EBSCOhost interface changes in July 2008

The new EBSCOhost 2.0 interface, expected in July 2008, will feature a simplified search screen and a smarter results page. The clustering feature will be enhanced, an interactive breadcrumb trail will be added, and date limits will be controlled with a sliding bar. The new EBSCOhost interface will include a preview pane that activates when you hover over a record, as well as a more accessible folder feature. To preview the new interface with these and other enhancements, check out the flash presentation from EBSCO: ebscohost.com/2.0_flash

Library databases that use the EBSCOhost interface and that may be affected by the changes include:

Academic Search Premier
America: History & Life
Business Source Premier
CINAHL
EconLit
Education Research Complete
ERIC
Gender Studies Database
Historical Abstracts
LISTA
MagillOnLiterature Plus
MasterFile Premier
MLA International Bibliography
PsycArticles
PsycCritiques
PsycInfo
and others...

LexisNexis plans visual update for April 26

LexisNexis is planning to release a visual redesign of LexisNexis Academic on April 26. The main differences between the new look and the old are the moving of the navigation links from the right side of the page to the left and the removal of the shaded background from the search forms.

If you have not done so already, please see the preview of the new design at http://www.lexisnexis.com/academicmigration/viewpage.asp?p=22.

Apart from adding the “Selected Sources tray” described on the preview page, this release will not change the way the product functions. It will still contain the same search forms, with the same fields and the same search logic, etc. The net result will be a cleaner design that provides the same functionality.

ACM Introduces Author Profile Pages

ACM has introduced Author Profile pages with citation and usage statistics to the Digital Library.

The new features, which also include Bibliometrics, provide a snapshot of an individual author's contributions to computing, and a basic measure of their influence on the field.

You will find these pages by clicking on any author or colleague from a Citation Page in the ACM Digital Library.

4/18 Scheduled downtime for local digital collections

Several local digital collections will be unavailable from 9.30-12.00 a.m. on Friday, April 18th during a scheduled system upgrade. The affected digital collections include:

• Iraqi Archaeology Digital Texts Collection
• Long Island Digital Books Collection
• Long Island Historic Postcards Collection
• New York State Maps
• Poetry Center Reading Series
• SCAN Newsletter
• SCAN Newsletter - International Edition
• Stony Brook Oral History Project
• University Video Collection

RefWorks on Trial

RefWorks is a web-based citation manager that allows users to manage and share their research. Features include:

• Accessible from any computer
• No installation
• Multi-language interfaces (Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese)
• Unlimited number of references
• Import/Export
• 870+ predefined import filters
• Import/capture web pages
• RSS feeds
• Link to PDF
• Output style formats (RTF, MS-Word, Text, HTML, XML, Open Office)
• Duplicate check (exact and close match)
• Integration with Word (Write-N-Cite)
• Format bibliographies
• Blackboard integration

To create an account:
1. Go to www.refworks.com/refworks (on campus) or https://libproxy.cc.stonybrook.edu/login?url=http://www.refworks.com/refworks (off campus).
2. Click on Sign Up for an Individual Account.
3. Enter the appropriate information and click on Register.

Several data providers have a direct export link within their interface. This is an easy way for new users to begin creating their personal database. Such providers include: CSA, EBSCOHost, OCLC, OVID, ProQuest, BioMed Central, BioOne, ABC-Clio, NISC, Elsevier Engineering Village, and SFX. For a complete list of service providers who are currently compatible with RefWorks go to www.refworks.com/refworks/importdbs.asp.

In addition, there is a RefWorks tutorial available within the program itself. To access this feature just click on the Tutorial link located at the top of each page, or go directly to http://www.refworks.com/tutorial.

The trial runs through 5/31/2008.

Feel free to share your thoughts as a comment to this post.

CQ Almanac on Trial

The CQ Almanac offers original narrative accounts of every major piece of legislation that lawmakers considered during a congressional session. Arranged thematically, CQ Almanac organizes, distills, and cross-indexes for permanent reference the full year in Congress and in national politics. It includes coverage of the people, elections, legislation, and controversies in the U.S. Congress from 1945-2006; in-depth reviews and analyses of legislation and policy; and roll call votes for all major legislation. The trial runs through May 16, 2008.

Oxford Music Online

Grove Music Online is now part of the Oxford Music Online database. Grove Music Online includes the full texts of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd Edition (2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd Edition (2001), as well as all subsequent updates and emendations. In addition, a new linking program features improved and expanded links to sound examples via partnerships with DRAM, Naxos, as well as links to the RILM database of music bibliography. Grove Music Online articles also feature biographical linking to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. In addition to Grove, The Oxford Music Online database includes The Oxford Companion to Music and The Oxford Dictionary of Music.

Oxford Art Online

Grove Art Online is now part of the Oxford Art Online database. Grove Art Online includes more than 23,000 subject entries, 21,000 biographies, 500,000 bibliographic citations, 40,000 image links and 5,000 images. In addition to Grove, Oxford Art Online includes The Oxford Companion to Western Art, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, and The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.

Scopus Trial

Elsevier describes its Scopus database as "the largest abstract and citation database of research literature and quality web sources." It is updated daily and includes references to articles in 15,000 per-reviewed journals from over 4,000 publishers. References to conference proceedings, book series, and other types of material are included as are links to 386 million scientific web pages. Subject focus is on the Life, Health, Physical, and Social Sciences. Our trial runs to the end of June.