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

In Reference...

By Brandie Baumann

Wilson Subscription Still Available
Although the free trial of H.W. Wilson databases has expired, librarians can still participate in the BCR group, site-license (unlimited access) subscription that runs through December 31, 2002.

Take advantage of this opportunity to purchase these valuable databases at a significant savings off retail prices. For a list of the included databases and the online order form, go to www.bcr.org/~ids/Reference/Wilson/WilsontrialFAQ1.html.

LexisNexis Improving Academic Universe Usage Reports
In July 2001, some Academic Universe subscribers noted a decrease in reported usage in their monthly statistics reports. Upon investigation, it was discovered that an infrastructure change made over a year ago affected the ability of the system to accurately record the number of searches and retrieved documents. The LexisNexis team is currently working on an interim solution to the problem which they anticipate will be available soon. In addition, they are working towards developing a permanent solution that will provide accurate, timely and flexible usage reports based on captured billing records.

Call Jim Hensinger (jhensing@bcr.org) with questions or contact LexisNexis at academicinfo@lexisnexis.com to report any difficulties you may be having with the reporting system.

Emerald Usage Statistics Package Now Available
Emerald subscribers can now receive statistics for all Emerald Journals, Emerald Review and Emerald Abstracts through its new Usage Statistics Package. The URL is www.emeraldinsight.com/stats. To get started, refer to the instructions guide located at www.emeraldinsight.com/stats/eusg.doc.

The document is in Microsoft Word format. Note that library staff will need their Emerald ID and Manager Password (not to be confused with "usernames" and "passwords" used for accessing the Web site itself).

The new usage statistics package offers information about a library's use of the new Emerald Web site (www.emeraldinsight.com). It may show little or no usage after the transition from the old Emerald Web site since the old Web site was designed and maintained by a different technology partner.

More Emerald Product News
Emerald has acquired "Library Computing" from Sage Publications, Ltd. The journal, now merged with The Electronic Library and entitled "The Electronic Library Incorporating Library Computing," will be published by Emerald starting with Volume 18, Issue 4. For more information, visit www.emeraldinsight.com/el.htm.

Finally, Emerald has provided several support resources for subscribers:

Persistent URLs — This is a single spreadsheet listing all database/journal details such as product names, ISSN, URL, LC classification, archive years and enhancements. This tool also can be used to bookmark individual journals.

Usage Statistics Instruction Guide — This step-by- step guide can be used to accompany the usage statistics pages and covers information regarding sessions, page view, article downloads and nonsubscribed journal hits. It has been updated (version 1.1) to include information regarding Emerald Reviews/Emerald Abstracts usage statistics.

Please contact Jim Hensinger (jhensing@bcr.org) for additional information.

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

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