LANL Research Library Newsletter - December 1997

Did you know the Research Library can help you take advantage of the wealth of information on the World Wide Web? Check out the WWW classes on our training schedule or call the Research Library at 7-5809.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
December 1997 Issue


BIOSIS� AT LANL RELEASED
What has over 6.7 million records and covers life sciences literature from abscisic acid to zoster virus and is available at the desktop of LANL researchers? As of November 17 the Research Library is providing access to the BIOSIS� at LANL database which indexes journal articles, conferences, books and other documents from around the world. Additional subject areas covered include botany, biochemistry, biophysics, biotechnology, ecology and the environment.

BIOSIS� at LANL includes citations from 6,000 journals including 3,500 that are not covered by MEDLINE and 3,000 that are not covered by SciSearch at LANL. BIOSIS� at LANL also includes over 2000 conferences per year that are not in either MEDLINE or SciSearch at LANL. Initial coverage is 1985 to present with 1969-1984 years to be added in January of 1998.

BIOSIS� at LANL includes Research Library holdings so that you can quickly determine if the article or book you need is available from the Research Library. Also included are hyperlinks to electronic journal articles for many recent articles.

BIOSIS� at LANL can be accessed from the Research Library home page, under the Electronic Databases button.

Sue Watkins

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HAVE YOU USED BRITANNICA ONLINE LATELY??
Britannica Online, the world's authoritative encyclopaedia that is available to LANL researchers at their desktops, has introduced improvements and enhancements. If you liked using the Britannica Online before, you'll find the new version even easier, faster and more visually appealing!

Some of the new features include:

*New Multimedia and More Graphics*
A variety of engaging and informative multimedia elements have been added to articles such as "Nicolaus Copernicus" [http://www.eb.com:180/video/ocoperc004v4.mov]. The number of graphics in the database has tripled -- to 12,800. See "Hubble Space Telescope" or "lung."

*Enhanced Related Internet Links*
Not only are there links to more than 20,000 related Internet sites, but the links now also contain summaries of each site. You'll find that related Internet links are now listed in your search results, so you'll be able to find them quickly.

*Britannica Internet Guide*
Britannica Online recently introduced the Britannica Internet Guide [http://www.ebig.com/] that categorizes its carefully selected Internet sites.

*Alphabetical Browsing Capabilities*
Flip through the pages of Britannica to find articles, illustrations, maps, biographies, and much more.

*Advanced Searching Capabilities*
are also now available -- link there from "Search" on the tool bar at the top of the Home Page.

*Spotlight Feature Articles*
Most recently, Britannica Online featured an in-depth look at the Nobel Prize [http://nobel.eb.com/].

*Automatic Citation*
Unsure how to cite Britannnica Online? Look at the bottom of the article, and you'll find your citation, as recommended by Britannica.

*New Topic Map*
You're fascinated by a Britannica article and are interested in other resources on that subject. What do you do? Start at the top of the article with the Topic Map. This new navigation tool guides you to relevant articles, index entries, tables, multimedia, etc. Review the article on the planet "Mars" to see an example.

Marie Harper

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YOU ASKED FOR ELECTRONIC OVERDUES AND YOU GOT IT!
In response to numerous suggestions to provide notices of overdue books via email, the Research Library has implemented a test this month on this new feature. Now, rather than getting a paper notice of overdues through the snailmail, you will be notified via email and can reply via email to renew. Let us know how this works for you! So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Lou Pray

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NEW ON THE RESEARCH LIBRARY'S WEB SITE
Every month the Research Library adds valuable information for its users through our Web site. Check out the new links by going to New Items.

Recently added links include the Los Alamos National Laboratory Institutional Plan, FY1998 - FY2003 and an online fax form for requesting reports has been added to the page on How to Obtain Technical Reports - LANL Customers.

Lou Pray

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SCISEARCH� AT LANL TIP OF THE MONTH: DOWNLOADING FILES WITH A .txt EXTENSION
In SciSearch� at LANL when downloading files, remember to name the file with a .txt extension. This applies to downloading initial results and full records as well as tagged output. Omitting the extension will cause the file to display in html format when viewed with word processing software. The .htm extension will include html tags in the saved file.

Jeane Strub

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SEARCH TECHNIQUES: FINDING AN AUTHOR IN THE ONLINE CATALOG
Want to find material by a particular author in the online catalog? Do a browse search for Author. In the WWW interface, use "Browse First Words or Numbers," selecting the Author index in the "Select index" pull-down box; in the telnet interface, move your cursor to the A= index in the right-hand column (or type A=). Enter a person's name LAST NAME first, then the first initial(s) or first name. You will get an alphabetical list of author names near what you entered.

If you are not certain what part of an author's name is the surname use an author keyword search -- in the WWW interface use "Search for Words" and select an Author search; in the telnet version move your cursor to the AW= index in the left-hand column. An author keyword search is particularly useful for compound names. For example, Garcia finds Garcia and also compound names such as Herrero Garcia. Note that there is a difference in how author keyword search results are presented in the WWW and telnet versions. In the WWW version, a list of all titles (catalog records) with your author word is presented; in the telnet version a list of all author names including your author word is presented, and you select the line(s) of the names to see the titles.

Kathy Varjabedian

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RESEARCH LIBRARY DECEMBER TRAINING SCHEDULE
DATE SESSION & DESCRIPTION TIME
12/3 Research Library Tour 1-1:30
12/3 Finding Addresses and Phone Numbers on the WWW. 1-1:30
12/4 InfoSurfing: Basic Web Searching Strategies 2-4
12/10 Research Library Tour 1-1:30
12/10 Environmental Resources on the WWW 1-1:30
12/11 BIOSIS� at LANL 1-1:30
12/16 GeoRef on the Web 1-1:30
12/17 Research Library Tour 1-1:30
12/17 Finding Addresses and Phone Numbers on the WWW 1-1:30
12/18 InfoSurfing: Basic Web Searching Strategies 2-4

Classes are free, but you must pre-register by using the email links above to send a message to library@lanl.gov or calling the Library Service Desk at 7-5809. Please include your name, the date and title of the session, and your email address in your message.

Library tours are given every Wednesday at 1:00. Please call 7-5809 for more information. Special classes and orientations can also be arranged.

Sandi Blackburn

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HOLIDAY CLOSURE
The Research Library will be accessible to badgeholders during the holiday closure. Library staff will be off but the copiers and computers will be left on for use by our customers. The unclassified elevator in the Study Center, SM-207, will be operating during the closure.

Happy Holidays from the Research Library!

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Newsletter Editorial Team: Donna Berg , Jack Carter, Lou Pray, Kathy Varjabedian, and Eileen Vela.

To receive an electronic subscription to the Research Library Newsletter, sent the first of each month to your e-mail address, do the following:

subscribe lib-news end

The name and e-mail address of the Library member who contributed an article appears at the end of the article. If you have comments or further questions, please contact that person. If you have general questions or comments about the Newsletter itself, please contact the Newsletter Coordinator, Kathy Varjabedian.

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