Britannica Online changes coming

Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. is planning to release a new interface for Britannica Online in January 2006, and we would like give you a preview of the enhancements at: http://www.new.search.eb.com.

The current URL of http://www.search.eb.com will remain in place until January 1, 2006 to allow a smooth transition to the upgrade. After January 1st, 2006 the current Britannica Online URL will begin defaulting to the new interface URL of: http://www.new.search.eb.com.

Some highlights of the new interface are:

• New Daily News Sources: The New York Times, the BBC News, and the SBS World News.


• New Gateway to the Classics: An introduction to the significant works of literature, philosophy, history, and science.


• Expanded Research Tools: Including the newly added Notable Quotations search feature.

Serials Soultions database count grows

From their email newsletter:

The effort of Serials Solutions’ staff and the support of librarians around the world has pushed the number of databases tracked by Serials Solutions to more than 950.

As the total number of databases grows, we will continue our quality control efforts. We recognize that an accurate knowledge base is the core of any successful e-resource access and management system.

If there is a database that you know of that we don't track, email us at aggregators@serialssolutions.com.

Ongoing Serials Solutions webinars

If you are interested in learning about new Serials Solutions features, or just staying up to speed on their offerings, check out this page that lists their ongoing webinar series. Lots of great offerings!

RLG system maintenance

Access to the RLG Union Catalog via the Eureka, RLIN21 and Z39.50 interfaces will not be available due to system maintenance performed Sunday through Thursday at 21:00-21:15 Pacific Time (UTC-7). Access to other databases will not be affected.

Elsevier and Hurricane Wilma

"Because of the impending arrival of Hurricane Wilma, the Harcourt building in Orlando Fl will not be open on Monday 24th October. As a result, Elsevier Journals Customer Service and Fulfillment will not be working Monday. All in-bound Elsevier customer service numbers will have a special message indicating that we are closed due to hurricane Wilma and that we expect to be taking calls again on Tuesday. This decision is a precautionary measure following announcements from the National Hurricane Centre to ensure the safety of Elsevier staff.

Harcourt IT will have a skeleton crew working in the Orlando data center to ensure that COPS, Boss, Hawk and other key systems are running as usual Monday. Therefore, Elsevier users of these systems outside Orlando should NOT be effected.

We will be keeping the situation under review as it unfolds, but in the meantime we apologise for any inconvenience these arrangements may cause to Elsevier customers, but hope that you will understand the situation and bear with us until things are clearer."

Improved RLG/Eureka Services!

OpenURL 1.0
Eureka now offers full support for OpenURL 1.0, the standardized version of OpenURL, i.e. NISO Z39.88-2004, the OpenURL Framework for Context-Sensitive Services. Eureka OpenURL 1.0 is a proper implementation of the San Antonio Level 1 Community Profile (SAP1), the profile most suitable for passing bibliographic information. Transport continues to be based on HTTP POST and to provide inline metadata.

Limit to any MARC tag
The ability to limit to any MARC tag is now available in all of the Eureka databases. After completing a search, click on the Limit link, choose Other in the drop down menu, choose the MARC tag you wish, and replace "value" in the box with your search term.

Search by Publisher Now Added to Advanced Search
In the RLG Union Catalog the Publisher index has been added to the Advanced Search screen. Simply click on Publisher in the drop down menu in Advanced Search and enter the name of the Publisher.

Access to Local Holdings Information
When searching the RLG Union Catalog you may now view the local holdings of items retrieved in the RLG Union Catalog for select libraries that have installed Endeavor's Voyager or Innovative's INNOPAC Millennium systems. Eureka now links directly to the OPAC at the library to display the holdings information, such as the availability of the item or specific serials information.

RLG downtime planned

On 20 October, between 21:00 and 21:15 Pacific time (UTC-7), access to the RLG Union Catalog via the Eureka, RLIN21 and Z39.50 interfaces will not be available. Access to other databases will not be affected.

Coming updates to Historical Abstracts & America: History and Life

In celebration of ABC-CLIO's 50th anniversary, Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life will receive major upgrades. With a redesigned interface and over 1.2 million entries and 330,000 full-text links, these landmark resources are more than ever the first place to begin any search in the area of history.

Based upon feedback and requests from our subscribers, the following enhancements will become active in January:

• New interface that will allow users to get to the information they need quickly and easily, with fewer page downloads and fewer mouse clicks


• A combined simple and advanced search screen that allows the user to control which search options are displayed and how results are shown


• New on-screen help tips for making the most of the database appear with the touch of a mouse


• New retrospective coverage from JSTOR journals dating from 1838 to 2005, resulting in an increase of nearly 78% in full-text links by project's end


• A new search history functionality that will record search histories and allow users to refine and rerun previous searches


• An enhanced expand and collapse record functionality that allows the viewing of abstracts on the same page as the records results list, making reviewing abstracts easier

Eureka/RLG downtime

On 13 October, between 21:00 and 21:15 Pacific time (UTC-7), access to the RLG Union Catalog via the Eureka, RLIN21 and Z39.50 interfaces will not be available. Other databases will not be affected.

On 14 October, between 21:00 - 22:00 Pacific Time (UTC-7), access to the following databases will not be available via either the Eureka or the RLIN21 interface. Z39.50 access will not be affected.

• RLG Union Catalog


• Anthropological Index, Royal Anthropological Institute


• Anthropological Literature


• Anthropology Plus


• RLG Archival Resources,


• Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals


• Bibliography of the History of Art


• Chicano Database


• English Short Title Catalogue


• FRANCIS


• Hand Press Book Database


• Handbook of Latin American Studies,


• History of Science, Technology, and Medicine


• Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals


• Index to Hispanic Legislation (World Law Index, Part 1)


• Index to 19th-Century American Art Periodicals


• Inside Information Plus


• Russian Academy of Sciences Bibliographies


• SCIPIO: Art and Rare Book Sales Catalogs

Serials Solutions ERMS webinar

Serials Solutions will be rolling out a new Electronic Resources Management Sytem (ERMS) soon. Here's your chance to see what this new tool is like. Here's a brief look at what it will offer:

ERMS includes fully-hosted functionalities that allow libraries to control selection, acquisition, and management of all their e-resources. Through the use of these tools, librarians can reduce the time required to manage their collection, reduce costs to purchase and maintain it, and grow their collection to fit their library's unique needs.

To see it in action, visit http://www.serialssolutions.com/erms.asp, register for an upcoming webinar at http://www.serialssolutions.com/webinarlist.asp, or contact Serials Solutions at 1 (866) 737-4257 ext. 5.