A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — J u n e 2 0 0 3

In Reference...

Edited by Brandie Baumann

Oxford University Press Receives Award
Oxford Reference Online, the electronic resource from Oxford University Press (OUP), won the 2003 Codie Award for Best Online Reference at the 18th Annual Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) Conference in early May. OUP bested the likes of Microsoft, IBM and Oracle in being given this prestigious honor. SIIA's Codie Awards showcase the finest products and services in the software and information industry and is the only peer recognition program for software developers.

OUP and Other Database Renewal Deadlines
BCR's Oxford University Press (OUP) subscriptions for the current year expire June 30. Current subscribers are urged to renew now, and new subscribers must sign up prior to the June 30 cut-off date. OUP databases up for renewal include the Oxford Reference Online: Core Collection; American National Biography; and Oxford English Dictionary, as well as the newly acquired Grove dictionaries of art and music. For more information and a complete list of OUP databases, go to BCR's Web site (www.bcr.org), select Reference Databases and then Oxford or Grove from the menus on the left side of the page. Contact Laura Chittivej (lchittiv@bcr.org) for more information.

The renewal deadline for BCR's annual group subscriptions to science databases from Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave-Macmillan and Scientific American products is June 15. Pricing has remained the same as last year. To ensure that your library patrons receive continuous access to these scientific reference services, submit your renewal by June 15. For additional information, contact Karen Graham (kgraham@bcr.org).

OCLC FirstSearch Customizing Tip
Libraries can now add links to netLibrary e-books, JSTOR archives and Infotrieve document delivery in FirstSearch. The links appear in the "Get This Item" section of detailed records in FirstSearch search results. Clicking a link brings up the full-text e- book or JSTOR article (if your library has subscriptions with these services) or the Infotrieve document ordering screen. These new links provide yet another way for users to access these three services. For information on how to set up the links, go to firstsearch.oclc.org/crs/html/fsadmin/index.html?firstpg=OutLinking, and enter your FirstSearch administrative authorization and password on the administrative module login screen. You will be taken directly to the Resource Linking > Outbound Linking area. To add the links, you must have a netLibrary account number that you type in the first box; click the Infotrieve box On (it is not necessary to have an existing account); or have subscriptions to one or more JSTOR archives and click the appropriate box(es) On.

FirstSeach/ECO Individual Institution Form Changes
The FirstSearch/Electronic Collections Online Individual Institution order form has changed. Orders received on the old form with a July 1 start and later cannot be processed and will be returned to the sender, potentially delaying the processing and implementation of an order. For orders with a start date prior to June 30, either the old form or the new form can be used during the transition period. After July 1, the new form must be used. The new form can be found on the OCLC Web site at www2.oclc.org/oclc/pdf/fsindo.pdf.

Databases Discontinued on FirstSearch
Due to the steadily decreasing usage of DataTimes on the OCLC FirstSearch service, OCLC has decided to discontinue offering the service. Updates on when DataTimes will be removed from block search content will be provided in the near future. OCLC has also discontinued the EventLine and AIDS and Cancer Research databases on FirstSearch. Contact Karen Graham at BCR (kgraham@bcr.org) with any questions.

Effective July 1, access to Ethnic NewsWatch and GenderWatch databases will be discontinued on the OCLC FirstSearch service. New subscriptions are no longer being accepted. Current subscriptions to both databases will be removed from FirstSearch on July 1. However, OCLC FirstSearch users will continue to have access to databases such as the Alternative Press Index, Contemporary Women's Issues and SIRS Researcher that also cover topics indexed in the Ethnic NewsWatch and GenderWatch databases. In addition, databases such as Periodical Abstracts and Wilson Select Plus provide coverage of these subjects. Contact Karen Graham (kgraham@bcr.org) at BCR for more information.

Wilson Database Enhancements
Wilson's Bibliographic Index is being added to WilsonWeb, providing users with fast digital searching of bibliographies from books, pamphlets and more than 2,800 periodicals as far back as 1984. In-depth indexing of more than 259,300 bibliographies published in English, German, Italian, Spanish and French is planned to be available.

Thirty-two new journals have been added to the Social Sciences Full Text databases, significantly expanding coverage of mass media, communications and area studies. The expansion will contribute approximately 1,500 additional records per year, beginning with articles from the June 2003 issues of the journals. Social Sciences Abstracts and Index databases will also cover the new journals. For a complete list, go to the H.W. Wilson Web site at www.hwwilson.com/Databases/socsci.htm#Journals.

Wilson's Biography Reference Bank database received a major upgrade with the ability to search some 446,000 names using a new structure that brings users to the right articles more quickly. About 11,500 licensed profiles have been added, the result of agreements with publishers Harvard University Press, Houghton-Mifflin, Greenwood Publishing and James Clarke.

For questions or to subscribe to any reference database, contact BCR's Rosario Garza (rgarza@bcr.org), Karen Graham (kgraham@bcr.org) or Laura Chittivej (lchittiv@bcr.org).

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