Facts on File Re-aquires News Service, Announces Content Updates

Facts On File's parent company, Infobase Publishing, recently acquired Facts On File News Services. As a result, Facts On File and Facts On File News Services are once again under common ownership, as the two companies were before March 1996. Future News Services updates will tell you about many improvements now in the works. Meanwhile, here are just some of the exciting recent additions to our online News Services databases:

• World News Digest
• Issues and Controversies
• Issues and Controversies in American History
• Today's Science
• World Almanac Reference Database.

World News Digest

• The newest cover feature, 2007 in Review, is a comprehensive collection of links to key World News Digest stories spanning the entire year. Women in Politics, another December cover feature, takes a look at female politicians of the past and present. Research Features lists the full collection of front-page articles.
• Recent Featured Stories includes coverage of new U.S. intelligence on Iran's nuclear program , the Israeli-Palestinian agreement to revive peace talks, the landslide victory of a pro-Putin party in Russian elections, and President Bush's announcement of a mortgage aid plan.
• The 2008 Presidential Election Guide is updated to include Mitt Romney's speech on religion and Democrats' debate clash over Iran.
• Newly added Newsmaker Profiles include Michael Mukasey, the recently confirmed U.S. attorney general, and Yasuo Fukuda, Japan’s new prime minister.
• New Editorial Cartoons with Questions on Middle East Talks, Iran Intelligence, and Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign.

Issues and Controversies

• The latest cover story provides an in-depth look at High School Sports Injuries.
• Another new school-related article offers balanced coverage of the No Child Left Behind debate.
• Other recent arrivals are U.S.-British Alliance and Tabloid Journalism.
• Newly added Editorial Cartoons and Questions relate to recent coverage of No Child Left Behind and Tabloid Journalism.
• Follow-ups, linked at the top left, cover recent news related to articles on the U.S.-Pakistan Relations and Middle East Peace Process.
• Newly updated articles include Domestic Surveillance, Stem-Cell Research, and Assisted Suicide.

Issues and Controversies in American History

• This month’s cover story looks back at the Pearl Harbor Attack of December 1941. The deadly raid led the U.S. to enter World War II, and also triggered a debate over who was to blame for failing to anticipate the attack.
• Newly added stories highlight the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 and the Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896. Visit the growing list of topics at Issues: A - Z.
• Our ever-growing collection of Primary Documents now includes Louisiana's Separate Car Act of 1890 and the Whiskey Rebellion Proclamations of 1792 and 1794.

Today’s Science

• This week’s cover story examines a major development in stem-cell research: scientists’ reports that human skin cells can be used to create human stem cells. A related new article explores similar advances in the creation of monkey stem cells. Other new articles explore new research on fat cells and decision making.
• Games and Cognitive Science are the newest listings on the Need a Research Topic? menu, where students can find starting points for their own research.
• A new interactive crossword puzzle ties into the latest developments in Stem-Cell Research. Visit Interactive Crossword Puzzles for the full collection.

World Almanac Reference Database

• The December World Almanac cover story revisits the start of the first Palestinian intifada 20 years ago this month, and follows the Israeli-Palestinian conflict up through the recent U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis. Visit World Almanac Cover Stories for the full collection of front-page articles.
• The latest World Almanac Encyclopedia cover story takes a look at newly appointed U.S. attorney general Michael Mukasey, who took over at the Justice Department following the controversial tenure of Alberto Gonzales. Other new special reports include Australia's Government Unseated and Argentina's First Couple Switch Roles. Visit Special Reports for the full list of topics.

Register for a Free Trial:
In addition to this database, Facts On File offers other curriculum-oriented, interactive databases covering a wide range of subjects. Visit www.factsonfile.com/trial to set up a trial to these online reference and News Services titles.

EBSCO Announces a New Version of Visual Search

EBSCO is pleased to announce that the new version of Visual Search is about to become available to your users. Please note that a comprehensive tutorial will open automatically when a user clicks on the Visual Search tab in EBSCOhost to guide them through the functionality of the new Visual Search screens.

In conjunction with the Visual Search release, they are also introducing an enhancement to EBSCOhost Result Lists: Image Quick View. This exciting new feature will include the appearance of thumbnail images on Result Lists which, when clicked, will instantly reveal full-sized images to users. Open records will include links to thumbnail images where applicable. Users will be able to try the new feature in EBSCOhost by clicking on the Try It! box beside Image Quick View on the New Features screen, and enabling Show Image Thumbnails under the Preferences link in the upper right corner of the screen. For more information about the new Visual Search design and the Image Quick View feature, please see the first two top stories on EBSCO's Support Site (http://support.ebsco.com).

EBSCO's Support Site is also a great place to visit whenever you want to learn about new features, search among thousands of FAQs, download Flash tutorials, Help Sheets or User Guides, or communicate with Technical Support at any time, using the EBSCO Support Form (http://support.epnet.com/contact/askus.php). You may also contact Technical Support by telephone, at (800) 758-5995.

Proquest Nursing and Allied Health enhancement

A ProQuest® platform enhancement on December 15, 2007 will include:

• ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source Study Paths—Study Paths allows a user to quickly view full text articles recommended by a board of experienced nurse educators on topics relevant to their curriculum. This exciting new enhancement makes it easier for users to complete their assignments, research a topic, or prepare for examinations. A new splash page will appear when users log into the product. The Study Paths feature is for the ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source database only and does not impact other ProQuest products.

The Proquest Dissertations & Theses database will be enhanced to include supplementary multimedia - audio, video, spreadsheets, etc. These and other ProQuest interface products (eLibrary®, SIRS®, and CultureGrams™, chadwyck.com, "Digital Vault", etc.) will not be available during the maintenance period, scheduled from Saturday, December 15, 2007, at 22:00 EDT to Sunday, December 16, 2007 at 10:00 EDT. Feedback to Proquest?

Facts on File Updates Modern World History Online

This month's Modern World History Online update consists of much new content and the addition of a new citation feature. Facts on File has added many entries from 21 of their outstanding print titles as well as 130 new videos, more than 40 new images, more than 30 new primary sources, and helpful APA citation information.

New Narrative Essays
Many new narrative entries are now included in Modern World History Online. The new content covers people ranging from the spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to the modern peacemaker Rigoberta Menchú Tum. These entries are geared toward younger readers and are written in a lively, informative style. Sample narrative entries include:

• Mohandas Gandhi, "Independence at Last": Read about Gandhi's twenty-one-day fast in 1943, the death of his wife Kasturbai, his campaign to build Hindu-Muslim unity, India's independence from Great Britain, and a 1948 bomb attempt on Gandhi's life.
• Aung San Suu Kyi, "8–8–88": Learn about this woman's fight against former Burma's military dictatorship. Learn how astrologers advised the prime minister in 1987 to change Burma's monetary system and how decisions like these led to the brutal events of August 8, 1988.
• Nelson Mandela, "Tribal Boyhood": Read what Nelson Mandela wrote about his given name—Rolihlahla or "troublemaker"—and about the influence higher education had on him.

New Biographies and Subject Entries
New entries added to Modern World History Online cover a variety of topics, such as Spanish history, Portuguese history, World War II, and women contributors to the scientific and mathematical fields. Almost all of the content is written for and carefully edited by Facts On File, ensuring that the reading level and material will be appropriate for users at schools, libraries, and higher learning institutions. New entries include:

• Rita Levi-Montalcini
• Carnation Revolution
• Normandy Invasion.

New Videos
Facts on File editors have added 130 new videos of historically and culturally important events and themes. The videos include helpful captions that provide historical context, and many also include links to related events and topics essays, maps and charts, images, and more. The videos can be used to supplement reading material, serve as primary source material, and engage students in the classroom. New videos include:

• Emperor Franz Joseph and Archduke Franz Ferdinand Attend a Wedding
• Ghana Becomes an Independent Nation
• Irish Republican Army (IRA) and "Black and Tans" Clash in Ireland.

New Citation Information
Students and researchers writing papers and reports will find additional citation guidance in the "How to Cite" pop-up page. This page now includes information on as well as an example of the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style. Users can find the "How to Cite" link at the bottom of each entry in Modern World History Online.

Gale GVRL Ebook offer

Special December & January offer for our academic libraries. The Gale 2002-2006 GVRL Collection, a back-file collection of over 200 titles in the Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) is available from OHIONET at one-quarter to one-tenth of the normal purchase price from now until January 25, 2008. We need a minimum group of orders for this pricing. If we receive our minimum before December 21st, there will be a 5% additional discount.

Webinar Friday, December 14, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Webinar Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 2:00 PM

Details

Facts on File to Relaunch Health Reference Center

Check Out Their New Look!
As part of their effort to continually improve upon their online publishing program, Facts on File will soon relaunch Health Reference Center with a new and improved look! This extensive redesign will include a new interface, greater functionality, new special features, a large amount of content, and much more.

An Attractive New Home Page
One of the most visible and exciting changes coming to Health Reference Center is the redesigned home page. It has been designed so that users have faster, more direct access to the database's wealth of content. Features include:
* Explore Subjects: Learning centers that guide research within five broad areas of interest.
* Health Centers: Special content that explores the top health issues affecting women, men, children, and seniors.
* News Content: Regular feed that covers "Health in the News."
* Health Dictionary: Subject-specific resource that defines basic terms and concepts.
* Special Features: Interesting "Feature of the Month" and helpful "Find a Medical Test" and "Browse Images and Videos" features.

A Better Search Results Page
The redesigned Health Reference Center will include a reorganization of search results: results will be organized using a new tabbed interface. Each keyword search result will be categorized within tabs labeled "All Results," "Topics," "Images and Videos," "News Articles," and "Organizations."

New Content and Page Tools
The redesigned site will include hundreds of new entries, many culled from 84 new and outstanding print titles. The new content covers areas like addiction, learning disabilities, adoption, sports medicine, stress-related diseases, and much more. In addition, entry pages have been designed to guide users to the information they need and help them dig even deeper for related material. Search terms are highlighted, allowing users to narrow in on specific terms within an entry. New page tools and sidebars linking to related content appear on the right of each entry. Record URLs at the end of each page allow users to share records.

Helpful "Health in the News" Section
Health Reference Center will now be kept current with regularly updated health news stories. Users will find these stories on the home page under a section called "Health in the News." This new feature provides current events items from within the world of health, as well as past headlines that may be browsed and searched from the "Health in the News" gateway page. Users have several convenient options: immediately view three headline stories featured on the home page, click on the "All Recent News" link to view current news items organized by subject category or date, or search or browse current and archived records. Click on the image below to view the new "Health in the News" section.

Earlier this fall, EBSCO announced that EBSCOhost access to Historical Abstracts and America: History & Life database subscriptions would provide you with additional features, such as Multiple Database Searching, Linking to commercial full text providers: JSTOR, EBSCO's Electronic Journals Services (EJS), and Swets, etc., advanced Reports & Statistics functionality, free, personalized folders (My EBSCOhost), and the Historical Period Limiter.

EBSCO is pleased to announce that they have further enhanced those subscriptions by adding searchable cited references to both databases. For more information on EBSCO's Cited References, please click here.

Visit EBSCO's Support Site (http://support.ebsco.com) to learn about new features, search among thousands of FAQs, download Flash tutorials, Help Sheets or User Guides, or communicate with Technical Support at any time, using the EBSCO Support Form (http://support.epnet.com/contact/askus.php). You may also contact Technical Support by telephone at (800) 758-5995.

Oxford Scholarship Online Expanded

Oxford University Press’s largest online reference project, the expansion into nine new subject modules for Oxford Scholarship Online, www.oxfordscholarship.com, is now live.

With this expansion, Oxford Scholarship Online adds modules in the subject areas of:

• Biology
• Business and Management
• Classical Studies
• History
• Linguistics
• Literature
• Mathematics
• Psychology
• and Physics.

These modules are in addition to the existing subject modules of Political Science, Philosophy, Religion and Economics and Finance.

The number of full-text titles available in the database has grown to 1,815 books. New features include bibliography search, automatic citation export, thousands of links to external online resources, updated MARC records by subject and complete author/title/ISBN/subject/URL list available in Excel format.

Major Enhancements to NewsBank News Resources Coming Soon

NewsBank will soon release an enhanced interface that significantly improves search results across their unrivaled local, national and international newspaper content. These enhancements to their news products, including Access World News and America’s Newspapers, will go live on January 3, 2008.

Librarians often assist users of online databases overwhelmed by excessive or unrelated search returns. The solution: intuitive options that narrow or refine the focus of a search—with a single click—to immediately produce salient, useful results. These unique tools, developed with an advisory board of librarians from across the nation, enable users to:

• more quickly and efficiently navigate their way through millions of articles
• tailor searches by specific source, one or multiple locations, source types
• further refine search returns by title, date, source type, geographic location with a single click
• explore timelines on specific topics or events, enabling researchers to understand at a glance how coverage has changed over time
• compare different viewpoints and uncover differences in news coverage across locations and time periods

For more information, contact NewsBank Customer Service by phone at 1-800-243-7694, or via email at customerservice@newsbank.com.

News about Reader's Advisor Online (from Greenwood)

Expanded content!
Over the next six to nine months, Reader's Advisor Online content will double. That means coverage of even more titles, more annotations, more quick lists, and more read-alike suggestions..

Author Read-Alikes & Related Reads
We have just added Reading Lists by Sarah Statz Cords for Maya Angelou, Rick Bragg, Maureen Dowd, David McCollough, Oliver Sacks and Dava Sobel. We will be adding additional lists, including such diverse authors as Karen Armstong, Mark Bowden, Antonia Fraser, Thor Heyerdahl and Joseph Wambaugh. The author reading lists are linked to a cited author's titles and presented in list format in the Quick List (on the right side of the Work page). Click View Narrative on the Quick List to see the descriptive text explaining the appeals and characteristics linking the authors. You can also use browse the lists. Go to Browse, Choose Author Read-Alikes and voila! An A-Z list of the authors covered appears. Click the author's name and view the list. To Print, just click print on your browser's toolbar.

Genre News
The reorganization of Thrillers was completed in October (to those of you paying attention to dates, yes, a few weeks behind schedule). Thrillers is no longer a "child" genre of Adventure, but has been promoted to a separate genre. On the Advanced search page on the Genre Tree, Thrillers now appears at the "top" level (you'll find it above Westerns). Be sure to "open" Thrillers (click the right pointing triangle) to see the new organization, and read the new and revised definitions. New subgenres include Assassins & Hit Men, Conspiracy Thrillers and Spy Thrillers. Next, we will be making some modest revisions in Crime/Mystery & Detective.

Blog News
The Blog just keeps getting better and better! Blog Editor Cindy Orr compiles breaking news of interest to RAs and staff on the circ desk in RA Rundown every Monday (well, sometimes on Sunday) morning. Check out Cindy's post Bad Sex in Fiction Awards!) Who knew there was such an award?Also, be sure to see Diana Tixier Herald's coverage of the Reader's Advisory 2.0 workshop at CLA.

Free Training for Reader's Advisor Online Scheduled for December 4, 2007

Sarah Statz Cords, from Madison Public Library, Wisconsin, author of The Real Story, and associate editor for the Reader's Advisor Online, will be offering web-based training Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 1PM EDT / 10 AM PDT. Attendees will view the training via the web and will call a conference number to enable full participation in the training. Spaces are limited -- please register ASAP! You may reserve a seat by emailing laura.calderone@lu.com. Confirmation of registration and access instructions will be sent by email. Future dates include Tuesday January 8, 2008.

Health Sciences Interest Group Meeting

Health Sciences Interest Group Meeting (OhioLINK affiliates)
* This meeting was canceled due to a snowstorm! Watch for updates about rescheduling

Meeting Date: Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007
Time: 9:30 (refreshments, meet/greet), 10-3:30 meeting
Place: OhioLINK Offices: http://www.ohiolink.edu/about/ol-map.html

Basic agenda: business meeting/group discussion and small group breakouts in AM; Lunch; Nursing product show/tell in PM

For more information: Lynda Hartel, OSU Health Sciences or Mary Conroy, OHIONET

Naxos NML Change

Naxos will no longer offer the "rollover" pooled access subscription to Naxos Music Library for our OhioLINK group renewal. We advise that you monitor usage to determine the correct number of users needed for your institution at renewal time in July. Though we will lose the overflow pool, the advantage will be that your users will have consistent access to your own customized Naxos NML site and class play lists.

Graphic Novels Selection Guide

New Database Helps Librarians Select the Best of a Growing Literary Form

H.W. Wilson's new Graphic Novels Core Collection: A Selection Guide helps librarians bring patrons age-appropriate works from this increasingly popular literary form. This WilsonWeb selection guide highlights approximately 2,000 recommended titles with descriptive and evaluative annotations (plus cover art), searchable by author, title, subject, genre, and grade level. Limiters for Fiction, Nonfiction, or Biography reflect the growing diversity of subjects treated in graphic novel format.

An automated "What's New" query lets users find what's been added to the database in the last week, month, year, or since the last time they looked. Users can also configure the database to email daily, weekly, or monthly alerts, citing new materials relevant to their search topic as they're added.

Welcome

Welcome to the OHIONET E-Res blog. We plan to use this blog to post timely updates about electronic resources. It should be of interest to our reference and acquisitions librarians. Questions and suggestions encouraged!

Mary Mlynar Conroy, OHIONET