New & Noteworthy
e-Book of the Month |
Featured Resources |
New Book List |
Stanford / Sci-Tech News |
Swain Library Newsletter
The Catalyst: The Swain Library Newsletter
Latest Issue |
Archive
December 1998
Contents
- Swain Fall Quarter Intersession Hours
- No Electricity at Swain for Two Days in December
- Chemical Abstracts Online & Crossfire Training
- Removing Swain Materials Without Checking Them Out
- InfoPlease.com
- Annual Reviews — Physical Science Suite Now on the Web
- Not All Stanford E-Journal Directory Pages are the Same
- Biographical Resources on Scientists and Engineers
- Chemical Nomenclature Resources
- Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services at Swain
- Site License for the CaChe WorkSystem Molecular Modelling Software is Available
- Beware of Viruses on Swain Workstations
- Options for Accessing BIOSIS
- SciFinder Scholar — New Version Available
Swain Fall Quarter Intersession Hours
Swain will have the following hours during the fall quarter break:
(Closed Weekends beginning Saturday, Dec. 12)
| Monday–Friday |
Dec. 14–18 |
1–5pm |
| Monday–Wednesday |
Dec. 21–23 |
1–5pm |
| Thursday–Friday |
Dec. 24–25 |
Closed |
| Monday–Wednesday |
Dec. 28–30 |
1–5pm |
| Thursday–Friday |
Dec. 31–Jan.1 |
Closed |
| Monday |
Jan. 4 |
9am–5pm |
| Tuesday |
Jan. 5 |
9am–11pm |
(Regular hours Resume)
Swain will have short hours over the December intersession, so if any researchers
require a key to the library, please attend one of the Wednesday afternoon
“key tours.” Even though you may have used the library for years, there
are a few additional things to know, like how to check books out yourself. Key tours
are held every Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. and take about a half hour. For more details about
after hour access, please see Swain’s
After-hours Access Page.
While Library staff will be in most mornings during the intersession, we need time
to shelve books, remove fall reserves and get winter reserves up. So unless you are in
dire need, please hold your questions until 1:00 p.m.
No Electricity at Swain for Two Days in December
Because work needs to be done on a local transformer, the electrical power will
most likely be off for 2 days between Christmas and New Years. We don’t know which
two days yet but will let you know when we do. That means no computers, no copiers,
no lights in journal stacks and no heat. We may have to close the library but won’t
make a decision until we have the dates.
Chemical Abstracts Online & Crossfire Training
One more set of database searching workshops will be taught at Swain this Fall
Quarter during the week of December 14th.
Removing Swain Materials Without Checking Them Out
Please do not remove Swain materials unless you have checked them out. This is
inconsiderate to colleagues and in some cases causes the library to spend funds
buying replacement copies that are not really needed. Thank you very much for your
cooperation and help!
InfoPlease.com
A free ready reference site that offers millions of up-to-the minute facts and
statistics on many popular topics is now available on the web at:
http://www.informationplease.com
The site integrates various “Information Please Almanacs” on sports,
entertainment, and general knowledge with the Random House “Webster’s College
Dictionary,” and “The Columbia Encyclopedia, 5th Edition,” into a
single reference source.
Annual Reviews — Physical Science Suite Now on the Web
Go to
http://www.AnnualReviews.org/
The Physical Sciences Suite (Planetary Sciences, Energy and the Environment, Fluid Mechanics,
Materials Science, Nuclear and Particle Science, Physical Chemistry) are now available as a free
trial until December 31, 1998. Search 1984 to the present.
The Biomedical Sciences Suite (Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biomolecular Structure, Cell and
Developmental Biology, Ecology and Systematics, Entomology, Genetics, Immunology, Medicine,
Microbiology, Neuroscience, Nutrition, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physiology, Phytopathology,
Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, Psychology, Public Health) is also available on
the web.
Efforts have been initiated for Stanford to get electronic subscriptions to Annual Review
titles currently received in print so that we have ongoing access.
Not All Stanford E-Journal Directory Pages are the Same
In an increasing number of cases, the Stanford Libraries have a number of hidden
scripts, passwords, and proxies that are activated when you select an electronic
journal you want to read. Because these hidden files are not present in lists that
others may create (but are required in order for you to access the full text), your
surest bet for accessing an electronic journal is to start from one of two web pages:
Biographical Resources on Scientists and Engineers
Here’s a brief guide you can use if you need to find biographical information
on a scientist or engineer.
Selected Biograpical Resources on Scientists and Engineers (http://library.stanford.edu/depts/swain/help/subjectguides/general/comm/people.html)
Chemical Nomenclature Resources
Below are some electronic resources that you can use to help name compounds.
In addition, Swain has a number of IUPAC books containing nomenclatural rules
in the reference collection. Search “nomenclature” in the title field
and limit results to Swain Library to find printed volumes owned.
Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services at Swain
Can’t find that critical article? If what you need is not at any of the
Stanford Libraries there are other options. Come to Swain Library weekdays
between 9 and 5 and and we’ll try to locate what you need.
If the material is at UC Berkeley, Davis or Santa Cruz we are often able
to get it quickly, within a day or two. If those sources cannot provide the
material, we may order it from a commercial document delivery supplier, who
can often provide material within a week to ten days. However, sometimes
copyright fees are so high that they will send the original rather than make
a copy, in these cases Swain’s request goes to the end of the line and we
get the material in turn.
Stanford’s Interlibrary Loan division at Green library is another source.
You must have a full citation, including both author and full title for
Interlibrary Loan to process the order. Swain staff will search to see who
owns the item, will sign off the paperwork and send it to Interlibrary Loan.
When the article arrives on campus, you are notified directly and must pick
up the material at Green Library. Once the paperwork goes to ILL Swain is out
of the loop and we have no idea how long these orders take. However, follow
up inquires can be made to the Interlibrary Loan at Green Library.
Patents can be ordered at Swain as well, with U.S. Patents usually taking
less than a week and foreign patents typically taking two to three weeks to
arrive. Unbound U.S. dissertations can be ordered and often arrive within
two weeks of the order.
So when you want material that isn’t readily available in any of the
Stanford Libraries, come to Swain, talk to Carol and we’ll try to locate the
articles, patents or dissertations you need for your research.
Site License for the CaChe WorkSystem Molecular Modelling Software is Available
The Swain Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Library has purchased a
campus-wide site license for CaChe’s WorkSystem Molecular Modelling Software.
Available for both Macs and PCs, go to this url at the Bioinformatics Resource
Facility to download a copy:
http://cmgm.stanford.edu/keyserver/cache
The CAChe WorkSystem offers an editor and visualizer plus additional modeling
tools, including dynamics, MOPAC and ZINDO. It can be used to predict and display
IR, UV and visible spectra. CAChe WorkSystem also includes ProjectLeader(TM), a
chemical spreadsheet that can be used to automate experiments, to calculate new
properties, and to perform structure-activity analyses.
Beware of Viruses on Swain Workstations
While Swain has VirusScan on our new Mac G3s, some users will turn it off to
improve response time. This is very short-sighted and potentially dangerous. If
you plan on using one of the G3s, we strongly recommend that you check to see
if VirusScan is on and to scan the disk to make sure no viruses are lurking that
may corrupt your data. This takes about 5 minutes but may save you hours of lost
time.
Options for Accessing BIOSIS
BIOSIS indexes the worldwide literature of research in the biological and biomedical
sciences. Stanford has access to BIOSIS data covering 1969 to the present via the Los
Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). LANL provides both a Web version of BIOSIS and a
Telnet version. Access is limited to the Stanford community. To search BIOSIS at LANL
go to:
BIOSIS via LANL
Stanford also has access to BIOSIS data covering 1970 to the present via Ovid. Access
to Ovid is limited to the Stanford community. To search Ovid BIOSIS, go to:
http://gateway.ovid.com/autologin.html.
Ovid BIOSIS offers a user-friendly Web interface and a variety of features for searching
and displaying results.
BIOSIS covers the entire field of life sciences including original research reports
and reviews in field, laboratory, clinical, experimental, and theoretical work. The
database corresponds to “Biological Abstracts (BA)” 1969–present,
“Biological Abstracts/RRM (Reports, Reviews, Meetings) (BA/RRM)” 1980–present,
and BioResearch Index 1969–1979. BIOSIS indexes journals, technical reports, meeting
proceedings, United States patents, and books in biology, biomedicine, and related areas.
Over 500,000 journal articles and other documents from over 6,000 journals and other
sources are indexed each year.
| Update frequency |
Three times/month |
| Coverage |
1969–present |
| Publication types |
Journals, books, reviews, meetings and meeting abstracts, nomenclatural
rules, notes, letters, annual reviews, bibliographies, guides, United
States patents, and research communications. |
Editorial policy and indexing practices in BIOSIS have changed through the years.
Prior to 1985, many compound words were segmented. For example, ANTIBACTERIAL appears
as a single term in titles and added keywords from 1985 to the present, but from 1969
to 1984, this word was entered as two words: ANTI BACTERIAL. From 1969 to 1984,
CARBON DIOXIDE was entered as the phrase CARBON DI OXIDE. The use of abbreviations
has evolved also. In addition, the structure of BIOSIS records has changed. The
Institution field, which lists the author’s address or affiliation, has been included
since 1978, but it is not present in earlier records. When comprehensive retrieval is
important, include synonyms, abbreviations, and segmented forms of your search terms.
For best results, review the BIOSIS Search Guide, read the help available in BIOSIS,
consult your local librarian, or send a message to
biosishelp@sulmail.stanford.edu.
SciFinder Scholar — New Version Available
Version 2.0 of SciFinder Scholar, the user-friendly software package for searching
Chemical Abstracts Online will be available for copying by the end of this week.
New features include links to the full-text of selected journals, the ability to
refine an author search by specifying a topic or keywords, and to refine chemical
reaction searches by searching another structure that is present in the same chemical
reaction. For more information and details on how to download a copy of SFS to your
desktop, please see this URL:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/swain/collections/databases/cas/scifi/index.html
Grace Baysinger
Head Librarian & Bibliographer, Swain Library of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
URL: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/swain/index.html
Head, Science and Engineering Libraries Resource Group