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Heriot Watt University

Heriot-Watt University Library

Heriot-Watt University Library

Issue 94 - July 2002

Edited by:

Roddy MacLeod (R.A.MacLeod@hw.ac.uk),

Catherine Ure and Catherine Ferguson.

COMMENT

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

More News

In the last issue of Internet Resources Newsletter I mentioned a number of sites from which news stories are available. Ian Winship, who has compiled the companion Web site for a new book published by Facet Publishing: Attracting, educating, and serving remote users through the web: a how-to-do-it manual for librarians, edited by Donnelyn Curtis (this book is reviewed below), suggested the following additional sites:

Daypop http://www.daypop.com/ (Search 7500 News Sites and Weblogs for Current Events and Breaking News), AllThe Web's news search http://www.alltheweb.com/?cat=news , and IndyMedia UK http://uk.indymedia.org/ for independent stories.

In the last issue I also mentioned RSS news feeds. A good article about writing RSS, by Rael Dornfest, is available from the O'Reilly Network at: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2000/08/25/magazine/rss_tut.html

Another article, mentioned recently in ResearchBuzz is RSS For Non-Techie Librarians: http://www.llrx.com/features/rssforlibrarians.htm

Also of interest is Automatic Discovery of RSS feeds (NEW! Updated Three Times) by Ben Hammersley http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/1475

NewsIsFree collects headlines from 2932 sources around the web and lets you manage them in new ways.

Also appropriate is the fact that one of this month's 'Nice Web Sites' - Linux Portaloo - is a news aggregator.

Here are this month's news items of interest

Number of Online Ads on the Rise
http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article/0,,12_1121261,00.html

Copyright: Patent Office and CLA initiate full consultation with librarians
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=646

Digital Preservation Coalition Launches Website
The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) website has gone live, providing a platform for the dissemination of DPC research and writing and makes available an online version of the Preservation Management of Digital
Materials.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=598

Ingenta Institute Lanches International Site Licensing Study
The Ingenta Institute has announced the commencement of a comprehensive international study into the impact of site licensing and consortia developments on the scholarly communication process.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=597

Progress on Discussions to Harmonise Patent Law
Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting in Geneva last week, reaffirmed their commitment to further harmonization of substantive patent laws on a worldwide level.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=580

British Library Catalogue Enabled for Simultaneous Searching
The British Library has launched its new BLPCZ service, which provides Z39.50 compliant access to the British Library Public Catalogue for the first time. The service allows access to bibliographic records from the
catalogues of the main British Library collections.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=611

Office of National Statistics: Teleworking on the rise in the UK.
Full story from NUA Internet Surveys

Internet Resources Newsletter by email

Over 7,000 people now subscribe to the email version of this Newsletter. Many thanks to Free Pint who distribute the email version. To subscribe, at no cost, go to http://www.hw.ac.uk/libwww/irn/irn.html

A-Z NEW & NOTABLE WEB SITES

9th International Conference on Neural Information Processing:
4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Simulated Evolution And Learning:
2002 International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/nef/

November 18-22, 2002 Orchid Country Club, Singapore.

AI in Design Webliography

http://www.cs.wpi.edu/Research/aidg/AIinD-hotlist.html

This is a collection of potentially useful sources of information about AI in Design, Knowledge Based Design, Intelligent CAD, Computational Approaches to Design, and Design Theory & Methodology.

Aimhigher

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/aimhigher/

"Aimhigher is designed to help you make important choices about your future, like the opportunity to go on to college or university to increase your chances of getting the job or career you really want."

ARCHway

http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/ARCHway.html

A new, free service for everyone involved in archaeological research. The archaeology journal holdings of over 20 UK university, museum and private libraries have been united to create one searchable resource.

British Plumbing Employers Council: BPEC

http://www.bpec.org.uk/

BPEC is involved in a wide range of activities to meet the needs of plumbing firms.

Building Simulation 2003

http://www.bs2003.tue.nl/

The 8th IBPSA Conference and Exhibition, will take place in Eindhoven, Netherlands, August 11 - 14, 2003. The biannual IBPSA International Conference and Exhibition on Building Simulation is the premier event in the field. It covers all topics in the area of computer simulation in building.

Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals Website

http://www.cilip.org.uk/info/web.html

CILIP web services are beginning a major development which will result in a new website.

Computer History Museum

http://www.computerhistory.org/

A large collection of computer-related materials.

Construction Institute

http://www.construction.org/

The Construction Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan association of diverse professionals working to improve the industry by sharing experiences and knowledge, advancing relationships, and developing business leaders.

Cookie Central

http://www.cookiecentral.com/

"Cookies are a standard mechanism that allows a Web site (or server) to deliver simple data to a client (or end user); request that the client store the information; and, in certain circumstances, return the information to the Web site."

CourseSource

http://www.course-source.co.uk/

CourseSource was Information World Review's site of the month in June.

Course-Source is the UK's leading provider of comprehensive and flexible training solutions for organisations that are forging ahead in today's rapidly evolving environment.

Creative Careers Fair

http://www.creativecareersfair.com/

This Creative Careers Fair is targeted at creative individuals and companies. This is an event specially organised for the Creative Arts industry.

Crystal Reference

http://www.crystalreference.com/

Crystal Reference is a leading international content provider and language engineering company.

Cultural Cube - Opportunities for Young People

http://www.culturalcube.co.uk/

Provides information and programmes for young people wishing to experience a different culture through overseas travel, study, temporary work or volunteering. Also has information on budget accommodation, diving courses and unique city packages.

D&T Online

http://www.dtonline.org/

D&T Online is a World Wide Web site offering free access to a wide range of design and technology (D&T) materials, resources and software for pupils to use as they engage in design and technology activities.

Digital Preservation Coalition

http://www.dpconline.org/

The Digital Preservation Coalition was established in 2001 to foster joint action to address the urgent challenges of securing the preservation of digital resources in the UK and to work with others internationally to secure our global digital memory and knowledge base.

DTI Manufacturing Advisory Service

http://www.dti.gov.uk/manufacturing/mas/

This site is specifically designed to help UK manufacturers, large and small, to identify sources of manufacturing related support and expertise.

DVD Forum

http://www.dvdforum.org/forum.shtml

The DVD Forum is an international association of hardware manufacturers, software firms and other users of Digital Versatile Discs.

EBSCO

http://www.ebsco.com/

EBSCO have redesigned their Web site.

"With almost 60 years of experience serving the library community, EBSCO Information Services can provide the expertise that information professionals need to effectively manage their serials collections. EBSCO Information Services is comprised of EBSCO Subscription Services and EBSCO Publishing."

EH&S Software News

http://www.donleytech.com/de00001.htm

Formerly the Environmental Software Report.

"Donley Technology presents the only newsletter devoted exclusively to environmental, health & safety software: the EH&S Software News Online. Six issues a year help EH&S managers, software developers, government officials, and consultants keep up with a changing industry."

eLearn ACCREDIT

http://www.elearnaccredit.org/

eLearn ACCREDIT is an international project, exploring the steps ahead in the development of internationally agreed quality standards in the provision of on-line learning.

eLearning

http://www.learning-channel.co.uk/elearn/

This tool describing eLearning - what it is, how it can be used, how you can get involved - has been developed as a result of a number of pilot projects supported by Scottish Enterprise.

e-Technologies in Engineering Education: Learning Outcomes Providing Future Possibilities

http://www.engfnd.org/2bb.html

August 11-16, 2002 Davos, Switzerland.

European Information Association: EIA

http://www.eia.org.uk/

The European Information Association (EIA) is an international body of information specialists whose aim is to develop, co-ordinate and improve access to EU information. This site includes some quick guides.

European Resource Centres for Schools and Colleges

http://www.britishcouncil.org/education/resource/europe/ercinfop.htm

"The European Resource Centres for Schools and Colleges (ERCs) have been set up to provide information for the education sector.

There are a number of Web sites that offer core European information that may be of interest to teachers and students. These web sites can be used as a starting point for project and curriculum work and many of them are multi-lingual."

Events - LTSN Engineering

http://www.ltsneng.ac.uk/nef/events/index.asp

"We hold and advertise many events every year covering a diverse range of subjects of interest to the working Engineering academics."

Federation of Communication Services

http://www.fcs.org.uk/

FCS provides representation, lobbying, information and secretariat services to the telecommunications industry.

Free Expression Network

http://www.freeexpression.org/

"The Free Expression Network (FEN) is an alliance of organizations dedicated to protecting the First Amendment right of free expression and the values it represents, and to opposing governmental efforts to suppress constitutionally protected speech."

Health and Safety Statistics 2000/01

http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/hss0001.pdf

From the HSC.

ICT Staff Development Database

http://www.scotfeict.ac.uk/providers/index.asp

This section of ScotFEICT contains a searchable database of events, training opportunities and the contact details of relevant suppliers.

Innovations in Teaching And Learning in Information and Computer Sciences: ITALICS

http://www.ics.ltsn.ac.uk/pub/italics/

A peer-reviewed Web journal provided by the LTSN Centre for Information and Computer Sciences.

Institute for Science and International Security: ISIS

http://www.isis-online.org/

"ISIS is a non-profit, non-partisan institution dedicated to informing the public about science and policy issues affecting international security. Its efforts focus on stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, bringing about greater transparency of nuclear activities worldwide, and achieving deep reductions in nuclear arsenals. ISIS's projects integrate technical, scientific, and policy research in order to build a sound foundation for a wide variety of efforts to reduce the threat posed by nuclear weapons to U.S. and international security."

Internet for Construction

http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/tutorial/cons

A new Virtual Training suite tutorial.

Internet for Engineering (General and Automotive)

http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/tutorial/eng

A new Virtual Training suite tutorial.

Journal of Electron Devices

http://www.j-elec-dev.org/

Journal of electron devices is an international journal devoted to the science and technology of all types of electronic components.

Leroy's Engineering Web Site

http://www.interfacebus.com/

New address for this site.

"An Indexed listing of Engineering Sites for Component and OEM Manufactures"

LIFESIGN

http://www.lifesign.ac.uk/

LIFESIGN is a JISC funded project to develop, catalogue and evaluate the use of streaming media in learning and teaching in the broad life sciences.

MainFunction for Students

http://www.amicron.com/cfw/cfw97/

This site, an IT centre for students, is sponsored by Microsoft Corporation.

MathematicsWeb

http://www.mathematicsweb.org/mathematicsweb/show/Index.htt

MathematicsWeb provides:
An integrated search of journal articles and preprints
Services to facilitate research in Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics

Matrix Editions

http://www.MatrixEditions.com/

"Matrix Editions is a small publisher of nonfiction with an initial concentration in mathematics. Our goal is to produce the best possible books at a fair price to readers and with a fair return to authors."

MuseGlobal

http://www.museglobal.com/

"MuseGlobal, Inc. is a technology company founded by library industry veterans with an aim to break the old structures of the information industry."

Nanotechnology Now

http://nanotech-now.com/

Nanotechnology Portal with introduction, basics, news and information. Covering nanoscale & future sciences such as Molecular Manufacturing, Nanomedicine, & BioMEMS.

Ocean Biogeographic Information System: OBIS

http://www.iobis.org/OBISPortal/

Access to more than 430,000 species-based georeferenced data records.

OCLC PICA

http://www.oclcpica.org/

OCLC PICA is a new organisation which comprises of the previous organisations, OCLC Europe, the Middle East & Africa and Pica. The new organisation will be a membership organisation which will jointly market and support the products of OCLC Inc. and the existing Pica products.

Mission
OCLC PICA will be the leading European library cooperative, helping libraries serve people by providing economical access to knowledge through innovation and collaboration.

Linux Portaloo

http://www.linux.org.uk/cgi-bin/portaloo

A Linux based portal and discussion system. What a great idea - this site aggregates news from a number of sources.

Open Archives Forum

http://www.oaforum.org/

Open Archives Forum provides a Europe-based focus for dissemination of information about European activity related to open archives and, in particular, to the Open Archives Initiative.

Profplanetom

http://www.profplanet.com/

A career centre.

R.S. Means Building Glossary

http://www.rsmeans.com/dictionary/

A construction glossary.

Rapra Bookstore

http://www.polymer-books.com

This site has information about books, reports, directories and journals.

"Rapra Technology is Europe's leading independent plastics and rubber consultancy."

RSI and the Library and Information Science Professional

http://www.freepint.com/issues/270602.htm#feature

An article by Vivienne Sales in a recent issue of the popular newsletter Free Pint.

Safetynews

http://www.safetynews.co.uk/

www.safetynews.co.uk is a subscription-free internet source of daily news and information for anyone with an interest in workplace safety and health in Great Britain.

Scientific and Technical Information Exchange: STIX

http://www.stixfonts.org/

The mission of the Scientific and Technical Information Exchange (STIX) font creation project is the preparation of a comprehensive set of fonts that serve the scientific and engineering community in the process from manuscript creation through final publication, both in electronic and print formats.

ScotFind

http://www.scotfind.com/

A Scottish Link Directory.

ScottishDocuments

http://www.scottishdocuments.com/content/default.asp

Our key aim is to open up Scotland's rich archival heritage to everyone.

Search Engines, Keywords and Dictionaries

http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/02/sd0520-keywords.html

This is from SearchDay, May 20, 2002.

Search Them All

http://www.search-them-all.com/uk.htm

Search top search engines from one site.

SearchLT

http://www.eevl.ac.uk/engineering/failte-search.htm

Engineering lecturers will be able to locate courseware more easily using a new service provided through EEVL: the Internet guide to Engineering, Mathematics and Computing.

SearchLT Engineering is an online database of learning resources, which have been selected, evaluated, and described by subject experts and academics. It aims to provide information and access to the best learning and teaching resources for the UK engineering higher education and research community. SearchLT helps lecturers identify, select, and access suitable computer and Web-based learning materials for their courses. Links provide access to the resource (if it is Web-based), or to the Web pages of the provider. Resources can include computer-based learning tutorials, CD-ROMs and Web sites containing online texts and educational simulations.

As well as being available as a separate service, SearchLT can also be cross-searched via EEVL.

State of the Construction Industry Report

http://www.dti.gov.uk/construction/stats/soi/soihome.htm

This report is produced for discussion at the Construction Industry Board. It is written by a working group of the Consultative Committee for Construction Industry Statistics which consists of DTI and industry members.

Study Overseas

http://www.studyoverseas.com/

Study Overseas .com provides free university and college advice for students worldwide who are considering studying abroad for an international education.

Swiss Web Index

http://www.yoodle.ch/

A directory to Swiss Web sites.

Taxonomy & Classification Software Addresses Issue of "Infoglut"

http://www.inmagic.com/newslink/602/

A report from Inmagic.

TEN-Telecom

http://www.ten-telecom.org/

TEN-Telecom is the European Community Programme designed to help the deployment of telecommunication networks based services (e.services) with a trans-European dimension.

The Blue Water Partnership

http://www.thebluewater.com/

Interesting concept in Web sites. This site is about people management skills.

The Manufacturer

http://www.themanufacturer.com/

A manufacturing portal.

The Source (e-journal)

http://www.thesourcemag.com/

The Source is a national quarterly magazine that is mailed to contractors in a variety of construction-related industries.

TheJudge

http://www.thejudge.co.uk/

"TheJudge.co.uk Limited was started in April 2000 and the launch of its flagship website followed in August of the same year. The website is an independent information service on after-the-event insurance and was recommended by the Court of Appeal in its judgment on Callery -v- Gray."

Venue Resource

http://venueresource.com/

A source for meetings, conferences, retreats and events.

Web Site Usability Resources

http://www.freepint.com/issues/130602.htm?FreePint_Session=06258dfecf33d5a9212229d1fc9104b2#tips

A 'Tips' article by Tim Houghton from a recent issue of Free Pint.

WebFeat

http://www.paratext.com/webfeat/

WebFeat is a "knowledge prism," permitting you to search all kinds of web-based databases in a single search.

webindia

http://www.webindia.com/

A business portal for India.

WebServices.org

http://www.webservices.org/

The Web Services Community Portal.

Wizpop Classifieds

http://www.wizpopclassifieds.com/

You can buy and sell computer related items for free.

Working with Students with Disabilities: LTSN Engineering Guide

http://www.ltsneng.ac.uk/er/dis/dispguide.asp

A useful and practical guide to new disability legislation and how it will effect departments. The Guide can be downloaded as a pdf file from this site.

Workplacelaw Network

http://www.workplacelaw.net/

"Workplacelaw Network Online brings together those responsible for managing people or their workplace with the UK's experts in employment, health and safety, and premises law."

Zeal UK

http://uk.zeal.com/

"Zeal is a community-driven directory that allows enthusiasts from around the world to contribute sites, manage categories, and collaborate with a team of professional Editors to build a superior directory. Zeal is a part of LookSmart, the global leader in Web directories."

NICE WEB SITE

In the course of finding sites of interest for this Newsletter, we sometimes come across Web sites which we feel deserve slightly more than a passing mention. Each month we will pick out one or more such sites, and give them a short review. The sites will normally be UK based, may be small or large, and be of interest or potential interest to academics. After lengthy discussions we have decided, with incredible creativity :-), to call these: Nice Web Sites. Details of previous Nice Web Sites are available in the Nice Web Site Archive.

Linux Portaloo
http://www.linux.org.uk/cgi-bin/portaloo

This has a bit of a daft name, and is also rather specialist, but what a good idea! The Linux Portaloo aggregates news items from a number of sources, and presents them in an easy to use interface. You can add or delete 'channels' and it is pretty obvious where the news items originate from.

Roddy MacLeod

PRESS RELEASES

**** Estelle Morris praises new free Internet resource for Further Education ****

A national Web initiative offering free online training in Internet skills to students and lecturers in further education has been launched at www.vts.rdn.ac.uk.

Building on the success of the 40 higher education tutorials launched last year, the 11 new "teach yourself" Web tutorials in the Resource Discovery Network (RDN) Virtual Training Suite will enable students in further education to find high quality information on the Internet to support their course work.

Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Estelle Morris, said: "The potential of the Internet to support education and work can only be met if people have the skills and inspiration to use it. That is why I am glad that the RDN Virtual Training Suite is now offering 11 new tutorials which will provide a helpful overview of what the Internet can offer for anyone studying or teaching at a college or university".

"The fact that these tutorials can be taken at any time over the Web for free means that they can help anyone learn at a time and a place that suits them. I hope that large numbers will take advantage of this and discover how the Internet can enhance their studying."

The RDN Virtual Training Suite offers self-taught training in Internet information skills. Each tutorial has been written by an expert "tour guide" - a further education teacher or librarian with knowledge of both their subject area and the Internet.

The tutorials offer step-by-step instruction in Internet searching and information skills, such as critical evaluation. Online quizzes and interactive exercises lighten the learning experience and there is a glossary of Internet terms and a "Links Basket" to collect a personal list of useful Web links.

Lecturers, librarians and IT trainers are encouraged to use these tutorials to support subject curricula, student induction, staff development and training in IT Key Skills. The skills covered map on to part of the Key Skills specifications for Information Technology, as defined by the Qualifications Curriculum Authority. Teaching Packs offer case study examples of how these tutorials can be used in different courses at levels 1-3, ranging from A Level to GNVQ and AVCE.

The 11 tutorial titles are:
· Internet for Art, Design and Media
· Internet for Business Studies
· Internet for Construction
· Internet for Engineering (General and Automotive)
· Internet for Hairdressing and Beauty
· Internet for Health and Social Care
· Internet for Hospitality and Catering
· Internet for Information and Communication Technology
· Internet for Leisure, Sport and Recreation
· Internet for Performing Arts
· Internet for Travel and Tourism

Further Information
The RDN Virtual Training Suite is available at http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk and provides 50 subject-specific tutorials that teach Internet information skills.

The Resource Discovery Network (RDN) is a national Internet service for learners, teachers and researchers funded by the higher and further education funding bodies and the Learning and Skills Council via the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), and by Research Councils such as the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It is available at http://www.rdn.ac.uk

The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) promotes the innovative application and use of information systems and information technology in further and higher education across the UK and funded development of this resource.

This project was co-ordinated by the Institute for Learning and Research Technology (ILRT) at Bristol University, in collaboration with the RDN and more than 20 UK colleges. Further information about ILRT is available at http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk

Dr Philip Pothen
JISC/RDN Communications Manager,
JISC Office,
King's College London,
Strand Bridge House,
3rd Floor,
138-142 The Strand,
London WC2R 1HH

Tel: 020 7848 2935
philip.pothen@kcl.ac.uk

**** JHEP archive goes live! ****

The complete Journal of High Energy Physics (JHEP) archive, 1997-2001, plus current 2002 material, is now available and free of charge throughout 2002 from Institute of Physics Publishing's (IoPP) Electronic Journals service at http://www.iop.org/journals/jhep.

IoPP has taken responsibility for the electronic-only publication of JHEP since January 2002, with submissions and the peer review process continuing to be managed by the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) http://jhep.sissa.it/ in Trieste, Italy.

The current year's articles now benefit from HyperCite® linking technology, which enables users to find papers cited by or papers citing a selected article. HyperCite also enables users to link to the abstracts or full-text of articles listed on our Reference pages, where applicable. Articles appear as soon as they are accepted, in header-form, including keywords. When articles have been fully prepared for publication, the extra data (PDF, PS and references) are added. The 1997-2001 archival material consists of headers with linked keywords, and full-text access is available. Reference links are provided through links in PDF files to the SPIRES and ArXiv databases.

Launched in July 1997, JHEP is a well-established electronic-only journal, enjoying the full support of the high-energy physics community and benefiting from distinguished Editorial and Advisory Board members. JHEP is one of the most highly-cited journals in high-energy physics with an impact factor of 4.196 (as listed in the ISI® 2000 Science Citation Index Journal citation reports).

Until recently JHEP has been financed by SISSA with contributions from the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), CERN and more recently by other laboratories and universities in several countries. This financial sponsorship has enabled the community to enjoy completely free access to the journal. However given JHEP's growing size and importance, and the desire that it further exploit the benefits of electronic publishing, the time has come for the cost of the journal to be borne by the community as a whole, not just by a few organizations.

From January 2003 JHEP will become available to institutions at a low annual subscription rate of £600/$900 (excluding value-added or local sales taxes). The 1997-2002 archive will remain free of charge. In addition, as JHEP has proven so successful in both its impact and citation performance within the high-energy physics community, IoPP has included the journal in three of its popular journal subscription packages from 2003 - Packages A (not available in North America), B and Z. JHEP is also included in the new 2003 high-energy physics Package H, along with two other leading titles in this field - Classical and Quantum Gravity and Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics. By taking all three titles, institutional subscribers will save 10% on the total subscription cost.

The success of JHEP lies in the scientific merit of the scientists who publish in the journal and in the serious commitment of its excellent editors. The financial support of IoPP and the introduction of a low annual subscription rate will guarantee the long-term success of this high quality peer reviewed journal for today's community and for future generations. This includes a commitment to the JHEP archive in the long-term, and the continued development of the JHEP peer review software.

For further information, please contact:
Sharon Navas
Institute of Physics Publishing
Dirac House
Temple Back
Bristol BS1 6BE
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 117 929 7481
Fax: + 44 (0) 117 930 1187
E-mail: sharon.navas@iop.org

The Institute of Physics, http://www.iop.org, is a leading international professional body and learned society, established to promote the advancement and dissemination of a knowledge of and education in the science of physics, pure and applied.

**** Open Archives Initiative Release Version 2.0 of the Protocol for Metadata Harvesting ****

The Open Archives Initiative is pleased to release version 2.0 of the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). The release of OAI-PMH v.2.0 comes after 16 months of worldwide experimentation with version 1.x of the protocol, an 8 month revision process by the OAI-tech group, and 4 months of alpha/beta testing. Thanks to this rigid testing and revision, we feel confident to release the OAI-PMH version 2.0 as a stable specification.

A full press release is available at http://www.openarchives.org/news/oaiv2press020614.html

**** British Library Public Catalogue accessible from COPAC ****

Joint Press Release from the British Library and the Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL)

The British Library and the Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL) are delighted to announce that from 17 June 2002 the British Library Public Catalogue (BLPC) will be accessible online, free of charge, from COPAC (http://copac.ac.uk).

COPAC is an online union catalogue, hosted at MIMAS, which gives free access to the merged catalogues of 22 of the largest university research libraries in the UK and Ireland. Now that the British Library has become a full member of CURL and the BLPC has been added to COPAC, COPAC users will have free online access, via a single search interface, to more than 20 million catalogue records, which they can search simultaneously by title, author or subject.

The National Library of Scotland and the National Library of Wales / Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru have also become full members of CURL and their records will be available via COPAC within the next twelve months. Meanwhile their catalogues can be searched simultaneously with the COPAC database, which also includes the BLPC, using the experimental version COPAC V3.

More details about the content of the BLPC can be found at http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/blpc.html

More information about CURL and MIMAS can be found on their respective web sites at http://www.curl.ac.uk and http://www.mimas.ac.uk.

**** IOP launches new journals service for authors and readers ****

For more than a year now the Institute of Physics has provided free electronic access to the current issues of most of our journals. This service has proven to be extremely popular with readers, of course, but also with authors as it has offered unrivalled visibility for, and accessibility to, their papers.

Building on this success, we are pleased to announce the launch of This Month's Papers, a new service designed to offer even more exposure for our authors. Rather than being free for the lifetime of the issue, the full- text of the final typeset version of each article will now be freely available in This Month’s Papers for a period of 30 days from online publication, irrespective of the frequency of the journal.

This means that articles accepted for publication in the majority of our journals will be made free to the entire physics community for 30 days. The aim is to underline our commitment to disseminate new research as widely as possible.

*How to access This Month's Papers*

This Month's Papers can be found within the EJs Extra section of our Electronic Journals service at http://www.iop.org/EJ/ejs_extra. The papers are also freely available in the source journals. To access the free articles, non-subscribers to the source journals will be prompted to log in or to create an account, if they do not have a username and password for our Electronic Journals service. This should take place at the user level.

Please note that some of our partner journals are excluded from this service. If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service Advisors at custserv@iop.org.

Lucy Pearce
Senior Product Manager
Institute of Physics Publishing

NETWORK NEWS

DNER News

The Distributed National Electronic Resource (DNER) is a managed environment for accessing quality assured information resources on the Internet which are available from many sources.

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/dner/information/news/index.html

NISS News

A week-by-week listing of new information resources on the NISS (National Information Services and Systems) Information Gateway selected by experts in the subject area is available at:

http://www.niss.ac.uk/welcome/whatsnew.html

BUBL News

BUBL has retained a strong library element, but now provides a subject-based service to the academic and research community more generally, this via the BUBL LINK Subject Tree. The latest news from BUBL is available at:

http://bubl.ac.uk/news/

The latest updates to the BUBL LINK / 5:15 Catalogue of Internet Resources are available at:

http://bubl.ac.uk/link/updates/current.html

EEVL News: The latest Additions to EEVL, The Hub for Engineering, Mathematics and Computing, are available at:; http://www.eevl.ac.uk/whatsnew.htm

SOSIG News

The latest additions to SOSIG (Social Science Information Gateway) are available at:

http://sosig.esrc.bris.ac.uk/roads/whats-new.html

EDINA Newsline: The latest issue of Edina (Edinburgh Data & INformation Access) Newsline can be found at:; http://edina.ed.ac.uk/newsline/

CHEST News

CHEST aims to obtain quality commercial software, datasets, training materials and other IT products for the Education and Research Community at low prices and attractive licence terms. The latest news from CHEST is available at:

http://www.chest.ac.uk/news.html

MIMAS News

MIMAS is a JISC-supported national data centre run by Manchester Computing, at the University of Manchester, to provide the following range of services to the academic community:

Flexible on-line access to strategic research and teaching datasets.
Access to key bibliographic information.
Access to specialist support and training.
Access to software packages and large-scale computing resources.

The latest news from MIMAS can be found at:

http://www.mimas.ac.uk/news.html

New additions to PSIgate

PSIgate (Physical Science Information Gateway) is the physical sciences hub of the Resource Discovery Network (RDN).

http://www.psigate.ac.uk/ROADS/whats-new.html

BIOME News

BIOME is a collection of gateways which provide access to evaluated, quality Internet resources in the health and life sciences, aimed at students, researchers, academics and practitioners. The latest news from BIOME can be found at:

http://biome.ac.uk/whatsnew/

Netskills: News

Netskills aims to help the UK HE community make effective use of the Internet for teaching, research and administration. The latest news from Netskills can be found at:

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

What's new on Eldis

Electronic Development and Environment Information System. A gateway to information sources on development or the environment. What's new on Eldis can be found at:

http://nt1.ids.ac.uk/eldis/wnew.htm

What's New on Biz/ed

Biz/ed is a dedicated business and economics information gateway for students, teachers and lecturers.

http://www.bized.ac.uk/homeinfo/whatsnew.htm

AHDS Newsletter

The latest issue of the AHDS (Arts and Humanities Data Service) Newsletter can be found at:

http://ahds.ac.uk/newsletters.htm

JISCmail News

JSICmail provides electronic discussion lists for the UK higher education community.

http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/news.htm

UK Data Archive news

The UK Data Archive at the University of Essex houses the largest collection of accessible computer-readable data in the social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom. It is a national resource centre, disseminating data throughout the United Kingdom and, by arrangement with other national archives, internationally.

http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/home/archiveNews.asp

Chemical Data Service (CDS)

CDS provides on-line access to a variety of quality databases in the field of Chemistry, plus support, training and advice. This is available (free of charge) to academics at UK Universities.

http://cds.dl.ac.uk/cds/

Academic Info

Your gateway to quality educational resources. Academic Info is an annotated subject directory tailored toward a college and university audience and is used by students, librarians, and researchers.

http://www.academicinfo.net/new.html

RDN News

The Resource Discovery Network (RDN) is a free Internet service dedicated to providing effective access to high quality Internet resources for the learning, teaching and research community.

http://www.rdn.ac.uk/news/

BOOK REVIEW

Review of:

Attracting, educating, and serving remote users through the web - A how-to-do-it manual for librarians
Edited by Donnelyn Curtis
Companion website for UK and European users prepared by Ian Winship
Facet Publishing, 2002
ISBN 1-85604-461-0
£34.95

Suprisingly, this book arose out of the process to design a new library building for the University of Nevada, Reno. As part of the planning process the needs of library users were considered and it was clear to the staff involved that the role of the library was changing. An increasing majority of users prefer to access resources remotely, and information seekers (with the advent of the Web) expect to find information easily. They frequently consult inferior or inapproriate resources rather than use resources available electronically that may require more effort.

This book addresses the problem of how to attract, educate and serve remote users. There is a US bias, but it is both a relevant and essential resource for Libraries in the UK and Europe, particularly as Ian Winship, Electronic Services Manager at the University of Northumbria, has prepared an excellent companion website for UK and European users (http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/curtis/curtis.html). 10 Library professionals have contributed to the book and provide step-by-step guidance in chapters such as presenting the virtual library and providing library instruction for remote users. It is wriiten in a practical hands-on style and is well illustrated with appropriate examples.

Catherine Ure