Action for Libraries
In Reference...
Edited by Brandie Baumann
Morningstar.com Update
Morningstar.com has added more than 200 stocks to its active coverage list this past year, giving users
access to reports and evaluations on 1,600-plus stocks by more than 85 stock analysts. Their reports
include specific buy-and-sell guidance.
Morningstar.com Library Edition's price is scheduled to increase by 5 percent. However, if you start a trial before January 15, 2006, and then complete your purchase by March 1, 2006, you will receive the lower 2005 price. For more information, contact BCR's Lisa Holmberg (lholmber@bcr.org).
Amazon.com New Open WorldCat Partner
Amazon.com has joined Baker & Taylor as a fulfillment partner in the OCLC Open WorldCat program to
allow the easy online purchase of books identified through WorldCat on the Web. Now searchers who
reach WorldCat from popular search engines or other Web resources may use a book-buying link to
purchase books through Amazon.com, in addition to Baker & Taylor, the initial partner of OCLC's Open
WorldCat project.
Open WorldCat adds Web visibility to library resources by making MARC records part of the search results in popular Web search engines. Many libraries have established deep links that take users directly from a record WorldCat to the matching record in an individual library's online catalog. Once connected to a library catalog, users can determine whether an item can be used online or if it can be borrowed from the library. The option to purchase books is thought to complement access to library collections by making it easy to purchase books that may already be checked out of the library or for which long reserve lists exist.
This component of the Open World- Cat program not only connects Web searchers with the materials they need, it also delivers a financial benefit for the ongoing development of Open WorldCat.
How it works: Web searchers reach the Open WorldCat interface from search results in Web search engines or popular Web resources. Users may link directly to Amazon.com from Find in a Library for some items. When a direct link is not available, users will have the option of linking to the Amazon.com site to search for similar items.
The "Online purchasing pilot" page within the Open WorldCat Web site at www.oclc.org/worldcat/open/store/default.htm now includes references to both Baker & Taylor and Amazon.com.
Contact Chuck Costakos (costakoc@oclc.org) with questions about the book-buying option in Open WorldCat.
Wilson Database Update
H.W. Wilson has expanded a number of its databases. Twenty-five journals have been added to Art Full
Text, 30 journals to Readers' Guide and 49 journals to Education. Biography Reference Bank was also
expanded by 15,000 new profiles.