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

Availability of Wilson Databases
on OCLC FirstSearch Service Changes

By Rosario Garza

The availability of H.W. Wilson databases on OCLC's FirstSearch service will change on December 17. H.W. Wilson has determined that offering its databases on FirstSearch on a per-search basis does not support its production costs.

This change affects all Wilson databases currently on FirstSearch, except Wilson Select Plus, which will remain available via per-search with its full text. The databases affected are: Applied Science & Technology Index, Art Index, Biography Index, Biological & Agricultural Index, Book Review Digest, Education Index, Essay & General Literature Index, General Science Index, Humanities Index, Index to Legal Periodicals and Books, Library Literature, Readers' Guide Abstracts, Social Sciences Index and Wilson Business Abstracts.

Current per-search users of these Wilson databases may want to consider access on a subscription basis. However, not all of these databases are available through subscriptions. If an abstracts version of the database is already available through subscription on FirstSearch, the index will not be available. Here's a summary:

Database	Status after December 17
Applied Science & Technology Index	Index no longer available. Abstracts database available by subscription.
Art Index	Index no longer available. Abstracts database available by subscription.
Biography Index	Available by subscription only.
Biological & Agricultural Index	Available by subscription only.
Book Review Digest	Available by subscription only.
Education Index	Index no longer available. Abstracts database available by subscription.
Essay & General Literature Index	Available by subscription only.
General Science Index	Index no longer available. Abstracts database available by subscription.
Humanities Index	Index no longer available. Abstracts database available by subscription.
Index to Legal Periodicals and Books	Available by subscription only.
Library Literature	Available by subscription only.
Readers' Guide Abstracts	Available by subscription only.
Social Sciences Index	Index no longer available. Abstracts database available by subscription.
Wilson Business Abstracts	Available by subscription only.

Remember, the above changes do not affect the Wilson Select Plus database. Access terms to that database are not changing.

Discounts Available
What options are available if you want to continue offering your users access to the Wilson databases? You can consider subscribing to the databases you are interested in through FirstSearch. Current per-search libraries that switch to subscriptions will receive a 20 percent discount from the OCLC list price through January 31, 2004. This same discount is available if you are considering a subscription to the abstracts versions (where available). BCR will be happy to provide you with a price quote. The price quote form is available at www.bcr.org/reference/quoteform.html. Subscription pricing is available for individual libraries and FirstSearch groups.

A second option is to get the database subscription directly from H.W. Wilson. Again, BCR can help you by providing a price quote. BCR libraries are eligible for a discount on their H.W. Wilson database subscriptions. To receive a price quote, complete the form at www.bcr.org/reference/quoteform.html.

If you have any questions about the change, contact Karen Graham (kgraham@bcr.org) or Rosario Garza (rgarza@bcr.org).

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Availability of Wilson Databases on OCLC FirstSearch Service Changes

Availability of Wilson Databases
on OCLC FirstSearch Service Changes