August 1997 Newsletter - LANL Research Library
LANL Research Library Newsletter
August 1997
Are your research papers online in the Research
Library's collection? The Research Library will
archive your papers electronically and facilitate
access through the online catalog. Contact
Allan MacKinnon in the Report Collection at
allan.mackinnon@lanl.gov
or by phone at 7-8953.
See end of Newsletter for publication and
web access information.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
August 1997 Issue
GartnerWeb Update
Coverage of knowledge management (KM) will be increased in several of the
GartnerWeb services. KM is the emerging set of policies, organizational
structures, procedures, applications and technologies intended to improve
the decision-making effectiveness of a group or enterprise. The new IEW
service provides substantial, but not exclusive, coverage of this research
topic.
A new service, the Intranets and Electronic Workplace (IEW) service
replaces the Office Information Systems (OIS) service. IEW provides an
expanded focus on the role of intranets and the changes affecting the way
office work is performed.
The IDOM service coverage has expanded to cover commercial publishing,
corporate publishing and knowledge management. The commercial publishing
research will evaluate technological and strategic issues as they relate to
publishers of newspapers, business periodicals and consumer magazines.
Corporate publishing research evaluates technological and strategic issues
as they relate to corporate publishers of internal newsletters, marketing
brochures and other publications.
Continuous delivery of research has been instituted for the Research Notes.
The new process will deliver Research Notes when individual research units
are completed and produced. This is an improvement over the existing
batch-oriented production process.
Access to GartnerWeb is available to all laboratory employees. A link to
GartnerWeb
is located on the Research
Library's Electronic Database Page.
Frances Knudson
Return to the Table of Contents.
New Features for SciSearch® at LANL
The LANL Research Library has purchased the remaining available years of
SciSearch® and has added them
to the SciSearch® at LANL
database. The additional years of 1974-1976
now give users a full 25 years of scientific searching possibilities.
We appreciate the many comments from our users requesting these remaining
years.
The ability to change your email address and password for the Weekly
Alerting Service of SciSearch® at LANL has just been added. After
logging into the Alerting Service, two new buttons at the bottom of the
page allow you to change your email address or change your password. If
the email address for your alert has changed since the alert was created,
select the "Change Email Address" button and enter your new email address.
If you have forgotten your password and are not able to login, find an
email message sent to you from sci-alerts@lanl.gov. If any citations
matched your alert, there will be a URL listed in the email. Paste the
entire URL into your browser location input box and press enter. A page
allowing you to view and edit your alerts will be shown. You can then
change your password by selecting the "Change Password" button at the
bottom of the page.
Jeane Strub
Return to the Table of Contents.
ONLINE CATALOG (WEB VERSION) ENHANCEMENTS
- BETA TESTING UNDERWAY
In response to customer comments about the WWW interface to the LANL
Research Library Online Catalog, enhancements are being developed and
tested to improve ease of use of the catalog. We invite you to try out the
Beta Test Gateway (Version 2) to the
Online Catalog.
End-user comments are important to us, so please send them to:
db-info@lanl.gov or call
us at 7-3031.
TO TRY OUT THE GATEWAY
ENHANCEMENTS:
- The Search and Browse buttons on the original search
screen have been replaced by a single search screen with separate
input boxes for searching words vs. browsing an index.
- Multiple input boxes are now available on the initial search screen
making it easier to start a search with words from different indexes.
- Refine Search has been expanded to allow OR and NOT Boolean operators.
- Buttons have been separated to make their boundaries easier to see.
- Holdings displays are row oriented and line up correctly irrespective
of browser window size.
- Back and Forward Netscape buttons can be used within a session.
Irma S. Holtkamp.
Return to the Table of Contents.
BIOSIS® AT LANL
The Research Library is beta testing the BIOSIS® at LANL database
available via Web and telnet formats. We invite you to try this database
that contains selected citations from 1985 to the present.
The BIOSIS database provides comprehensive worldwide coverage of research
in the life sciences, including biological and biomedical sciences,
biochemistry, biophysics, and biotechnology. This online product
corresponds to "Biological Abstracts (BA)" and "Biological Abstracts/RRM
(Reports, Reviews, Meetings) (BA/RRM)". Citations come from approximately
9,000 primary journals and monograph titles, books, reviews, meetings and
meeting abstracts, nomenclatural rules, notes, letters, annual reviews,
bibliographies, guides, and research communications.
The Beta version of BIOSIS® at LANL will be available until August 15.
Web access is located at
http://library.lanl.gov:8888 (select Beta Test Gateway). Or you
may telnet to library.lanl.gov and type biosis when asked
to select a database.
Jeane Strub
Return to the Table of Contents.
SCISEARCH® AT LANL AUGUST TIP OF THE MONTH: INSTITUTIONAL CONTACTS
Looking for people at other institutions who do research similar to what
you are doing? In SciSearch® at
LANL, use the Title/Abstract/Keyword field to enter subject
terms, then use the Institution field under More Options to enter the
institution or company names. Or use the Category field to enter a broad
subject category and then enter appropriate institution or company names in
the Institution field.
Jeane Strub
Return to the Table of Contents.
CD Databases Targeted for Cancellation
The Research Library is considering cancelling some CD databases which are
little used and are only available from terminals within the library.
These are:
-
Code of Federal Regulations (also available free on the WWW).
- IHS Worldwide Standards (see the Library's
Standards & Regulations Page for alternate sources)
- Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (available for a fee
through KI Dialog)
- Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations (available for a fee through KI
Dialog and Lexis/Nexis)
- Thomas Register of American Manufacturers (supplier segment available at
http://www.thomasregister.com/index.html, complete file available for
a fee through KI Dialog)
Please call the Research Library (7-5809) or send e-mail
library@lanl.gov
with your feedback concerning these databases.
Jeane Strub
Return to the Table of Contents.
THE INTERNET: TIME SINK OR TIME SAVER?
Internet users must remember that the rules of publishing do not apply to
the Internet. There are no editors, proofreaders or peer review and
certainly no fundamental rules of scholarship. Consequently,
your skills need to be sharp so that you can distinguish the quality
from the questionable. The following are some basic criteria you should
apply when you judge a website:
- Authority: Who is putting it on the web? Who created the
information? What credentials (if any) do they claim?
- Affiliation: Is the producer of the information affiliated
with an organization or institution? Does this add to the site's authority
level? Does it suggest there may be bias? If this is a controversial topic
is it at variance to other sources? Can you confirm the information
elsewhere? Why is this information being presented for free?
- Accuracy: Check a few facts-- does the site appear to be
accurate? Are there grammar and spelling errors which would undermine your trust in the
information provider? Can you contact the source? Is there an address?
- Intent: What is the stated or implied intent? Why does it exist? It is
important to recognize bias in order to counterbalance it.
- Accessibility: Is the site well-organized, easy to navigate,
well-designed with useful buttons? Are there needless graphics and
multimedia applications?
- Currency: Is it immediately apparent when the information was
created and when it first appeared? Is there information about when the
site was last updated and how frequently it will updated?
- Recommendations: Is the site recommended by any review services or
subject experts in the field?
- Reliability: Will the site still be alive and viable in the future?
Is the server often down or overloaded?
Donna Berg
ECLIPSE NETWORK
Looking for a great vacation? Why not plan a trip around a solar eclipse!
The Earth View Eclipse Network at http://www.earthview.com is a
comprehensive source of educational information about the history, science
and observation of all types of eclipses, especially total solar eclipses.
It includes timetables from now until 2035 and maps of the totality path
for solar eclipses from now until 2020. You can also get an eclipse
tutorial, observation tips, and a listing of past solar eclipses.
Interesting lunar eclipses for the next few years are also listed.
Donna Berg
LANL RESEARCH LIBRARY AUGUST/SEPTEMBER TRAINING
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