+ Page 1 + ----------------------------------------------------------------- Public-Access Computer Systems News Volume 5, Number 1 (1994) ISSN 1050-6004 Editors: Dana Rooks (LIBL@UHUPVM1) and Linda Thompson (LIB1J@UHUPVM1). Issued on an irregular basis by University Libraries, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2091. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS ComIndex Software Released, 1 RLG Adds Anthropological Literature to Its CitaDel Service, 2 RLG Adds Four Cambridge Scientific Databases to Its CitaDel Service, 3 OCLC Expands Enhance Program After CIP Upgrade Test, 4 Changes Made to CONSER Newsletter, 5 Electronic Nursing Journal Now Available, 6 First Electronic Journal to be Included in Index Medicus, 7 Nova University's Graduate Catalog on Internet, 8 VTLS Z39.50 Client Now Interfaces with NCSA Mosaic for MS Windows, 8 COMINDEX SOFTWARE RELEASED The non-profit Communication Institute for Online Scholarship released recently the new 1994 version of its ComIndex bibliographic software system, which provides a self-contained electronic index to the primary scholarly literature of the communication field (speech, mass communication, rhetoric, journalism). The ComIndex software system was winner of the 1993 "Prize for Excellence in Information Services" from the International Communication Association's Council of Communication Libraries. This low-cost software can be licensed for libraries, departments, individuals, or institution-wide. Instructions for obtaining a free evaluation copy are included below. Obtaining a Demonstration Copy of ComIndex: The ComIndex demonstration program is exactly the same as the regular ComIndex program except that the demonstration version contains data from only 20 articles from each of the 49 serials and annuals covered by the full ComIndex system. + Page 2 + A demonstration version of ComIndex can be obtained in two ways-- on diskette through the U.S. post or over the Internet using the anonymous FTP process. To request a demonstration copy through the U.S. post, call the CIOS message service at 518-887-2443 and leave your name, address, disk requirements (i.e., either 5.25 inch 360K or 3.5 inch 720K), and phone number. You can also obtain a demonstration copy of ComIndex using the Internet anonymous FTP procedure. Use the FTP procedure to connect to host: 128.113.33.17 Login as user "anonymous" (without quotation marks). No password is necessary. Set the FTP transfer mode to "binary" or "image" and then "get" the file: CIDEMO.EXE If you need to further transfer the file to a PC from an Internet-attached mainframe or mini-computer, be sure to use a file transfer method that is appropriate for a compiled, executable program. In some cases, this will mean that you will need to explicitly set the transfer method to BINARY in your PC/mainframe file transfer program (e.g., this would be the case in MS-Kermit). The file you receive should be exactly 306,364 bytes in size. Place the file CIDEMO.EXE on the hard disk of an IBM or compatible computer, type CIDEMO, and press the return/enter key. The file will unpack automatically into the set of files that comprise the ComIndex demonstration program. The unpacking process will place these files in a directory that will be created named CIDEMO. When the files are unpacked type CI and press the return/enter key to explore ComIndex. Descriptive information is contained in a file named README.1ST, which will be placed on your machine along with the other files. This file can be printed or you can view it with a text editing program or word processor. RLG ADDS ANTHROPOLOGICAL LITERATURE TO ITS CITADEL SERVICE The Research Libraries Group (RLG) has added Anthropological Literature--a file of over 87,000 citations compiled by Harvard's Tozzer Library--to its CitaDel citation and document delivery service. The file is the most comprehensive index to research in anthropology available today. + Page 3 + File citations refer to articles from over 800 scholarly journals and 200 monographic series on anthropology and related fields from the Tozzer Library collection. Coverage, dating mainly from 1984 to the present, includes research articles and reports, commentaries, review essays, and obituaries. Subjects include archaeology, cultural and social anthropology, biological and physical anthropology, linguistics, sociology, history, economics, art history, religious studies, music, and area studies. Materials are in a variety of languages. Online records contain English translations of the title if supplied by the journal or edited work. Anthropological Literature will be updated quarterly with approximately 2,000 new citations. In addition, Tozzer Library is working on the retrospective conversion of approximately 200,000 article entries in its card catalog that date from the late 1880s through 1983. These entries will be added to the file over the coming year. Copies of all materials referenced in Anthropological Literature are available by interlibrary loan directly through Tozzer Library. Access to Anthropological Literature is available by annual subscription. Institutions with subscriptions to Eureka/RLIN or to another CitaDel file are eligible to receive discounts on Anthropological Literature subscriptions. For more information contact an RLG sales associate at 800-537-7546 or send e-mail to bl.sal@rlg.bitnet or bl.sal@rlg.stanford.edu. RLG ADDS FOUR CAMBRIDGE SCIENTIFIC DATABASES TO ITS CITADEL SERVICE The Research Libraries Group, Inc. (RLG) and Cambridge Scientific Abstracts announced today a major addition of scientific literature abstracts to CitaDel, RLG's citation access and document delivery service. In early 1994 four Cambridge Scientific databases will be added to the CitaDel service: Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management--A comprehensive multidisciplinary database covering 1,500 core journals, monographs, and conference proceedings, and providing selective coverage of 5,500 secondary sources. Records from 1983 to the present, updated monthly. Expanded Life Sciences Collection with Bioengineering-- Comprehensive interdisciplinary coverage of the medical and biological sciences in over 1,400 fully treated core sources and 5,500 selectively treated secondary sources. Records from 1983 to the present, updated monthly. + Page 4 + Marine Biology, including Aquatic Sciences & Fisheries Abstracts-- The most comprehensive coverage of the field. Monitors over 6,500 core journals and secondary sources of relevant articles and gray literature; core sources are fully treated, peripheral sources, selectively. Records from 1983 to the present, updated monthly. Conference Papers Index for Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, & Engineering--The scientific community's premier source of citations in the life sciences, engineering, and physical sciences. Approximately 72,000 individual papers are cited annually, and conference and papers are separately indexed. Records from 1988 to the present, updated bimonthly. For more information, please contact an RLG sales associate at 800-537-7546 or send e-mail to bl.sal@rlg.bitnet or bl.sal@rlg.stanford.edu. OCLC EXPANDS ENHANCE PROGRAM AFTER CIP UPGRADE TEST The result of a three-month pilot project that tested the upgrading of cataloging-in-publication (CIP) records is that OCLC will authorize all Enhance program participants with Books authorizations to upgrade CIP records in the Online Union Catalog (OLUC). National libraries, including the Library of Congress, the National Library of Canada, and the British Library, catalog printers' galleys for forthcoming books and enter CIP records in the OLUC. These records help libraries catalog new acquisitions by providing authorized name and subject headings and basic cataloging format for items before they are printed and distributed. Until now, libraries using the CIP record had to verify titles and fill in the number of pages, size of the item, and whether it had illustrations. From August through October 1993, OCLC sponsored a pilot project that allowed Enhance libraries to upgrade CIP records in the Online Union Catalog rather than waiting for a national library to upgrade them. The 10 participating Enhance libraries upgraded 1,686 records during the test. To evaluate the records for accuracy and correctness, OCLC used software programs developed by its office of research that compare two records and identify their differences. OCLC was able to see the changes that pilot-project libraries had made and used this data in preparing the final guidelines for upgrading CIP records. + Page 5 + The libraries that participated in the pilot project were: o American Museum of Natural History o Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh o Hunter College o Oberlin College o San Diego County Law Library o University of California, San Diego o University of Florida, Gainesville o University of Illinois, Chicago o University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Health Sciences Library o University of Wisconsin, Madison Through the Enhance Program, 112 OCLC member libraries have volunteered to upgrade Online Union Catalog records by adding information and correcting certain types of errors. In 1992/93, 93,892 records were enhanced, bringing the total of records enhanced since the program began in 1984 to over 750,000. For additional information, contact Susan Westberg 614-761-5079 or Nita Dean 614-761-5002. CHANGES MADE TO CONSER NEWSLETTER The Library of Congress and OCLC announce name, format, and distribution changes for the newsletter, CONSER, which has provided news of the Cooperative Online Serials program since 1976. Effective January 1994, the new newsletter, CONSERline, will be issued only in electronic format. CONSERline will be transmitted semiannually, in January and June, with additional issues released as needed to relay information of timely interest. Like its predecessor, CONSERline will be a cooperative effort of the CONSER program and will contain contributions from program members as well as news of the CONSER program and related serials cataloging issues. There is no charge for CONSERline. Subscriptions may be obtained by sending an e-mail message--SUBSCRIBE CONSRLIN, followed by your name--to: listserv@sun7.loc.gov. Back issues of CONSERline will be made available through LC Marvel, a campus-wide information system of the Library of Congress, and through the listserver. Topics of interest or suggestions for CONSERline may be forwarded to the editors: Jean Hirons, serial record division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 20540-4160, or Liz Bishoff, OCLC member services division, OCLC, 6565 Frantz Road, Dublin, Ohio, 43017-3395. + Page 6 + CONSER, the Cooperative Online SERials program, is a source of authoritative bibliographic records and standardized documentation for cataloging serials. The 18 national and full-member participants in the CONSER program authenticate serials records in the CONSER database, which resides in the OCLC Online Union Catalog. CONSER records are now linked to the journals cited in 10 reference databases available in The FirstSearch Catalog and the EPIC service, which assists users in determining whether the serial titles in which they find citations are available in their local library or if they need to place an interlibrary loan or document delivery request. ELECTRONIC NURSING JOURNAL NOW AVAILABLE The Online Journal of Knowledge Synthesis for Nursing, published by Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing and OCLC, is now available. The new electronic peer-reviewed journal for nurses makes current research findings available for the immediate use of clinical nurses, academicians, and researchers and provides critical reviews of research literature to guide nursing practice and research. Electronic journal articles will include a statement of the practice problem, a summary of the research, annotated critical references, practice implications, research needed, search strategies, and references used. The electronic format will allow timely access to information without long publication delays. Readers can search articles directly for information of interest to them and review, download, or print relevant information in whole or in part. Sigma Theta Tau provides the journal's editorial content and offers subscriptions, and OCLC provides the electronic publishing and delivery capabilities. Jane Barnsteiner, RN, Ph.D., and fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, is the journal's editor. Dr. Barnsteiner is associate professor and director of the Pediatric Critical Care Graduate Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia. She is also director of nursing practice and research at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. + Page 7 + Subscribers to the Online Journal of Knowledge Synthesis for Nursing access the journal using GUIDON, a graphical user interface developed by OCLC, or a command-driven ASCII user interface. GUIDON runs in the Microsoft Windows environment on an 80386 or higher PC. It supports searching by subject, title, author, keyword, date, and a full range of Boolean and proximity operators. GUIDON displays full text, figures, tables, and equations in quality that rivals the printed page. The ASCII interface runs on a terminal or PC with software emulating a VT100 terminal. The journal is available on an annual subscription basis to individuals ($60) or institutions ($250). Each subscription includes an access package with GUIDON software, optional automatic notification of new documents published in areas of interest, connect time, ability to print locally, and downloading of document files. Typeset-quality prints delivered by mail or fax are available for additional fees. The journal can be accessed through the Internet, the OCLC telecommunications network, and CompuServe Dial Access. Ordering information is available from Managing Editor Les Galbraith, Sigma Theta Tau International, 550 W. North St., Indianapolis, IN., USA 46202. He can also be contacted by telephone, (317) 634-8171, or by fax, (317) 634-8181. FIRST ELECTRONIC JOURNAL TO BE INCLUDED IN INDEX MEDICUS The Online Journal of Current Clinical Trials (OJCCT) has become the first electronic journal ever to be included in Index Medicus, the National Library of Medicine's internationally used abstracting and indexing service. Acceptance by Index Medicus (and its database counterpart MEDLINE) is a mark of high distinction for any journal, and is especially notable in the case of OJCCT, which launched a mere 18 months ago as the world's first electronic peer-reviewed medical journal with typeset quality text, tables, and line images. Of the more than 3,800 medical journals indexed by MEDLINE, OJCCT is the first to be distributed solely through computer networks. Most of the world's biomedical researchers turn to MEDLINE when seeking information of significance to their work. Its acceptance into MEDLINE promises to heighten the journal's appeal among clinical trial researchers. + Page 8 + Articles submitted to OJCCT--which concern medicine and all its subspecialities--undergo rigorous peer-review and, if accepted, can be published within 48 hours. Subscribers receive the articles simultaneously, worldwide, and can elect to receive special notification by fax or mail of any new articles of particular interest to them. Thanks to the powerful interface software developed by OCLC, subscribers can easily navigate documents, search for any previously published articles, and call up MEDLINE abstracts on all references, among other features. Launched July 1, 1992, OJCCT received the 1992 Product of the Year Award from Database Magazine in recognition of its pioneering contribution to electronic publishing. OJCCT is owned and published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in a joint venture with the Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC). Besides OJCCT, the Washington, D.C.-based AAAS also publishes the prestigious weekly journal Science and is the world's largest general science organization. For more information, please contact Nan Broadbent in the AAAS Office of Communications at 202-326-6436. NOVA UNIVERSITY'S GRADUATE CATALOG ON INTERNET Nova University's Center for Computer and Information Sciences is pleased to announce that its graduate catalog is now readily available to the Internet community. For an online graduate catalog, send an e-mail message to: cciscat@alpha.acast.nova.edu This system is automated. The catalog is nearly 5700 lines, so you may want to redirect the output into a temporary directory. Internet users will find the catalog especially interesting in that the Center for Computer and Information Sciences has a variety of programs and degree offerings using a continuum of real-time and delayed-time computer-mediated communication. VTLS Z39.50 CLIENT NOW INTERFACES WITH NCSA MOSAIC FOR MS WINDOWS VTLS Inc. announces that it now has a World Wide Web server and has developed a means for its VTLS Z39.50 client to interface with WWW browsers such as NCSA Mosaic for MS Windows. The interface means that Mosaic users who have the VTLS Z39.50 client on their workstations will be able to search the client by simply clicking on a hyperlink in the WWW browser. A simple change in Mosaic's configuration is all that's required to implement the interface. The interface gives users the advantage of creating WWW hypermedia links to Z39.50 servers, which can then be incorporated into WWW hypertext documents. + Page 9 + As a standalone product, the VTLS Z39.50 client lets users search for and access bibliographic records residing on any database server, regardless of its hardware or software configuration, as long as the server's retriever software complies with the Z39.50 standard. Since no commands are required, first-time users can navigate the client aided only by screen icons and menus. Users can type in any word or combination of words to perform a variety of searches on a remote server and can assign up to six attributes to a search item in order to narrow the search field. Further, with the Z39.50 client users can view multiple result sets simultaneously. For additional information, contact Dimitri Krinos, VTLS Inc., 703-231-3605, Fax: 703-231-3648. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Public-Access Computer Systems News is an electronic newsletter that is distributed on BITNET, Internet, and other computer networks. There is no subscription fee. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 (BITNET) or LISTSERV@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU (Internet) that says: SUBSCRIBE PACS-P First Name Last Name. PACS-P subscribers also receive two other electronic serials: Current Cites and The Public-Access Computer Systems Review. Public-Access Computer Systems News is Copyright (C) 1994 by the University Libraries, University of Houston. All Rights Reserved. Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by academic computer centers, computer conferences, individual scholars, and libraries. Libraries are authorized to add the journal to their collection, in electronic or printed form, at no charge. This message must appear on all copied material. All commercial use requires permission. ----------------------------------------------------------------- .