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Summer 2006 Issue
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 1
In This Issue
- Canada hosts ARL Conference
- NRC-CISTI SDD One-click
- Pilot project strengthens case for a Federal Science eLibrary
- Memorandum of Understanding with Library and Archives Canada marks milestone for Csi
- CTI gives big returns on CSTT investment
- HOT off the Research Press!
- More NRC Research Press Journals in full-text HTML
- Short Takes
- NRC-CISTI "Fields" Your Questions
Canada hosts ARL Conference
Nearly 150 research librarians met in Ottawa from May 17 to 19, 2006, for the 148th Membership Meeting of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL).
NRC-CISTI, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) all collaborated with ARL to offer a program that addressed The International Dimensions of Digital Science and Scholarship.
The importance and relevance of the meeting and its theme was underlined by the participation of directors and CEOs of major national libraries. Joining Canadian representative Ian Wilson, Librarian and Archivist of Canada, Library and Archives Canada were Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library (via video link) and Deanna Marcum of the Library of Congress.
On the topic of Science in the Public Interest, Peter Nicholson, President of the Council of Canadian Academies gave an address titled The Changing Nature of Intellectual Authority. He stressed that the convergence of global cultural change with technological advances has resulted in an information explosion that requires libraries to do more than manage the information. He challenged his listeners to transform themselves to remain relevant and vibrant elements of the infosphere.
Mr. Nicholson's address can be found at www.arl.org/arl/proceedings/148/nicholson.html The entire conference proceedings are on the ARL Web site, at: www.arl.org/arl/proceedings/148/index.htmlNRC-CISTI SDD One-click
Now into its third successful year, NRC-CISTI's Secure Desk Delivery (SDD) service has been upgraded to make it easier than ever to use. Our new SDD one-click means that logging in with your NRC-CISTI account and password to retrieve SDD documents is a thing of the past. Clients receive an e-mail notification message with a URL, for each document that is delivered. A simple click on the URL brings you directly to the document!
Since its introduction in early 2004, SDD has won two Government of Canada awards for excellence in information management:
- Council of Federal Libraries
Agatha-Bystram Award - Treasury Board/Public Works and
Government Services Canada
Information Management
Community Recognition Award.
SDD makes it possible to deliver copyright-cleared documents to NRC-CISTI customers in electronic format. They can be viewed and printed through the use of a customized plug-in that is available on the NRC-CISTI Web site, which works with Acrobat Reader. This plug-in needs to be downloaded only once, for SDD to work as a delivery option for the first and all future orders.
If you order a document on behalf of someone else, you may forward the e-mail notification message to your end user. That end user can then click on the URL to get to the document, as long as the document has not already been opened. The person who opens the document will need the NRC-CISTI SDD plug-in as well, but instructions for downloading it are included in the notification message.
This improvement to document delivery is just another example of NRC-CISTI's continuing efforts to meet client needs and expectations.
Additional information about SDD is available online at: cisti.nrc.gc.ca/eng/services/cisti/document-delivery/delivery-options/about-sdd.html
If you have additional questions about SDD, please contact NRC-CISTI's Help Desk at 1-800-668-1222 (Canada & US) or 613-998-8544 or by fax at 613-993-7619. You can also e-mail the help desk at: info.cisti@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Pilot project strengthens case for a Federal Science eLibrary
Research is a collaborative, cross-jurisdictional process requiring researchers and scientists to build on one another's work. To do this, they need equitable and timely access to key publications in science, technology and medicine (STM).
A recently completed pilot project successfully proved the feasibility and value of establishing a Federal Science eLibrary that would guarantee desktop access to up-to-date, pertinent electronic publications for all federal researchers, policy analysts and decision makers.
Initiated by the Strategic Alliance of Federal Science and Technology Libraries (a team of library managers from major science-based departments/agencies) and managed and funded by NRC-CISTI, the three-month pilot gave more than 500 researchers at three sites across Canada direct access to a digital repository of 4 million full-text journal articles loaded on servers at NRC-CISTI.
This digital repository is part of NRC-CISTI's information and technology infrastructure network known as Canada's scientific infostructure (Csi). As Canada's national science library, NRC-CISTI is developing the network to provide Canadians with seamless and permanent access to research information, regardless of their geographic location or affiliations.
The results of the pilot clearly demonstrated the value and feasibility of expanded access to digital content. Access to a large repository of full-text journals eliminated inequities and regional disparities in access for pilot participants, providing fast, reliable desktop access no matter where they were located. It also addressed the frustrations of researchers working in remote locations, who previously did not have desktop access.
Pilot participants overwhelmingly (80 percent of returned surveys) indicated that having access had a positive or very positive impact on their research activities and productivity.
In addition to reporting an urgent need for continuing access to the eLibrary, they also cited significantly reduced time spent finding and verifying information, allowing them to focus on critical activities such as peer review, manuscript preparation, deeper professional reading and other research and laboratory activities.
The Strategic Alliance has made significant progress demonstrating the value of an eLibrary service, as well as the benefits of a collaborative, cross-departmental approach. This pilot adds further proof to an already strong case for a Federal Science eLibrary.
To view the Strategic Alliance's final report on the pilot project, visit http://safstl-asbstf.scitech.gc.ca/eng/index.html.
For more information, contact Lucie Molgat at lucie.molgat@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
Memorandum of Understanding with Library and Archives Canada marks milestone for Csi
NRC-CISTI and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a facility that will ensure business continuity for Canada's scientific infostructure (Csi) in the event of an interruption of on-line services.
This collaboration is another major milestone in advancing Csi - a program to build a national information and infrastructure network that will respond to the Canadian research community's need for desktop access to full-text digital information. This facility, which will be housed at LAC's Gatineau site, is a necessary part of providing a secure technology infrastructure for Csi, ensuring reliable access and long-term sustainability.
"Along with the obvious economic and administrative efficiencies that come with sharing these facilities, this MOU also marks what we hope will be the beginning of many future collaborative endeavours with LAC," said Bernard Dumouchel, Director General NRC-CISTI. "NRC-CISTI and LAC are actively looking for other opportunities to work together on information management and access initiatives like the Csi to meet the information needs of Canadians."
"We are very pleased to be able to work with NRC-CISTI to improve the availability of scientific and technical information for Canadian researchers," added Peter Bruce, Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology Branch, Library and Archives Canada. "We are committed to ensuring long-term access to Canada's digital information resources, and this collaboration is an important step toward improving Canada's digital information infrastructure."
For further information, contact Lucie Molgat at lucie.molgat@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
CTI gives big returns on CSTT investment
In less than 1 year, NRC-CISTI competitive technical intelligence (CTI) specialists have given the NRC Centre for Surface Transportation Technology (CSTT) good reason to believe that CTI is worth its weight in gold.
For a 100% revenue-dependent technology centre like NRC-CSTT, it is imperative not to make many mistakes in the choice and management of R&D projects. This is why the evaluations of research investment options and strategies CTI specialists provide have become an enormously beneficial part of CSTT's business strategy.
CSTT General Manager John Coleman affirms that without NRC-CISTI's contribution, CSTT:
- would have faced the unwise alternatives of entering work blindly or avoiding it altogether.
- may have entered the field more vigorously and used more of its own money, leaving the door open to being scooped and to risking large amounts of investment money.
HOT off the Research Press!
NRC Research Press has re-launched The Insects and Arachnids of Canada series with the recent release of Coleoptera Histeridae (ISBN 0-660-19399-X). The series features a new design, and operates with new publication guidelines under the direction of a new enthusiastic handbook committee.
This handbook series was originally launched in 1976 by scientists at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes, for a wide range of users - from amateur biologists to professional entomologists.Research Press would also like to announce the publication of two new monographs:
Les fourmis : comportement, organisation sociale et évolution (ISBN 0-660-97021-X) by Luc Passera and Serge Aron. This 480-page volume contains an avalanche of new data about ant biology and features magnificent photos and drawings. It is the most recent update in its field in the past 15 years! This is essential reading for everyone interested in ants and in the biology of animal societies.
The Beetles of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity (Insecta: Coleoptera) (ISBN 0-660-19421-X) by Stewart B. Peck. This monograph contains a synthesis of previously published information and abundant new data derived from extensive field studies on Galápagos beetles. It includes details on the distribution and bionomics of 486 species. This book is a companion to Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity (ISBN 0-660-18284-X) also by Stewart B. Peck. It is a useful reference for entomologists, island ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and conservation scientists.
For those of you who prefer basil to biology, watch for the soon release of Ernest Small's Culinary Herbs (Second Edition) (ISBN 0-660-19073-7).
Research Press publications may be purchased by:
- Telephone 613-990-2254,
- E-mail: monographs.cisti@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
- Internet: pubs.nrc.gc.ca
More NRC Research Press Journals in full-text HTML
The NRC Research Press continues to convert scientific print publications to digital format. It has recently launched five journals in full-text HTML. They are:
- Canadian Journal of Botany
- Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
- Canadian Journal of Zoology
- Biochemistry and Cell Biology
- Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism
The full-text HTML offers the user new functionality in the electronic publication, including reference linking to abstracts and full-text, download to citation management software, and improved search capabilities.
Research Press plans to add their remaining journals over the next year. It will then offer this service to its client publishing services.
Readers within Canada have free access, and others can access the Sample Issue for the five journals with full-text HTML to view this new offering.
Research Press Digitization UpdateAll issues of the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, starting from 1971, will become available in electronic format in August. More journals will become available over the next months.
NRC Research Press is working hard to ensure the highest level of integration of this new content into its current offering. We've worked with others to ensure the newly digitized content is fully searchable by Funnelback, Google and other advanced search engines.
If you are interested in electronic back issues and have not yet subscribed, please contact customer service at pubs@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca for details on availability and prices. NRC Research Press gratefully acknowledges the contributions supporting Societies, its editors and readers to this important initiative.
Short Takes
The Power of Partnerships
In the Winter 2006 NRC-CISTI News, we reported that NRC-CISTI had added more than 10,000 scientific, technical and medical (STM) articles, reports and journals from the holdings of four Far East libraries, to its Catalogue.
There is no doubt that clients appreciate having affordable and seamless access to these collections. Since November, orders from these partners via NRC-CISTI's Catalogue have increased twenty-fold on a monthly basis!
Order Tracker
Order tracker is the perfect tool for clients who want real-time information about the status of their orders. It offers a variety of search and display options and also makes it possible for administrators to track orders for all of their end users' accounts.
Try it - you'll like it!
http://infoclient.cisti.nrc.gc.ca/CISjava/html/main/
ExternalAuthenticationM_e.jsp
NRC-CISTI "Fields" Your Questions
Q: What do I enter in the "Your Order No./Client's Name" box on the NRC-CISTI order form?
A: You can supply any information in this non-mandatory field that will help you to track or manage your orders from NRC-CISTI.
You may type your client's name, department number, cost centre or other information of your choice. This exact text will appear on each document's cover sheet and in the transaction details report that accompanies your monthly invoice.
You can search on Order No./Client's Name in Order Tracker at
http://infoclient.cisti.nrc.gc.ca/CISjava/html/main/
ExternalAuthenticationM_e.jsp to find and sort your orders.
Many clients use the information they enter in this field to help process chargeback costs.
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: Stéphane Levesque
ISSN 0715-8661
