LANL Research Library Newsletter - April 1999
| Library Without Walls - The First Three Generations |
Frances Knudson of the Research Library's Library Without Walls Project recently made a presentation entitled "Library Without Walls - The First Three Generations" at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Anaheim, which is summarized here.
The generations of Library Without Walls (LWW) products are overlapping product concentrations. The first generation began in late 1994 and focuses on desktop delivery of scientific content. Products include major scientific databases - SciSearch® at LANL, BIOSIS® at LANL, DOE at LANL, Engineering Index® at LANL, INSPEC® at LANL and Los Alamos Unclassified Publications. Full text access to Los Alamos reports was one of the first major thrust of this generation. Today there are over 2,600 LANL reports available electronically. Soon electronic versions of LANL patents will be available. Electronic journal access is the final major component of the first generation. Currently LANL researchers have access to over 2,000 electronic journals.
The second generation of LWW products focuses on merging the content. We have been working hard on providing article level links in our databases. So if a researcher views a database record from Physical Review D in 1999 - there is a link that will display the full text of the article. The second thrust of this generation is to move all of the citation databases into the Topic environment. Currently SciSearch® at LANL and Social SciSearch® at LANL are in this environment. We hope to have BIOSIS® at LANL in this environment by July; quickly followed by INSPEC®, Engineering Index®, DOE Energy, etc . This will position us to deliver mega-database searching. Currently there is no release date for the mega product.
The third generation of LWW started in late 1998. The focus of this generation is to facilitate the use of all of this content now provided on the researcher's desktop. We have several projects on visualization techniques. We have a joint project with CIC-3 on an active recommendation project. We are also exploring a new linking mechanism - called "open system linking" in collaboration with the University of Ghent.
The LWW web page has more detailed information. If you would like a presentation on what the LWW products can do for your division, group, or project, please call Frances Knudson (667-9233).
Frances Knudson
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| European Patent Office offers free patent information on the web |
European Patent Office offers free patent information on the web. Here is your online gateway to non-U.S. patents.
Searches are based on the bibliographic data in patent documents, using an easy-to-operate search interface. Use the form to specify the terms that you want to use in your search, and the fields in which these terms should be searched (such as inventor, title, IPC classification, etc.). Some full text images of the documents are available as PDF files.
The European Patent Office has broken up the database into the following files:
Lou Pray
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| Try some meta-search engines! |
Meta-search engines transmit your search simultaneously to many search engines and their databases of web pages. Within a few seconds, you get back a compilation of results containing matching sites from all of the search engines queried. These meta-search engines act as intelligent middle-agents to pass your search through, gather responses from many individual search tools and then provide you with a more unified report of results from many different resources. They search most of the popular search engines, they are very fast--and usually allow you to set the length of time you are willing to wait and often allow you to personalize some aspects of the format. Results are compiled in different ways and you can often specify how you would like them sorted.
WARNING: Using meta-search engines does NOT eliminate the need to learn how to search skillfully at least a few general web searching tools--the better you know how they work, the better you can judge the results from the meta-searches sent to them.
Also, some of the meta-search engines have distracting ads and zany design that can be entertaining or irritating. Here are several you might try to get a feel for how meta-search engines operate and whether they can be helpful in your research:
| Cyber411 | www.internets.com |
| Debriefing | ProFusion |
| Highway 61 | Verio Metasearch |
Donna Berg
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| Comprehensive Natural Products Chemistry added to Reference Collection |
This nine volume work for the first time collects all aspects of the rapidly growing chemistry of natural products. The set was conceived as a source for the underlying general principles governing modern natural products chemistry. Priority was given to the chemistry rather than the biological activity of natural products. The aim of this major work is to provide a first point of entry to the literature for scientists of all disciplines, but particularly for organic chemists. Volumes cover polyketides, isoprenoids, carbohydrates, amino-oacids, enzymes, prebiotic chemistry, DNA and miscellaneous products. Reviewers have praised the quality, scope and expertise of this set. It is in the Research Library Reference Collection, shelved under REF QD 415 .C63 1999.
Donna Berg
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| New electronic journals |
The following new electronic journals have been added to the library collection:
ACM transactions on information
and system security
The American journal of pathology
British medical journal
JAMA : the journal of the
American Medical Association
Journal of artificial societies and
social simulation
Journal of fluids
engineering
Journal of Geology
Microelectronics and reliability
Natural sciences of hazards
New
astronomy
New journal of physics
Quarterly journal of mechanics and applied
mathematics
PhysChemComm
RAIRO, Mathematical modelling and
numerical analysis
Science of tsunami hazards
Trends in analytical chemistry
Carol Hoover
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| High performance computing information via HPCwire |
Los Alamos National Laboratory is reviewing our group subscription to HPCwire. HPCwire is the worldwide journal of record for all aspects of the (H)igh (P)erformance (C)omputing industry. Devoted primarily to ongoing developments across the entire spectrum of computationally-intensive hardware, software, and integrated systems technology, HPCwire also covers related business, corporate, economic and governmental news in a timely and easily-accessible text-on-demand format. Authoritative commentary and analysis by HPC insiders and professionals are also included regularly to insure maximum value for readers, no matter how complex the issues. HPCwire is a weekly electronic publication with over 30,000 readers. HPCwire has delivered over 1.4 million news stories world wide.
A sample issue of HPCwire is available at http://www.tgc.com/freehpc/sample.html
The annual Group discount program rate is based on the number of subscribers.
If you would be interested in participating in a HPCwire subscription, contact Frances Knudson, fknudson@lanl.gov, 667-9233.
Frances Knudson
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| Research Library featured in Online magazine |
The Research Library is in the news again.The March 1999 issue of ONLINE magazine features the Research Library as part of their series on cutting edge libraries whose technological advances puts them on the leading forefront of information innovations. The article can be read at http://www.onlineinc.com/articles/onlinemag/pack993.html .
Lou Pray
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| Expanding to better serve you |
As many of you may have already noticed we are undergoing some change at the Research Library. The goal of this project is to create growth space for our book collection to better serve your research needs as well as to enlarge/improve customer areas to enhance your experience when you visit the library. In March we began by removing an interior room to make room for new book shelves that are due to arrive in early May. At that time there will be a lot of book and shelf shifting, this will go on through out the summer. Please be patient with us during this time and if you have difficulty finding or accessing materials please contact a member of our staff for assistance.
Vicky Musgrave
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| Research Library April Training Schedule |
| Date | Session & Description | Time |
| 4/6 | Grants & Funding on the WWW | 1:00-1:30 |
| 4/14 | Research Library Tour | 1:00-1:30 |
| 4/14 | Introduction to Electronic Library Resources | 1:30-2:00 |
| 4/15 | InfoSurfing: Basic Web Searching Strategies | 2:00-4:00 |
| 4/28 | Research Library Tour | 1:00-1:30 |
| 4/28 | Introduction to Electronic Library Resources | 1:30-2:00 |
Classes are free. Pre-registration is appreciated. Register by email to library@lanl.gov or by calling the Library Service Desk at 7-5809. Please include your name, Z#, and the date and title of the session in your message.
Special classes and orientations can also be arranged; call 7-5809 for more information.
Susan Heckethorn
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National Library Week: April 11-17, 1999
Need a reminder?
Newsletter Editorial Team: Donna Berg, Helen Boorman, Jack Carter, Lou Pray, and Kathy Varjabedian.
The name and e-mail address of the Library member who contributed an article appears at the end of the article. If you have comments or further questions, please contact that person. If you have general questions or comments about the Newsletter itself, please contact the Newsletter Editor, Kathy Varjabedian.
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