In addition to the announcement of Ebsco Publishing’s acquisition of Netlibrary, OCLC has also announced

“an important change to our FirstSearch content services. OCLC is transitioning out of our role as reseller of vendor-owned content. Therefore we will transfer or discontinue sale of the vendor-owned databases on FirstSearch when subscriptions have ended.

We will instead increase our focus for both FirstSearch and WorldCat.org on providing libraries with access to a rich set of library-owned content and increasing visibility and access to the full scope of a library’s collection. We will work with libraries, publishers and other information providers to expand WorldCat.org as a comprehensive platform for eContent.”

Drexel currently has access to several databases on the Firstsearch platform.

Those affected by this change are:

• AltPressIndex
• BasicBiosis
• Contemporary Women’s Issues
• GeoRefS
• Wilson Select Plus

We will have access to these databases on the Firstsearch platform until our subscriptions end (July 2010), at which time we will have to replace access through another provider.

Drexel also has access to several databases that will remain available on through OCLC Firstsearch.  those are:

• ArticleFirst
• Clase & Periodica
• OCLC Electronic Books
• Electronic Collections Online (ECO)
• GPO Monthly Catalog
• History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
• PapersFirst
• ProceedingsFirst
• World Almanacs

For more information on the cheanges to OCLC Firstsearch, see this FAQ from OCLC: http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/questions/

Netlibrary, OCLC’s longstanding electronic book content platform, has been aqcuired by Ebsco Publishing.  This could bode well for an infrastructure overhaul for Netlibrary, which could hopefully end in an easier access model for Netlibrary books.  we’ll see!  It could certainly also mean that adding future Netlibrary content could become more expensive.  See more about the acquisition and the implications in OCLC’s press release: http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/2010/201015.htm

There is also a useful FAQ about Netlibrary and the Ebsco acquisition here: http://www.oclc.org/netlibrary/questions/

Vault Online Career Library has changed its name and its look, and is now:

Vault Career Insider

Includes Vault Career and Employer Guides, Career Profiles, Company Research, Diversity Profiles, Industry Research, and an Internship Database.  Also includes downloadable career guides, 3000 insider company snapshots, industry overviews, occupational profiles and career advice articles plus access to online forums.

Free personal registration required for access to this resource

Once patrons create a personalized login, they may use Vault Career Insider from the link on the databases page or catalog to gain access to excellent career information.

You might have noticed that a few of our popular electronic databases look a little different.  We have switched over some of our abstracting and indexing databases to different platforms (many A & I databases offer their content through several different vendors).  Here’s what’s changed!

MLA International Bibliography — Drexel now subscribes to MLA via Proquest’s CSA Illumina Platform.  MLA was previously available from OCLC Firstsearch.  Alternate access to MLA Bibliography on the Chadwyck Healey platform is also available here

PAIS International — Also Previously available from OCLC Firstsearch, PAIS International is now accessible through the CSA Illumina Platform

Cochrane Library — The Cochrane Library from Wiley is made up of several resources previously accessible at Drexel through OvidSP.  These include several Evidence Based Medicine titles such as Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR; Cochrane Reviews); Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; Clinical Trials); Cochrane Methodology Register (CMR; Methods Studies); NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHSEED; Economic Evaluations); and Health Technology Assessment Database (HTA; Technology Assessments).

*eresource blog-post title opportunities really don’t get any better than that, folks.

Our CCH subscriptions have experienced a few changes!  Wolters Kluwer, who owns CCH and all its content, has rolled out a new portal for all CCH and related content.  It is called Intelliconnect, and all our CCH subscribed content is now available through only this portal.

The biggest change is that users are now required to creat their own login / password to gain access to CCH content.

Here is a list of our CCH subscribed content that is now available via Intteliconnect:

CCH Tax Research Network
Provides full-text access to useful tax handbooks, federal and state tax codes and tables, regulations, rulings, cases, and current tax news. For assistance using the Intelliconnect CCH Portal, please see the User Guide

CCH Business and Finance NetWork
Current awareness tools (i.e., looseleaf services) and full text of primary law in the areas of U.S. advertising, antitrust, banking, bankruptcy, commercial law, computer law, consumer credit, energy law, franchising, government contracts, intellectual property, product distribution, products liability, securities, trade regulation, and transportation law. Also includes current awareness tools on transnational securities law, and full text of the securities laws of more than 30 non-U.S. nations. For assistance using the Intelliconnect CCH Portal, please see the User Guide

CCH Health and Human Resources NetWork
Current awareness tools (i.e., looseleaf services) and full text of primary law in the areas of U.S. employee benefits, employment law, food and drug regulation, health care administration, health law, labor law, medical device regulation, occupational safety, payroll administration, pension administration, and unemployment insurance. Also includes downloadable interactive forms on OSHA compliance, U.S. federal pension and benefits administration, and U.S. federal and state employment, human resources, and payroll functions. For assistance using the Intelliconnect CCH Portal, please see the User Guide

The merger of the Palinet and Solinet consortias has finally culminated in a new organization, and it is called Lyrasis.  The Lyrasis site went live today: http://www.lyrasis.org and the site features a full catalog of all the products and resources available for subscription and purchase through lyrasis.  http://www.lyrasis.org/Products-and-Services/Catalog.aspx

Also available on the site are Lyrasis Digital, Education, and Preservation Services.  Take A Look!

So, I’ll start by noting that I have seen no evidence yet of the Quickview option within ebrary, but here’s the press release:

November 3, 2008 – Palo Alto, CA, USA – A Reader is no longer required to view documents in ebrary® on Windows or Linux operating systems.

The leading provider of e-content software and services today announced the availability of ebrary QuickView™, which enables end-users to instantly view documents in many of the leading web browsers and even works on the iPhone.  No software downloads or installations are needed.

Currently offered in conjunction with ebrary’s new Java-based Reader™, ebrary QuickView is ideal for quickly accessing and exploring documents in the ebrary system such as e-books, maps, journals, reports, and other authoritative information.  For a richer and more productive research experience, an end-user can also choose to use ebrary’s Java-based Reader.   For example, an end-user can use QuickView to quickly browse through a document online, then use ebrary’s Java-based Reader for added functionality such as printing, copying and pasting, highlighting, note taking, and ebrary InfoTools™.

ebrary QuickView currently offers the following key features:

• Instant viewing and page flipping in a web browser
• Relevancy ranking at the chapter level with links to specific sections
• Navigate to search terms or specified pages
• Search within document for key words
• View and navigate to highlights and notes created using an ebrary Reader
• Multiple view magnifications

ebrary offers several viewing options including its new Java-based Reader with QuickView and ActiveX Reader.

I’ll keep you all posted as the Quickview option becomes more transparent.

So, from what I’ve read so far, this Google Books settlement looks like a really good opportunity for libraries, but there’s lots of fine print to look at, so feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.   Here’s how it will work for libraries:

Library and university access

We’ll also be offering libraries, universities and other organizations the ability to purchase institutional subscriptions, which will give users access to the complete text of millions of titles while compensating authors and publishers for the service. Students and researchers will have access to an electronic library that combines the collections from many of the top universities across the country. Public and university libraries in the U.S. will also be able to offer terminals where readers can access the full text of millions of out-of-print books for free.

Jessamyn West has already culled the most crucial information more succinctly and usefully than I ever could, so see her blog post on librarian.net for all kinds of great background and commentary on Google Books.

Web of Science gets a little fancier!

Citation Maps enhancements bring you a more focused analysis
A new slider bar lets you control the depth of citations viewed.

Verify an author’s affiliation
You can more clearly identify an author by verifying his or her affiliation — simply by linking a common number assigned to the author and address

Easily integrate repository data into your search
Now you can automatically access important data from institutional repositories in your ISI Web of Knowledge searches. Theses, technical reports, dissertations, and more from 716 repositories are included in your ISI Web of Knowledge search, via Scientific WebPlus. And you can personalize your Web results by commenting, bookmarking, and tagging websites for further reference and to share with your colleagues.

Find additional molecular biology information in your searches
Access new links to National Center for Biotechnology Information directly from ISI Web of Knowledge searches, including full text.

Easier export from Inspec
Output Inspec results in the BibTeX format.

Enhance usability with the new Chinese interface
Chinese speaking users can now choose to view the ISI Web of Knowledge interface in Simplified Chinese. Simply select the Chinese language link that appears at the bottom of any product page.

As noted in yesterday’s Library Journal Academic Newswire,

“Springer, the world’s second largest publisher of commercial STM (science, technology, and medicine) journals, has acquired pioneering for-profit open access (OA) publisher BioMed Central (BMC). Financial terms were not disclosed. On the balance sheet, adding BioMed Central would seem to be a very minor deal for Springer; BioMed Central publishes some 193 open access journals with revenues of roughly $24.5 million, while Springer publishes over 1700 journals in addition to 5500 new books annually, with revenues nearly $1.25 billion. It is a significant event in the history of open access publishing, however, as a leading commercial publisher has now expressed confidence in a business model once deemed, at best, experimental, and often called untenable.”

Springer has announced their commitment to Open Access journals, but has not disclosed their plans for any changes to BMC’s current Open Access model.