News from Serials, Vol 12, no.3, November 1999

News from Serials, Vol 12, no.3, November 1999

Please send News items to:

F�ona Tipple, Sub-Librarian, Acquisition,

University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

Tel: +353 1 706 7575; Fax: +353 1 706 1403

E-mail: fiona.tipple@ucd.ie

Swets Blackwell sign merger agreement

The formal agreement of the merger between Blackwell Information Services and Swets Subscription Services was signed in Lisse, The Netherlands, on 30^th November, and the new company is ready to begin trading.

This follows the announcement in June this year of the intention to create a joint venture combining the two companies. Due diligence, tax and regulatory processes have taken place through the summer and autumn. Completion is anticipated to take place in the New Year.

The new company, formed through the merger, is called Swets Blackwell. Swets is the majority shareholder and the Head Office of the new company will be based in The Netherlands. It will begin trading early next year.

Further information: Kim Hallett, Blackwell�s Information Services, tel: +44 1 865 262 556; e-mail: kim.hallett@blackwell.co.uk; or Bart de Gans, Swets & Zeitlinger BV, tel: +31 252 435 388; bdegans@swets.nl

New publications on serials management

Library Association Publishing will shortly publish two new works on serials management. The first of these is a collaboration between two well-known UKSG members, Lyndsay Rees-Jones and Tony Kidd, and is entitled The Serials Management Handbook. The second, Making Sense of Standards and Technologies for Serials Management, is edited by Rosemary Russell, and published in association with UKOLN. Both are due for publication before the end of the year.

New single-point-of-access product from SilverPlatter

SilverPlatter is due to launch the KnowledgeCite Library before the end of the year. Databases available will include the eleven H.W. Wilson databases, Medline, ERIC and ingenta�s full-text online journal content. In addition to bibliographic databases, KnowledgeCite will include fulltext articles, biographies, surveys and directories. Diverse sources will be woven into a single, coherent Web searching environment using knowledge integration technology.

Details: Pat Samson, PR Manager, SilverPlatter; e-mail: pats@silverplatter.com; Sarah Auckland, Fodor Wyllie Associates; e-mail: saraha@fodorwyllie.com; URL: http://www.silverplatter.com/; http://www.ingenta.com/

Contributors wanted

The editors of MC journal: the journal of academic media librarianship are seeking contributions in the area of audio/visual production, collection development, media centre management and emerging technologies for the next issue (deadline 13 March 2000). MC Journal is an electronic, peer-reviewed journal providing practical and scholarly information on issues concerning academic media librarianship. It can be accessed at http://wings.buffalo.edu/publications/mcjrnl/

Further information: Lori Widzinski, Editor, e-mail: widz@buffalo.edu , or Terrence McCormack, Associate Editor, e-mail: cormack@buffalo.edu

Library Consortium Management

The full-text of the first issue of Library consortium management (LCM:IJ) is now available at http://www.mcb.co.uk/portfolio/lcm/jourhome.htm; The second issue will also soon be available. Access is free at present, but after the 1 January 2000 will be available only by subscription.

Further information: Arnold Hirshon, Editor; e-mail: ahirshon@nelinet.net

Website address change

The UK Higher Education and Research Libraries Website has moved. The updated document is now available at http://www.ex.ac.uk/library/uklibs.html

LIC news

The Library and Information Commission has recently awarded eleven new research grants, details of which are available at http://www.lic.gov.uk/awards/. Its publication programme also continues with the recent issuing of Research Reports nos. 10 and 19.

Further information on these is available at http://www.lic.gov.uk/publications/researchreports/

News from CatchWord

Taylor and Francis will be putting over 250 additional titles online with CatchWord in 2000, thereby increasing their online journal collection to over 450 titles. CatchWord has also recently formed a partnership with Swets Subscription Service to provide electronic publishing services to research and scholarly publishers. Catchword will provide the electronic publishing infrastructure and platform while Swets will provide production, hosting, distribution and other value-added services.

Further details: Bart de Gans, Swets & Zeitlinger BV; tel.: +31-252-435-388; e-mail: bdegans@swets.nl; Chris Beckett, CatchWord; tel.: 01235-555877; fax: 01235-536000; e-mail: cbeckett@catchword.com

SPARC scientific awards grants

The winners of the SPARC Scientific Communities Initiative grant competition are Columbia University Press�s Columbia Earthscape, the California Digital library�s eScholarship and MIT�s CogNet. The grants are awarded to spur digital publishing in the academic scientific community, and the three projects will receive a total of $519,000 in start-up development funding.

Details: Alison Buckholtz, SPARC; tel.: +1-202-296-2296, ext. 115; fax: +1-202-872-0884; URL: http://www.arl.org/sparc/

Blackwell Navigator and ingenta linkup

ingenta has provided Blackwell�s Information Services with a turnkey solution which will support a more robust, reliable and faster-to-use electronic journal delivery service. Included is a DirectLink service that will allow libraries to add journal-level links to OPACs or library Web sites.

Swets install Dialog@Site V.3

Swets Subscription Service recently announced the installation of version 3 of Dialog@Site on its server. The new version allows cross-searching of more than fifty Dialog Ondisc databases; IP authentication is also available. The next version of the software � Dialog@Site Gold will be launched in December. It will include GOLD-eDOCS, a service linking records on the Dialog OnDisc databases to fulltext articles in SwetsNet.

Details: Robert Bley, Swets Subscription Service; e-mail: rbley@swets.co.uk

Scandinavian University Press offers e-journal access via SwetsNet

Scandinavian University Press to provide access to 45 electronic journals through SwetsNet, the full text electronic journal service. Scandinavian University Press is Scandinavia's leading publisher of scholarly and scientific material, with a portfolio of over 100 English and Nordic language journals. Many are published in the field of medicine, with major international titles in paediatrics, surgery, oncology, rehabilitation and infectious diseases. Almost half of the titles are available electronically, free of charge to current print subscribers.

Further information: Bart de Gans, Swets & Zeitlinger; e-mail: bdegans@swets.nl.

JSTOR update

JSTOR recently added three new titles to its Phase 1 list of titles, bringing the total to 112; five more titles remain to be added before 1 January 2000. In addition two existing titles have been updated with extended coverage.

Details: Alison Murphy, JSTOR Information Officer; tel.: 0161-275-7919; fax: 0161-275-6040; e-mail: A.Murphy@mcc.ac.uk

SuperJANET4

In order to identify the requirements for the new SuperJANET4 network, UKERNA and the JISC have agreed a requirement analysis process that is intended to be inclusive, focussed and transparent. UKERNA has therefore issued a public call for submissions, details of which are available at http://www.superjanet4.net/requirements/

Further information: Jeremy Sharp, UKERNA; tel.: 01235-822259; fax: 01235-822399; e-mail: J.Sharpe@ukerna.ac.uk

News of the LIBLICENSE Web project

The progress of the Yale Library�s project is discussed in "The LIBLICENSE project and how it grows" in the September issue of D-Lib Magazine, available at http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september99/okerson/09okerson.html

BUILDER Institutional Search Engine Demonstrator launched

BUILDER aims to develop a working model of the hybrid library in a teaching and research context, and to seamlessly integrate access to a wide range of printed and electronic information resources, using a Web-based interface. The Demonstrator covers the University of Birmingham Information Services Web Guide, the University of Birmingham campus, and the whole Internet through a seamless interface; the aim has been to demonstrate the potential for developing a centralised institutional Web search facility. It can be accessed at http://www.builder.bham.ac.uk/newsearch/

EU fifth Framework Programme � call for proposals

The second call for proposals under the Information Society (IST) programme call for research and/or demonstration proposals in a range of specific action lines under each of the four Key Actions, and also in other areas of the programme. The deadline for submission of proposals is 17 January 2000. The call text, work programme and guide for proposers may be downloaded from the CORDIS FP5 information service at http://www.cordis.lu/ist/calls/199902.htm

CatchWord Announce

CatchWord Announce is a new list for CatchWord news and information. It is purely a broadcast list, and postings will be brief and informative. To subscribe send a blank e-mail to announce-request@catchword.com, with the word "subscribe" in the subject field.

Chadwyck-Healey purchased by Bell & Howell

Chadwyck-Healey, a major humanities and social science publisher, has been sold to Bell & Howell, although it will retain its name. The Chadwyck-Healey group has recently moved from primarily CD-ROM publishing to focusing increasingly on the Internet.

UKB policy statement on the pricing of scholarly journals

UKB, the Dutch association of academic and research libraries, has recently issued a policy statement on the pricing of scholarly journals. The statement deplores what it describes as the irresponsible price policies of a number of publishers. UKB has drawn up an action plan which includes making recommendation to its members on the continuation or cancellation of subscriptions, approaching similar library groups in other countries with a view to getting endorsement and adoption of the UKB policy, and creating a platform for dialogue with publishers, at national and international levels. The full text of the statement can be accessed at http://www.uba.uva.nl/en/projects/journals-pricing-ukb/policy.html

BIBSAM and SilverLinker

BIBSAM, the Swedish Royal Library�s Department for National Co-ordination and Development was established to co-ordinate and develop the provision of information for higher education and research and development, by promoting the full exploitation of existing resources, and by ensuring free and open access to information. It has recently signed an agreement to use SilverLinker to allow users in research institutions throughout Sweden to link directly to fulltext articles from bibliographic references in SilverPlatter�s databases.

Further details: SilverPlatter Information AB, Sweden; tel.: +46-481-20190; fax: +46-481-20370; e-mail: infor@silverplatter.com; URL: http://www.silverplatter.com/

New guide to electronic journal management

The TFPL/Blackwell�s Guide to Electronic Journal Management is now available. It provides an introduction to the selection, acquisition and management of electronic journals. The topics covered include technology, identification, contract management and intellectual property issues. The principal authors are Martin White and Peter Kibby, and there are also contributions from Suzanne Wilson-Higgins, Christine Stamison and Andrew Pitts.

Details: Paul Williams, Blackwell�s Information Services; tel.: 01865-333462; Blackwell�s Online Bookshop, URL: http://www.bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/

Millennium Gift Aid

To mark the millennium, and to help promote education and alleviate poverty in the developing world, the government has introduced a new tax concession, Millennium Gift Aid. For every �100 or more donated by a British taxpayer to Book Aid International, before 31 December 2000, Book Aid International can reclaim the tax, thereby increasing the amount by almost one-third.

Further information: Book Aid International, 39/41 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London SE5 9NR; tel.: 0207-733-3577; fax: 0207-978-8006; e-mail: info@bookaid.org; URL: http://www.bookaid.org/

Reference linking service

Twelve leading scientific and scholarly publishers announced that they are collaborating on an innovative, market-driven reference-linking initiative that will change the way scientists use the Internet to conduct online research. The reference-linking service represents a co-operative effort between Academic Press, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (the publisher of Science), American Institute of Physics, Association for Computing Machinery, Blackwell Science, Elsevier Science, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Nature, Oxford University Press, Springer-Verlag, and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. It is expected to launch during the first quarter of 2000.

Further information: Susan Spilka, Wiley; e-mail: sspilka@wiley.com

Swets & Zeitlinger to acquire Turpin Distribution Services Ltd

The Royal Society of Chemistry and Swets & Zeitlinger have announced an agreement for Swets to acquire ownership of Turpin Distribution Services Ltd, the journals and book distribution services company owned by the RSC. The agreement is subject to due diligence and the completion of contractual and authorisational arrangements.

Turpin provides a range of global fulfilment and distribution services for research and scholarly publishers in the area of print and electronic publications. It will become part of a new Publisher Services Division at Swets that will offer a broad range of services to publishers throughout the world.

Swets will also take over the 50% share ownership which the RSC currently has in Turpion Ltd, the publisher of English-language editions of the Russian Academy of Sciences journals in the fields of chemistry, mathematics, and physics.

Further details: Bart de Gans, Communication Manager, Swets & Zeitlinger, The Netherlands. tel: +31 252 435 388; fax: +31 252 415 888; e-mail: bdegans@swets.nl

EARL Best on the Web awards

The awards give the public library community the opportunity to celebrate the best of UK public libraries' presence on the World Wide Web. They also demonstrate what is being achieved by different libraries in the UK and their approach to instigating an innovative presence on the Web.

The winner: Kingston upon Thames. A sophisticated site which meets all of the judging criteria by being rich in content, easy to navigate and accessible. It has a great collection of links to information of local interest as well as to wider WWW resources which are organised into a Dewey scheme and held on a database making them easy to search. This user-friendly site also has some fun quizzes for both adults and children.

2nd runner-up: Essex. Last year's worthy winner has some excellent interactive features giving users the chance to get involved. These include an online enquiry service, the chance to submit book reviews and a link with Amazon allowing users to purchase books, CDs and videos.

3rd runner-up: North Lincolnshire. An easy to navigate and accessible site which is regularly updated by the library staff and welcomes feedback on the service that is being provided. It has a very good collection of links to local information and to wider resources on the Web which are usefully divided into links of interest to different user groups such as children and business.

Special mention: Suffolk. For breaking new ground in addressing the needs of the library user accessing the library service from a remote site. This site allows the user to join the library from home, check the catalogue, reserve and renew books, and suggest new books which the library might wish to consider purchasing. This is the way of the future and richly deserves the special mention.

Details: Chris Webster, EARL: The Consortium for Public Library Networking; e-mail: chris@earl.org.uk; tel: (0171) 702 2020

Portland Press announce free online archive

From 1 January 2000 the online archive for Portland Press journals for all papers published before this date will be available free to anyone with Internet access anywhere in the world. Every year in January, the online content for all the previous years will become free.

Full free access to the current year of any online journal will be restricted to institutions that have a subscription to the printed version. The journals published by Portland Press are: Biochemical Journal, Biochemical Society Transactions, Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, and Clinical Science.

Further information: Adam Marshall, Portland Press Ltd, 59 Portland Place, London W1N 3AJ. Tel: 020 7580 5530; fax: 020 7323 1136; http://www.portlandpress.com

African Digital Library On-Line (Africa) - Centre for Lifelong Learning

A digital library for the benefit of users throughout Africa, went on-line on 3 November 1999. In response to the need for library books in Africa, Technikon SA (TSA) has provided an initial sponsorship of R1m to set up the African Digital Library.

The library is being established by TSA and the Association of African Universities in collaboration with netLibrary, a private American company. It will provide Internet access to African users throughout the continent to a library of full-text books at no cost to the user. Over 60 publishers will provide full-text books. Encryption will ensure that only one user will access a book at any one time, and loan periods will be a few hours as users work with the books.

Persons in any Africa country with a server having an African domain, will be able to access the library via http://www.AfricaEducation.org/adl/.

For further information: http://www.africanews.org/science/stories/19991108_feat7.html, or contact Paul West, Director CLL at Technikon SA; e-mail: LibraryAdmin@AfricaEducation.org

Marcel Dekker partners with netLibrary to publish scientific, technical and medical texts online

Publisher Marcel Dekker Inc. and eBook provider netLibrary Inc. have announced a partnership to offer nearly 500 scientific, technical, and medical eBook titles on the Internet.

The Dekker titles comprise frequently referenced works in the subject areas of medicine, life science, engineering, chemistry, mathematics and statistics, agriculture, food science and technology, library and information science, and public administration. Dekker's eBooks will be available directly to consumers at the netLibrary website and to library patrons at hundreds of public, university, and special libraries in the netLibrary network.

Further information: Doris Cheng, e-mail: dcheng@dekker.com; Brian Bell, e-mail: bbell@netLibrary.com

UK Libraries Plus, launched

Over 50 higher education institutions in the UK are participating in a new initiative which will enable part-time, distance, and placement students to borrow from libraries in close proximity to where they live or work. UK Libraries Plus, launched this week, is a major new initiative by universities and colleges across the country to provide reciprocal library access to one another�s students. The scheme is being offered on a trial basis until the end of the academic year when its future will be reviewed.

Further information: http://www.lisa.sbu.ac.uk/uklibrariesplus/ for participating libraries, or

Philip Payne, Chair, UK Libraries Plus Steering Group and Head of Learning Support Services, Leeds Metropolitan University, Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 3HE; telephone: 0113 283 5966; e-mail: P.Payne@lmu.ac.uk

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