UJLINK: Launch of New Library Catalogue interface

The University of Johannesburg Library and Information Centre (UJLIC) is proud to announce the launch of UJLink, the new library catalogue interface, on 1st of November 2007.

UJLink has a contemporary look and feel and in addition offers enhanced services such as:
- The ability to do a meta-search which can include the library catalogue as well as a selection of electronic databases and catalogues from other institutions.
- My UJLink – a facility where library clients can rate the items in the library collection, save their most useful searches for re-use, keep a reading history, view their loan record, renew items on loan and place holds on items that they want to borrow, which is not currently available.

Please make use of this improved library catalogue by visiting the library web page (http://ujlink.uj.ac.za) and clicking on the UJLink option.

Welcome to UJ Science Librarian Blog

I think it is time for marketing of this blog, to ensure it serve its purposes. I have created it on 25th of October 2007, with the good intention to provide timely and useful information to the UJ Faculty of Science community. What I would like to do is give you a MAP of this blog and what information you can expect to find.

On the right side you will see the so-called "posts". These posts will give you current information on publishers and databases developments, marketing of Library services, science information, highlights of interesting events and many more. Links for comments and suggestions are available. Currently the following information is available:

* This Week in Science - the latest research news from Science Online
* Landolt-Brnstein collection on SpringerLink platform
* What's new @ JSTOR
* New Interactive and intuitive tools on ScienceDirect - the latest developments
* UJ Archives and Special Collections: New Exhibition in the APK Library
* What's new @ RefWorks
* ISI Web of Knowledge: the new face of research - the latest interface is available
* OvidSP - Now Live! - new interface for SilverPlatter WebSPIRS and Ovid

On the left site you will see links to variety of topics. With one click you can access and find information on:

* About this blog
* Blog archive - view the information available on this blog per month
* Useful Links - link to UJ Library webpage is available for now, but more will be added
* Journals - links to important interdisciplinary journals, such as Science, Nature, New Scientist, etc.
* Useful Search Engines & Websites - easy access to Google Scholar, Scirus, Live Search Academic are some that will help you with your research. They should be viewed as good addition to the available Library databases
* Open Access Journals - search through a thousands of free peer-reviewed journals
* Reference Works - links to free and subscribed reference works to help you start with a project
* Research News & Useful Links - links to Research websites, how to start research, etc.
* New Books in the Library - some of the latest acquisitions for Sciences
* Information Literacy & Study Skills - learn how to search and use databases, how to acquire a study skills, etc.
* Del.icio.us - links to "sciencelibrarian" favourite's articles or websites on different topics.
* Podcasts - you can listen to the audio recordings from relevant Science websites
* Newsletters - links to web newsletters
* Daily news from Apple, Google and Microsoft

This Week in Science Online

Volume 318, Number 5850, Issue of 26 October 2007

View the Highlights of Research in the latest issue of Science Online. Editor summaries of this week's papers.

Landolt-Brnstein collection on SpringerLink platform

Landolt-Brnstein is a unique high-quality physics, chemistry and technology collection. Landolt-Brnstein represents all fields of Physics and boasts the most comprehensive Numerical Data in Science and Technology. H. Landolt and R. Brnstein compiled the first edition over a century ago. Six editions have been published since then; each extended to complement the original content.

Preview the Table of Contents to the most recent volume available on SpringerLink. Today the New Series comprises some 300 volumes dedicated to expanding fields of research and applications. Data seekers find that Landolt-Brnstein, found on SpringerLink platform has an amazing wealth of information that's easily searchable.

Features for Researchers
* Access to raw scientific data.

* More Linked content: Seamless integration of eBooks, online journals and eReference works on one platform.
* Unlimited access to surveys of numeric tables, graphs, data sets, phase diagrams, property tables, tables of special abbreviations and symbols that will aide in ongoing research.
* All of the organizational and research benefits of SpringerLink.com.

Link to Demo: http://216.122.46.36/springer/landolt_solo.html

Link to Landolf-Brnstein page: http://www.springer.com/west/home/laboe?SGWID=4-10113-12-95859-0

Please note: This collection does not form part of the SpringerLink database subscription.

What's New @ JSTOR

JSTOR October's Newsletter addresses the new way JSTOR is connecting to students, by using the latest technological Web 2.0 tools. Social Networking through the Internet, is currently the most popular channel for young people to communicate and share information, photos, musics, etc.

Reaching out to Students

Web 2.0 is a collective term for a wide array of community-based, interactive web tools and networking sites found on the Internet. College and High School students spend an increasing amount of time in these online environments. We are experimenting with two of the most popular social networking sites in order to put JSTOR information in the places where students spend their time.
* Facebook (a social networking site originally aimed at college students):We have created a Facebook group for the purpose of pointing students in the direction of helpful information about using JSTOR. The idea is that if a student is working on research late at night and needs help using the JSTOR interface, they may find the Facebook group via a general search and get exactly the information they need. Contents of the JSTOR Information Facebook group include links to JSTOR help pages, a short online tutorial on “How to Search JSTOR”, frequently asked questions and answers, and a link to the JSTOR Search application also on Facebook.
* YouTube:The second venue we chose was YouTube, the enormously popular site that provides users with the ability to upload videos and make them available to the world. Since students are likely to search for almost any topic on YouTube, we uploaded two short video tutorials on searching and browsing JSTOR. So far this has not been as frequently accessed as the Facebook applications, but we believe it is yet another promising avenue for providing information in an online location easily discovered by students.

The Librarian Comment:

Social Networking tools are also popular with the UJ students and the Library should try to embrace them and make the best to connect to the university younger generation.

How do you feel about using My Space, Facebook, YouTube, etc. as communication channel between yourself and the Library? Post a comment!

New interactive and intuitive tools encourage wider usage of ScienceDirect

More development-partner-tested features have been added to ScienceDirect. This new functionality, which is mirrored to researchers’ needs, will encourage greater use and exploitation of the wealth of information on ScienceDirect.

* The Related Articles feature automatically displays citation information and the abstract – including a link to the full text – of content relevant to the article being accessed. This improves the discoverability of information and makes it easier for users to find key information. Related Articles is enabled for every article accessed on ScienceDirect.

* To maximize search outcomes and eliminate unwanted results, the Fast Search & Transfer (FAST) spell check function has been integrated into ScienceDirect. The spell checker recognizes spelling errors using a built-in dictionary.

* As an added value to traditional abstracts, ScienceDirect is now indexing Graphical Abstracts of 30 chemistry titles. Important to chemistry researchers, Graphical Abstracts help to summarize the scope of a structure or reaction more succinctly than plain text. Graphical Abstracts will appear as the default display when browsing a table of contents from one of these journals on the journal homepage. On the search results the default display is the Article List with Full Abstracts or Graphical Abstracts as alternative display options.

Copyright permissions enabled through ScienceDirect
Subscribers can order copyright permissions directly through ScienceDirect now that Rightslink® has been selected for online copyright permissions. “Rightslink was the easy choice for improving customer responsiveness and accelerating turn-around times for copyright permissions,” said Helen Gainford, Elsevier’s Director of Global Rights, “Rightslink has a strong track record of success and we’ve been highly impressed with its ease-of-use and its ability to deliver quality customer service directly from our own content.”

New Major Reference Works available on ScienceDirect
Encyclopedia of Stress, Comprehensive Glycoscience and Treatise on Geophysics are now available on ScienceDirect.

Visit ScienceDirect September-October Product newsletter: http://info.sciencedirect.com/news/newsletters/connect/archive/sdconnect0710.html#10

The Librarian comment:

The latest ScienceDirect features will definetely be beneficial to all researchers. I like the "View Related Articles" option, as will give the users access to additional useful articles. The Graphical Abstracts will be beneficials to the Chemistry users. It seems there is no list with all specific titles, but as you do search the articles with show the structure if available. Browse Tetrahedron journal on ScienceDirect, to see an example.

UJ Archives and Special Collections: New Exhibition in the Library

The staff from the UJ Library Archives ans Special Collections has mounted a new exhibition in the APK Library on the 6th floor foyer: "Famous Libraries of the World".
Did you know that Ptolemy III of Egypt (3rd Century B.C.) forced visitors to the country to relinguish their books (in those days you called them scrolls) to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina?
Did you know that 1.4 million people visited the Library of Congress in Washington last year?
These and other interesting facts, books and authentic library posters are on display! If you have any brochures or books that you can add to the exhibition, please come and talk to us!
Visit the Rare Book Collections and University Archives web page, to glimpse at the wealth of collections available there: http://www.uj.ac.za/library/InformationSources/RareBookCollectionUniversityArchivesAPK/tabid/4237/Default.aspx

What's New @ RefWorks

The latest enchancements to RefWorks have been just made, to help you with your research and improve service:

* Direct linking from RefWorks to the databases: At the top of your RefWorks page, next to the University of Johannesburg, you will see a blue i displayed. Click on the i will allow you to go directly to the UJ list of databases.

* Updating user information: RefWorks have now added more User Types to this interface. This will help the RefWorks Publisher get better understanding of who are the users. While the new users will have the option of accessing the new user types, if you are an existing user, you need to update your user profile information on RefWorks and choose the type that best suits you. You can click on the Tools option on the menu list and then shoose Update User Information.

* E-mail your Librarian: Have a question on RefWorks? Want to suggest a citation format or maybe even improvements? You can use E-mail your Librarian link, located under the Help function, to e-mail any questions or suggestions regarding RefWorks to your Administrator.

Need Help?

Do you make use of RefWorks for your research? If not, it is never too late to get started. Ask for help or training! Contact your Subject Librarian at your Campus.

ISI Web of Knowledge: The New Face of Research

New version of ISI Web of Science is now available simultaneously with the current. When I logged into Science Citation Index Database, on the top of the screen next to the logo is "access the new virsion" option. It seems the link is not yet activated for UJ users, but definetily will be available soon. Our users can then have an opportunity to explore and get used to the new interface.

What's new? The enhancements have been made to help streamline the research process, to better manage your search results and improve security. One of the most important features is the All Databases search, which replaces CrossSearch. The All Databases search allows you to:
- Search across all ISI Web of Knowledge databases our institution subscribes to;
- Retrieve up to 100,000 results, automatically sorted by the journal cover publication date;
- Easily refine and analyze your search results.

Marked List functionality is now available. Use Marked list to help you manage your search results within ISI Web of Knowledge, to easy print, export, save and download records. New! Every record you mark is automatically submitted to the Marked List when you navigate away from the page. You can also click on the Submit Marks button to create your Marked List. Export your Marked List records to EndNote Web or other reference management tools ( such as RefWorks).

New Web tool is WebPlus from "Further information" option. It will complement your research while searching Science Citation Index and other ISI Web of Knowledge databases, by searching highly focused, high-quality Web content.

For more information visit: http://0-newface.newisiknowledge.com.raulib.rau.ac.za/

You can access the ISI Web of Knowledge databases through the Library webpage. The following databases are useful to the Science community:

* ISI Journal Citation Reports

* ISI Current Contents databases (per subjects)

* ISI Science Citation Index

* ISI Social Science Citation Index

Let us know how useful and advanced is the new interface. Your inputs will be used to make future recomendations to the Publisher.

OvidSP- Now Live!

Ovid Publishers have announced that on 25th of October 2007 a newly designed platform will come live. The new OvidSP is designed for speed, simplicity, and precision. OvidSP takes all the sophisticated search functionallity of both Ovid Gateway and SilverPlatter WebSPIRS features and tools to give you a simplified, streamlined search experience.

Simplified, intuitive interface

- Multiple search modes: It accomodates all types of searchers - from the beginners to the more advanced. The end-users can choose their prefered search style: Basic; Ovid/SilverPlatter Syntax; Find citation; Search tools; Search fields.

- Natural language searching: Available in the Basic search, it allows users to enter any search term or question - no need for special syntax!

- Clean intuitive interface design: The platform's look-and-feel is fresh and contemporary. New features and tools can help you work quickly and easy

Powerful, trusted precision search technology

- Advanced search functionality: OvidSP retains all of the best features and functionality of both Ovid Gateway and SilverPlatter WebSPIRS, including thesauri, subject headings, term mapping, limits, and more.

- Simultaneous searching across all content types: Quickly and easy search book, databases, and journals at the same time.

- Fast, flexible results management: OvidSP is designed to support the way you work. Organize and analyze your search results with simple, time-saving tools.

Enhanced research workflow tools

- Search refinement tools: Easily identifiable in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, the Search Aid section provides greater search transparency and allows you to refine initial searches: Follow the research trail; Narrow or broaden search; Search related authors and journals;

-Inline abstracts: Citation abstracts are now on the same page as your result. Expand or collapse abstracts for easy viewing.

- Annotations: Create, view, and edit search results annotations, marked by yellow icons. Annotations always stay with your results.

- Content updates delivered via RSS or email: Customized alerting mechanisms help you stay current on the latest research: eTOCS – Electronic tables of contents track changes in a specific journal’s table of contents. AutoAlerts - Get saved searches delivered automatically whenever new articles match your search criteria become available.

- Sortable search results: Use a simple pull-down box to re-sort results based on available fields—by database name, unique identifier, and more.
- Search Results Manager feature: Now located in the left-hand side of the screen for easier access as you conduct your searches, this feature lets you save, email, and print your results. Plus, you can change the number of results displayed on each page.
- Find Similar Articles feature: Link to related articles from a search result’s complete reference display.
- De-duplication of multi-file results: Eliminate repetitive results automatically when you’re searching multiple databases.

For more information visit: http://www.ovid.com

Why should you know about these changes:

UJ Library & Information Services subscribes to SilverPlatter WebSPIRS databases. The databases relevant to the Science community are:

* Analytical Abstracts

* Applied Science & Technology

* Parasitology Database