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Fall 2006 Issue
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 2
In This Issue
- The NRC-CISTI Widget - working for you!
- More RP back files available for purchase!
- Full Service from CAL Collection is back!
- FIZ AutoDoc Chooses NRC-CISTI to Expand STM Service
- CTI Briefs help BCC identify best biomedical technology investments
- NRC-CISTI in Seoul
- 50% Reduction in RP Pay-per-view rates!
- NRC-CISTI: Active CODATA Supporter
- NRC-CISTI Delivers on Community Spirit
- NRC-CISTI Special Collections
- Short Takes
The NRC-CISTI Widget - working for you!
NRC-CISTI Technology Architect Stephen Anthony has developed the first library widget for the Konfabulator (now Yahoo! Widget Engine)!
Widgets are small applications you can download to your computer desktop. They may display current weather and traffic conditions, or monitor news sites, for example. Stephen's NRC-CISTI Widget allows users to launch NRC-CISTI Catalogue searches directly from their desktop or determine the status of their NRC-CISTI book loans and document orders. The NRC-CISTI Widget is compatible with Millennium WebOpac, so users may also configure their own Millennium WebOpac as a preference, if desired.
Stephen's goal was to provide a simple and novel way to bring libraries to the desktop. While many patrons interact with libraries through their web catalogues, integration with other processes and systems outside of the libraries' physical or virtual walls is limited.
Since the catalogue is only one of many information services provided by libraries today, Stephen believes that libraries should expose their online standard services, and let patrons decide how they would like to use them. The widget is one way to make key library functions accessible in the patrons' workspace.
NRC-CISTI is moving towards a Service Oriented Architecture approach that should enable further user-friendly developments and integration in the client-space.
To use the NRC-CISTI Widget, you must first download and install the Yahoo Widget engine for your Windows or Mac platform at http://widgets.yahoo.com/. You may then download and use the NRC-CISTI widget from http://www.widgetgallery.com/view.php?widget=36958.
For more information, please contact Stephen Anthony, Technology Architect at stephen.anthony@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca, or visit the NRC-CISTI Lab site at http://lab.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/.
More RP back files available for purchase!
Back files of six NRC Research Press journals are available for one-time purchase.
- Canadian Journal of Chemistry
- Canadian Journal of Forest Research
- Canadian Geotechnical Journal
- Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering
- Canadian Journal of Botany
- Canadian Journal of Physics
Unlike some publishers, there are no annual maintenance fees and access is perpetual.
The regular price for each journal back file is $2000, but early bird and bundled discounts are available. For more information, please contact: Mike Boroczki at mike.boroczki@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
Full Service from CAL Collection is back!
NRC-CISTI and the Canadian Agriculture Library (CAL) are happy to announce that full service has resumed from CAL's comprehensive collection of close to 1 million volumes, 4,000 current subscriptions and numerous special collections on agriculture and food.
A necessary interruption in service over the past few months has made this collection's value obvious to all.
The long-standing partnership between NRC-CISTI and CAL continues to provide customer convenience, global visibility of CAL's collection and a broader NRC-CISTI client-base.
Customer convenience The NRC-CISTI-CAL partnership offers its clients the convenience of single-window service. CAL's order processing and delivery system is seamlessly integrated with NRC-CISTI's so that users can enjoy quick and reliable access to, and document delivery from, both collections.
Global visibility of CAL's collection Since the partnership's beginning in 1996, orders from the CAL collection have increased significantly. Its integration into the NRC-CISTI catalogue has been a valuable marketing tool, raising CAL's profile around the world.
Broader NRC-CISTI client-base As for NRC-CISTI, the partnership expands its market to include the agricultural and food academic, research and business communities.
Get Reacquainted
If you or your end users need information on such subjects as dairying, entomology, horticulture, pesticides, plant diseases, soil science and veterinary medicine, do a key word search in the NRC-CISTI catalogue today, and discover the CAL collection. Orders can be filled through the Document Delivery service of your choice - usually within 24 hours!
FIZ AutoDoc Chooses NRC-CISTI to Expand STM Service
FIZ AutoDoc, a German document delivery broker that partners with renowned national and international scientific libraries, aggregators and publishers, has expanded service to its STM clients by adding NRC-CISTI as a new full-text document delivery supplier.
On August 21, 2006, FIZ AutoDoc clients gained access to NRC-CISTI's extensive journal holdings, rapid service, worldwide delivery, and flexible delivery options, directly from FIZ AutoDoc.
FIZ AutoDoc, a service provided by Fiz Karlsruhe, accepts document orders, analyses them and then selects the most suitable document delivery supplier. Orders are filled directly by FIZ AutoDoc's suppliers for fast turnaround, while billing and invoicing is handled by FIZ AutoDoc.
This partnership allows NRC-CISTI to improve worldwide access to its collection, and allows FIZ Autodoc to add many new journal titles to its service. NRC-CISTI's dependable, long-time experience in document delivery also fits well with Fiz Autodoc's requirement to provide highly reliable suppliers to clients.
NRC-CISTI is an ideal supplier for late rush orders from our European customers.
Our non-European customers will profit from NRC-CISTI's world-wide delivery capabilities.
-FIZ AutoDoc
NRC-CISTI supports all of Fiz Autodoc's delivery speeds - its SDD one-click delivery method is available for standard and rush orders, as are NRC-CISTI's fax and couriered delivery methods, along with clean and colour copy options.
This is another perfect example of how partnerships can provide superior service and accessibility to STM information to the world's scientific research community.
For more information, please contact Naomi Krym at Naomi.Krym@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
CTI Briefs help BCC identify best biomedical technology investments
Competitive Technical Intelligence is hard at work in Winnipeg's Life Sciences & Medical Devices technology cluster. Since the start of the NRC-CISTI and Biomedical Commercialization Canada (BCC) agreement in December 2005, 13 CTI Briefs have provided a high level evaluation of commercial potential of various biomedical technologies. The CTI Briefs:
- provided technical evaluation and competitive activity
- helped uncover alternate market needs that will reshape the technology investment and provide alternative applications.
This information is critical in providing BCC management and cluster members with the information and strategic intelligence needed to move to the next step of evaluation when considering investment in a technological idea.
Based on CTI Brief findings, BCC will follow up with three inventors/researchers to pursue commercialization of their technologies through BCC's technology commercialization programs.
NRC-CISTI in Seoul
NRC-CISTI's Director General Bernard Dumouchel and Naomi Krym, NRC-CISTI Business Development Officer, participated in the International Federation of Library Association's 72nd General Conference and Council held in Seoul, Korea from August 20-24, 2006.
They, along with 5,000 other delegates, were stimulated by a full and thoughtful program; and enjoyed wonderful Korean hospitality - which included cultural performances and traditional food buffets.
In the exhibit hall, NRC-CISTI was pleased to showcase its successful Far East Partnerships with the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC), the Korea Institute of Scientific and Technical Information (KISTI), the Science and Technology Policy Research Information Center (STPI) in Taiwan, and SUNMEDIA Co. in Japan.
A major contribution to the success of these partnerships is NRC-CISTI's ability to display Japanese, Korean and Chinese characters on the NRC-CISTI Catalogue and to process orders for Far East articles efficiently and affordably through its Document Delivery Service.
Proving, once again, that strategic partnerships plus innovative technology equals success for NRC-CISTI, our partners and our clients.
50% Reduction in RP Pay-per-view rates!
NRC RP is committed to making its content more accessible to researchers everywhere. As of October 2, 2006, NRC Research Press Pay-per-view articles will cost only $10 - a dramatic savings for users.
If you need immediate and unhindered access to information, please contact us at pubs@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca to learn how subscriptions can help.
NRC-CISTI: Active CODATA Supporter
Did you know that NRC-CISTI supports STM innovation and research through its active support of the Canadian National Committee (CNC) for CODATA (CNC/CODATA, http://www.codata.org/canada)? CODATA is an interdisciplinary Scientific Committee of the International Council for Science (ICSU)(http://www.icsu.org), established over 30 years ago, and works to improve the quality, reliability, management and accessibility of data of importance to all fields of science and technology.
Operating since the 1980s, CNC/CODATA:- Fosters an active membership selected to represent Canada's geographic, STM, gender and language diversity, as well as attracts numerous Observers who provide additional viewpoints and support http://dac.cisti.nrc.ca/members_observers.cfm.
- Conducts dynamic annual meetings, through which a Canadian Delegate is empowered to speak and vote on behalf of Canada at CODATA General Assemblies. NSERC, SSHRC and various ICSU representatives are invited in order to promote understanding of the issues and encourage collaboration.
- Publishes Data Activities in Canada bi-annually http://dac.cisti.nrc.ca.
- Distributes the Sangster Award, a bursary designed to create awareness about data issues among young scientists. The winner is a graduate student or recent graduate, selected to attend the bi-annual CODATA conference. The 2006 recipient, Mr. Bo-Yong Liang (Carleton University) will attend the International CODATA conference in Beijing, in October. http://www.codata.org/canada/sangster/.
- Promotes awareness of issues within Canada, such as the need to preserve and promote a wider access to data produced by publicly funded research. CNC/CODATA was directly responsible for the sequence of events that resulted in the National Consultation on Access to Scientific Research Data (NCASRD) http://ncasrd-cnadrs.scitech.gc.ca.
- Participates in the preservation of significant data collections, such as LogKOW, a databank of water-octanol partition coefficients, generally the best collection of this data in the world http://logkow.cisti.nrc.ca.
Please send your comments and questions regarding CNC/CODATA to its Executive Secretary, Mary Zborowski, at: codata@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
NRC-CISTI Delivers on Community Spirit
While NRC-CISTI staff work hard to offer products and services that extend around the world, they also invest time and energy in making their community a safer, cleaner, more caring place. Besides the multiple charities and causes supported by individuals, NRC-CISTI participates collectively in activities that benefit Canadian Blood Services, the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign and the environment.
Canadian Blood Services
For over 20 years NRC-CISTI has hosted NRC blood donation drives every three months. This long-standing commitment to helping meet the needs of local hospitals reflects the importance staff places on supporting the community.
Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign
NRC-CISTI campaign leaders hope to raise $22,500.00 to support registered local and national Canadian charities. This year, Fund raising activities included a BBQ complete with Elvis impersonator, a book and bake sale and a Halloween cakewalk. Besides joining in the fun, many staff members make payroll deduction contributions as a seriously effective way to support those in our community who need help the most.
The Environment
Since 2004, a volunteer Green Team has worked hard to raise awareness among NRC-CISTI staff and management about environmental issues that affect their work and community environments. To date they have improved NRC-CISTI's recycling efforts, introduced a double-side printing policy that saves at least 1 million sheets of paper per year, promoted Ottawa's Commuter Challenge and organized an annual Eco Transportation Fair for all NRC Ottawa staff.
NRC-CISTI Special Collections
NRC-CISTI's Room 175 is home to old and rare books and serials that outline historical developments in science, technology and medicine. Their authors include Galileo, Bacon, Descartes and Newton!
Age is an important criteria for inclusion in this impressive collection. Most volumes were published before 1900, with some items dating as far back as the early 16th century.
Important first, limited or special editions are also included in our Special Collections. For example, NRC-CISTI owns a first edition of Charles Darwin's 1859 On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, containing a letter written by the author to the first owner of the book.
While most of Special Collections is made up of monographs, it does contain some valuable and rare periodicals such as The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (v. 1-111, 1665-1821).
Access to the Special Collections is possible by appointment only, with Collection Librarian Sarah Hill.
To make an appointment, contact Sarah Hill at 613-993-2350 or Sarah.Hill@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
Short Takes
Free e-subscriptions to RP environmental journals!
NRC Research Press is pleased to offer free 1-year trial subscriptions to the electronic versions of the Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science and Environmental Reviews. For more information, please contact Mike Boroczki at mike.boroczki@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
JCHLA Converts To Open Access
The Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association (JCHLA), published by the NRC Research Press, has converted to open access, starting with the June 1, 2006 issue. Readers will now be able to access the back files of JCHLA online from 2004 to 2006 without a password.
New ABC Chair Named
The Advisory Board for NRC-CISTI (ABC) is made up of leading national and international stakeholders from the academic, business, library, and publishing sectors, provide key advice to Council and the NRC Executive on NRC-CISTI priorities, strategic directions and management.
NRC-CISTI is pleased to announce that Dr. Bruce J. Balcom, a respected researcher and professor with the Departments of Physics and Chemistry at the University of New Brunswick, has been named the new ABC Chair. In addition to his reputation as an important contributor to the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Dr. Balcom brings five years experience as an ABC member, and the endorsement of his colleagues, to this new role.
NRC-CISTI Welcomes a User-Interface Specialist
In keeping with NRC-CISTI's client-focussed operations, Dr. Carol-Ina Trudel (PhD in Cognitive Ergonomics and specialist in "human-centred design") has joined our Technology and Research Directorate's Business Systems Quality Group as User-Interface Specialist. We are confident that Carol-Ina's expertise will be instrumental in improving the usability of NRC-CISTI online services.
Federal Science eLibrary Web site makes its debut
A new site dedicated to the Federal Science eLibrary is up and running at http://safstl-asbstf.scitech.gc.ca/eng/index.html. The site contains everything you need to know to get up-to-speed on this valuable initiative to give all federal government researchers, policy analysts and decision makers desktop access to STM digital information.
See what researchers are saying about the eLibrary and find out about the latest progress made by the Strategic Alliance of Federal Science and Technology Libraries (of which NRC-CISTI is a member) to make the eLibrary a reality.
For more information, contact Lucie Molgat at lucie.molgat@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
Published quarterly by:
Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information
National Research Council Canada
Building M-55, Ottawa Canada K1A 0R6
Tel.: 613-998-2362
Fax: 613-952-9112
Email: info.cisti@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Web: http://cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Editor: Nancy Foreman
Graphic Designer: CSG
ISSN 0715-8661
