, PubMed and Scirus. A single click in the user record also initiates a database search to identify other articles authored by the user.
In addition, secure "deep links" mean that editors can initiate their assigned editorial tasks such as reviewer selection directly from email notifications generated by the system. Data mining reports also help editors to evaluate past reviewer performance better and obtain a snapshot view of ongoing peer review activities.
For further information, contact: info@edmgr.de
New collection focuses on management |Dec 05|Emerald Management Xtra from the Emerald Group Publishing brings together content from Emerald Fulltext and Emerald Management Reviews. It is said to offer the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of peer-reviewed management journals and online support for librarians, faculty, researchers, teachers and deans in the management field.
The collection includes 40,000 full-text articles, 138,000 reviews from the world's leading management journals, case studies, literature reviews and book reviews. It also offers conference information, guru interviews and a tailored service for alumni. Emerald Management Xtra focuses on the different roles within an academic institution and content is organised to meet the needs of each role.
For further information, contact Gillian Crawford: gcrawford@emeraldinsight.com
Scholar profiles added to social science databases |Dec 05|CSA is sponsoring complimentary access to the new Scholar Universe: Social Science service for all customers of CSA social science databases that are delivered through the CSA Illumina platform. These records of verified author and faculty profiles are provided by Scholar Universe, a business unit of ContentScan, LLC. Scholar Universe: Social Science is said to represent the first time that more than 100,000 social scientists have been brought together with their publication records in a verified, regularly updated, and fully searchable format. It enables researchers to expand their search for relevant information beyond the document record to the relevant set of people and organisations working in what are often highly specific areas of interest.
The scholar and organisation profiles, which currently cover active researchers at four-year colleges and universities in the USA and Canada, will be available as a supplement to: ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts; CSA Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts; CSA Social Services Abstracts; CSA Sociological Abstracts; CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts; ERIC; Health & Safety Science Abstracts; LISA: Library and Information Science Abstracts; PAIS International; Physical Education Index; and Risk Abstracts.
For further information, contact: sales@csa.com
Thomson adds full-text links to JSTOR |Dec 05|Mutual subscribers to the Web of Science component of ISI Web of Knowledge and JSTOR can now link directly from Web of Science to full-text articles in the +JSTOR Scholarly Journal Archive. This adds links to more than 1.25 million articles.
The JSTOR Scholarly Journal Archive is multidisciplinary and offers researchers the ability to retrieve high-resolution, scanned images of journal issues and articles as they were originally designed, printed, and illustrated.
For further information, contact: ts.info.na@thomson.com
PAIS Archive joins CSA Illumina |Dec 05|PAIS Archive is now available through the CSA Illumina platform. The database supplements PAIS International, enabling researchers, students, librarians, government agencies, and others to conduct complete research in the field of global public policy, world affairs, international relations, and history since 1915.
PAIS International currently includes records from the print PAIS Bulletin 1977 and forward; and from the PAIS print Foreign Language Index published 1972-1990, at which time it merged with the PAIS Bulletin. The complete PAIS Archive contains more than 1.2 million records from the print PAIS Bulletin covering the years 1915 to 1976.
For further information, contact: eurosales@csa.com
Bibliographic searches become free with AIP |Oct 05|The American Institute of Physics (AIP) now offers free searching of all bibliographic records for the journals and conference proceedings that are hosted on its Scitation online platform. Previously, searching was restricted to subscribers of at least one of these AIP publications. The searching facility allows users to browse tables of contents, with links to abstracts and full text and to download full-text article files from journals and proceedings to which they or their institutions subscribe. They can also purchase PDF full-text articles from publications to which they do not subscribe on a pay-per-view basis. All but three of AIP's 11 journals can be searched as far back as their first issues. Further information at www.aip.orgBack to top IEEE adds Electron Devices articles to archive |Oct 05|IEEE has added more than 15,000 articles from IEEE Electron Devices Society publications to its digital collection. These articles date as far back as 1954. The 9,272 papers from the IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices and 1,535 papers from the IEEE Electron Device Letters cover topics such as optoelectronic devices, nanoscale devices, solid-state devices, integrated electronic devices, energy sources, power devices, displays, sensors, electro-mechanical devices, quantum devices and electron tubes. There are also 5,026 papers from IEEE International Electron Devices Meetings (IEDM) held between 1955 and 1987. IEDM is a forum for advances in the technology, design, manufacturing, physics and the modelling of semiconductors and other electronic devices.
Further information at customer-service@ieee.org
AIP provides RSS-based content alerts for journals |Oct 05|The American Institute of Physics (AIP) has started to provide RSS-based content alerts for its journals. Applied Physics Letters was the first of its journals to offer this feature but other AIP journals should offer RSS feeds by the time this issue of Research Information hits readers' desks. Feeds from APL and other AIP journals will be available by topic and for the full content of the journals. RSS ('Really Simple Syndication') allows users to receive the titles and links for the latest articles in a chosen publication or topic. RSS feeds can be read with freely-available software. Further information at www.aip.orgBack to top IEEE announces five new titles |Oct 05|The IEEE says it will launch five new technical journals in 2006 that will focus on 'emerging technologies that can have a tremendous impact on industry as well as everyday lives'. IEEE Journal on Product Safety Engineering will look at issues like fire protection and software safety, which are vital for maintaining the security of products such as process control and automation equipment, medical devices, household appliances, aeronautical systems and military equipment. IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine is intended to provide the most up-to-date information on computational intelligence. The main topics will be applications-oriented development, successful industrial implementations, design tools, technology reviews, education and applied research. IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine will cover topics such as the components, systems and motive power for propulsion and auxiliary functions, mobile radio technologies for terrestrial vehicular services, and land transportation components and systems used in both automated and non-automated group transport technology. IEEE Computer Architecture Letters will be devoted to the knowledge and advancement of computer architecture. The main topics will include microprocessor and multiprocessor systems, microarchitecture and ILP Processors, workload characterisation, performance evaluation and simulation techniques, compiler-hardware and operating system-hardware interactions, and inter-connect architectures. Memory and cache systems, power and thermal issues at the architecture level, I/O architectures and techniques, independent validation of previously published results, analysis of unsuccessful techniques, network and embedded-systems processors, real-time and high-availability architectures, and reconfigurable systems will also be covered. The fifth journal, IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, will tackle ideas and technologies surrounding coding, hardware, agents, signal processing, fingerprinting, stenography, metrics and validation, damage assessment, tracing code, and data mining for digital forensic evidence and digital watermarking.
Further information at customer-service@ieee.org
New chemistry journal planned for 2006 |Oct 05|Wiley is teaming up with two European chemical societies to launch a drug discovery journal in 2006. ChemMedChem is the result of a new publishing agreement between Societą Chimica Italiana (SCI), Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh), and Wiley-VCH, the company's subsidiary based in Weinheim, Germany. The journal aims to cover topics such as drug design and discovery; drug development and delivery; molecular modelling; combinatorial chemistry; target validation; and lead generation. The SCI's journal, Il Farmaco - An International Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, will cease publication at the end of 2005 to make room for ChemMedChem. In its first year, ChemMedChem will be available with Angewandte Chemie and Angewandte Chemie International Edition, two GDCh journals that are published through Wiley-VCH.
Further information at ChemMedChem@wiley-vch.de
Wiley plans publication for biotech researchers |Oct 05|Wiley says that is will launch a new journal called Biotechnology Journal in January 2006. The journal is intended for biotechnology researchers and professionals in related disciplines. It will be published by Wiley-VCH, the company's subsidiary based in Weinheim, Germany. According to the publisher, Biotechnology Journal will cover novel aspects and methods in all areas of biotechnology, especially those focusing on healthcare, nutrition, and technology. Special focus will also be given to the public, legal, ethical, and cultural aspects of biotechnological research. Each issue of Biotechnology Journal will be devoted to a special topic. Topics in 2006 will include: White Biotechnology - Bio Meets Chemistry; Synthesis of Chiral Compounds; Drug Targeting in Disease; Entrepreneurs in Biotech; New Bio-based Materials; DNA and Proteins as Diagnostic Tools; the Art of Bioprocessing; and BioNanotech. Biotechnology Journal will also report on biotech achievements and future applications in specific countries, and will devote an issue in 2006 to 'Biotechnology in China.' The journal will contain original papers, short communications, technical reports illustrating the latest scientific breakthroughs, and news from academia, industry, and governments worldwide.
Further information at service@wiley-vch.de
Online subscription module gives immediate access |Oct 05|E-publishing software and services provider Atypon Systems has launched a new online subscription module. When added to Atypon's Literatum and Extenza e-publishing platforms, the new module is said to allow publishers to offer users different licensing models for purchasing content. Features of the online subscription module include the ability to designate any collection or subset of content as saleable online and to provide automatic, immediate access for verified users. It also enables tiered pricing structures to be set up for institutions and individual subscriptions. A further feature is the capability to offer discounts and promotions along with space to input promotional codes. The ability to receive payments by secure credit card in three currencies is also included, as are complete and detailed tracking, notification and reporting.
Further information at inquiries@atypon.com
Nature archive goes back to 1970 |Oct 05|Nature Publishing Group has extended Nature's online archive back to January 1970. The addition of all content published between January 1970 and December 1979 equates to approximately 37,405 articles from 510 issues. Nature is currently digitising the archives back to 1950. Content will be released in instalments of 10 years until completion in 2006. When complete, the Nature archive will contain 2,399 issues (volumes 283 to 384), which represents approximately 154,500 articles. The next instalment of the archive, 1960-1969, is scheduled to be released in Spring 2006, with the articles from 1950-1959 following in Autumn 2006.
Further information at subscriptions@nature.com
EBSCOhost adds database of child development resources |Oct 05|The Child Development & Adolescent Studies database is now available via EBSCOhost as part on the ongoing partnership between EBSCO Publishing and the National Information Services Corporation (NISC) of USA. This database provides references to current and historical literature related to the growth and development of children and young people up to the age of 21. Child Development & Adolescent Studies includes all of the issues of Child Development Abstracts & Bibliography from 1927 - 2001 as well as new coverage on child rights and welfare issues. Book reviews and abstracts from hundreds of journals are indexed, as is a bibliography of thousands of technical reports, books, book chapters, theses and dissertations covering biomedical and social sciences worldwide.
Further information at www.ebsco.com
Dialog offers pay-as-you-go searching for CSA files |Oct 05|Scientists, engineers and information professionals worldwide will soon be able to search most of the CSA files that Dialog is adding this year on a 'pay-as-you-go' basis, as well as through annual subscriptions. Dialog has recently added six new files of CSA research as part of a phased rollout of more than 30 CSA files of scientific, technical and social science research for its clients in the corporate and government markets. The six new CSA files are Aluminium Industry Abstracts (File 33), Ceramic Abstracts/World Ceramics Abstracts (File 335), Corrosion Abstracts (File 46), Engineered Materials Abstracts (File 293), Life Sciences (File 24) and Materials Business File (File 269).
Further information at DialogCustomer@thomson.com
Library management tool gets update |Oct 05|VTLS has announced Version 46 of its VIRTUA product. The latest version promises more than 40 enhancements. Enhancements are said to include improved productivity. This is through serials EDIFACT invoice support with numerous vendors, including Swets and Ebsco, the ability to create acquisitions purchase orders from data entered by the customer on its book vendors' websites and the ability to alter the size of the check-in and check-out windows, so that the user can select the amount of information to be displayed. The user will also be able to adjust column width. Improved data security is promised via support for recovery options if a MARC record is inadvertently deleted from the database. There is also the ability to un-delete text. Enhanced consortia support features include special treatment of locations in circulation. For example, the check-in of an item that belongs to another location can be blocked and patrons can be prohibited from paying a fine at a different location from where the item was checked out and the fines assessed.
Further information at pillowr@vtls.com
Innovative announces three products for academic libraries |Oct 05|Innovative Interfaces has announced three new campus computing solutions: External Patron Verification, Courseware Integration, and Single Sign-On. The first, External Patron Verification, allows libraries to authenticate patrons through LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) servers, which are in wide use in business and education organisations. It enables students and faculty to log in to the library using their campus password, rather than having a separate library password. Courseware Integration links with online learning sessions. The initial implementation interfaces with the Blackboard Learning System. With this new product, students are said to be able to launch a library catalogue search directly from Blackboard without the need for re-authentication. Students can also navigate from a course title in Blackboard to the full course record in Millennium. The third product, Single Sign-On, is said to improve the user experience of campus libraries by eliminating the need for re-authentication. With Single Sign-On, patrons log in on the first server visited - either the library or another campus entity - and gain access to all the offerings of their portal.
Further information at info@iii.com
Journal Citation Reports extends to category level |Oct 05|Thomson Scientific claims that version 4.0 of Journal Citation Reports will offer expanded analytical capabilities beyond the journal level to include the category level. Data at the category level provides performance metrics that can be used to understand the journal content. This level of detail also enables analyses that show the citation dynamics common to a large collection of articles and journals in a subject. JCR version 4.0 will also offer a related journals list, which measures the concentration of citations between two journals or between a journal and a category. This reveals closely related titles. Researchers can use the list to identify journals to consider reading or publishing articles in. Librarians can build collections that include the most relevant journals in a particular area. And publishers will be able to spot competitor journals and the most effective advertising opportunities.
Further information at www.thomson.com
Enhancements benefit repositories |Oct 05|VTLS has announced Version 1.3 of VITAL. Developed in close cooperation with existing customers, the product is said to deliver rich new functionality in institutional repository software. New features include streamlined system installation procedures and a new web interface for managing custom indexing. Indexing rules within VITAL can be defined for any metadata schema, and at specific levels within the schema. There are also new web interfaces for system administration, content model definitions and SRU/SRW support. The VITAL Access Portal web interface has also been enhanced to include sophisticated and advanced search capabilities and support for JPEG2000 display and navigation. The new version offers users the option of automatically generating Dublin Core metadata from imported MARCXML records. It also allows object validation and metadata extraction with JHOVE.
Further information at angela@vtls.com
New UK website gives access to social and economic research |Oct 05|The UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has launched a new website to provide academics, students and researchers with a free digest of social sciences research available, both planned and in progress. As well as bringing together all ESRC-funded research, this new website is described as a gateway to other key online resources from the UK such as the Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG), the UK Data Archive and the Office of National Statistics - as well as international coverage from services such as Europa and Social Science Research Network (SSRN). ESRC Society Today (www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk) is said to offer a broad picture of the latest research on the full range of social science subjects, including early findings, full texts and original data sets. Users can establish online discussion fora, track down researchers in their key subject fields or find details about ESRC funding and training opportunities. They can also register for regular news bulletins and email alerts in their areas of interest. To encourage non-academic visitors the site will also feature plain-English summaries of research findings, quick facts and figures, presentation slides and topical articles on subjects as diverse as pensions, the environment, lifestyles, terrorism and ageing.
Further information at societytoday@esrc.ac.uk
Seamless linking between citations and databases |Oct 05|Customers of both Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) and EBSCOhost full-text databases can now link from citations in the CAplus database to corresponding full text in EBSCOhost databases. According to the companies, customers of both services will see CAS as a 'full-text database'. In addition, CAS customers subscribing to e-journals via the EBSCOhost Electronic Journals Service will have full-text links to these journals.
Further information at www.ebsco.com
FASTRAC tool gets new version |Oct 05|VTLS has announced the release of Version 2.6 of the FASTRAC product. New features are said to include support for TI (Texas Instruments) tags and a re-designed module for return chutes. The new version offers support for optical barcode check-out, either as a stand-alone facility or in combination with RFID, foreign language support and a new check-in module.
Further information at crowderm@vtls.com
Russian patents added to STN International |Oct 05|FIZ Karlsruhe now offers access to Russian patent information via STN International. The new file, RUSSIAPAT, is produced by the Russian Agency for Patents and Trademarks (ROSPATENT). It covers Russian patented inventions from 1994 to the present and currently contains about 300,000 records and about 245,000 images. Titles and abstracts are in English. In addition, RUSSIAPAT records contain the International Patent Classification (IPC) codes, and inventor, assignee and patent application information. All drawings from the full document can also be accessed. RUSSIAPAT is updated three times a month.
Further information at stnweb.fiz-karlsruhe.de
OUP launches its first subject-based archive |Oct 05|Oxford Journals, a division of Oxford University Press, has launched its Humanities Archive, which is the first of five subject-based digital backfiles that the company plans to launch by early 2006. The other four archives will focus on law, medicine, science, and social science. With its earliest material dating from 1829, the Humanities Archive is said to contain some 300,000 articles, including major papers in history, music, religion, philosophy, literary studies, and linguistics, from Volume 1 Issue 1 of each title to the end of 1995.
Further information at www.oxfordjournals.org
Elsevier adds range of online handbooks to ScienceDirect |Oct 05|Elsevier has added seven new handbook series to its electronic platform, ScienceDirect. The handbooks are said to span a range of subjects within the fields of economics, mathematics, chemistry and physics. They can be purchased under one of two pricing options. With the annual subscription option, librarians pay a fee for site-wide access to online handbooks and regular new volumes. With the up-front payment option, a one-time fee lets librarians make use of their year-end budgets.
Further information at nlinfo@sciencedirect.com
Society of Hospital Medicine launches journal |Jun 05|The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) plans to launch a peer-reviewed medical journal, The Journal of Hospital Medicine, in 2006, to promote the science and practice of hospital medicine and the enhancement of in-patient care. This journal will be published by Wiley, which already publishes the society's newsletter, The Hospitalist. The chief objective of the new journal will be 'to publish original, important, well-documented, peer-reviewed articles on a diverse range of hospital medicine topics,' according to Laurence Wellikson, chief executive officer of SHM. In addition, the journal will provide hospital-medicine physicians with continuing education in basic and clinical science to support informed clinical decision-making. It will also better educate all clinical practitioners about the value of, and processes inherent in, hospital medicine, and foster responsible and balanced debate on medical issues or healthcare trends that affect hospital medicine and patient care.
It will also inform readers about non-clinical aspects of hospital medicine and public health, including the political, philosophic, ethical, legal, environmental, economic, historical, and cultural issues surrounding healthcare.
New journal focuses on kidney disorders |Jun 05|The International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and Nature Publishing Group (NPG) will launch a new journal, Nature Clinical Practice Nephrology, in November 2005. Nature Clinical Practice Nephrology will provide the practicing physician with a comprehensive overview of the most up-to-date literature relevant to the diagnosis and management of patients with kidney disease. It will include editorial and opinion pieces, highlights from current literature, commentaries on the application of recent research to practical patient care, comprehensive reviews, and in-depth case studies. All areas concerned with prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the kidney in the adult and child, including hypertension, infection/inflammation, dialysis/chronic uremia, renal failure, transplantation, applied physiology, epidemiology, pathology, immunology, cancer, and genetics, will be covered. ISN serves a global network of more than 20,000 nephrologists. The journal's editor-in-chief will be former ISN president, Robert W. Schrier, of University of Colorado School of Medicine, US.
NPG has also signed a 10-year agreement to publish Kidney International - the Society's leading international peer-reviewed journal - from January 2006.
Backfiles cover cell and developmental biology |Jun 05|Wiley has launched the Cell & Developmental Biology Backfile Collection, available via Wiley InterScience. Spanning 113 years (1887-1999), the collection contains digitised back-issue content from 13 journal titles. The new launch gives access to more than 37,000 research articles and 528,000 digitised pages of new cell and developmental biology content. The collection includes full coverage of such titles as American Journal of Anatomy (now published as Developmental Dynamics), The Anatomical Record, and BioEssays.
All journal articles are presented in a fully searchable PDF format, with abstracts, bibliographic content, and literature citations all available in HTML, allowing for both internal linking to cited content located on Wiley InterScience, as well as external linking via CrossRef/DOI, PubMed, and ISI Web of Science.
Licensing opportunities online |Jun 05|A new online database to highlight opportunities to license Sandia National Laboratories' intellectual property is now available to the general public. The purpose of Sandia's Intellectual Property Available for Licensing (iPAL) database, according to the US research laboratory, is to show Sandia technologies that may not be fully utilised in the commercial marketplace and to help companies move promising technologies toward commercialisation. The web-based system allows customers to search through intellectual property that is available for licensing, and get in touch with the appropriate people at Sandia to negotiate a licence. Sandia works with interested companies to execute a mutually-beneficial commercial licensing agreement.
'We would expect corporate technology officers at private firms and technology transfer agents at universities and other organisations to look at some of the technologies we are offering and decide if they want to license this IP from us,' said Sandia's licensing and intellectual property manager, Kevin McMahon.
Web of Knowledge links to HighWire archive |Jun 05|The International Web of Knowledge now links to the HighWire Press free archive. Once all links are in place, users will be able to link directly to the full text of more than 800,000 articles in HighWire Press, the world's largest repository of free full-text life science articles.
'These full-text links will be automatically enabled for all ISI Web of Knowledge customers, without requiring any action on their part. And, as additional free full text is made available by HighWire, we will continue to add the new links,' commented Phil Heller, senior director of linkage business development for Thomson Scientific.
CABI plans archive launch |Jun 05|CABI Publishing will launch its CAB Abstracts Archive on the CAB Direct platform in the second quarter of 2005. It will be available on Ovid and SilverPlatter in the third quarter, and on other platforms after that. Covering the literature from 1910 to 1972, CAB Abstracts Archive will make more than 1,860,000 records on every aspect of agricultural science, veterinary medicine, nutrition and natural resources, available electronically for the very first time. The archive will combine 17 printed abstract journals (the equivalent of 600 volumes) into a single electronic database, bringing to light important research that has only been available in print and so has effectively been forgotten by all but the most determined researcher. Users will be able to search more than 1.8 million records.
In addition to ensuring CAB Abstracts Archive will be fully searchable, CABI Publishing claims to have completely re-indexed all records in the archive. Obsolete terms have been replaced with modern equivalents to allow today's researcher full and immediate access to the research of the past. When combined with CAB Abstracts, the archive will provide access to almost 100 years of scientific knowledge.
Dialog adds chemical structure searching |Jun 05|Dialog now offers graphical chemical structure searching of research databases, including drug pipeline and patent files, through its online service. More than 10 million chemical compounds are searchable, according to the company. These are housed in databases such as Beilstein Facts (File 390), Derwent Chemistry Resource (File 355), Prous Drug Data Report (File 452) and Pharmaprojects (Files 128 and 928). The graphical chemical structure searching tool, launched as part of DialogLink 5, allows researchers to use their preferred chemical structure drawing software to launch a Dialog search. Chemical structure and substructure searching features within Dialog include substructure highlighting in retrieved records and the ability to edit retrieved structures. Multiple databases may also be searched simultaneously.
There is no chemical structure search charge for initial screenings or 'knock-out' searches that produce no results. The chemical structure search charge for simultaneous searching across multiple databases is $20.
VIRTUA boasts nearly 100 enhancements |Jun 05|VTLS says that the latest version of its VIRTUA product has nearly 100 enhancements. These include a number of improvements in the acquisitions/serials modules such as support for tracking and automated transmission of EDIFACT orders and invoices, the ability to search all open purchase orders by vendor status and date, as well as automatically updating currency conversion rates.
In keeping with libraries moving towards the increased support of self-service options, the ability to allow payment of fees/fines by credit card via the web has also been added. Other major new features include the ability to support web-based global changes to bibliographic records and the ability to automatically adjust loan periods, based upon a holds/item ratio specified by the library.
Tools provide browser access to staff functions |Jun 05|
Innovative Interfaces has added a suite of tools to its Millennium product, alowing routine library functions through a web browser. By using a browser-based interface, Web Works products are intended to be simple to use and light on bandwidth requirements. Innovative will initially offer two such products: Web Works Selection Lists and Web Works Quick Edit. Both will be optionally available in Millennium 2005. Selection Lists lets remote library staff select books and other materials to order from a centralised selection list. Quick Edit allows users to update holdings information by simply filling in a web form.
FASTRAC rewrite |Jun 05|
Version 2.0 of the VTLS's FASTRAC product is described as a complete re-write of the product. The modules now include the management console, self-check, programming station, staff circulation, book return chute, manual sorting and inventory control modules.
New features include support for the new TAGSYS C320 tag, an ISO 18000 compliant tag and self-check enhancements such as the ability to detect holds and excessive fines.
RFID reader helps inventory control |Jun 05|Bibliotheca RFID Library Systems has developed an RFID handheld reader, called BiblioWand, which can be used to maintain the complete inventory on a library's shelves. For the reader, there is no difference in the processing of books, VHS cassettes, CDs and DVDs. Only the attachment of all material with programmed BiblioChip RFID labels is required. All information is transmitted, in an encrypted form, to the handheld reader and the information is displayed on a portable PDA. A standard interface enables rapid data exchange with the in-house library management system. All the data is stored and managed on the library's internal database, rather than on RFID labels or devices, to avoid any violation of patron privacy. A touch-screen function on the PDA enables the user to choose between different menus. All the commands are directly entered into the mobile reader. The BiblioWand can be used for the initial recording of the freehand inventory, without moving the material, and for a continuous inventory control. If a book has been misplaced, an acoustic and visual signal identifies the missing material.
BiblioWand's reading distance is deliberately limited to prevent confusion about which material is being scanned and shown on the PDA. Only the items that are positioned within a range of about 10 cm along the shelves are displayed when scanned with the handheld antenna. The integrated storage battery provides four hours of energy.
Wiley changes sales model for online books |Jun 05|Wiley has launched a new sales model for its online book platform, Wiley InterScience OnlineBooks. Books were previously only available through subject-specific collections. Between 300 and 500 new back-list titles - dating back to January 2003 - are now available, many of which are said to be in subject areas not previously offered before. Also, around 100 new front-list titles are available, bringing the total number of online books available to almost 1,200. The new sales model consists of two options - the 'One Time Fee Option' and the 'Flexi-Subscription Option'. Both are said to offer customers unlimited concurrent user access to purchase titles, as well as COUNTER-compliant usage statistics reporting. With the 'One Time Fee Option', customers pay once for ongoing access, build collections by selecting holdings on a title-by-title basis, and add additional titles at any time. Pricing is based on the US list price of the hard-cover edition and the customer FTE (full time equivalent).
With the 'Flexi-Subscription Option,' titles are priced at an annual flat fee. This option also allows customers to build customised collections and add titles at any time. At renewal, titles can be added and deleted, as long as a minimum of 20 titles is subscribed. Once a title has been subscribed to for three consecutive years, ongoing access to that title is provided at no additional cost.
Swets updates library resource gateway |Jun 05|Swets Information Services has launched a new version of SwetsWise Title Bank, its customised gateway for library resources.
SwetsWise Title Bank enables Swets clients to customise their list of electronic subscription links, whether they originate from external databases, publisher websites or SwetsWise Online Content. The service assists customers in maintaining optimum control of their electronic resources and providing maximum full-text access to all titles. Additional enhancements include the automatic tracking of databases and full text collections.
Scientific American archive joins EBSCOhost |Jun 05|Researchers can now access the Scientific American Archive Online via EBSCOhost. The Scientific American Archive Online includes ongoing coverage for the publication, in addition to backfile content beginning with the January 1993 issue. The archive also contains Scientific American Mind, which was launched in late 2004, as well as all Scientific American special issues dating back to 1997.
Scientific American Archive Online, a standalone database, is a comprehensive, searchable science and technology resource containing the full text and graphics of every Scientific American issue, from 1993 to the present.
Database provides conference details |Apr 05|FIZ Karlsruhe's conference information service CONFnet is said to offer concise previews of international conferences in science and technology. CONFnet, incorporated into intranets of companies or academic institutions, provides central access to comprehensive information on worldwide conferences and offers the possibility to register for the conference and book hotels. The information contained in the database was either provided directly by the conference organisers, or has been compiled by the CONFnet editors from journals, calendars or the internet. To ensure that the records are as complete and up-to-date as possible, records in CONFnet are edited when they are added to the database and then revised and reloaded whenever necessary. The dynamic conference calendar is available in different versions, specifically designed for corporate intranets: the complete database hosted on FIZ Karlsruhe's server (CONFnet); a subject-related excerpt from the database (CIS); or raw data to be used by customers for various purposes. CONFnet is updated weekly. Updates for the excerpts are available monthly. There are approximately 7,000 conference previews per year for the subjects covered in the database. When the conference is over, the entry is removed from the file. Information can be found using free key words, or searching by country, date, conference title, subject, etc. Within seconds, titles and venues of the conferences have been found and are shown in the results list, which is displayed after the keyword has been entered.
The retrieved information is billed according to the chosen payment model, either based on an annual flat rate, or as pay-per-view. Searches up to the results list are free. Viewing one or more documents is chargeable.
Upgrade boosts organisational tool's accuracy |Apr 05|Parity Computing has announced the public release of version 3 of its software for automatically creating organisational and professional profiles. The platform can identify people and institutions from diverse data sources, such as research literature, books, patents, press releases, and company web pages, organising them into unique, unambiguous profiles. Scalability to handle massive data sources and improved accuracy to merge and disambiguate names are some of the new features of version 3.
It also includes a customer interface to combine and split profiles. Control updates and client management of individual privacy preferences are also included.
European patent database joins STN |Apr 05|FIZ Karlsruhe, STN International's European partner, has added EPFULL (the European Patents Full Text database) to its portfolio of patent databases. EPFULL covers the full text of European patent applications and granted European patents as well as bibliographic records for PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) applications transferred to the EPO. This new file replaces the former files EUROPATFULL and PATOSEP. Numerous search fields are said to allow detailed searches (also for special information such as the address of the patent assignee or inventor) and statistic evaluations. Records contain bibliographic data, the full text of the detailed description, and claims. The complete specification is given in one of EPO's official languages English, German or French for published, unexamined applications (A-documents) from 1987 to date and examined granted patents (B-documents) since 1991. Titles are available in all three languages. Claims can be accessed for A-documents in English, German or French and in all three languages for B-documents. Abstracts in the original publication language can be searched for A-documents. English abstracts are added to German and French documents within several weeks of their addition to the database. Patent, application and priority information, abstracts and claims are searchable. All documents featuring the same application number are grouped together in one single document. Bibliographic data correspond to those in the European Patent Bulletin/European Patent Register. The file is updated weekly.
All information in EPFULL can be accessed through STN's search functions. Search terms may be entered individually, or logically concatenated in a combined search. Only results matching all predefined criteria are retrieved. Truncated searches are also possible.
IEEE promises major platform upgrade |Apr 05|A major upgrade to the IEEE Xplore online delivery platform promises to offer researchers a more functional design, enhanced searching and usability, and an automated welcome page that recognises users' subscriptions and access rights. IEEE Xplore 2.0, to be released later this year, will provide subscribers with full-text searching of all content - more than 1.1 million documents - and will enable free, basic searches for visiting researchers. Another search option will enable subscribers to focus on only the latest content. 'The new features of IEEE Xplore are a direct result of the feedback we have received from our subscribers,' said Barbara Lange, IEEE director of publications business development. 'Many of our customers will also be invited to test a beta version of the interface in the coming weeks.'
IEEE Xplore 2.0 will also include functional 'homepages' for all IEEE periodicals. Each homepage will provide a review of the publication's aim and scope, along with links to all past and present issues. Author manuscript submission information will also be available through the homepages.
AIP goes back to the start |Apr 05|The complete archives of all American Institute of Physics (AIP) journals are now available online. The addition of 50,000 backfile articles provides researchers with access to nearly 350,000 articles. The AIP journals included since their inception are: Applied Physics Letters (from 1962); Chaos (from 1991); Journal of Applied Physics (from 1931); The Journal of Chemical Physics (from 1933); Journal of Mathematical Physics (from 1960); Physics of Fluids (from 1958); Physics of Plasmas (from 1958); and Review of Scientific Instruments (from 1930). All subscriptions to AIP journals include access to a five-year online backfile but subscribers can access the complete journal archive back to Volume 1, Issue 1, for a small fee.
All subscribers to AIP Archival, AIP Archival Plus, AIP Combination, and AIP All packages receive backfile access at no extra charge.
Spanish reference source is added to EBSCOhost |Apr 05|LIBROS EN VENTA en América Latina y España (LEV), which is produced by National Information Services Corporation, is now available via the EBSCOhost search interface. LEV has been a reference source of records and an acquisition tool for Spanish-language books-in-print since 1964. LEV includes in-print titles from over 26,000 Latin American and Spanish publishers and contains more than 794,000 records. LEV covers all types of books including: adult fiction, non-fiction, juvenile, scholarly subjects, textbooks, reprints, legal, medical, business, science and technology and religious material. LEV's publisher information includes publisher street addresses, phone and fax numbers, email addresses, website URLs, and the names of any distributors and sales outlets.
LEV is the most recent database to join the growing number of secondary databases available through EBSCOhost.
Zoological Record joins ISI Web of Knowledge |Apr 05|Zoological Record - the oldest continuing database of animal biology - is now available on ISI Web of Knowledge. Zoological Record is a respected information resource for every field in animal biology; for academic, government, and commercial projects; and for conducting reliable and in-depth information searches. With its electronic coverage extending back to 1978, Zoological Record has been described as the world's unofficial register of animal names.
While taxonomy represents a unique branch of life sciences, the scope of Zoological Record also covers every area of animal biology - from biodiversity and the environment to marine biology and veterinary sciences.
Dialog adds German patent information |Apr 05|Dialog has added a database of German full-text patents, with integrated English-language machine translations, to its family of services. The new file (324) contains about 3.1 million German patent records dating from 1967. It is published by Univentio, a Dutch-based aggregator of patent data from around the world. Univentio also supplies Dialog with WIPO/PCT (World Intellectual Property Organization/ Patent Cooperation Treaty) text records (File 349). Patent records from 1980 forward, which total about 1.8 million and include all German patent applications, granted patents and utility models for the time period, are in full-text German. They also have English translations of the abstracts, specifications and claims. This means that English-language keywords can be used to search the Univentio file. Patent records from before 1980 patents contain bibliographic information only. New German patent records are accessible through Dialog within four or five business days of publication by the German patent authority.
Fast updating is said to be especially important for German patents because the period of opposition in which patent applications may be challenged is more limited than in some other countries.
Springer's online library doubles in size |Apr 05|Springer Science+Business Media is launching an improved and expanded version of its SpringerLink online library. The service has now more than doubled in size - with a current total of more than 1,200 journals. As a result of the merger of Springer and Kluwer Academic Publishers (KAP), which was largely completed last year, 750 additional publications have now been integrated into SpringerLink. The online library also contains more than 2,700 volumes in 25 book series and a growing number of handbooks and reference works, eBooks, and databases. In addition, an online journals archive will begin providing successive online access to content published by Springer prior to 1997 and dating back to the 1860s. The full-text versions of papers marked as Springer Open Choice articles are available free of charge to all internet users. Content is organised into 11 'online libraries', each of which covers a separate subject category: Behavioral Sciences, Biomedical & Life Sciences, Business & Economics, Chemistry & Material Science, Computer Science, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Engineering, Humanities, Social Sciences & Law, Mathematics, Medicine, and Physics & Astronomy. All SpringerLink visitors have free access to the journals' table of contents and individual abstracts, which are presented on the journals' own websites. Links on the home page allow users to request sample copies in electronic form. Springer Alert users recei | ||