Colombia Library Wins 2002 Access Award
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has presented BibloRed (Capital Network of Public Libraries) of Bogotá, Colombia, with the 2002 Access to Learning Award for its efforts to expand access to information, computers, and the Internet for all people. BibloRed also received a $1 million grant to further expand the work it is undertaking to provide access to information technology for the public.

BibloRed (http://www.biblored.org) is an integrated network of public libraries that offers no-cost access to digital information to patrons in low-income areas who otherwise would have little access to such information. According to the announcement, in just 4 years BibloRed built three major libraries and upgraded 16 local libraries that now attract an average of 10,000 daily visitors in Bogotá—a city in which two-thirds of the population lives in low-income neighborhoods. The libraries are strategically located to serve at least 70 percent of the school-age population and 40 percent of the adult population—approximately 3.4 million people. In addition to providing free access to the Internet, BibloRed has developed training programs, including computer literacy classes for senior citizens and computer training for teachers, children, and adults.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award annually recognizes an outstanding library, library agency, or similar organization that provides patrons with no-cost public access to information in innovative and useful ways. Only entities outside the U.S. are eligible for consideration. The award is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources (http://www.clir.org).

Source: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, 206/709-3230; http://www.gatesfoundation.org.

ITI Acquires The CyberSkeptic's Guide
Information Today, Inc. (ITI) has announced the acquisition of The CyberSkeptic's Guide to Internet Research, a monthly newsletter formerly published by BiblioData, Inc. Beginning with the November 2002 issue, Sheri Lanza will assume the position of editor of The CyberSkeptic's Guide from Ruth Orenstein, president of BiblioData.

The CyberSkeptic's Guide to Internet Research is a monthly subscription print newsletter that explores and evaluates free Web sites and search strategies to help subscribers use the Internet to stay up-to-date on resources. Going into its eighth year of publication, The CyberSkeptic's Guide provides information and expresses strong opinions on the quality of Internet information sources. The newsletter is geared toward business, news, technical, medical, legal, and international research, as well as market research and competitive intelligence.

A subscription to The CyberSkeptic's Guide to Internet Research (10 issues per year/ISSN: 1085-2417) is available for $159 inside the U.S., $169 in Canada and Mexico, and $189 outside North America; subscription prices for nonprofit organizations are also available.

Source: Information Today, Inc., Medford, NJ, 800/300-9868, 609/654-6266; https://www.infotoday.com.

LITA Hi Tech Award Nominations Sought
The Library & Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of ALA, has announced that it is seeking nominations for the 2003 LITA/Library Hi Tech Award, which is given each year to an individual or institution for outstanding achievement in communication for continuing education in library and information technology. The award may recognize a single seminal work or a body of work, created during or continuing into the 5 years immediately preceding the award year. Sponsored by LITA and the MCB University Press publication Library Hi Tech, the award includes a citation of merit and a $1,000 stipend.

Nominations must include the name(s) of the recipient(s), basis for nomination, and references to the body of work. They should be sent to Margaret E. Craft, LITA/Library Hi Tech Award Committee Chair, 59 E. Center St., Shavertown, PA, 18708-1508. The deadline for nominations is December 31, 2002. More information is available at http://www.lita.org/a&s/awards.htm.

Source: The Library & Information Technology Association, Chicago, 312/280-4270; http://www.lita.org.

 

Special Pricing Offers

APA Offers Year-End Price Reduction on PsycARTICLES for New Customers
The American Psychological Association (APA) has announced an opportunity, available until December 1, 2002, for new or existing PsycINFO customers to license the PsycARTICLES database of full-text APA journals with a 20-percent reduction on the APA data fee. An option is also available for libraries to sign a 3-year license that would limit increases (if any) on the reduced data fee to no more than 4 percent annually in the second and third years.

PsycARTICLES provides access to nearly 30,000 articles from 43 (soon to be 50) psychological journals published by APA, the Canadian Psychological Association, and Hogrefe & Huber.

For single-site licenses, the 20-percent reduction will be applied directly to the APA data fee. For consortium members, the 20-percent reduction will be applied to the data fee before the standard group discount is taken. Charges for access to the database on vendor systems are additional and vary with the vendor. PsycARTICLES is currently available on EBSCO, OCLC, Ovid, SilverPlatter, and APA PsycNET.

Source: American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 800/374-2722, 202/336-5652; http://www.apa.org.

ATLA Provides Discounts for 113 Countries
Utilizing information produced by the World Bank for 2002, the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) has created a list of countries that are eligible for a 50-percent discount on all ATLA products. As a not-for-profit association of theological libraries and librarians, ATLA hopes that this action will make its print, CD-ROM, and online products affordable for theological seminaries and schools in these countries.

The list, available at ATLA's Web site, is based on two of the World Bank's categories of average per capita annual income. ATLA says it will revise the list each year based on the July report of the World Bank.

Source: American Theological Library Association, Chicago, 888/665-ATLA, 312/454-5100; http://www.atla.com.

 

New Resources

Idea Group Offers a Full-Text Database
Idea Group, Inc. has announced that its imprint, Information Science Publishing, has released a new online product called InfoSci-Online.com.

InfoSci-Online.com is a comprehensive database that consists of eDocuments—book chapters, journal articles, proceedings papers, and teaching cases—released under any of Idea Group's imprints (Idea Group Publishing, Information Science Publishing, and IRM Press).

Idea Group publications will be integrated into this database before the print versions of the same publications are available to the public. In addition to the early availability of publications, the database also provides cost savings for libraries that would otherwise have to purchase or subscribe to Idea Group publications in their print form.

Access to InfoSci-Online.com is licensed on an annual basis, and the subscription fee includes unlimited access to search and browse the abstracts and the full text within the database.

Source: Idea Group, Inc., Hershey, PA, 800/345-4332, 717/533-8845; http://www.idea-group.com.

Thomson Introduces Thomson Research
Thomson Financial, a unit of the Thomson Corp., has announced the formal introduction of Thomson Research, a streamlined Web application designed for research professionals and analysts in investment banks and law, accounting, and consulting firms.

According to the company, Thomson Research is a global one-stop source for company and industry research that provides access to more than 3.4 million research reports, with an average of 3,000 new reports added each business day. Powerful search capabilities and global screening allow users to simultaneously search across all content sets with a single ticker symbol or company search name.

Thomson Research combines the company's Research Bank Web and Global Access products. It provides access to the full Investext collection of brokerage analyst research reports, and the MarkIntel database of industry-specific market intelligence drawn from more than 630 investment banks, brokerage houses, and research firms, in addition to 150 market research firms. Thomson Research also offers access to Worldscope global financials and accounting results on more than 28,000 active public companies, as well as the new Thomson Extel Cards. According to the announcement, Thomson Research provides the largest repository of more than 2.6 million scanned and compressed text-searchable images, including color annual reports, prospectuses, and circulars.

Source: Thomson Financial, New York, 646/822-2000; http://www.thomsonfinancial.com.

ABC-CLIO Schools Completes Its New Social Studies Web Site, World History
ABC-CLIO Schools has announced that its standards-based Web site, World History, is now available. According to the announcement, the Web site is aligned with secondary schools' curriculums and covers those historic events that have shaped society from the 1500s to the present.

The World History Web site takes students beyond the textbook to explore events, people, and movements and helps them to develop historical research, analysis, and interpretation skills. The site is a reference-to-curriculum resource with a continually updated database and multiple learning paths to guide dynamic student inquiry. Some of the features include in-depth topic explorations; thousands of curriculum-relevant entries from citable sources; support of national and state standards; resources such as biographies, maps, primary source documents, statistics, audio clips, events, and timelines, all accessible by keyword searches; topical features and This Day in History; and an easy-to-use environment.

The World History subscription-based Web site is one of five ABC-CLIO Schools integrated online resources that are standards-based and curriculum-aligned. The cost to subscribe is $599 per site per year. World History is appropriate for grades 6­12.

Source: ABC-CLIO Schools, Santa Barbara, CA, 800/368-6868, 805/968-1911; http://www.abc-clio.com/schools.

Oxford Produces World English Suite on CD
Oxford University Press (OUP) has announced The Oxford World English Dictionary Shelf on CD-ROM ($99.95; December 2002), which offers users instantaneous access to the four flagship English dictionaries published by OUP—British, American, Canadian, and Australian. This resource will be important for many users, as English is a global language, but its usage and spelling can differ greatly from one continent to another.

This suite of dictionaries allows users to compare same-word definitions and usage across the four main English-speaking cultures, providing insight into the way different variations of English have developed according to their environments and cultures. Users will also be able to trace the meanings of words to a particular country, region, or ethnic group and trace the origin of a word or sense of a word to its natural roots. The reference features the iFinger Pop-up technology for Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer. Once the suite is installed, a user can simply point his cursor over a word in any document, either on- or off-line, and the results from The Oxford World English Dictionary Shelf appear instantly in a pop-up box.

Source: Oxford University Press, New York, 212/726-6057; http://www.oup-usa.org.

ProQuest Completes Acta Sanctorum Database, Adds to ABI/INFORM Database
ProQuest Information and Learning has announced that it has completed the publication of the Acta Sanctorum resource in electronic format. The Acta Sanctorum Database, a Chadwyck-Healey publication, offers scholars opportunities to further their research in early European social history and the development of Christianity, from the foundation of the Church to the Reformation.

The electronic resource, available on the Web and on CD-ROM, comprises a collection of texts published over a period of 300 years by the Société des Bollandistes. It contains the complete texts of 68 printed volumes, dating from 1643 to 1940.

In a separate announcement, ProQuest introduced a major enhancement to its ABI/INFORM database. Effective immediately, all subscribers to ABI/INFORM databases will receive access to the ABI/INFORM Archive database—a file containing historical backfile content for 25 business periodicals, with more titles to be loaded later this year. Customers of ABI/INFORM with full-page images will receive page images of the backfile content.

Also regarding the ABI/INFORM database, John Wiley & Sons and ProQuest Information and Learning announced a limited exclusive agreement to allow ProQuest to distribute the journal content from Wiley's BoldIdeas Collection of business journals as part of its ABI/INFORM business database to educational institutions, libraries, and other markets.

Both indexing and full text for the titles will appear in ABI/INFORM Global and ProQuest 5000. Titles include Thunderbird International Business Review and Strategic Management. ProQuest will load 3 years of content for all titles to be accessible in the current file. In addition, backfiles for 11 titles will be included in ABI/INFORM Archive.

Source: ProQuest Information and Learning, Ann Arbor, MI, 800/521-0600, 734/761-4700; http://www.il.proquest.com.

Dialog Launches the NewsEdge Service, Re-Enters the Document Delivery Market
The Dialog Corporation has announced the launch of Dialog NewsEdge, an industry-specific, personalized, current awareness and news alerting service for corporations. Dialog NewsEdge combines up-to-the-minute news, analysis, and research from thousands of global sources with customized editorial relevance ranking, managed by editors specializing in their industry sectors.

Dialog NewsEdge may be customized first by the subscribing organization and then by individual users and departments that utilize the service. Other features of Dialog NewsEdge include access to real-time news, direct database research, options for knowledge sharing with selected colleagues, automated relevance ranking, and easy setup and management. Subscription prices are determined by the number of individuals within an organization authorized to use the service.

In other news from Dialog, the company has announced its re-entry into the document delivery market.

According to the announcement, its SourceOne document ordering service has been expanded to include more than 10,000 scholarly and professional journals and other sources. Other available documents include legal materials, government reports, standards and specifications published by professional organizations, and reports from the United Nations.

The document delivery service offers an article or report in its full form, either in high-quality electronic format or as a photocopy, including charts and graphs that appear in the original printed document. Dialog SourceOne users who opt for electronic delivery may receive their documents in Adobe PDF where available. Once a document is retrieved from a content source, SourceOne generates a link, sent to the document buyer via e-mail, which when activated opens the retrieved document in full-text PDF. New price plans have been added that allow customers to purchase patent documents on a subscription basis. Per-document delivery charges, including appropriate copyright fees, apply for all materials ordered through Dialog's document delivery service.

Source: The Dialog Corporation, Cary, NC, 800/3DIALOG, 919/462-8600; http://www.dialog.com.

Thomson Creates ReferenceLink Service
The Thomson Corp., through its Gale and Dialog subsidiaries, has introduced ReferenceLink, an online information gateway designed for public and educational libraries.

ReferenceLink enables library patrons and students to search thousands of news sources and databases simultaneously through a single, friendly interface without having to jump between individual Web sites or access multiple online information services. The product, according to the company, is the first in a line of planned online products and services for academic and public libraries.

ReferenceLink is a multidisciplinary database containing medical, reference, health, science, technical, and regulatory sources, including The New England Journal of Medicine, Consumer Reports, MEDLINE, and GeoRef. News coverage comprises nearly 50 databases with more than 1,500 newspaper and journal titles pulled from the Dialog NewsRoom service, including The Boston Globe, USA TODAY, and Global Reporter.

Libraries may subscribe to only the newspaper database, which provides access to the news content, or in combination with ReferenceLink to get the broader content set. ReferenceLink, a replacement service for former customers of Dialog@CARL, is available immediately as an annual subscription.

Source: The Thomson Corp., Stamford, CT, 203/969-8700; http://www.thomson.com.

Surpass Software Offers MARC Junction
Surpass Software has announced that an extensive collection of Web sites in MARC format is now available with a yearly subscription to MARC Junction. MARC Junction provides subscribers with thousands of curriculum-based, professionally cataloged Web sites in MARC format that can be imported directly into any OPAC.

MARC Junction expands a library's media collection to include Web sites reviewed by librarians, teachers, and subject area specialists; summaries of each Web site; and monthly updates to ensure that only active Web sites with current information are cataloged. With MARC Junction, search results show relevant Web sites in addition to matching materials in a library's collection. Records are searchable by general subject keyword, author, title, grade level, or curriculum area. The product uses the WEB FEET database of Web sites and groups them into three collections based on age appropriateness.

MARC Junction includes Library of Congress (LC) subject heading and LC and Dewey call numbers; provides authority control processing against LC name and subject files; and integrates fully into the library catalog with full descriptions of each site.

Annual subscription rates run from $375 for individual collections to $595 for all three collections. Monthly updates contain new listings as well as changes and deletions for others.

Source: Surpass Software, Calhoun, GA, 800/625-2657, 706/625-5399; http://www.surpasssoftware.com.

Plymouth Rocket Upgrades EventKeeper
Plymouth Rocket, Inc. has announced EventKeeper 3.0, which offers libraries the choice of public calendars, private calendars, private events on public calendars, and calendars for Spanish-speaking patrons.

EventKeeper can be used as the library's online calendar of events. EventKeeper calendars are customizable, simple to maintain, and attractive, the company reports. No downloading of software or learning of special codes is required; editors fill out simple forms from any standard browser, and the library's Web site is up-to-date.

EventKeeper 3.0 provides three ways to add privacy to the calendar. As part of the basic package, private notes, available only to EventKeeper editors, can be included with any event. The second alternative adds private events to a public calendar. These events can be viewed only by editors or users who are provided with a login ID and password. A completely private calendar, accessible only to authorized users, is the third option.

Also, a Spanish calendar framework is available with EventKeeper 3.0, and the company is currently expanding language support with other non-English calendar options. Other enhancements to version 3.0 are hit counters, event archiving, and more customization options.

The basic EventKeeper 3.0 package is $195 for 1 year. Private Events and Private Calendars are a $50 add-on to the subscription; Spanish is available for an additional $40 per year.

Source: Plymouth Rocket, Inc., Plymouth, MA, 508/746-4080; http://www.plymouthrocket.com.

Gale, netLibrary Launch eBook Program
Gale has announced that it is launching an eBook program. Through an alliance with netLibrary, Gale's classic reference works will be available in versions that library patrons can search and read via the Internet.

netLibrary will host Gale eBooks, which will be available to any institution with a netLibrary account. While an initial release of 30 to 50 Gale reference titles is expected this fall, the companies ultimately expect to make hundreds of works available as eBooks, according to the announcement. The initial selection of titles, coming from a variety of Gale's imprints, will include both single-volume works and multi-volume sets. Content will be identical to the print versions.

Full-text searches of netLibrary's eBooks can be conducted across hundreds of books or within a specific book to speed research and reference projects. The books can be viewed online from a library, office, home, or remote location using an Internet browser, or can be downloaded to a laptop. eBooks are available for varying checkout periods and are automatically checked back into the library collection when the checkout period expires.

Gale eBooks will be sold as individual units or in bundles with print titles.

Source: Gale Group, Farmington Hills, MI, 800/877-4253, 248/699-4253; http://www.gale.com.

Ex Libris' DigiTool Is in General Release
Ex Libris has announced that DigiTool, its digital asset management product, is now available in general release.

DigiTool is a full-function, digital asset management system designed for libraries and information centers that can be used as a stand-alone system or integrated with the ALEPH system or other ILS systems.

DigiTool features the ability to load digital objects, automatically extract technical metadata, create thumbnails, search full text, define and control digital rights, monitor and control usage, and support a variety of delivery mechanisms including streaming. It can be used with Ex Libris' automation solutions, as well as those of other vendors.

Source: Ex Libris, Chicago, 877/527-1689, 773/404-5527; http://www.exlibris-usa.com.

Zephyr Releases Web-to-Host Software
Zephyr Corp. has announced the release of PASSPORT 2002 Web-to-Host software, which is deployed and managed from a standard Web server.

PASSPORT offers fast, reliable access to IBM mainframe, AS/400, and UNIX applications using the IP-standard TN3270E, TN5250E, VT220, and FTP protocols. PASSPORT Web-to-Host offers all of the advanced features found in the desktop-based product within the framework of a Web-based thin client.

General enhancements to the 2002 version include compatibility with Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6, code updates using the latest Microsoft programming tools including Visual C/C++ version 6.0, support of the latest Microsoft Windows DLLs, TN5250E host printing, VT emulation enhancements, color palette, and reversible clipboard display.

The company's new subscription licensing program starts at $22 per unit per year and includes both software and support in a single package.

Source: Zephyr Corp., Houston, 800/966-3270, 713/623-0089; http://www.zephyrcorp.com.

Elsevier Partners with FAST to Deliver Improved Scirus Science Web Search Engine
Elsevier Science has announced, in conjunction with Fast Search & Transfer ASA (FAST), a developer of search and real-time filtering technologies, a new release of Scirus, the Web search engine dedicated to science. The new version offers more subject-specific content and features such as expanded information types, dynamic teasers that highlight the search terms within the search results list, and improved relevance ranking.

The index now contains more than 107 million science-specific pages, with new full-text additions like NASA reports, CogPrints pre- and postprints, and preprints from the Chemistry and Mathematics Preprint Servers. Scirus now offers over 17 million proprietary records that cannot be found using generic search engines.

The new version of Scirus contains enhancements, using search technology provided by FAST, that are aimed at assisting users with finding the most relevant results. In addition, Scirus now includes a news feed with the latest science headlines provided by the LexisNexis Web Publisher News Database. It provides access to prominent newspapers, trade journals, reference directories, legal and legislative sources, newswires, and transcripts from 2,700 sources around the world.

Source: Elsevier Science, New York, 800/437-4636, 212/633-3730; http://www.elsevier.com.

EBSCOhostNow Includes the Information Science Abstracts Database
EBSCO Publishing has announced that Information Science Abstracts (ISA), published by Information Today, Inc. (ITI), is now available through EBSCOhost.

The ISA database provides worldwide coverage of library science and information science records from more than 450 publications dating back to 1966. Topics include abstracting and indexing, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management, Internet search engines, printed and electronic information sources, the information industry, and electronic publishing. The data is updated nine times per year.

Source: EBSCO Publishing, Ipswich, MA, 800/653-2726, 978/356-6500; http://www.epnet.com.

CSA's Internet Database Service Upgraded
Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) has announced that the new version 6.0 of the Internet Database Service (IDS) is available to all subscribers.

According to the announcement, version 6.0 offers increased functionality, including an updated interface, availability of electronic full text now indicated on the citation, new Advanced Search with limits, enhanced thesaurus capabilities, and additional usage reports.

Version 6.0 will be running in parallel with the current version 5.2 through the end of this year. Users will be able to adjust their login profiles so that they are taken directly to version 6.0.

Source: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Bethesda, MD, 800/843-7751, 301/961-6700; http://www.csa.com.

Gale Releases Biography Resource Center 2.0, Adds INFORMS Content to InfoTrac
Gale has announced that Biography Resource Center, its Web resource for information on people, is available in a new version. According to the announcement, Version 2.0 has a streamlined interface designed to make navigating the content faster and easier.

Version 2.0's interface returns results in a series of tabs that allow users to select the type of information they want. Users can choose from classic references such as biographical essays, magazine articles (all full text and updated daily), thumbnails with just the facts, or Web sites (a total of 9,000 hand-picked links throughout). The tab format is consistent with the other Gale Resource Centers.

Content has continuously expanded since Biography Resource Center's launch, with coverage now including more than 220,000 notable people from around the world, throughout history, and across all disciplines and subject areas.

In a separate announcement, the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) has signed an agreement with Gale to have its content distributed online through Gale's InfoTrac databases and Resource Centers.

INFORMS's journals are resources for searchers who apply scientific methods for improving operations processes, decision making, and management practices. Gale will distribute INFORMS's entire catalog of journals.

Source: Gale Group, Farmington Hills, MI, 800/877-4253, 248/699-4253; http://www.gale.com.

CAS Adds Indexing to Early 20th-Century Records, Upgrades Its STN Express to 6.01
Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) has announced that it is adding subject and chemical substance indexing to online records corresponding to Chemical Abstracts (CA) back to the first issue in 1907. The indexing will mark the completion of CAS's Scientific Century project.

The first segment to be added as the project moves back in time corresponds to CA issues covering literature for 1962 through 1966. This portion of indexing is becoming available online through STN International, SciFinder, and SciFinder Scholar. To complete the indexing for all the material back to 1907 will take more than a year.

In a separate announcement, CAS reported the release of STN Express with Discover! 6.01, the new version of the software for accessing patent, scientific, and technical databases on the STN International network.

New capabilities include the ability to launch CAS Registry BLAST, which permits searchers to identify a sequence similar to a queried sequence and then view associated published research and patents; a BLAST Alerts capability for ongoing awareness of the latest information; the ability to accept SciFinder answer keys and search them in STN Express using the STN search features and range of databases; more formatting options; new predefined reports and tables; and support for post-processing of STN on the Web transcripts.

Source: Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, OH, 800/753-4227, 614/447-3600; http://www.cas.org.

ebrary Adds Sheet Music, Books in Spanish
ebrary has announced that Byron Hoyt, a provider of musical resources, will be using ebrary's technology to make more than 7,000 sheet music and educational titles available through ebrary. The Byron Hoyt collection will include sheet music for bands, orchestras, instruments, and vocalists, spanning a wide range of genres from classical to jazz, country, pop, and rock-and-roll.

Under terms of the agreement, ebrary will help to distribute Byron Hoyt's collection as a stand-alone database, as well as to integrate it into the ebrarian for Libraries database. ebrary is currently accepting orders for the Byron Hoyt sheet music collection. Libraries that sign up prior to December 31, 2002, will be offered an annual subscription for $1,950 plus 12 free CDs.

ebrary has also announced the availability of a Spanish-language collection provided by e-Libro, a digital electronic publisher in the Spanish book market. The collection, available as part of the ebrarian for Libraries database, spans academic subject areas including business, economics, political science, and sociology, as well as documents related to U.S. citizenship.

ebrarian for Libraries is available for an annual flat rate based on library size and type. Small libraries may be eligible for special pricing of $2,000 for an annual subscription.

Source: ebrary, Mountain View, CA, 650/230-0700; http://www.ebrary.com.

LSSI Partners with San Jose State University to Educate Students in Virtual Reference
The School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University (SJSU/SLIS) and Library Systems & Services (LSSI), a vendor for virtual reference software and services, have announced a new partnership. SJSU/SLIS will use LSSI's Virtual Reference ToolKit to revamp its reference curriculum and help upcoming generations of reference librarians learn to help patrons online.

The LSSI software will be deployed to SJSU/SLIS's Reference and Information Services-related courses, where students will use it to gain familiarity with the techniques of online reference. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in practicums in LSSI's Web Reference Center, the professional online reference service, as well as in the QandACafe, a collaborative online reference service offered by libraries in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, faculty and students at SJSU will work with librarians at LSSI on a number of joint research projects.

Source: School of Library and Information Science, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, 408/924-2490; http://www.witloof.sjsu.edu
and Library Systems & Services, Germantown, MD, 800/638-8725, 301/540-5100; http://www.lssi.com.

divine Offers New Virtual Reference Desk
divine, Inc. has announced that it is now offering the latest version of divine Virtual Reference Desk, a customer interaction solution that allows library reference departments to offer the same high level of customer service to their patrons online as they do in person, and to increase support of geographically dispersed and remote users.

A robust solution, divine Virtual Reference Desk benefits from the technology of divine NetAgent, the company's customer interaction management software. The latest version of divine Virtual Reference Desk offers library users highly personalized and interactive reference support, from co-browsing of Web sites to assisted form filing. The product allows users and librarians to collaborate on all online reference sources with a chat proxy server that eliminates technical issues such as cookie sharing and database authentication. Other features include e-mail reference support, an FAQ repository, librarian-to-librarian instant messenger, session transfer, reference session transcripts, multilingual support, and extensive reporting capabilities.

Source: divine, Inc., Chicago, 866/999-3846, 773/394-6600; http://www.divine.com.
 

This title offers actual examples of how libraries are using XML to solve problems, expand services, and improve systems. Areas covered include integrated library systems, interlibrary loan, cataloging and indexing, building collections and databases, data migration, and systems interoperability. Contributing libraries include Stanford University, University of Virginia, California Digital Library, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Saskatchewan Libraries.

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

ITI Publishes Titles on Effective Web Use
Information Today, Inc. (ITI) has announced the publication of The Librarian's Internet Survival Guide: Strategies for the High-Tech Reference Desk, by Irene E. McDermott and edited by Barbara Quint (ISBN: 1-57387-129-X, $29.50). This is the newest title in the Searcher book series from the publisher of Searcher magazine.

This guide features troubleshooting tips and advice, Web resources for answering reference questions, and strategies for managing information and keeping current. In addition, the book covers a range of important issues, including Internet training, privacy, child safety, helping patrons with special needs, and building library Web pages.

The Librarian's Internet Survival Guide: Strategies for the High-Tech Reference Desk is available directly from the publisher.

ITI also announced publication of two new books covering Internet security. Net Crimes & Misdemeanors: Outmaneuvering the Spammers, Swindlers, and Stalkers Who Are Targeting You Online, by Jayne Hitchcock (ISBN: 0-910965-57-9, $24.95), helps Web users and managers to protect themselves against online cheats and predators. Hitchcock details a broad range of abusive practices, shares victims' stories, and offers advice on how to handle junk e-mail, "flaming," privacy invasion, financial scams, cyberstalking, and identity theft. She provides tips, strategies, and techniques that can be put to immediate use and points to the laws, organizations, and Web resources that can aid victims.

Web of Deception: Misinformation on the Internet, edited by Anne P. Mintz (ISBN: 0-910965-60-9, $24.95), also covers how Internet users can protect themselves online. Mintz brings together 10 information industry gurus to help you to recognize and deal with online deception and misinformation in a range of subject areas.

Source: Information Today, Inc., Medford, NJ, 800/300-9868, 609/654-6266; https://www.infotoday.com.