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July 2000 Release of the CDL

July 19, 2000 Author: CDLCategories:

In keeping with the goal of establishing semi-annual releases of new features and enhancements to the CDL, the fourth release of the CDL is available as of July 19, 2000 and includes the changes noted below.

The CDL is appreciative of the many constructive comments from library staff and patrons — given via focus group sessions, feedback forms and email, and campus presentations – that have contributed to these enhancements.

The enormous work that led to this release involved too many individuals to name separately.  CDL groups who deserve special congratulations include the digital library services staff, the database development staff, the online development staff, the My Library project team, the SearchLight project team, and the Tools and Services Working Group.  A special thanks to those of you who sent us feedback to help improve the release, especially Users Council members.

      • Links to holdings for books and other monographs in BIOSIS, INSPEC, and PsycINFO
      • Links to Digital Dissertations from the Melvyl Catalog and PsycINFO
      • Links to UC Press publications from WCAT and RCAT.
      • Online and Print Access displays are standardized in Melvyl and the California Periodicals databases.  URLs will no longer display but have been replaced by labels for the type of link when known.  URLs may still be viewed in other ways, however.
      • MARC display is now an option from the Display pull-down menu rather than a separate choice under All Display Options, which required an extra step.

CDL-hosted Databases

      • “No Results Page”: suggests alternative search options for zero results searches.
      • Password Option for CDL-hosted Database Full-Text: When accessing CDL-hosted Database ASCII full-text (MAGS, ABI, COMP) through the CDL Directory, UC users who are not on a UC network now have the ability to enter a CDL password.
      • Search Enhancements: CDL Directory search now supports the “OR” Boolean operator (AND is also supported, but has always been implied).

CDL Directory

      • The interim search screen: now includes a countdown of the amount of time selected by the user, and offers the option to stop the search and view results retrieved to that point.
      • The results page: now separates zero results and errors from the resources with results.

SearchLight

      • CDL Collections and Services page, which contains links to the various tools and search systems available through the CDL, has been streamlined.

CDL Web Site Re-organization My Library

A prototype of a customization tool that provides users with the ability to organize frequently used information resources in a personally meaningful way is under development.  My Library was adapted from MyLibrary@NCSU developed by North Carolina State University Library.

We will be testing My Library with the new environment resulting from release changes from July 19-26.  Barring major problems, we anticipate release for initial use on July 26th.

We encourage patrons and staff to use this new service, but caution that it is still very much a prototype, and is not ready for heavy use or promotion to users.  We are looking for feedback from library staff to help us improve it. Use the feedback link at the top and bottom of each page to let us know what you think. We will also be working with campuses to schedule focus groups with users during the fall term.  Pending this review and any changes that may be needed, we plan to release My Library as a production service in the July 2001 release.

We are also very interested in knowing how this service might relate to other similar developments on your campus. Please contact Laine Farley (Laine.Farley@ucop.edu) if you have information about plans on your campus.

EScholarship

    • The CDL’s eScholarship initiatives debut with a web site at

http://escholarship.cdlib.org

    .  The web site, whose launch is timed to coincide with the release of CDL enhancements, makes available new content and services from scholar-led innovations in scholarly communication.  Visitors will discover the Dermatology Online Journal (a faculty initiative from UC Davis), a set of international and area studies research monographs from UC Berkeley, and a development mirror of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s physics, mathematics, and computer science eprint server.  Strategic partnerships with archaeologists, the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative, UC Press, and the Scholarly Publishing and Research Cooperative are also described, as are plans for an eScholarship eprint infrastructure in support of scholarly communities.