CDL Database Transitions

a. UC-eLinks: Permeating the Databases

UC users of CDL databases will begin to see UC-eLinks increasingly as it appears on the transitioning databases.   UC-eLinks, based on the “OpenURL” linking technology being widely adopted in the library community, will eventually be available from the majority of the CDL’s journal article databases.  You may have already tried it out on Ovid’s MLA.  In early March it will be available in the CSA databases.  Later in March, it will appear on the Ovid databases Current Contents, Ei Compendex*Plus, and INSPEC, and in BIOSIS Previews when it is regenerated.

UC-eLinks provides a way to easily move from an article or book citation to the full online content of the item, or, for print materials, to automatically look for a UC library location of the item, or even to request that it be loaned or sent to the user.  It has the potential to link users to other services, such as author citations, web resources, and biographical information about an author.  It replaces similar, but more limited functions that have been available in the CDL-Hosted versions of journal article citation databases, all of which are being replaced by more technologically up-to-date vendor-supplied versions.

UC-eLinks is an example of the kind of global solution (rather than vendor or database-specific solutions) that the CDL is pursuing to provide better integration across resources.

b. PsycINFO on CSA

PsycINFO is now officially available via Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) along with the transitioning databases ERIC and PAIS, bringing together three important social sciences databases on the CSA database platform.  As of March 6, UC-eLinks will be enabled on these and all other CSA-licensed databases (campus subscriptions included–up to twenty-four databases depending on the campus).  The Transition Steering Committee endorsed turning on UC-eLinks for all CSA databases.

A UC CSA user will see a UC-eLinks pop-up window with links to electronic full text, campus holdings, and Request by clicking on the hyperlinked “UC-eLinks” after retrieving records.

c. Ovid Database Releases

It was announced in the October 25, 2001 issue of CDLINFO that five databases would be available via Ovid in January 2002.  That schedule as been amended as follows:

*CDL is committed to maintaining access through December 2002 unless there are unforeseen circumstances, such as vendors making significant changes to their data structure, or recommendations to remove parallel access earlier.

UC-eLinks will be activated in these databases as soon as Ovid completes the changes needed. CDL will notify the Transition Steering Committee, Users Council and Resource Liaisons as soon as specific dates can be determined.

Please refer to the Database Status document for detailed information about which services (e.g., Request, Update, etc.) will be available and when in the new versions of all A&I transition databases.

Directions for access to these resources will be announced closer to their implementation date, after the CDL has verified access.