Yale and Elsevier Plan for Digital Archive
The Yale University Library and Elsevier Science have announced a year-long planning process for creating a digital archive for the 1,100 journals published electronically by Elsevier Science. According to the announcement, the project expects to realize a model archive within 2 years.

Project planning will focus on the critical events that should prompt changes in the management of preservation, on the elements that a library needs in order to act as an archival agent, and on the agreements needed to enable such changes. Various formats for encoding digital content will be studied to determine which are likely to remain relatively stable over time and to be good anchors for preservation. Planners will establish an infrastructure for processing digital objects selected for the archive. The Yale Library hopes that in time it might be able to offer model archival services to publishers other than Elsevier.

Source: Yale University, New Haven, CT, 203/432-1345; http://www.yale.edu.
 

Luna Imaging and LizardTech Partner to Create High-Quality Digital Imaging Solutions
Luna Imaging, Inc. has announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement for its digital imaging services and Insight software with LizardTech, Inc., a developer of leading imaging software, for the management of large, high-quality image collections online.

Luna's Insight provides customers with a turnkey solution for accessing high-quality image collections online with tools for searching, viewing, comparing, presenting, and organizing related images and data. LizardTech's MrSID Photo eliminates the need for multiple image files for different purposes by encoding a digital photograph into a single-source image of reduced file size that maintains the quality and integrity of the original. By reducing the size of large image files, MrSID also optimizes bandwidth so that files can be sent quickly and offers users instant Internet access to images.

Source: Luna Imaging, Inc., Venice, CA, 800/452-5862; http://www.luna-imaging.com.
 

Automation News

SIRS Adds Features to Mandarin M3 System
SIRS Mandarin, Inc. has announced that it has enhanced its Mandarin M3 Library Automation System with a variety of new features, updates, and reports.

A new Session Save feature allows librarians to save an inventory session for future retrieval in the M3 Inventory module. M3 Inventory also empowers librarians with new reporting capabilities, including a statistical list and an option that enables users to track items that are shelved without being returned. An enhanced Barcode Label Printing Utility and improved printing capabilities have also been added to Mandarin M3. New reports perform tasks like sorting equipment items by building location and listing items scanned in circulation on a selected day by call number. All new reports are placed on the company's Web site and can be downloaded by Mandarin customers.

Source: SIRS Mandarin, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 800/232-7477, 561/994-0079; http://www.sirs.com.
 

Sagebrush Offers New Pricing for Systems
Sagebrush Corp. has announced new pricing packages for its Athena and Winnebago Spectrum library management systems. According to the announcement, the new pricing and packages more clearly differentiate the two programs' benefits for users. Media centers that need an all-in-one solution, for example, will find the new Spectrum Suite best suited to their needs, while media centers that need a fully featured system that can grow easily and flexibly will find Athena appropriate.

The Winnebago Spectrum Suite is priced at $4,995. Many pricing packages are available for libraries upgrading from other automation systems. Athena starts at $2,495, and add-on products are priced from $195 to $995.

Source: Sagebrush Corp., Minneapolis, 800/328-2923, 952/656-2999; http://www.sagebrushcorp.com.
 

epixtech's Automation Systems Use WebFeat
epixtech, Inc. and WebFeat, a company that helps its clients search databases, have announced that they have joined forces to integrate WebFeat's database search capabilities and epixtech's library automation systems. The WebFeat technology will be added to epixtech's Dynix and Horizon Sunrise products.

According to epixtech, the WebFeat technology will provide a service called Single Search, which will allow patrons to access their library and locate information in several different data sources--articles, books, the Internet, and others--all in a single search.

Source: epixtech, Inc., Provo, UT, 800/288-8020; http://www.epixtech.com.
 

Keystone Integrates Its Automation System with Warehouse Materials Management
Keystone Systems, Inc. has announced that it has successfully integrated its Keystone Library Automation System (KLAS) software with a state-of-the-art computer-controlled warehouse storage-and-retrieval system manufactured by Diamond Phoenix. According to the announcement, the KLAS Carousel Storage interface allows quick, easy, and accurate pulling of materials for patrons, and it also speeds their return to storage when items are checked in.

The first library to implement this interface was the New Mexico Talking Book Library in Santa Fe. Keystone reports that the library, which currently manages 44,000 titles and 285,000 copies of books on recorded cassettes, chose to use the carousel system to reduce storage-space requirements in its new facility. With the new KLAS interface, the library estimates that picking and check-out operations have seen a 60-percent improvement in efficiency, and that check-in and re-shelving time has been improved by 65 percent.

Source: Keystone Systems, Inc., Raleigh, NC, 800/222-9711; http://www.klas.com.
 

Content Agreements

Gale Acquires Rights to More Periodicals
The Gale Group has announced that it has acquired the online rights to several major magazine and newspaper publishing groups.

Among the agreements struck were those with University of Chicago Press, which will expand the publishers' relationship to include 48 percent more periodicals, and Business News Publishing, a major niche industry publisher. According to the announcement, the agreements are part of Gale's strategy to expand periodical content in its InfoTrac and Resource Center products. In related news, Gale reports that it has renewed The Economist in a multiyear contract for full-text online rights.

In a separate news announcement, Gale said it has boosted the periodical content of its General Reference Center Gold by 45 percent. The database now includes the full text of more than 1,600 magazines and journals, including The Washington Post. Full text of The Post dates to 1996, with indexing back to 1982.

Source: Gale Group, Farmington Hills, MI, 248/699-4253; http://www.galegroup.com.
 

ISI Reaction Citation Index on ChemWeb.com
ChemWeb, Inc. has announced that the ISI Reaction Citation Index is now live on ChemWeb.com. The ISI Reaction Citation Index combines searchable structures and reaction data from Current Chemical Reactions with bibliographic data and author abstracts from the Science Citation Index. It covers data from newly registered world patents and leading international organic chemistry journals from 1980 to the present, providing access to more than 500,000 reactions and over 2 million references.

The Reaction Citation Index provides complete reaction information, including concise descriptions of the latest syntheses, detailed experimental conditions, full reaction flows, product yields, and key step indicators. It also offers cited reference searching. The database is updated quarterly, with approximately 100,000 references added annually.

Source: ChemWeb, Inc., London, 011-44-20-7611-4418; http://www.chemweb.com.
 

Infotrieve Signs New E-Content Agreements
Infotrieve has announced partnerships with Harvard Business School Publishing and the University of Chicago Press to offer their journals within its e-Content collection.

Harvard Business School Publishing will add business writings to the e-Content collection, while University of Chicago Press will contribute digital content from the physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

Infotrieve's e-Content collection is a growing body of peer-reviewed journals and periodicals available in digital format. They are accessible to Infotrieve customers through free searches and can be obtained on a pay-per-article basis.

Source: Infotrieve, Los Angeles, 800/422-4633, 310/208-1903; http://www.infotrieve.com.
 

Full BIOSIS Previews to Be Available on SilverPlatter and the ISI Web of Science
BIOSIS has announced that the full BIOSIS Previews database file, dating back to 1969, will soon be available via SilverPlatter and the ISI Web of Science. Both platforms currently offer searching across only a portion of the database.

According to the announcement, the Web of Science and SilverPlatter interfaces allow for streamlined searching and include features such as full-text linking, cross-database searching, and controlled and free-text searching.

Indexed by degreed biologists, BIOSIS Previews is an electronic database that contains references to primary journal literature from nearly 5,500 journals on current biological and medical research findings. Nearly 550,000 items are added annually, covering 350,000 journal references and 160,000 references from 1,500 important worldwide meetings and symposia.

Source: BIOSIS, Philadelphia, 800/523-4806, 215/587-4800; http://www.biosis.org.
 

Enhanced Databases

Facts On File Updates Online Encyclopedia
Facts On File has announced that it had updated African-American History & Culture: An On-line Encyclopedia (ISBN: 0-8160-4190-3), which was culled from a myriad of print resources and explores all aspects of the African-American experience.

New features include 225 new biographies, including H. Rap Brown, Marvin Gaye, and Bobby Seale; 25 new historical documents such as an excerpt from Walker's Appeal, Thomas Jefferson's rejected slavery clause from the Declaration of Independence, and The Confederate Conscription Act; 30 new photographs of contemporary African-Americans, including Marion Jones, Alan Keyes, and Ice-T; an updated interface with new search screens and a new record format, plus a How to Cite This Resource Page; quotes by Maya Angelou, Arthur Ashe, Jesse Owens, and Charlie Parker; two new timelines; new maps from the Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage; and a bibliography section.

Source: Facts On File, Inc., New York, 800/322-8755; http://www.factsonfile.com.
 

American County History Databases Produced
Accessible Archives, Inc., a publisher of full-text searchable historical databases, has announced plans to publish "American County Histories to 1900." According to the company, Part I will be available online this September, and will contain over 10,000 pages of text and plates, from all 21 counties in the state of New Jersey.

Most of these large volumes were published by Everts & Peck between 1870 and 1900. They are encyclopedic in scope and cover local history, weather, geology, lists of all local participants in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, family history, schools and teachers, noted celebrations, health and vital statistics, public officials and legislators, roads and bridges, etc. Users may search the full text, or they can read page by page in the original format. The table of contents is hyperlinked to each chapter as well as to each individual illustration.

Source: Accessible Archives, Inc., Malvern, PA, 610/296-7441; http://www.accessible.com.
 

ProQuest Offers a New Medical Database
Bell & Howell Information and Learning has unveiled its latest medical journal database. The Web-delivered database features abstracting and indexing for some 4,300 medical journals from the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database, as well as full text/full page image for more than 200 key medical journals. Coverage extends from 1966 to the present (full-text coverage dates from 1992).

The new database employs MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing so that users can find information quickly and easily from more than 11 million articles. According to the announcement, researchers will be able to navigate the database easily by using its drop-down menus, a browsable MeSH thesaurus with topic trees, and a saved-search capability.

Source: Bell & Howell Information and Learning, Ann Arbor, MI, 800/521-0600, 734/761-4700; http://www.bellhowell.infolearning.com.
 

ScienceDirect Introduces Subject Collections
Elsevier Science has announced its ScienceDirect Subject Collections program, which enables libraries to subscribe at a preferential rate to packages of journal titles clustered around specific subject disciplines. Well-suited for specialist libraries and faculty, or for larger libraries supporting institutes with particular interests, librarians can choose from among 21 different ScienceDirect Subject Collections.

In conjunction with the Subject Collections program, users now have the option to select Subject Views, subject-specific home pages based on their personal interests. Each Subject View presents all of the titles on the ScienceDirect platform relevant to a specific scientific field, as well as other information of interest. Subject Views are not tied to the purchase of a Subject Collection; they are available as an enhancement to all current ScienceDirect subscriptions.

Source: Elsevier Science, New York, 212/633-3680; http://www.elsevier.com.
 

SIRS Enhances Databases with New Features
SIRS Mandarin, Inc. has announced that it has added easy-to-print world maps in Adobe PDF format and a Subject Headings Search on the SIRS NetSelect database.

PDF versions of nearly 300 detailed, colorful maps are now available from the SIRS Researcher and SIRS Discoverer general reference online databases. Appropriate for term papers and research projects as well as for personal use, maps can be downloaded in PDF format for improved printing by selecting a link next to the desired map.

In addition, SIRS has added a Subject Headings Search to its offering of search methods in SIRS NetSelect, a database of some of the Internet's best reference sources. Now users may search for information by subject heading individually or simultaneously in SIRS NetSelect Web sites and SIRS full-text databases. Subject headings are returned with graphical icons that indicate whether the subject includes sites, articles, or both.

Source: SIRS Mandarin, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 800/232-7477, 561/994-0079; http://www.sirs.com.
 

Systems Utilities

Inmagic Releases Version 5.0 of DB/TextWorks
Inmagic, Inc. has announced the release of version 5.0 of its DB/TextWorks product, which includes the Web publishing components DB/Text WebPublisher and WebPublisher Lite. Version 5.0 now features relevance ranking as well as other enhancements.

While performing database maintenance activities such as checking a database for errors, users now have the ability to simultaneously rebuild indexes using version 5.0. The product's e-mail capabilities have also been expanded. Reports sent via e-mail can now include attachments. In addition, user-defined scripts can send e-mail without requiring parameters to be supplied by the user. Enhanced display features allow users to review detailed and summary information at the same time. Expanded record displays can now appear in separate browser windows, giving users the ability to manipulate information more easily.

Source: Inmagic, Inc., Woburn, MA, 800/229-8398; http://www.inmagic.com.
 

Webroot Introduces Window Washer 3.5
Webroot Software, Inc. has announced version 3.5 of Window Washer, a software utility program that enhances privacy and system performance. 

Window Washer both protects users' privacy and restores hard drive space by "washing away" traces of Internet and computer activity. For system files, Window Washer cleans the Recycle Bin, recently opened documents, MS Office 2000 tracks, and the Windows temporary files folder. For browsers, Window Washer cleans the cache, cookies, history, drop-down address bar, and auto-complete data forms. The utility can be configured to run automatically in the background and wash users' tracks at start-up, shutdown, or at scheduled intervals.

New features in Window Washer 3.5 include a new graphical interface, support for the latest versions of browsers, support for more plug-ins, and simplified cookie management. To download a free trial version, visit the company's Web site. The product costs $29.95.

Source: Webroot Software, Inc., Boulder, CO, 800/772-9383, 303/442-3813; http://www.webroot.com.
 

HTML Validator Free for K-12, College Libs
AI Internet Solutions has announced that it is offering free CSE HTML Validator Professional licenses for educational institutions, including K-12 and college libraries.

CSE HTML Validator identifies HTML syntax errors, bad links, and misspellings in HTML and XHTML documents. These errors disrupt visitors' experiences and may drive them away to other sites. Institutions will receive free licenses of CSE HTML Validator Professional to install on all site computers as well as information about how to purchase personal licenses at a discount. Contact support@htmlvalidator.com for details.

Source: AI Internet Solutions, Hurst, TX, 520/569-2796; http://www.htmlvalidator.com.
 

Firewall Servers Offers Enigma 2.0 Package
Firewall Servers has announced its Enigma 2.0 Firewall Appliance, an application proxy-based gateway firewall that provides enterprise security for Internet, intranet, and extranet traffic. 

According to the announcement, the security features and administration tools of the Enigma Firewall Appliance make up a streamlined appliance that does not require a large in-house technical staff to maintain. Enigma provides secure Internet access for e-mail, Web browsing, multimedia, and other applications. All communications passing through the firewall are logged, providing a detailed audit trail of all activities. Enigma 2.0 features include GUI interface, 800-MHz Intel PIII processor, 256 MB standard memory, modified T.Rex 2.0 Network Security Suite, and Red Hat Linux 7.0 as the operating system.

Source: Firewall Servers, Houston, 800/995-6664, 713/464-2990; http://www.firewall-servers.com.
 

Improving IT Skills

Link to CompInfo's Tech Support Guide
The Computer Information Center (CompInfo) has announced that it is offering a free, brief guide called "Help Yourself to Better Technical Support." This gives users tips and answers to basic questions, so that they can try to solve a problem themselves before asking the help desk. It covers many of the day-to-day problems that users come across, as well as offers guidance and actions to take when things really go wrong.

The guide is available for free download at http://www.compinfo-center.com/suppdown.htm, or you can view it online and link to it from your Web site. The company says that all are welcome to download it and freely distribute it to colleagues as long as you do not charge for it. Also, if you download it, alterations can only be made with permission.

Source: The Computer Information Center, Sutton, U.K., 011-44-208-642-3099; http://www.compinfo-center.com.
 

U-M to Offer Digital Tool Kit Workshops
The University of Michigan (U-M) School of Information has announced that it will be offering Digital Tool Kit courses--2 1/2-day workshops throughout the months of May, June, and July--to help you acquire new IT skills.

Topics include information architecture, usability methods in Web site design, HTML and XML, databases and the Web, and Perl and CGI programming. Practitioners and U-M faculty teach the workshops. The courses may be taken to earn continuing education units or simply for enrichment. Participants may also earn certification as a "Professional Web Site Developer" or a "Complex Web Site Developer" by choosing from predefined groups of courses.

Each course is $495, or $395 for individuals from academic or nonprofit institutions. For further information, call 734/647-7650 or visit the Web page at http://si.umich.edu/dtk.

Source: University of Michigan School of Information, Ann Arbor, MI, 734/763-2285; http://si.umich.edu.
 

Multimedia Trends

Antarcti.ca Unveils Visual Mapping System
In the exhibit hall of the Computers in Libraries conference, Antarcti.ca Systems, Inc. unveiled its Visual Net for Libraries product. This is an interface that the company customizes for each library customer. Using metadata, it organizes a library's holdings into "neighborhoods of information with graphical metaphors." In other words, it creates visual maps. So, rather than a library catalog being totally text-based, users can look at a labeled picture or chart and click on the categories they want to explore further. Clicking on the visual icons leads into the library's usual information. 

Visual Net software creates large-scale data maps that combine superior navigation capabilities with information-rich visuals, according to Antarcti.ca. The company, which is led by Tim Bray, co-inventor of XML, has a Web site that showcases the product's mapping capabilities. At http://map.net, the company says you can see a visual 3-D map of the entire World Wide Web.

With this product, separate libraries can be combined into one database that is both geographically and categorically defined, according to Antarcti.ca. Researchers can see whether a book is located at a local branch, or whether it's available through interlibrary loan. The software is scalable, and can be easily updated to reflect changes in a library's resources. Costs vary depending on the amount and complexity of the data being mapped.

Source: Antarcti.ca Systems, Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada, 360/668-5929; http://antarcti.ca.
 

bigchalk.com Provides 3-D Animated Tools
bigchalk.com has announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Working Stock, a source of nontraditional visual stock content. Under this agreement, bigchalk will provide access to more than 3,000 Working Stock 3-D animations through bigchalk Library, the company's new research service.

These animations, which will be updated daily and are available immediately, can help students better understand how a device or process works and help them to visualize complex concepts.

Working Stock's animations cover a full range of topics including health, space exploration, history, technology, weather, environment, nature, transportation, and earth sciences. For example, an animation on Doppler radar demonstrates how radio waves are used to gather information about storms. Each animation includes on-screen text and voice-over narration.

Source: bigchalk.com, Ann Arbor, MI, 800/521-0600; http://www.bigchalk.com.
 

Tools for Academics

ISI Launches ISIHighlyCited.com Web Site
ISI has announced the premiere of ISIHighlyCited.com, a free, expert gateway to the world's most cited and influential scientific authors. According to the announcement, visitors to this Web-based resource will gain insight into the body of work that a particular researcher has developed over time, and will be able to discern how science evolves and expands.

ISIHighlyCited.com will bring together the publication and achievement records of pre-eminent researchers in 21 broad categories in life sciences, medicine, physical sciences, engineering, and social sciences. Researchers are selected for inclusion based on the total number of citations received by their articles within a given category as recorded in the ISI Citation Database 1981­1999. ISI says it will regularly expand the list of highly cited researchers as new fields and leaders emerge.

Source: ISI, Philadelphia, 800/336-4474, 215/386-0100; http://www.isinet.com.
 

EndNote 4.0 Available for Students to Rent
ISI ResearchSoft and e-academy, Inc. have announced that EndNote 4.0, a bibliographic management software product, is now available as part of e-academy's digital distribution system. This system enables students and faculty to rent this application for 6 months or a year rather than paying the full retail price for a perpetual license.

A full version of EndNote normally retails for $329.95. Through the new e-academy rental program, students will be able to use the full version for 6 months at $29.95 or for 1 year at $49.95. The program covers all higher education institutions across North America. Students may download the software directly from the e-academy Web site (http://www.e-academy.com), and an EndNote PDF manual is included with each purchase.

Source: ISI ResearchSoft, Berkeley, CA, 510/559-8592; http://www.isiresearchsoft.com.
 

Corporate Products

Swets Blackwell and IBM Develop Products
Swets Blackwell and IBM have announced an agreement to develop and build a portfolio of Web-based information management products and services that will help corporate clients and end-users manage their subscriptions online.

Implementation will take place in two phases. In the first release, Swets Blackwell's online catalog will be made available to corporate clients, enabling them to place orders by linking out from their existing electronic procurement systems. The second release will have full subscription-management functionalities and will be available to clients without electronic procurement systems. Through features such as online ordering, canceling, and claiming, as well as order approval functions, Swets Blackwell clients will have full control at each step of the procurement process.

Source: Swets Blackwell, Lisse, Netherlands, 011-31-252-435-584; http://www.swetsblackwell.com.
 

Lexis-Nexis Offers Semio Tagger for Its Portal
The Lexis-Nexis Group has announced an alliance with Semio Corp., a provider of content-categorization software, to present its customers with the opportunity to utilize Semio Tagger, a taxonomy system, as an optional add-on component to the Lexis-Nexis Portal.

Semio Tagger organizes large amounts of unstructured information within a hierarchy of categories and subcategories. This format allows users to gain access to specific information online regardless of the amount of data being searched. The software offers customers a custom-built taxonomy for their particular business needs and complements the legal-specific Lexis-Nexis Search Advisor taxonomy.

Source: Lexis-Nexis Group, Dayton, OH, 800/227-9597; http://www.lexis-nexis.com.
 

New Books

ITI Publishes Web-Accessible Database Guide

Information Today, Inc. has announced the publication of Creating Web-Accessible Databases: Case Studies for Libraries, Museums, and Other Nonprofits, edited by Julie M. Still (ISBN: 1-57387-104-4, $39.50).

Transforming a database and myriad related files into a searchable, usable Web resource requires trained personnel, the right computer hardware and software, and a well-defined strategy. This new book explores the many and unique challenges that nonprofit archival institutions face in leveraging the Internet, and presents a dozen case studies that showcase a variety of successful projects and approaches.

Source: Information Today, Inc., Medford, NJ, 609/654-6266; https://www.infotoday.com.
 

ALA Offers Guide on Teaching the Internet
ALA Editions has announced Teaching the Internet in Libraries, by Rachel Singer Gordon (ISBN: 0-8389-0799-7; $38, $34.20 for ALA members). According to the announcement, this practical guide offers a step-by-step plan for creating a formal training program geared toward the needs of your library and its users.

From focused, half-hour tutorials to full-day workshops, you'll learn how to teach users the basics so that they can independently navigate the Web and take advantage of the variety of databases and electronic catalogs that the modern library has to offer. The book includes screen captures and ready-to-use instruction, and it is flexible enough to adapt to libraries of all types and sizes. The author helps you to convince administrators that Internet training is essential, to fulfill the needs of a diverse audience by tailoring training to specific populations (beginners, the elderly, ESL) and interests (job searches, genealogy, e-mail), to solicit feedback, and to pass on what you learn to your staff.

Source: ALA Editions, American Library Association, Chicago, 800/545-2433; http://www.ala.org/editions.
 

New Book from Neal-Schuman Helps You Perform Needs Assessments Yourself
Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. offers its new book, Identifying and Analyzing User Needs: A Complete Handbook and Ready-To-Use Assessment Workbook with Disk, by Lynn Westbrook (ISBN: 1-55570-388-7, $75). Since most libraries don't carry out information needs assessments unless they can afford a consultant, this handbook includes the essential theories, tools, and techniques that library managers need to create a structured, planned, and well-executed assessment of user needs.

The author covers each phase of the process: planning, research methods, data gathering, analysis, and action. A workbook template on the companion disk allows you to create a customized plan that incorporates the input of staff, trustees, Friends, directors, and volunteers. It includes examples of successful recent studies from public, school, and academic libraries.

Source: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., New York, 212/925-8650; http://www.neal-schuman.com.