Database News Fall 2002

Many changes in the UT Libraries' collection of electronic resources have occurred recently. Interfaces to databases seem to change almost as often as versions of web browsers. The UT Libraries have also added new databases, including a number of collections of fulltext reference works (dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks) in several subject areas.

1. Interface changes
2. New databases
3. SFX
4. Browser notes
5. Changes on the horizon

1. Interface Changes

   The interfaces of several databases changed over the summer:

   • ERL/WebSPIRS - A large number of databases, those with the "ERL" designation, have the WebSPIRS interface. We recently moved to version 5.0. The functionality of the interface is much the same, but the look is different and there are fewer windows. A WebSPIRS Quick Reference Card is available in PDF format.

   • LexisNexis - Databases from LexisNexis not only had their interface change, but also their names. The word "Universe" was dropped and "Lexis-Nexis" became "LexisNexis." The new interface seems to load faster with Internet Explorer. The LexisNexis Academic Knowledge Base provides guidance for using the main database service used at UT.

   • ProQuest - The lastest update to the ProQuest interface has several enhancements, including improved browsing and the ability to download records in formats for bibliographic management software, like EndNote and ProCite.

   • Web of Science - The Web of Science, along with Journal Citation Reports, is now a part of ISI's Web of Knowledge portal. With the new interface, one may combine searches, retrieve search histories, and use fielded searching for more targeted results. A factsheet detailing the changes is available.

2. New Databases

   Several new databases were added to the UT Library's subscriptions in 2002:

   • AccessPerry's - Online access to 3 handbooks in chemistry and chemical engineering.

   • AMICO Library - Over 78,000 works of art digitized by members of the Art Museum Image Consortium.

   • Art Fulltext - Indexes and abstracts for over 350 art journals, with the fulltext for over 100. Replaces Art Index. The WilsonWeb interface will be changing sometime this fall.

   • Children's Literature Comprehensive Database - Offers more than 100,000 fulltext reviews of children's books.

   • Cochrane Library - A collection of evidence-based medicine databases. (Brought to UT Libraries by the Preston Medical Library, UT Medical Center)

   • Columbia Gazetteer of the World Online - A database of names, descriptions, and characteristics of over 165,000 places in the world.

   • Columbia Granger's World of Poetry - An index of poetry anthologies, searchable by author, title, first line and other methods.

   • Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) - A comprehenisve source for theory and research in international affairs.

   • CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - Corresponds to the 81st print edition.

   • Current Index to Statistics - An index to publications in statistics and related fields.

   • Education Fulltext - Indexes and abstracts for over 500 education journals, with the fulltext for over 250. Replaces Education Index. The WilsonWeb interface will be changing sometime this fall.

   • ENGnetBASE - Over 100 online engineering handbooks.

   • Grove Dictionary of Art Online - Covers all aspects of the visual arts from prehistory to the present day.

   • InfoTrac OneFile - A combination of 3 fulltext databases from the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) with almost 3,000 fulltext journals and magazines.

   • Iter: GateWay to the Middle Ages and Renaissance - A bibliography of interdisciplinary literature pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700).

   • JSTOR Business Collection - The complete backfiles of several business journals have been added to JSTOR.

   • Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology - A comprehensive encyclopedia of chemical technology.

   • Mediamark/MRI - Comprehensive demographic, lifestyle, product usage data from a sample of U.S. consumers.

   • Music-in-Print Series - Use to identify the publisher and, sometimes, the price of currently available music scores.

   • Nursing Journals @ Ovid - A collection of fulltext journals in nursing.

   • Oxford Reference Online - Over 100 dictionaries and references in several disciplines.

   • Physical Education Index - Indexes the literature of physical education from 1970 to the present.

   • Standard and Poor's NetAdvantage - Online access to several of Standard & Poor's publications.

3. SFX:

   SFX is link server software that will help persons with citations in SFX source databases find the fulltext of that cited reference if it is available to UT library users.

   Newspapers are not yet part of SFX because the main sources of newspapers, LexisNexis and Dow Jones, do not easily facilitate direct linking to a specific newspaper or article. We are working on this problem.

   For more information, refer to the SFX FAQ.

4. Browser Notes:

   Not all of the electronic resources provided by the UT Libraries (catalog, ERL/WebSPIRS databases, etc.) run well with the newer 6.0+ versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape. In the Hodges Library Reference Room we have both Internet Explorer 5.5 and Netscape 4.7 on the public workstations. We have two different browsers because we find that some electronic resources run better with one browser than the other.

5. Changes on the Horizon:
   • Dow Jones Interactive is being replaced by Factiva in December 2002 at UT. Factiva requires the Internet Explorer 5.0+ browser. More information about the new service will be announced later on in the Fall Term.

   • The long-awaited upgrade of the WilsonWeb (Art Fulltext, Education Fulltext, Reader's Guide, Index to Legal Periodicals) has been put off until sometime in the fall. The new version will support SFX.

   • The following databases have been ordered and should be available soon:
     • ARTFL - A collection of French language texts.
     • IMB Online - A web version of the International Medieval Bibliography. UT currently has CD ROM.
     • Times Digital Archive - An online archive of the [London] Times from 1785 to 1985.
     • World Shakespeare Bibliography Online - A Shakespeare bibliography from Johns Hopkins University Press.