Science Librarian's Blog: May 2008

Tuesday, 27 May 2008

NextBio

http://www.nextbio.com/b/home/home.nb
A new, free-to-access life sciences search engine. Searches across 1.2 billion data points (10,000+ study results) and over 16 million articles!
“NextBio's mission is to make the world's life sciences information universally accessible. Our goal is to empower researchers and clinicians to make new discoveries in science, find new and better cures to diseases, and work more collaboratively.”

Friday, 16 May 2008

News about UCL Science Library Refurbishment

UCL Library Services will be undertaking extensive refurbishment of the ground floor of the UCL Science Library (DMS Watson building) from June to September 2008.

With the generous support of the Wolfson Foundation, UCL Library Services will create a Learning Laboratory.
The entrance lobby will be widened and improved with a new Membership desk and a separate security office.
The extensive computer cluster will be extended with 30 new postgraduate cluster workstations.
Wheelchair users will benefit from a new gate to access the Library and wider doorways into the main space.
From the entrance lobby, two sets of glazed double doors will invite users into the Learning Laboratory.
To facilitate group study, the Learning Laboratory will accommodate 11 new soft seating clusters and a group study area, enabled with RoamNet wireless network, for up to 44 users.
5 self-service terminals will be installed for book issue and return, based on RFID (Radio-Frequency) technology.
New issue & enquiry desk

The impact of construction work during summer 2008 will be:

The main entrance to the UCL Science Library will be closed for the duration of the works. Access will be through the deliveries door on Malet Place.
The computer cluster area (including Teaching Cluster) will be closed for 4 weeks.
UCL Library Services and Information Systems will provide 20 cluster machines on ground floor temporarily.
The Science Issue Desk will be relocated to the 2nd floor for the duration of the works.

Programme:

Preparatory work commences 27/05/2008
Building work commences 06/2008
The area will re-open for the start of the new academic session(September 2008)

Links:
UCL Library Services www.ucl.ac.uk/library
The Wolfson Foundation http://www.wolfson.org.uk/

New Resources from Intute

New Internet resources from Intute:

Astronomy
Advances in astronomy
http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/cgi-bin/fullrecord.pl?handle=20080211-0006

Chemistry
View from a distant Universe : Chapter 1 : Foundations to chemistry
http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/cgi-bin/fullrecord.pl?handle=2005721-123012

Geochemistry
Chemistry and geochemistry of the oceans
http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/cgi-bin/fullrecord.pl?handle=20080511-15291431

Inorganic Chemistry
Eight electron chemistry : lithium through neon : Chapter 3 : Foundations to chemistry
http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/cgi-bin/fullrecord.pl?handle=2005721-1230198
Gain and loss of electrons; ions and metals : Chapter 5 : Foundations to chemistry
http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/cgi-bin/fullrecord.pl?handle=2005721-1230114
Periodicity of behaviour : sodium through argon : Chapter 6 : Foundations to chemistry
http://www.intute.ac.uk/sciences/cgi-bin/fullrecord.pl?handle=2005721-123015

Organic Chemistry
Report on consumer focus groups on biotechnology
http://www.intute.ac.uk/healthandlifesciences/cgi-bin/fullrecord.pl?handle=20080513-11323931

Tuesday, 13 May 2008

Online Chemistry Reference Works

Birkbeck students and staff have access to a range of online Chemistry reference works including encyclopaedias, dictionaries, handbooks, critical tables and data sheets. See the list at http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/subguides/science/chemical/databases/#ref

Friday, 9 May 2008

GreenFILE - new database

GreenFILE offers information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on the environmental effects of individuals, corporations and local/national governments, and what can be done at each level to minimize these effects. Multidisciplinary by nature, GreenFILE draws on the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology. Topics covered include global climate change, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for approximately 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records.

Access it here http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/elib/databases/science/greenfile

Sue

Thursday, 8 May 2008

New Web sites on Intute

New Library Blog for Birkbeck Science students and staff

This blog is for students and staff in the Schools of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Crystallography and Earth Sciences at Birkbeck, University of London. I will be keeping you updated with Library news, information about new resources and web sites, tips for making the most of existing resources and much more.
Sue