The Royal Society is the oldest scientific academy still in existence, having begun in the 17th century with the regular meetings of natural philosophers interested in promoting knowledge of the natural world through observation and experiment.

Paratext is pleased to announce that more than 6,000 links to the full text of the Royal Society Journals are now included in 19th Century Masterfile. The journals make up part of the more than 1,500 titles indexed within the Catalogue of Scientific Papers, a core component of Paratext’s 19th Century Masterfile.

The Catalogue encompasses the Society’s Proceedings and Transactions, covering mathematical, physical, engineering and biological sciences.

Researchers in the history of science, the humanities and the physical sciences benefit from easier access to this remarkable and unique scholarly resource.

See some examples of the information now linked to within 19th Century Masterfile:

• On some phenomens in vacuum tube, 1894 
• Minute structure of the organ of taste in vertebrate animals, 1843
• Observations on the Camel’s stomach respecting the water it contains, 1806
• On the structure of the brain in marsupial animals, 1837 
• An experimental inquiry on the action of electricity on gases, 1872
• On auto-infection in cardiac disease, 1889 
• On lunar and solar periodicities of earthquake, 1897 
• On a supposed alteration in the amount of astronomical aberration of light, produced by the passage of light through a considerable thickness of refracting medium, 1872

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Paratext is honored to announce that Reference Universe has been chosen as one of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Titles of 2012.

Reference Universe is one of the select few titles chosen out of the over 7,000 that were reviewed by CHOICE in 2011 to be recognized for their excellence in scholarship and the significance of their contribution to the field.

According to CHOICE, the editors apply several criteria to reviewed titles including: overall excellence in presentation and scholarship; importance relative to other literature in the field; distinction as a first treatment of a given subject in book or electronic form; originality or uniqueness of treatment; value to undergraduate students; and, importance in building undergraduate library collections.

You can find an excerpt of what they had to say about Reference Universe back in their review back in March here.

CHOICE subscribers can access the full list of titles chosen here.

Reference Universe customers subscribing to the Wiley Online Library will now find 82 new titles from this invaluable resource included in Reference Universe. The Wiley Online Library brings many of the quality resources Wiley-Blackwell has long been known for into an easy to use online platform.

The award-winning reference content included in the Wiley Online Library covers life, health, social and physical sciences, and the humanities. As one of the world’s most extensive multi-disciplinary collections of online reference resources, its inclusion in Reference Universe contributes to Paratext’s ongoing goal of ensuring that Reference Universe is the most comprehensive and indispensable discovery aid for authoritative reference works.

Amongst the titles now more accessible to Reference Universe customers are:

• Burger’s Medicinal Chemistry, Drug Discovery and Development – Called an “outstanding and peerless reference work” by the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, this offers offers a comprehensive, global perspective of drug design and drug development
• Encyclopedia of Space, Science and Technology – An ambitious collection of the underlying physical principles of rockets, satellites, and space stations
• Encyclopedia of Special Education – Via Library Journal: “This critical reference includes entries addressing the full gamut of special-education research… a valuable resource for parents, professionals, and other laypeople with an interest in the education of youths with special needs.”
• Wiley Encyclopedia of Forensic Science – Provides the definitive, up-to-date reference on the forensic process, a vital reference work for all professionals in the field
• Water Encyclopedia – An in depth exploration of our planet’s most important natural resource
• Wiley International Encyclopedia of Marketing – The first international, multi-volume encyclopedia of marketing, with 360 entries from over 500 experts in the field

If your library has not yet explored the enhanced level of discovery Reference Universe can bring to your reference collection, try it out for free. Contact us for more information on setting up a free 30-day trial for your institution.

Paratext is pleased to announce that detailed metadata from Grove Art Online and Grove Music Online from Oxford University Press are now integrated into Reference Universe.

Many current Reference Universe libraries tell us that these titles are among the most heavily used within their library. Their inclusion within Reference Universe ensures increased accessibility to some of the most authoritative articles on art and music available.

Grove Art Online initially grew out of the landmark 34-volume print title the Dictionary of Art, containing comprehensive coverage of Western and non-Western art. In addition to 45,000 articles on a variety of relevant subjects, the collection includes over 6,000 searchable images and even more links to images at museums and galleries to help students achieve a more complete artistic research experience.

Grove Music Online allows digital searching of some of the most important works for musical scholarship including The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. With over 50,000 articles representing the work of over 6,000 of the most respected musical scholars from around the world, it’s one of the most comprehensive and valuable resources on the market for music research.

These additions continue Paratext’s efforts to make Reference Universe the most comprehensive tool for the access and discovery of authoritative reference sources within your own library.

19th Century Politicians

Public Documents Masterfile customers will be happy to learn that Paratext has added SuDoc numbers, LC card numbers and Item Numbers to many of the citations included in the GPO Monthly Catalog Subject Indexes (1895-1976).  Due to this inclusion, all government documents included in this index from 1947-1976 will now be considerably easier to access for Public Documents Masterfile users.

Expanding the coverage of historical primary sources, we’ve also just added the Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government, 1881-1893 (The Ames Index) to the resource. This index includes a subject listing for both Congressional and departmental documents from 1881-1893. Its inclusion in Public Documents Masterfile ensures that students and researchers experience easier access to the important primary sources detailing our government’s past. This brings over 63,000 new records into the resource. For many of the citations included in Ames, you’ll even find links through to the full text at HathiTrust, Google Books and through your library’s OpenURL.

In addition, we’ve added over 50,000 new ERIC documents to Public Documents Masterfile, contributing to a total of almost 1.5 million records. This brings coverage of ERIC in Public Documents Masterfile current through August 2011. Many of the ERIC citations from journal articles, books, conference papers and more include links through to the full text.

It’s our goal to ensure that the valuable information available in the most important resources for understanding government are easy to find and access.  Don’t let your government documents collection go overlooked.  If you’re not yet using Public Documents Masterfile, contact us to learn about setting up a free 30-day trial.

Between her blog No Shelf Required and her book of the same name, Sue Polanka of Wright State University has been helping librarians understand the growing shift towards e-books and embrace the opportunities they present within traditional collection development activities.

Her most recent contribution on the subject, E-Reference Context and Discoverability in Libraries: Issues and Concepts has just been released by IGI Publishing. It brings together the ideas of librarians, publishers and other industry professionals on different ways for libraries to adapt and innovate using the new technology.

Paratext’s own Eric Calaluca is a contributor to the work, with an article entitled ”Indexing Scholarly Reference: Helping Researchers do Less.” The article covers the entire history of the Reference Universe service, from its inception in 2003, up to current activities to integrate the unique metadata it contains with larger ‘discovery layers’ now being considered by both large and small libraries.

Paratext recommends Sue’s new work for all serious bibliographers; public service and collection librarians. It reflects a contemporary and broad cross section of opinion and insight into the opportunities for improving libraries in the new digital age.

Reference Universe users can now:

• Immediately make additions/deletions to your Reference Universe profile as new titles are added to or weeded from your collection
• Keep up to date on reference titles your library may not yet have
• Easily access your Reference Universe usage statistics
• Find tips for promoting Reference Universe in your library

If you are a current customer, contact us today to get started using the Reference Universe Administrative Module.

If you are not yet a customer, contact us to get set-up for a free trial and learn how Reference Universe can help increase usage and awareness of your valuable reference collection.

Public Documents Masterfileis designed to simplify the process of finding important government documents and thus help promote greater knowledge of how the United States government functions.

The Annals of Congress, Register of Debates and Congressional Globe are an extraordinary cache of research materials, covering the growth of the nation from the Continental Congress to the beginning of the Industrial Age.

Paratext is pleased to announce full coverage of the indexes to these resources in Public Documents Masterfile, with more than 1.2 million searchable citations to make finding the most relevant documents for your research easier.  Even better, all of these citations include links through to the full text at the Library of Congress’ American Memory.

This new update, as part of our continued augmentation of Congressional documents in Public Documents Masterfile, brings the current coverage through the 42nd Congress, in 1873.    

Before Congress began publishing its own debates and proceedings in the Congressional Record in 1873, Joseph Gales and William Seaton began collecting and selectively publishing early summaries of the proceedings. Their records comprise the Annals of Congress, covering the first 18 congresses (1789-1824), as well as a report of the leading debates of Congress in the Register of Debates (1824-1837).

Additionally, Francis Blair and John Rives began a newspaper-like publication called the Congressional Globe (1833-1873) with daily coverage from each session, as well as presidential messages, certain executive department reports, and the text of public laws.

We’re regularly working to increase our coverage and simplify your research process. If your library is interested in a free 30-day trial of Public Documents Masterfile, contact us for more information.

Paratext is pleased to announce that some integration has already taken place, and more is to come. There are two ways to integrate Reference Universe content into your discovery service:

• Federated Search Option
• Integrated into the service’s ‘master index’

The first option is currently available to all libraries with a Z39.50 compliant discovery service. We’re actively working to provide the second as an option for all of the main discovery layers in the near future. There are advantages to both approaches, which we’ll be discussing with our customers in the weeks ahead.

However, we’re pleased to announce that the Federated Search Option has already been deployed by some libraries.  The librarians at the College of St. Scholastica are currently using this feature and have found that it has both greatly increased use of their reference collection and added value to their bibliographic instruction courses.

Librarians Heidi Johnson and Todd White outline their work to bring reference front and center in a newly published case study.  We are confident that you will recognize in their discussion the kinds of challenges your library may face regarding enhancing the use of your specialized reference collection, while keeping up with the latest technological advances in web-scale discovery applications.

Stay tuned for more information on additional enhancements and progress on integrating Reference Universe more fully into your broader discovery service.

The ARTstor Digital Library is a nonprofit resource that provides more than one million digital images in a variety of subjects.  The Digital Library serves educators, scholars, curators, librarians, and students at more than 1,350 universities, community colleges, museums, libraries, and K-12 schools in 45 countries worldwide. The ARTstor collections—as well as their proprietary  suite of software tools—support teaching and research in art, architecture, music, religion, anthropology, literature, world history, American studies, classical studies, medieval studies, renaissance studies, and more.

You can find the full press release here.