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The Catalyst: The Swain Library Newsletter
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March 1999
Contents
- Proposed Journal Cancellations for Swain-Please Provide Feedback by May 15
- After Hours Access to Science Libraries
- “Hemlock” for Socrates I
- Web Search Engines Organized by Country
- Finding Images on the Web
- Web Sites of Interest
- Interlibrary Borrowing Service and Access Privileges to UCB and UT-Austin
- ACS Meeting Exhibits in Anaheim-Cool Prizes and Lots of Exhibitors
Proposed Journal Cancellations for Swain-Please Provide Feedback by May 15
I have prepared a list of titles being considered for cancellation by the
Swain Library. This is due to a mandated $200,000 reduction in serial
subscriptions by Stanford’s Science and Engineering (SERG) Libraries (6.67%
of the SERG serials budget). While serial prices are increasing annually at
a rate of 9–13% in the SERG Libraries, the library materials budget has
increased only 3% each year during the past two years. Surcharges being
levied for access to electronic versions are further straining library
materials budgets (e.g. ACS’ surcharge is 25%). The SERG Librarians were
asked to look closely at duplicate subscriptions on campus and to review
titles issued by publishers that are increasing prices at rates
significantly higher than the average rate.
While insuring that we meet Swain’s target ($35,000), I believe that we
need to make additional cuts to help cover ongoing price increases and to
reallocate funds for providing electronic access to core serials as they
become available. The approach taken in identifying the titles on the
attached list has been to target:
- Titles where multiple print copies exist on campus and either online
access is now available campus-wide or the use of the Swain copy is
not high enough to justify the continued expense.
- Titles with high subscription costs or high costs per use (use data
is based on the average number of times items were reshelved during
the past five years).
Subscription costs for many journals have been increasing far beyond the
rate of inflation, forcing us to adopt an access strategy of “just-in-time”
rather than “just-in-case” for lesser-used, higher priced titles. Uniquely
held titles that are cancelled as part of this cost containment effort will be made
available through document delivery and interlibrary borrowing.
Titles being considered for cancellation by all of the SERG Libraries can be viewed at
SERG’s Serials Cancellations page
This web site also includes background information about financial pressures
research libraries are under due to increasing costs of scholarly scientific and
technical information. I have also put together a spreadsheet that contains more
details than are up on the web. Faculty in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
have received a copy of this spreadsheet. Copies are also available by asking at
Swain’s circulation desk.
Your feedback is important. Please provide me with any concerns you may have
regarding individual titles on the attached spreadsheet or the process in general
no later than May 15. I can be reached at
graceb@stanford.edu,
725-1039, or c/o Swain Library, Organic Chemistry Building, MC 5080.
After Hours Access to Science Libraries
Several of the Science Libraries on main campus provide after hours access at
Stanford: Falconer Biology, Physics, and Swain Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
Here's a brief description about access as well as key contacts.
Falconer Biology Library: faculty members from any department
are eligible for a key. They can share their key with graduate students, postdocs,
and research staff in their lab. There is a form that needs to be completed and a
$5.00 key deposit. Interested faculty must submit form, pay the key deposit, and
pick up the key themselves.
Key contact: Jill Otto: jotto@leland; 725-1276
Physics Library: faculty and students with specific needs for
physics and astronomy literature are eligible for a key. Graduate students from
departments other than Physics and Applied Physics must have a letter of support
from their advisor stating a valid need for after hours use of the physics and
astronomy literature. Applicants must have an active Stanford ID number, and no
outstanding fines or overdues. A short tour of the Physics Library is also
required.
Key contact: Terry Mesa: physics@sulmail; 723-4342
Swain Library: faculty, graduate students, postdocs, and
visiting scholars from Chemistry and Chemical Engineering are eligible for a key.
Faculty from any department are also eligible. Graduate students and postdocs from
other departments are also eligible but must have a letter of support from their
advisor stating a valid need for after hours use to materials stored at Swain. All
applicants must have an active Stanford ID number. A 30 minute “key”
tour is offered Wednesdays from 3:00–3:30 p.m. No advance reservation is required. For
more information, see:
Swain’s After-Hours Access page
Key contact: Carol Bickler: cbickler@leland; 723-9710
In addition, Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station Library in Pacific Grove also
provides after hours access to its users. The views are lovely there as the Library
is right on the ocean. All of the carrels in the library are wired with Internet
connections too. The journal reading room has a fireplace, a bay window and
a telescope. So, if you have time to take a mini-sabbatical, the ambiance is great!
To see if you are eligible for after-hours access, contact Joe Wible:
wible@stanford.edu.
“Hemlock” for Socrates I
The Libraries are planning for the demise of Socrates I, scheduled for Fall
Quarter 1999. The first online catalog used by the Stanford campus, Socrates I
is a SPIRES-based mainframe application, developed at Stanford and rolled out
during the early 1980s. Its successor, Socrates II, is a Web-based client-server
application, still under development but available for use by the Stanford
community at:
http://library.stanford.edu/socrates.
C-Lib, the Academic Council Committee on Libraries has approved this change.
Among the factors involved in the decision about Socrates I are the prohibitive
costs of maintaining two systems as well as the rapidly-growing divergence in
content between the Socrates I and Socrates II databases. The library group
charged with making sure that Socrates II will meet the needs of the Stanford
community, and that a character-based alternative will be available, is the
Reference and Instructional Services Committee (RISC), chaired by Jennie Nicolayev
(jnn@sulmail.stanford.edu).
As a member of RISC, you can send comments and suggestions to me
(graceb@stanford.edu)
or to all RISC members by using the “Tell Us” button on the top menu
bar of Socrates II.
Web Search Engines Organized by Country
Search Engine Colossus (http://www.searchenginecolossus.com/)
contains a directory of search engines by individual countries. It enables you to
search your favorite search engine in the vernacular language for the country. For
example, you can search Yahoo France in French.
Finding Images on the Web
Two web search engines make searching for pictures or images on the web
quick and easy. They are:
- Lycos
http://lycospro.lycos.com/
- Hotbot
http://www.hotbot.com/
Note that search results will include web pages containing your search
terms plus an image. The image on the page may or may not be a picture of
the terms you searched.
In addition to the two above search engines, Alta Vista is now offering
“Photo Finder” which helps you locate photographs or art work
available on the web. See:
Speaking of art, if you are at a workstation that has a lot of RAM, you should
check out the
Infinite Fractal Loop (http://www.fractalus.com/ifl/)
and choose “Graphical List of All Sites in the Loop.”
Web Sites of Interest
Here are three excellent “webliographies” that will be very
useful to you.
Thermodex: An Index of Selected Thermodynamic Data Handbooks (http://thermodex.lib.utexas.edu/)
is also a very useful tool for locating sources of thermodynamic information.
Interlibrary Borrowing Service and Access Privileges to UCB and UT-Austin
Faculty, academic or professional staff, and currently registered graduate
students at the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, and
the University of Texas at Austin are eligible to apply for a Research Library
Cooperative Program Borrower’s Card which provides access and borrowing
privileges in most of the libraries of the three institutions. For more
information about the RLCP and other cooperative borrowing agreements available
to you, please see this URL:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/ils/coop.html
ACS Meeting Exhibits in Anaheim-Cool Prizes and Lots of Exhibitors
As you head off to Anaheim for the American Chemical Society Meeting that will be
held later this month, be sure to build in time to go to the Exhibition Hall. There
are going to be 250 exhibitors, 46 of which will be participating in an ACS exposition
for the first time.
As an incentive to attract people to the Exhibits, more and bigger prizes will be
offered. Prizes include a first class cruise for two, six high-end Dell desktop
computers and ten 32" Sony color televisions. While these goodies might lure you
in, you should also take advantage of exploring what's new, asking Exhibitors
questions, and lobbying them for new things that would be helpful to your research or
instructional work. Many exhibitors use ACS as a stage to announce new product
offerings so going to the Exhibits enables you to hear the latest news.
As the Chair of the Chemical Information Division of the American Chemical Society,
I may hear of things like this that I will share with you. I can also be a conduit
back to ACS to lobby them for changes you'd like. So feel free to send me suggestions
(graceb@stanford.edu). Cheers!
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
