A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — M a r c h 2 0 0 1

In Reference...

OCLC FirstSearch Direct Article Access Debuts
In response to requests from FirstSearch users, OCLC FirstSearch has expanded linking options from various external sources directly to individual articles in its FirstSearch service. Libraries now have the ability to place an encoded URL on a Web site for access to a number of full-text databases such as OCLC's FirstSearch Electronic Collections Online, Wilson Select Plus and Wilson Select, ABI/Inform and Periodical Abstracts. This added flexibility is particularly valuable to academic institutions that wish to connect students to full-text articles from a professor's Web course syllabus, reading lists or electronic reserve lists on a library's Web site. Users have the ability to directly access full-text content regardless of their physical location.

Direct article access is available to libraries that provide automatic log-on access to FirstSearch via IP address recognition. There is no separate charge for this feature, which does not involve using any of the library's FirstSearch ports nor opening an active FirstSearch session. For more information, go to www.oclc.org/firstsearch/documentation/daa.htm

Grolier Introduces Lands and Peoples Online
Grolier Educational has introduced a new online database that is based on its Lands and Peoples six-volume encyclopedia of countries, cultures and geography. The Web site includes 350 maps and 270 flags, 500 color photos, approximately 2,500 external Web links, 3,000 internal article-to-article links, complete search and browse options, easy and rapid navigation, help pages and Teacher's Guides. Main features include:

The Encyclopedia: 330 articles on the continents and countries of the world.
Global News Desk: A weekly spotlight on three current events stories and a Lesson Plan for some.
Electronic Atlas: An interactive feature combining and associating maps, flags and fact boxes.
Culture Cross: Direct on-screen comparisons between countries.
Focus: North America Individual articles on each of the U.S. states, Mexican states and Canadian provinces. A special section presents the Mexican states in both Spanish and English
Passport to Fun: Games, puzzles, quizzes and brainteasers.
L&P Almanac: Tables, listings and statistics.
Grolier Internet Index: Access to thousands of prescreened Internet links.

For more information go to publishing.grolier.com and click on Librarian. Then click on Grolier Education. Scroll down and click on the Lands and Peoples Online icon.

Grolier/BCR Pricing for FY 2001-2002
Pricing for several of BCR's Grolier database subscriptions has changed. The new prices apply to the New Book of Knowledge, Encyclopedia Americana and Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Pricing is as follows:

	BCR Price per FTE	BCR Minimum Price
Combo (any two)	$0.38	$195.00
Deluxe (all three)	$0.47	$295.00
All six databases	$0.90	$579.00
Add On:
Neuva Enciclopedia Cumbre en Línea	$0.19	$0.27
(Academics only/no base package required)	$129.00	$350.00
New Book of Popular Science Online	$0.12	$129.00
Lands and People	$0.12	$129.00

The subscription year runs May 1, 2001 through April 30, 2002. Partial year subscriptions will be prorated to conclude on April 30, 2002, but in no case will be prorated below $100. For questions concerning access, specific pricing combinations and FTE definitions, contact Jim Hensinger (jhensing@bcr.org).

Roth Online Poetry Databases Available
Sign up for the BCR Roth Online Poetry Databases subscription in time for National Poetry Month in April. BCR member libraries can now purchase discounted subscriptions to Roth Publishing's Web-based poetry databases, Poem Finder on the Web for public library and academic institutions and The World's Best Poetry Online for K-12 schools. The databases contain more than 80,000 full-text poems and cover significant historical periods from early English to Elizabethan to post-modernism and contemporary poetry as well as important schools and movements and the complete works of hundreds of poets from every continent, all in English translation. Each database is constantly updated.

For more information on each database and its features, go to www.bcr.org, choose Reference Databases, then Roth. Subscriptions begin April 1. Any BCR member who currently has a subscription to either product may transfer that subscription once the current annual subscription term is ended. Contact BCR's Laura Chittivej (lchittiv@bcr.org) for pricing information.

For questions or to subscribe to any reference database, contact BCR's Jim Hensinger (jhensing@bcr.org) or Karen Graham (kgraham@bcr.org).

BCR Publications | Table of Contents