NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 21 number 1 - Fall 2000

By Terry Wittig, Collection Management

The NCSU Libraries and its partners in the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) are pleased to announce the purchase of ScienceDirect (link to the ScienceDirect Web page at www.sciencedirect.com), Elsevier's electronic, full-text database. ScienceDirect is currently the largest electronic, full-text scientific database available. It offers more than 1,200 journals covering all areas of science, medicine, and the social sciences. The database includes over one million articles, and others are added daily. Under the terms of the TRLN consortial agreement, any TRLN user has access to any ScienceDirect journal owned by Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, or NC Central. This greatly expands the number of journals available to students and faculty at all four TRLN institutions.

ScienceDirect is more than just a collection of full-text journal articles. It offers the full functionality of any bibliographic database. ScienceDirect offers users the ability to:

1. go directly to a journal issue and retrieve a specific, known article;
2. browse the table of contents of any journal in the database;
3. search the entire database for any topic, using Boolean logic or keyword searching;
4. follow cross-references in any article to other databases (such as EI Compendex, World Textiles, or Fluidex); users are linked directly to the cross-referenced article, many of which may also be in full-text; and
5. set up personal profiles and receive regular electronic-mail alerts of new articles in a specified discipline.

Once an article is identified, display options are listed. The article can be viewed in a summary format that lists the abstract and provides an outline of the article with illustrations or diagrams in thumbnail sketches. The user may view the full text of an article directly on the screen or choose to download the .pdf file.

Although TRLN institutions individually own the majority of the journals contained in ScienceDirect, there are some journals in the database to which no subscriptions are held. For journals that are not owned within TRLN, users may still retrieve the full text of articles by using personal log-ins. A personal log-in can be created by going to the ScienceDirect home page and following the instructions. Once an account is created, it can also be used for setting up electronic-mail alerts and other personalized features.

Because of the continuing inflation of journal subscription costs, it is imperative that the NCSU Libraries maximize its purchasing power by cooperating with the TRLN institutions, as well as other statewide and regional consortia. The library will continue to explore ways to provide the most comprehensive collection possible by seeking cooperative-purchasing opportunities. The TRLN purchase of ScienceDirect is a firm step in that direction.

Access to ScienceDirect is restricted to users with authorized TRLN IP addresses. Direct queries to Terry Wittig, Collection Management Department, at (919) 513-5632; electronic-mail messages should be sent to: terry_wittig@ncsu.edu.