Kresge Engineering Library News
Number 16, March 2005
Jean McKenzie, Editor.
- New Resources: AccessScience, ASM Handbooks
- Changes to Resources: Compendex, CSA article databases, INSPEC, Web of Science
- Springer/Blackwell Print Journals
- Open Access Journals
- eScholarship Postprint Service
- eReference and Recommendations for Purchase
1. New Resources
The Library has subscribed to AccessScience, the online version of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 9th Edition, and the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th Edition. This encyclopedia contains "more than 8,000 articles written by the leading figures in their fields … and illustrated with the non-specialist in mind." It covers all areas of science and technology, including Anthropology & Archeology, Chemistry, Engineering & Materials, Food Science & Technology, Medicine and Paleontology. AccessScience can be accessed from any computer on-campus; UCB faculty, staff and students can also use it from off-campus via the Library Proxy Server.
The Library now has access to the ASM Handbooks Online. This product includes all the data in the 21 volumes of the ASM Handbook, as well as the 2 ASM desk editions: Engineering Materials Handbook and Metals Handbook. This is a good resource to consult for data and background information on materials properties, processes, performance, and selection. Both metals and engineered materials (such as composites, ceramics, and plastics) are included. You can also find a link to this resource from our Electronic Books page.
2. Changes to Resources
UC has changed its vendor for the EI Compendex Plus database to Elsevier's Engineering Village (EV2). This change also includes backfiles to 1884! The older Ovid interface will remain available through March 2005.
The interface for our CSA databases changed in January. It incorporates a cleaner look, searchable help and more visible search tools. Databases affected by this change include Engineered Materials Abstracts, Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management, Metadex, Earthquake Engineering Abstracts, Georef, and NTIS. They are all linked from our article databases page.
3. Springer/Blackwell Print Journals
Starting with 2005, the Library will rely on online access to the journals published by Springer and by Blackwell. We will no longer receive these titles in print, but will have access to a UC shared print archive for these titles. This is in keeping with the pattern we have been following of eliminating format duplication, while preserving access to the content. The Springer and Blackwell licenses were recently renewed for 2005 through 2007 and the establishment of the ongoing shared print archive was one outcome of the negotiations. You can find further details, as well as lists of the titles involved, on the online lists of Blackwell and Springer titles.
This strategy has enabled The Library to achieve sufficient savings in 2005 to avoid any further print journal cancellation projects this spring.
4. Open Access Journals
Definition: An open access publication meets two conditions: (a) The author/copyright holder grants free, worldwide, digital access to the publication, and (b) the publication and any supplementary materials are deposited in at least one online repository to enable such access and long-term archiving. For more details on open access, please see the Public Library of Science (PLoS) statements and timeline.
Several publications that may be of interest to engineering faculty and graduate students are now offering an open access model of publication. The cost models vary, but may include a combination of author page charges, institutional memberships and print subscriptions.
PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences): Beginning in 2005, with UC's PNAS Institutional Site License, UC authors are entitled to a 25% discount off the PNAS Open Access fee (regularly $1,000) to make their papers immediately free online. For more information, see the PNAS Open Access Option page.
NAR (Nucleic Acids Research): UC has an institutional membership with NAR so all UC authors enjoy discounted publication charges for this journal. Authors whose paper is accepted by NAR will receive an email from Oxford University Press (OUP), its publisher, and be directed to complete a form. This will trigger the discount and authors will be charged $500 instead of the non-member fee of $1,500. More information on NAR's open access is at NAR's Open Access Initiative page.
PLoS (Public Library of Science): UC's institutional membership reduces UC authors' charges by 20% for PLoS Biology and PLoS Medicine. Three new journals will begin in 2005: PLoS Genetics, PLoS Computational Biology and PLoS Pathogens. The non-member fee is $1,500 and PLoS waives author fees for those who do not have the resources to fund them. For more information, see the PLoS announcement.
BioMed Central: With UC's BioMed Central membership, UC authors can publish in their open access journals with no charge. Their journals include Genome Biology and BMC Bioinformatics. Visit BioMed Central for more information.
The Office of Scholarly Communication at CDL provides a wealth of information on scholarly communication, including a list of memberships and discounts.
5. eScholarship Postprint Service
The University of California Libraries and the California Digital Library (CDL) have launched the eScholarship Postprint Service. This service provides a central location for UC faculty and researchers to showcase and provide open access to their research. UC authors may deposit postprints of previously published journal articles and papers from refereed conference proceedings. CDL estimates that about 70% of publishers currently allow authors to post on institutional repositories. Authors can check publisher copyright policies via the SHERPA database.
Why should you participate? There are a number of worthwhile reasons: work within eScholarship can be discovered through simple Google searches, opening your research up to more readers; posting your article in eScholarship ensures archival access to the digital version of your work; and eScholarship can provide you with monthly reports about your paper and article download rates.
To kickstart this service, the eScholarship staff will be inviting UC authors to deposit their articles from 2004 (as identified in Web of Science). You may have already received an email from them, though you do not have to wait for an invitation. We would encourage all faculty and graduate students to submit their postprints to the repository, when allowed by publisher policies. For more information, see the About eScholarship Postprints page.
6. eReference and Recommendations for Purchase