Many thanks to Marion Kennedy, who has upgraded the look and feel of this newsletter. One improvement is that it should now print out a lot better.

This month's newsletter is shorter than usual, as I've been away from work with a minor physical problem which has now been sorted. The extra space means that we've been able to include details of the book I've been editing these last few months along with Jim Corlett. If you want to know about information sources in engineering, this is the book for you! It is 683 pages long, and has 27 chapters written by some very well-informed subject experts. It includes a great deal of detail.

Also included in this month's issue is a review of a commercial service, Search Portfolio, by Marion.

Just a reminder...some excellent new websites aimed at academics appear every month. Details of very few of these are actually sent to us by the webmasters concerned. If you want others to know about your services, drop us an email with details we can insert into the Internet Resources Newsletter. This will help to publicise your efforts to thousands of readers.

RM

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Internet Resources Newsletter by email and RSS

Over 30,000 people now subscribe to the free email version of this Newsletter. Very many thanks go to Willco who distribute the email version. To subscribe, at no cost, go to http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.html

The Internet Resources Newsletter has an RSS feed. This means that you can read its 'headlines' (essentially the Table of Contents) through a feedreader or service such as Bloglines' My Blogs, and then link through to the sections of interest. The RSS feed is available at: http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.rss This is a .rss file and therefore it may not display in some browsers. The easiest way to do this is via Bloglines' My Blogs, or via a feedreader, such as those listed in the RSS Primer.

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Text version

A text only version of the Internet Resources Newsletter is available at: http://www.hw.ac.uk/cgi-bin/parser.pl/0304/www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.html

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Here is this month's selection of news items of interest

Thomson Scientific names high-impact scientific journals
Thomson Scientific has named high-impact scientific journals. In 11 broad scientific fields, Nature and Science top the lists of high-impact scientific journals
http://www.biblio-tech.com/uksg/SI_PD.cfm?AC=672&PID=10&ZID=1660
From: UKSG Serials eNews

IOP archive now accessible
JISC and the Institute of Physics (IoP) will make IoP’s digital journal archive between 1874 and 1998 permanently accessible to UK HE and FE institutions. The archive includes 110,000 articles and 1.5 million pages of physics research.
http://www.biblio-tech.com/uksg/SI_PD.cfm?PID=10&ArticleID=1679&issueno=85&XSection=Business

SUNCAT: launch of Pilot Service
The national union catalogue of serials for the UK research community was launched as a pilot service in January 2005. SUNCAT currently includes serials records from 22 of the largest research libraries. These account for a critical mass, perhaps over 90%, of journals and other serial titles held in the UK. The achievements of the SUNCAT project team at the University of Edinburgh were recognised in this year's awards at Online Information in December 2004, where they were chosen as finalists for the Best Information/Knowledge team in an Academic Environment.
http://edina.ac.uk/suncat/

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[Contents] - [ IRN Home Page ] - [HWU Library Home Page] 

A-Z NEW & NOTABLE WEB SITES

10th Online World Conference on Soft Computing in Industrial Applications

http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/wsc10/

September 19th - October 7th, 2005. Hosted by Cranfield University, UK

About Learning

http://www.demos.co.uk/catalogue/aboutlearning/

Report of the Learning Working Group

ActionFront Emergency Data Recovery Services

http://www.actionfront.com/

“We provide a high success ratio for all types of data recovery. We also offer free information on letting the consumer do their own recovery.”

Airbus unveils 'superjumbo' jet

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4183201.stm

From BBC News – information about the Airbus A380

Albert Einstein Archives

http://www.albert-einstein.org/

The goal of the Albert Einstein Archives is to preserve the archival material, expand our current holdings, enhance accessibility to the material, administer Albert Einstein's literary estate, and increase the public awareness of the scientific achievements, political activities, and the moral and humane values of Albert Einstein.

Alicat Scientific

http://www.alicatscientific.com/

Alicat Scientific is a manufacturer of precision flow instrumentation that is very commonly used in university laboratories across a wide range of disciplines.

Book-Link

http://www.booklink.org.uk/

Sends textbooks donated by educational publishers to Ethiopia.

Connotea

http://www.connotea.org/

Connotea is a place to keep links to the articles you read and the websites you use, and a place to find them again. It is also a place where you can discover new articles and websites through sharing your links with other users. By saving your links and references to Connotea they are instantly on the web, which means that they are available to you from any computer and that you can point your friends and colleagues to them.

Contaminated Land Assessment & Remediation Research Centre: CLARRC

http://www.clarrc.ed.ac.uk/

The Contaminated Land Assessment & Remediation Research Centre (CLARRC) is a centre of excellence for multi-disciplinary research, developing technologies for sustainable, cost effective assessment & remediation of contaminated environments, promoting their transfer to industry.

Contamlinks

http://www.contamlinks.co.uk/

Contamlinks is an information portal for everyone involved with Contaminated Land and Brownfield redevelopment: landowners, developers, regulators, consultants, lawyers and the public.

CVcafe

http://www.cvcafe.co.uk/

A UK recruitment agency.

DevWeek

http://www.devweek.com/

“The UK’s Biggest Conference for Software Developers”

Digital Resources for the Humanities

http://www.drh.org.uk/

DRH 2005: Digital Resources for the Humanities University of Lancaster, UK 4th - 8th September 2005

D-Lib Magazine

http://www.dlib.org/

The January 2005 issue of D-Lib Magazine is now available.

This issue contains four articles, one conference report, the 'In Brief' column, excerpts from recent press releases, and news of upcoming conferences and other items of interest in 'Clips and Pointers'.

ECITE 2005

http://www.academic-conferences.org/ecite2005/ecite05-call-papers.htm

The 12th European Conference on IT Evaluation (ECITE 2005) is being held in Turku, Finland on the 29-30 September 2005.

Einstein Year 2005

http://www.einsteinyear.org/

Einstein Year - a year celebrating physics - Einstein Year 2005.

Electronic Journal of Boundary Elements: EJBE

http://ejbe.libraries.rutgers.edu/

The Electronic Journal of Boundary Elements (EJBE) publishes fully reviewed papers dealing with all aspects of the Boundary Element Method (BEM), also known as the Boundary Integral Equation Method (BIE). Subscription to the electronic form of the journal is free of charge.

eLit2005

http://www.elit-conf.org/elit2005/index.html

4th International Conference on eLiteracy. City Centre Campus, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, 15-17 June 2005

Email Marketing Software Resource Center

http://www.email-marketing-software-resource.com/

The Email Marketing Software Resource Center contains articles on the topic of email marketing and email list management, a review of popular email marketing software programs, and tips for building effective email marketing strategies.

EngineeringSigns

http://www.engineeringsigns.ac.uk/

The online BSL/English glossary for engineering and the built environment.

Engineers Week

http://www.eweek.org/

20-26 February 2005.

Euromotor®

http://www.euromotor.org/

Euromotor® is a network and partnership of European car manufacturers, suppliers and universities, based at the University of Birmingham. It was formed in 1990 to improve the knowledge base of the European motor industry through high-level technical collaborative training.

FeedSweep

http://www.howdev.com/services/feedsweep/

FeedSweep is an online service that streams news and content from one web site to another. You can use FeedSweep to display the latest sports and business news on your web site. You can also use FeedSweep to display updates and news from other web sites, such as business partners, for example.

FexIT

http://www.fexit.com/

"FexIT.com represents an integrated approach to Web-searching for business. By streamlining searches and delivering intelligent results, it breaks new ground in managing the flow and usefulness of business information on the Web."

Flow Meters Manufacturers

http://www.flow-meters.biz/

Flow meter manufacturers including peak flow meters, flowmeter, water flow meters, ultrasonic flow meter, mass flow meters, and air flow meter.

Fotopic.net

http://fotopic.net/

You can load your own photographs on this site, at no cost.

Freedom of Information Web Resources

http://www.cilip.org.uk/professionalguidance/foi/webresources

From the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals.

Google Video

http://video.google.com/

A Beta search engine.

House of Commons: Science and Technology - Third Special Report

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmsctech/249/24902.htm

Here you can browse the report which was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 26 January 2005.

Independence Educational Publishers

http://www.independence.co.uk/index.html

Welcome to the web site of Independence Educational Publishers. Independence is the UK's foremost educational publisher specializing in books about contemporary social issues.

Informing Science

http://inform.nu/

“The academically peer refereed journal Informing Science endeavors to provide an understanding of the complexities in informing clientele. Fields from information systems, library science, journalism in all its forms to education all contribute to this science. These fields, which developed independently and have been researched in separate disciplines, are evolving to form a new transdiscipline, Informing Science.”

Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects

http://ijklo.org/

Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects is an academically peer refereed Journal. All submissions are blind refereed by three or more peers.

IJKLO is published in print by subscription and its articles also appear online free of charge.

International Conference on The Book

http://book-conference.com/

Oxford Brookes University, 11-13 September 2005

Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL) 2005

http://www.jcdl2005.org/

Digital Libraries: Cyberinfrastructure for Research and Education June 7-11, 2005 Denver, Colorado, USA

Law Office Computing

http://www.lawofficecomputing.com/

“Law Office Computing aims to save readers time and money in making their technology decisions. As one of the premier magazines serving the legal technology marketplace, Law Office Computing’s specific legal technology focus offers unbiased, independent reviews, news and features to readers.”

Local Economic Development Initiatives: LEDIS

http://www.ledis.co.uk/

An international library of local economic development case studies and initiatives from around the world.

Lothian and Edinburgh Environmental Partnership: LEEP

http://www.leep.org.uk/

The Lothian and Edinburgh Environmental Partnership (LEEP) works to develop environmental projects which produce an economic benefit to Edinburgh and the Lothians. LEEP is a charity with a Board of Directors representing a wide range of organisations, including the City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh University.

Mathematics of Tsunamis

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/news/2005-01-14/tsunamis/

By Eric W. Weisstein and Michael Trott

MyWebLibrarian

http://www.myweblibrarian.com/

An example of a live online help service offered by Illinois libraries

North East Museums Libraries & Archives Council: NEMLAC

http://www.nemlac.co.uk/

The new NEMLAC web site is now available

Official documents of the United Nations

http://documents.un.org/welcome.asp?language=E

ODS covers all types of official United Nations documentation, beginning in 1993.

Open Access Team for Scotland: OATS

http://scurl.ac.uk/WG/OATS/

A Scottish initiative.

Open Journal Systems: OJS

http://www.pkp.ubc.ca/ojs/

Open Journal Systems (OJS) is a journal management and publishing system that has been developed by the Public Knowledge Project through its federally funded efforts to expand and improve access to research. OJS assists with every stage of the refereed publishing process, from submissions through to online publication and indexing.

Pathways to Philosophy Portal

http://www.philosophypathways.com

This is the launch page for the Pathways to Philosophy distance learning programs run by the International Society for Philosophers in partnership with the Philosophical Society of England

Performance Materials.Net

http://www.performance-materials.net/

A source for online news and features about advanced and high-performance materials.

Professional Networking Online

http://www.freepint.com/issues/270105.htm#tips

An article in FreePint newsletter by Priscilla K. Shontz

Reader's Circle

http://www.readerscircle.org/

Reader's Circle is a free public directory that specializes in listings for book clubs and reader's circles.

RLG DigiNews

http://www.rlg.org/en/page.php?Page_ID=20492

RLG DigiNews is a bimonthly electronic newsletter that focuses on digitization and digital preservation.

School Library Association

http://www.sla.org.uk/

The SLA is committed to supporting everyone involved with school libraries, promoting high quality reading and learning opportunities for all.

SCONUL vision 2010

http://www.sconul.ac.uk/pubs_stats/pubs/vision%202010

In summer 2004 a decision was taken to revisit and renew the latest vision statement in order to reflect the changes that had already taken place and to consider the key issues facing our services up to the year 2010. As in previous years a small group was formed, broadly representative of the membership, to develop a statement as the basis for further dialogue with stakeholders. The statement produced here is the result of that work.

Seekport

http://seekport.co.uk/

Seekport is a new Internet search engine optimised to meet the needs of users in the UK.

Transport Direct

http://www.transportdirect.info/TransportDirect/en/

“…the first complete transport journey planner for Great Britain.”

Tsunami Earthquake Appeal

http://www.dec.org.uk/

From the Disasters Emergency Committee.

UK National Centre for Text Mining: NaCTeM

http://www.nactem.ac.uk/

The remit of NaCTeM, believed to be the first such publicly funded centre in the world, is to contribute to the associated national and international research agenda, to establish a service for the wider academic community, and to make connections with industry.

Using Weblogs in Business

http://www.opportunitywales.co.uk/2-3-14/

An article which introduces the concepts of Weblogs, trackback, RSS etc.

WIDWISAWN Vol 3 No 1

http://widwisawn.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/issues/vol3/issue3_1_1.html

A 'webzine' covering various developments in the Scottish library, museums and archives communities.

Willgoto

http://www.willgoto.com/

Multilingual world travel directory: Tourist information, hotels, rentals, airlines, airports, museums, maps, weather, pictures, and all other useful links sorted by destination and by topic. Special sections for the islands of the Indian Ocean and for Nepal.

World Year of Physics 2005

http://www.psigate.ac.uk/newsite/featured_50.html

A PSIgate Hot Topic listing of sites.

Your Anaesthetic

http://www.youranaesthetic.info/

This website contains an explanation of anaesthesia and a number of leaflets designed for distribution, dealing with individual topics.

[Contents] - [ IRN Home Page ] - [HWU Library Home Page] 

ONLINE SERVICE REVIEW

Search Portfolio http://www.searchportfolio.com/

Do you search the Internet but get lost in the amount of information available and plethora of search tools on offer? Perhaps you don’t quite know where to start or are tired of search tools leading to dead links? If you think these problems apply across your organisation then Search Portfolio may provide an answer.

Search Portfolio is produced in North America on a commercial basis by Workingfaster.com - an internet training organisation operating since 1995. It is a web-based product designed to simplify access to information available on the Internet. It aims to optimise searcher’s time by channelling searches through a relatively small number of pre-selected and evaluated websites (maximum around 100). The sites are presented as a series of grouped links organised in directory format under a number of category headings.

Access to Search Portfolio is based on institutional subscription with a sliding scale of relatively moderate fees ($349 - $749 USD depending on the size of the institution) with preferential rates for smaller organisations. It is entirely web based with no client software required. Access to Search Portfolio can be set up using IP address and/or password / number.

According to Search Portfolio’s documentation the service is designed to aid the serious searcher find the ‘invisible web’. However, its web site promotes it as having utility to anyone using the Internet and as having application across sectors including business, education and the information profession itself (as starting point for web site selection). The product is not explicitly limited to the North American market.

The creative force behind Search Portfolio is Rita Vine. Co-founder of Workingfaster.com, Rita is a professional librarian and a leader in Internet-based research and teaching. Rita, as part of a team of librarians and technical support personnel, provide and maintain the Search Portfolio product.

What elevates Search Portfolio above a listing of web site links or a collection of ‘Favourites’ or ‘Bookmarks’? What makes Search Portfolio an attractive fee-based product? In answer, it has a number of value added features which define its commercial viability.

The Search Portfolio team firstly selects useful search tools/web sites from the multitude available. The sites are then evaluated against a number of published criteria concentrating on reliability, currency, ease of use, provision of on-line help and free availability. As a service Search Portfolio therefore saves the searcher / organisation time in doing much of the ground work for effective Internet searching.

Search Portfolio is also an independent service not affiliated to any of the sites it lists so offering a balanced selection and assessment process. The resulting lists represents independently reviewed, robust, user-friendly resources offering quality content.

Links to the 100 or so selected and evaluated sites are organised (in groups of five or six) under an accessible number of category headings (currently 17). The categories are based on type of information eg ‘Quick Facts’ and ‘Statistics & Data’ rather than by subject. Summaries of the sites in each category are provided via pop up information boxes. Importantly, the list of links is constantly evolving so creating a rolling portfolio which includes newly launched or newly discovered tools and resources. Identified changes to web addresses are changed immediately and groups of links are reassessed and updated quarterly.

The value added elements are extended by provision of Search Portfolio support materials. This material, offered in numerous formats, ranges from tips and tricks on navigating web documents and tips for browsing and searching the tools listed in Search Portfolio to a one page search planning worksheet and a full (downloadable) instructor’s training manual. Registration with a personal password also allows users to receive SITELINES an email newsletter with updates on new and revised resources and advice for web searching.

Search Portfolio is a well conceived and logically arranged resource. It is visually and structurally pleasing and it is intuitive to use. Its ease of use lies in the application of the principle of ‘keep it simple searching’ or ‘KISS’ to both its design and its underlying function. It is fully supported by on-line documentation and technical backup.

Search Portfolio would undoubtedly be of use to most Internet users. However, its utility is perhaps greatest for those unable or unwilling to invest time in the labour intensive tasks carried out by the Search Portfolio team (ie continual process of selection and evaluation of web sites) - probably accounting for a significant percentage of Internet users. It may also be of increased relevance to organisations which have no existing library/librarian support to provide a similar service in-house - or indeed, for Librarians with little time to keep abreast of developments in this area. As a Librarian responsible for maintaining subject guides to Internet resources among many other tasks, I did find some useful links using Search Portfolio – so validating its utility to the multi-tasking information professional.

At the time of review the categories and links provided a broad range of useful information so validating its cross-sector marketing approach. However coverage of business information was heavier than any other category. Equally, despite the emphasis being on pointing searchers to the free web, some sites were not entirely free. For example, the Ingenta site under the ‘Journal article by topic’ category, while allowing free view of the content pages required payment to view certain articles.

In addition, while links offered a choice of level of information within categories, this made the target audience difficult to define. For example PubMed (a resource primarily for clinicians/academic) and the more general interest site MagPortal.com (offering magazine articles including cookery titles) are both listed in the ‘Journal articles by topic’ category. Equally, categories did include sites of universal and international relevance so justifying availability of the product beyond the North American market. However, one category in particular (‘Government and Laws”) tended to have a US and Canadian bias. Given the rolling nature of the listings this finding may change. Only review over a period of time would ascertain whether this profile is permanent.

The changing nature of the Search Portfolio directory, while excellent in keeping users up-to-date with new tools, also means the possible deletion of familiar favourites. To their credit Search Portfolio lessens the impact of this through an email consultation process with users to allow comment and to forewarn users of changes. Relying on a single product as a filter, may also mean searchers are diverted from potentially useful sites not selected for inclusion. A related question with an off-the-peg product offering pre-determined categories and pre-selected links is whether it will meet specific individual and/or organisational requirements?

In answer to these points, the sites chosen for Search Portfolio are comprehensive in scope and substantive in nature. It may be that useful, relevant sites may not make it to selection but the sites which do will probably furnish the information required through an alternative route. A major plus point on the issue of tailoring to individual need is Search Portfolio’s ability to be customised. It can include up to 12 additional links added by an individual using a password-protected ‘My Account’ function. Institutions may also add up to 6 links to licensed products under a separate category heading. Institutional logos can also be incorporated.

Based on its own stated aims Search Portfolio meets its objectives. It does help-

Search Portfolio does the ground work in selecting, evaluating and organising web search tools and, given a valid subscription, does this on a continuous basis. Unlike some free services it is not peppered with advertisements and promotions and has no obligation to promote funding or sponsoring organisations. In this respect Search Portfolio offers a valuable, independent service for many Internet users. Although of use to the serious searcher, the novice will also benefit from its guidance to selected ‘best of breed’ resources and the built-in help provided. To many it will indeed provide what the promotional literature suggests it is - a ‘key to effective searching’. Whether its ability to unlock much of the web is worth paying for is a matter for individual institutions. However, I’m sure many will consider this a worthwhile resource in minimising organisational time wasted in inefficient and fruitless searching.

To get a flavour of the look and feel of Search Portfolio and what the service has to offer view a sample service free of charge at http://www.searchportfolio.com/searchlite.html

For more information on Search Portfolio contact: Search Portfolio Division, Workingfaster.com, Toronto ON, Canada, (416) 928-1405 phone/fax or email info@searchportfolio.com (general enquiries) or sales@searchportfolio.com (to request a trial).

Reviewed by Marion Kennedy, Jan 20, 2005

[Contents] - [ IRN Home Page ] - [HWU Library Home Page] 

PRESS RELEASES

**** Sentient Learning Launches Learning Object Repository
- With a Difference ****

Sentient Learning has announced the launch of a new learning object repository, Sentient LearnBase, which was showcased for the first time to hundreds of academics and information professionals at the Online Information event December 2004.

Sentient LearnBase is a learning object repository with a difference, it not only provides a repository for learning objects, but it will be delivered to institutions with an innovative user friendly Microsoft ® Word based authoring tool – Sentient LearnBuild.

The philosophy behind Sentient LearnBuild is one of technological inclusion. It is thought that the familiar Microsoft ® Word functionality will allow all academics, regardless of technical background, a way to participate more fully in the e-learning revolution bringing a more creative and dynamic dimension to teaching practice.

Sentient LearnBuild is fully integrated with the Sentient LearnBase repository, allowing users within Microsoft ® Word to very quickly and easily:

Create content rich learning objects across an institution
Create their own collection or contributor area of high quality teaching materials
Create IMS content packages using content from the repository or external sources
Share, re-use and re-purpose learning objects
Publish learning objects which can be linked and accessed from the LMS/VLE/MLE system through the resource URL
Easily create metadata templates to facilitate searching and sharing of learning objects
Search along multiple dimensions to easily target relevant material

Sentient LearnBase can be configured to suit any institutional hierarchy or diverse structures, providing an ideal solution to all customer needs. This learning object repository can be installed or delivered over the ASP Service Model depending upon institutional preference.

For additional information about Sentient LearnBase and Sentient LearnBuild – the Microsoft ® Word based authoring tool, please visit: http://www.sentientlearning.com or to arrange a free online demonstration contact: info@sentientlearning.com

**** New CSA Illumina interface now available ****

The new CSA Illumina interface is now available. The new platform for online bibliographic and full-text searching is the result of more than 18 months of planning and development.

Most of the enhancements in the service are the direct result of subscriber feedback. CSA Illumina features a totally re-designed user interface as well as enhanced search capabilities. Other notable enhancements include:

> Easier to use "Quick Search"
> Improved navigation
> Improved integration of help files
> Online tutorials
> New custom default options
> Multi-language interface options
> Search Tools including Combined Search
> Dynamic de-duplication of records with show/hide duplicates option
> Hyper-linked descriptor terms for quick execution of new search queries
> QuikBib bibliography creator
> New library administration module
> Improved linking capabilities
> ADA and SENDA compliance

More than one hundred bibliographic and full-text databases published by CSA and its publishing partners are available through the service. Notable examples include CSA Sociological Abstracts, the SAGE Full-Text Collections, CSA Materials Research Database with METADEX, BioOne, PsycINFO, CSA Technology Research Database, and ARTbibliographies Modern.

For additional information about CSA Illumina, please access http://www.csa.com/csa/news/csa-pressrelease.shtml.

For complimentary trial access to CSA Illumina, please contact sales@csa.com.

**** IOP Journal Archive free to UK universities ****

The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and Institute of Physics (IOP) are delighted to announce a special agreement that will make the contents of the Institute of Physics Journal Archive between 1874 and 1998 permanently accessible to all higher and further education institutions in the UK.

The archive comprises over 110,000 articles and over 1.5 million pages of
physics research.

Full details are available at: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/coll_ioparchive.html

**** National Library for Health's Single Search Environment Goes Live ****

The National Library for Health website (www.library.nhs.uk) now offers a single search environment that will integrate the ‘national’ and ‘local’ information resources of 500 NHS library services across England. Going live from 10 January 2005, the single search environment is one of the first outputs of the National Library for Health; an NHS-wide initiative that is designed to deliver the goal of an integrated English health library.

The single search environment is powered by FDI’s ZPORTAL solution, which integrates NHS resources alongside published data and delivers the resource search engine.

The search engine provides an easy-to-use interface for new or experienced library users, offering them a choice of standard (keyword) or advanced searching (using Boolean terms). Behind the scenes, the software searches across a variety of resources including websites, grey literature, physical resources and full text journals, making information retrieval quicker for time-poor clinicians or librarians.

For further information, please contact:
Emily Haynes, Marketing Executive, FDI Tel: 0114 281 6450
Emily.haynes@fdisolutions.com

**** Xrefer and A&C Black team up for Who's Who Online ****

xrefer and A&C Black are delighted to announce that Who's Who 2005 and the full Who's Who archive Who Was Who 1897-2004 are now available to search and browse on the xreferplus Specialist Reference platform.

With the addition of xrefer's unique browsing interface, users can browse for biographees according to their profession, company or institution, education, address, birthday, birth year, recreations or decorations. They can also see which entrants are new in the
latest edition of Who's Who. More information is available on the xrefer website at http://www.xrefer.com/ww2005.

**** GuruNet Launches Answers.com, Providing Instant Reference Answers ****

http://www.Answers.com

From URLwire
GuruNet Corporation (AMEX: GRU), a leading provider of integrated online reference information, announced the release of Answers.com, a site-and-software combination providing instant reference answers rather than lists of search engine links. GuruNet Corporation, through its Answers.com site, plans to generate revenues from ads placed alongside its topic entries, rather than from the subscription fees it previously charged for the use of its premium service.

Answers.com includes information on over a million topics, drawn from a database of over 100 reference sources. Most recently, GuruNet added content from Wikipedia, the expansive, collaborative encyclopedia written and maintained by thousands of contributors across the globe. This enhancement provides Answers.com with a new level of relevant, up-to-date information, for a complete package unavailable in other encyclopedias, glossaries and atlases.

Contact Jay Bailey, Director of Communications, GuruNet, at
media@gurunet.com

[Contents] - [ IRN Home Page ] - [HWU Library Home Page] 

NETWORK NEWS LINKS

Pinakes: A Subject Launchpad
http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/pinakes/pinakes.html
Pinakes has links to over 50 subject gateways. Direct links to the news pages of some important sites are listed below.

Netskills: News
http://www.netskills.ac.uk/news/

JISCmail News
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/news/index.htm

UK Data Archive news
http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/home/archiveNews.asp

[Contents] - [ IRN Home Page ] - [HWU Library Home Page] 

RECENT INTERNET BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY

The Mantex Information Design web site has reviews of some of the books mentioned in previous issues of the Internet Resources Newsletter.

Recent Arrivals

004.62 BRA
Bluetooth, connect without cables
2nd ed, by Jennifer Bray and Charles F Sturman
Prentice Hall, 2002

005.8 SCH
Secrets and lies: digital security in a networked world
by Bruce Schneier.  
Wiley, 2000

332.1028 OMA
Electronic payment systems for e-commerce
2nd ed, by Donal O'Mahony, Michael Peirce and Hitesh Tewari
Artech House, 2001

A complete list of new books added to Heriot-Watt University Library is available from the Library News page.

http://www.hw.ac.uk/library/news.html

[Contents] - [ IRN Home Page ] - [HWU Library Home Page] 

BLOGORAMA

News about weblogs, RSS, etc:

A weblog (Blog for short) is an online diary of sorts that usually features daily or regular postings providing commentary, plus links to other sites.

For more information on blogs, the article: Search Engines: Weblog search engines http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue36/search-engines/ is a good place to start.

Webopedia gives a definition of RSS http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RSS.html

FeedSweep
http://www.howdev.com/services/feedsweep/
FeedSweep is an online service that streams news and content from one web site to another. You can also use FeedSweep to display updates and news from other web sites, such as business partners, for example.

Waypath
http://www.waypath.com/
Waypath is a Blog Discovery Engine that lets you find new blogs you want to read.

Enterprise Blogging
http://www.hi.is/~anne/entblogs.html
A presentation by Dr Anne Clyde

Enterprise Blogging
http://www.freepint.com/issues/130105.htm#feature
An article by Dr Anne Clyde, in FreePint

Selected interesting blog's and RSS feeds

South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog
http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/

Laptopical
http://www.laptopical.com/
Laptops weblog

IEEE Computer Society Digital Library RSS Feeds
http://bell.computer.org/rss/index.jsp
Over 20 titles tio choose from.

Opportunity Wales Weblog
http://www.opportunitywales.co.uk/weblog1.htm?weblogid=1
A daily digest of business and technology news, resources and opinions.

CNN RSS
http://rss.cnn.com/services/rss/
CNN offers several category feeds, including law and
technology topics.

Blogging about Incredible Blogs
http://bloggingaboutblogs.blogspot.com/

Offshore Outsourcing World Blog
http://www.offshoreoutsourcingworld.com/
News & Events About Offshore Outsourcing World

BNET feeds
http://www.bnet.com/rsslist.aspx
BNET is a rapidly growing business thought leadership directory.

SLA Weblog
http://www.sla.org.uk/blog/slablog.html

Think eBiz; thoughts on eMarketing
http://www.think-ebiz.com/

Oak Ridge National Laboratory
http://www.ornl.gov/ornlhome/rss_feeds.shtml

StratCenter.com
http://www.stratcenter.com/StratCenter/News.Home.aspx?disppage=rssfeeds
StratCenter.com assists healthcare companies in developing their competitive strategies.

William J. Hughes Technical Center Library
http://actlibrary.tc.faa.gov/rss.html
FAA ATO Tech Center Library RSS feeds deliver access to recently published technical reports.

BIOME Headline News
http://biome.ac.uk/news/BIOMEnews.xml

New records in the vetgate database
http://www.biome.ac.uk/rssFeedsOut/vetgate.xml

OMNI: Whats New
http://biome.ac.uk/rssFeedsOut/omni.xml

RealClimate
http://www.realclimate.org/
RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists.

[Contents] - [ IRN Home Page ] - [HWU Library Home Page] 

BOOK NEWS

Information sources in engineering
4th edition, edited by Roderick A MacLeod and Jim Corlett
Munchen: K.G. Saur. 683 pages.
ISBN 3-598-24442-8
More information available at:
http://www.saur.de/catalog/01_browse/_detail_deep.cfm?id=0000010424

The 4th edition has been completely updated to include the best sources of information in the area of engineering, whether available in traditional print form, through the Web or on CD- ROM.

A detailed Introduction sets the scene, and twelve chapters examine different categories of primary and secondary information sources: Journals and electronic journals; Reports, theses and research in progress; Conferences; Patent information; Standards; Product information; Electronic full text services; Abstracting and indexing services; Bibliographies and reviews; Internet resources in engineering; Reference sources; Professional societies.

These are followed by chapters covering all major disciplines within engineering, including: Aerospace and Defence; Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Civil Engineering; Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering; Engineering Design; Environmental Engineering; Manufacturing Engineering; Materials Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Mining and Mineral Process Engineering; Nanotechnology; Occupational Safety and Health; and Petroleum and Offshore Engineering.

Some very distinguished and well-known subject experts have contributed to the 4th edition, making it an important reference source for information managers and professionals providing an information service to engineering communities in academic, research or commercial organisations, plus anyone else involved in information seeking in engineering.

[Contents] - [ IRN Home Page ] - [HWU Library Home Page] 

GET A LIFE! - LEISURE TIME

Bill's Cartoons
http://www.billtoonshere.com/Cartoons/Business/business.html
Over 200 business related cartoons.

[Contents] - [ IRN Home Page ] - [HWU Library Home Page] 

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