Searcher Facelift

The federated search engine, Searcher, has a new look. From the one interface, you can use Searcher to send searches to and fetch results from a number of different web-based resources. The major chemistry abstracting and indexing databases (SciFinder Scholar, Beilstein and Gmelin) aren't available to search this way but have a look at http://www.searcher.lib.ed.ac.uk [EASE login required] and tell us what you think.

Freely available chinese language material

From a Chinese language interface resource is available a large amount of open access resources from the National Library of China.

My Chinese colleague has summarised its content as including:

1. PhD dissertations from China (free view of the first 24 pages of over 100,000 PhD dissertations);

2. Biographies of Sinologists outside China (over 150);

3. Chinese e-books (free view of the first 24 pages of tens of thousands of books published since 1949);

4. Local gazetteers/local histories (full text all free, I think);

5. Books published in the Min guo (Republican period, 1911-1949) (full text all free; 8172 titles or 8884 volumes);

6. Min guo periodicals (full text all free; 4329 titles);

7. Min guo (Republican period) laws/legal documents (full text all free; 8112 items or 29087 pages);

8. Photos of oracle bones, characters, New Year pictures, etc, (all free.);

9. Audio and video resources (158,000 audio items and 108,000 video items since 1987; only partially available)

Exploring New Enhancements in the Web Version of SciFinder®

CAS Training available:

The upcoming release of the web version of SciFinder extends functionality beyond the capabilities of all existing SciFinder products. In this session, we will preview the new features and improved performance that the upcoming release has to offer. We will:

* Explore features such as the powerful refine capability that groups answer sets by scientific categories, combine options with multiple answer sets, duplicate removal, CHEMLIST®, CHEMCATS® export, and more . . .

* new features such as one click linking to your favorite SciFinder answers, new Keep Me Posted features, related references on key scientific concepts, and more . . .

* new content such as experimental and predicted properties and reaction data

To register, visit: http://casevents.webex.com.

After you register, you will receive an e-mail confirmation containing the teleconference phone numbers.

Rebroadcast Times (EDT):

December 2 - 2:00 PM
December 2 - 9:00 PM
December 9 - 8:15 AM
December 9 - 2:00 PM
December 16 - 8:15 AM
December 16 - 3:00 PM


Explore What’s New with the Web Version of SciFinder using the CAS Virtual Lab!

New virtual lab sessions have been added for your convenience!

These open sessions provide users with hands-on experience navigating the new web interface of SciFinder. A CAS Applications Specialist will be available to answer user questions.

To view the schedule and to register, visit: CAS Training Lab.

You must register at least 24 hours in advance of your desired virtual hands-on session.

Ensuring a bright future for research libraries - launch event

The Research Information Network (RIN) is holding an event to launch a new guidance booklet, "Ensuring a bright future for research libraries: A guide for vice-chancellor and senior institutional managers" in London on the evening of 18 November.

The report will be launched by Professor Robert Burgess, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leciester and the RIN's Director, Michael Jubb will discuss the framework the guidance provides in terms of ensuring library and information services keep up with the changing needs of researchers.

The briefing document for the guidance is available from here. The full guidance and case studies will be available after the launch event.

Edinburgh's Festival of Libraries

SATURDAY 8TH – FRIDAY 14TH NOVEMBER 2008
Edinburgh's Festival of Libraries: Celebrating Edinburgh’s Libraries!
Includes an opening Fair this Saturday at Adam House, Chambers Street 10am – 4pm. There are also events running all week, one-off talks and workshops and the Festival ends with a panel discussion on the Future of the Book.

Selected highlights more and details from the website above:

Edinburgh Geologists from Enlightenment to Contemporary - An exhibition showcasing the work and profiles of well-known earth scientists from the city. British Geological Survey, Murchison House.

Scaley Tails & Twinkling Tiaras with Vivian French. McDonald Road Library, 9th Nov

Princess Poppy with Janey Jones. Central Library, 14th Nov.

Copy of Robert Thornton's stunning florilegium “The Temple of Flora” along with other Thornton works. Library Foyer, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Creative Writing Workshops led by Bashabi Fraser, children's writer, poet and editor. Napier University, Craiglockhart Campus, 10th & 13th Nov.

Scottish Crime Night with Allan Guthrie & Tony Black. Leith Library, 11th Nov.

Meet the Makar, Ron Butlin, Edinburgh's Poet Laureate. Central Library, George IV Bridge, 11th Nov.

The Edward Clark Collection, A talk about one of the most significant collections in the country, consisting of around 5000 items illustrating the development of the book from the 15th century. Napier University, Merchiston Library, 11th & 13th Nov.

November e-bulletin from the Physical Sciences Centre

Contents: Issue 26, 5th November 2008

Full-text from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/physsci/publications/ebulletin

1. Call for papers: SLTC

2. Funding available

i) Higher Education Academy Scotland travel fund for academic staff

ii) RSC Education Division Travel Grants

iii) RSC Bursaries for education conferences in USA

3. Forthcoming Centre events

i) Workshop for New and Aspiring Lecturers, 14-15th November 2008, Best Western Monk Bar Hotel, York

ii) Science Education Research in Higher Education: Past, Present, Future; A symposium to mark the retirement of Prof. Norman Reid, 19th November 2008, University of Glasgow

iii) Vision for optics and photonics teaching, 3rd December 2008, Durham University

iv) Peer Assessment 21st January 2009, Manchester Conference Centre

v) Supporting Engineering and Physical Science Students: A Workshop for Demonstrators, 11th February 2009, University of Birmingham

vi) Improving the student experience in teaching laboratories and project work, 18th February 2009, University of Glasgow

4. Other events

i) 2020 vision – the changing UK doctorate, 28th November 2008, The British Library, London

ii)The Forensic Science Society, One-Day Student Conference: Crime Scene to Court, 13th December 2008, University of Abertay

Stargazing Conference - research publications

Research publications now come in many different formats - from computer software and databases, to dance performances and music. And traditional journals are no longer the only way of publishing - e-journals, software repositories and blogs are all valuable resources.

* How do you find research that is relevant to you? and how do you know if it is any good?
* How do you make your own "publications" available? and how do you make them count?

This year's "stargazing conference" will provide an opportunity to hear University staff and guest speakers talk about some of the current issues and future trends. There will be plenty of opportunity for discussion and this promises to be an essential day for everyone involved in research.

Contact Details: mdima@staffmail.ed.ac.uk Further Details: http://www.itfutures.ed.ac.uk/Conference2008.shtml

myExperiment Virtual Research Environment

JISC funded project from UoManchester and Southampton. Labelled beta:

"myExperiment is a collaborative environment where scientists can safely publish their workflows, share them with groups and find the workflows of others. Workflows, other digital objects and collections - called Packs - can now be swapped, sorted and searched like photos and videos on the Web. And unlike Facebook or MySpace, myExperiment fully understands the needs of the researcher.

myExperiment makes it really easy for the next generation of scientists to contribute to a pool of scientific workflows, build communities and form relationships. It enables scientists to share, reuse and repurpose workflows and reduce time-to-experiment, share expertise and avoid reinvention."

Chemistry is a recently added user community.

Special Issue - Physica Status Solidi B

Volume 245 Issue 10 (October 2008)
Special Issue: Electronic Properties of Novel Materials: Molecular nanostructures

Including Marx & Barth's "Carbon nanotubes - A scientometric study" (p 2347-2351).

Full-text access to the whole issue via library subscription from here (EASE login may be required).

From the abstract: "The most productive authors and leading research organizations are determined. The distribution of the nanotubes articles on the countries of the authors and on the leading journals is given". Based on WoS data.

The science behind the Nobel

Link to You Tube video from RSC Readers Post by Martyn Poliakoff at:

http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/?p=1202

University of Nottingham's Periodicvideo's full selection at:

http://www.periodicvideos.com/

Assessment and Plagiarism Workshop, 19th November 2008, University of Birmingham

This interactive one day workshop is to be facilitated by Chris Rust, Deputy Director of ASKe Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (Assessment Standards Knowledge exchange) based at Oxford Brookes University.

The workshop will introduce plagiarism and academic misconduct and how to deter students from doing this. The use of assessment and feedback will also be discussed and how to use this to encourage active learning.

There is no registration fee for this meeting for those working in UK HE and lunch and refreshments will be provided.

For more information and to register, please see the website:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/physsci/events/detail/plagiarism_assessment_nov_2008

Physical Sciences Centre
Higher Education Academy Network
Chemistry Department
University of Hull

Beilstein update

The latest update of the Beilstein database, 2008/03, was made available on Thursday 2nd October.

This database contains 10,853,341 compounds, 22,416,526 reactions and 2,198,835 citations.

As a consequence of this update, Commander 7.0 and 7.1 will download files either to the group folder in the main Commander installation folder if it is writeable, or if not to your My Documents folder (again assuming that you have write permission, which would normally be the case). We do not believe that users with stand-alone installations of Commander 6 will experience any difficulties, although Commander will only attempt to download the files to the main installation folder.

Please email rowena.stewart@ed.ac.uk or crossfire@mimas.ac.uk if you experience any difficulties.

October e-bulletin from the Physical Sciences Centre

Information about forthcoming Centre events, news and developments from the Centre and any other related news, every month. Available on the website:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/physsci/publications/ebulletin

Contents for Issue 25, 1st October 2008

1. Call for papers
i) SLTC

2. Forthcoming events
i) Mathematics for physics graduates, 7th October 2008, University of Manchester
ii) Forensic Science SIG meeting - 'Sexual assault from Crime Scene Court - Looking to the future', 15th October 2008, Staffordshire University, Stoke campus
iii) Workshop for New and Aspiring Lecturers, 14-15th November 2008, Best Western Monk Bar Hotel, York
iv) Science Education Research in Higher Education: Past, Present, Future; A symposium to mark the retirement of Prof. Norman Reid, 19th November 2008, University of Glasgow
v) Assessment and Plagiarism Workshop, 19th November 2008, University of Birmingham

3. Other events
i) The Forensic Science Society, One-Day Student Conference: Crime Scene to Court, 13th December 2008, University of Abertay

CALL FOR PAPERS - Third Science Learning and Teaching Conference (SLTC), 16-17th June 2009, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

Call for papers for the Third Science Learning and Teaching Conference (SLTC), 16-17th June 2009, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

The aim of this national conference is to bring together practitioners in the teaching of science disciplines in HE to share their experiences, identify common challenges and an opportunity to share effective practice. The conference programme will include keynote lectures; short oral presentations; hands on workshops; posters and exhibitions.

Contributions
Offers of contributions are invited for oral presentations (15 minutes), interactive presentations (30 minutes), workshops (1.5 hours) and poster presentations. Contributions on any of the following themes are particularly welcome:• assessment / feedback / plagiarism• induction / transitions / retention / recruitment• developments in learning and teaching – forward thinking

Abstracts must be submitted using the online submission form at: www.sltc.info. If you are unable to submit using the online form an electronic version of the form can be downloaded from the submissions page, completed and emailed to sltc@leeds.ac.uk. The submission deadline is 12:00 on Friday 28th November 2008.

Registration
The registration fee for the conference will be £195 for those participants with an accepted abstract; otherwise the fee will be £225. Registration will open in December 2008.

Please visit www.sltc.info for more information.
Colleagues in the early stages of their career are particularly welcome.

Specialist Science Diploma - HE consultation

Professor Tina Overton, Director, Higher Education Academy Physical Sciences Centre has requested HE input into the consultation process for a new 14-19 Specialist Science Diploma to be launched in 2011. Students with this new qualification will be applying to enter Higher Education in due course.

Information on how to take part from www.sciencediploma.co.uk/diploma_in_science.aspx.
This consultation will close at noon on the 15th October 2008.

CrossFire unavailable 4-5pm 29th Sept

On Monday 29th September 2008, the Mimas CrossFire service will be unavailable for a period of around an hour from 17:00 - 18:00 BST (16:00 - 17:00 GMT), for a server software upgrade. No logins to CrossFire will be possible during this time.

Mimas would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.

Jo Lampard
CrossFire support

Applications Invited for CSA Trust Jacques-Émile Dubois Grants for 2009

The Chemical Structure Association (CSA) Trust is an internationally
recognized organization established to promote the critical importance of
chemical information to advances in chemical research. In support of its
charter, the Trust has created a unique Grant Program, renamed in honor of
Professor Jacques-Émile Dubois who made significant contributions to the
field of cheminformatics. The Trust is currently inviting the submission of
grant applications for 2009.

Purpose of the Grants:
The Grant Program has been created to provide funding for the career
development of young researchers who have demonstrated excellence in their
education, research or development activities that are related to the
systems and methods used to store, process and retrieve information about
chemical structures, reactions and compounds. A Grant will be awarded
annually up to a maximum of three thousand U.S. dollars ($3,000). Grants
are awarded for specific purposes, and within one year each grantee is
required to submit a brief written report detailing how the grant funds were
allocated.

Who is Eligible?
Applicant(s), age 35 or younger, who have demonstrated excellence in their
chemical information related research and who are developing careers that
have the potential to have a positive impact on the utility of chemical
information relevant to chemical structures, reactions and compounds, are
invited to submit applications. While the primary focus of the Grant
Program is the career development of young researchers, additional bursaries
may be made available at the discretion of the Trust. All requests must
follow the application procedures noted below and will be weighed against
the same criteria.

What Activities are Eligible?
Grants may be awarded to acquire the tools necessary to support research
activities, or for travel to collaborate with research groups, to attend a
conference relevant to one’s area of research, to gain access to special
computational facilities, or to acquire unique research techniques in
support of one’s research.

Application Requirements:
Applications must include the following documentation:
1. A letter that details the work upon which the Grant application is
to be evaluated as well as details on research recently completed by the
applicant;
2. The amount of Grant funds being requested and the details regarding
the purpose for which the Grant will be used (e.g. cost of equipment, travel
expenses if the request is for financial support of meeting attendance,
etc.). The relevance of the above-stated purpose to the Trust’s objectives
and the clarity of this statement are essential in the evaluation of the
application);
3. A brief biographical sketch, including a statement of academic
qualifications;
4. Two reference letters in support of the application. Additional
materials may be supplied at the discretion of the applicant only if
relevant to the application and if such materials provide information not
already included in items 1-4. Three copies of the complete application
document must be supplied for distribution to the Grants Committee.

Deadline for Applications:
Applications must be received no later than October 24, 2008.

Successful applicants will be notified by December 19, 2008.

Address for Submission of Applications:
Four copies of the application documentation should be forwarded to: Bonnie
Lawlor, CSA Trust Grant Committee Chair, 276 Upper Gulph Road, Radnor, PA
19087, USA.

If you wish to enter your application by e-mail, please contact
Bonnie Lawlor at blawlor@nfais.org prior to submission.

Dr. Guenter Grethe
352 Channing Way
Alameda, CA 94502-7409
(510) 865-5152 (Home)
(510) 333-7526 (Mobile)
(510) 865-5152 (Fax)
ggrethe@comcast.net

CHMINF-L Archives (also to join or leave CHMINF-L, etc.)
http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/chminf-l.html
Search the CHMINF-L archives at:
https://listserv.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/wa-iub.exe?S1=chminf-l
Sponsors of CHMINF-L:
http://www.indiana.edu/~libchem/chminfsupport.htm

Exploring What's New with the Web Version of SciFinder®

SciFinder continues to evolve to increase research productivity. In this session, we will explore the new web version and show you the latest and greatest that SciFinder has to offer. We will introduce you to the web version by:

Exploring the features and functionality of the new streamlined interface.
Unveiling one-click access to powerful SciFinder tools such as analysis, refinement, and linking tools.
Sharing valuable insights on how to make your web experience more efficient and productive.

Learn from your desktop or gather your colleagues and share the e-Seminar demonstration in an auditorium or meeting room. You can submit questions at any time during the e-Seminar.

To register, visit: http://casevents.webex.com.

After you register, you will receive an e-mail confirmation containing the teleconference phone numbers.

Broadcast Times (EDT):

September 9, 2008 - 9:00 am
September 9, 2008 - 1:00 pm
September 9, 2008 - 9:00pm

September 23, 2008 - 1:00 pm
September 30, 2008 - 9:00 am

October 14, 2008 - 9:00am
October 14, 2008 - 1:00 pm

October 21, 2008 - 9:00am
October 21, 2008 - 1:00pm

Planned downtime - ejournals, databases and Searcher

Monday 11th August - planned downtime will affect access to all of our e-journals, databases and Searcher from the library's webpages and possibly from some other University links, eg WebCT. This downtime is from 12-2pm but the services should be considered 'at risk' for the rest of the day as well.

This is to allow the new version of ezproxy (the current authentication system used by most databases/e-journals) to be implemented.

Book Reviews

Chemistry Biology Pharmacy Information Center at ETH Zürich provides

RSS feed for book reviews:
http://www.clicaps.ethz.ch/fmi/xsl/bookreviews_rss_en.xsl (english) http://www.clicaps.ethz.ch/fmi/xsl/bookreviews_rss_de.xsl (german)

Book reviews are taken from more than 60 e-journals and are added if a title is in the information centre's catalogue.

Reviews may be missed if:
"- we missed the book when it was published
- we did not buy it because it does not fit in our collection policy (Chemistry, Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences and related fields)
- the book received a bad review, so we do not buy it
- book is republished material from other works we own

Normally, we have the book before the book review appears, so the RSS entry is "on time", e.g. within the same day (or next workday) the e-journal issue appeared (except if I'm in holidays).
Sometimes the book is acquired after the review appeared, then the RSS entry appears when we catalog the book."


Taken from CHMINF-L list:

CHMINF-L Archives (also to join or leave CHMINF-L, etc.) http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/chminf-l.html
Search the CHMINF-L archives at:
https://listserv.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/wa-iub.exe?S1=chminf-l
Sponsors of CHMINF-L:
http://www.indiana.edu/~libchem/chminfsupport.htm

SciFinder - exploring reactions using built-in links

SciFinder Solutions has been updated with a new search tip about exploring reactions in SciFinder with built-in links.

Visit
http://www.cas.org/support/scifi/sfsolutions/index.html

Provisional Recommendations from IUPAC

The following Provisional Recommendations are now available on the IUPAC web site:

Glossary of Terms Used in Ecotoxicology
http://iupac.org/reports/provisional/abstract08/nordberg_311208.html

Thermochemistry of Chemical Reactions: I. Terminology and Symbols
http://iupac.org/reports/provisional/abstract08/ribeiro-da-silva_311208.html

The public comment period will end 31 December 2008.


Taken From:

CHMINF-L Archives (also to join or leave CHMINF-L, etc.) http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/chminf-l.html
Search the CHMINF-L archives at:
https://listserv.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/wa-iub.exe?S1=chminf-l
Sponsors of CHMINF-L:
http://www.indiana.edu/~libchem/chminfsupport.htm

CALL FOR PAPERS: eScience for Cheminformatics and Drug Discovery

2008 Workshop

Abstracts of papers for presentation at the eScience for Cheminformatics and Drug Discovery Workshop 2008 now being accepted. This workshop will be held in conjunction with the 4th IEEE International Conference on e-Science (e-Science 2008) in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, December 7-12 2008.

More information can be found on the conference website at http://cheminfo.informatics.indiana.edu/eScience2008/ .

FROM CHMINF-L LIST:
CHMINF-L Archives (also to join or leave CHMINF-L, etc.) http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/chminf-l.html
Search the CHMINF-L archives at:
https://listserv.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/wa-iub.exe?S1=chminf-l
Sponsors of CHMINF-L:
http://www.indiana.edu/~libchem/chminfsupport.htm

Data sheets and employability sheets available to order

The Higher Education Academy, Physical Sciences Centre publishes physics and chemistry sheets containing useful data and equations for students and student employability handouts for physics, chemistry and forensic science.

If you would like multiple copies of these to give to your students, please e-mail the Centre, psc@hull.ac.uk, stating which of the handouts you require and how many.

In order for these to be delivered to you by the end of September, please let us know the numbers you require by 24th August.

Below are the links to electronic versions of the all the handouts. Please note the equation sheets are in the process of being re-designed. The link to the chemistry sheet gives an idea of how the final versions will look:

Chemistry equation sheet
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/ps/documents/chem_eqn_2008.pdf

Physics equation sheet
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/ps/documents/physeqns_2007.pdf

Chemistry student employability handout
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/ps/documents/chemistry_student_profile.pdf

Physics student employability handout
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/ps/documents/physics_student_profile.pdf

Forensic Science employability handout
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/ps/documents/fs_employability_sheet.pdf

The maths stats and OR network also produce some fact and formulae sheets. Details are available here: http://www.mathstore.ac.uk/index.php?pid=41

National e-Science Centre News – July 2008

Find the July 2008 NeSC newsletter at:

http://www.nesc.ac.uk/news/newsletter/July08.pdf

In this month’s newsletter:

* Articles about secure electronic voting and research in climate change modelling
* The latest news from NGS
* A reminder about AHM 2008
* A call for theme topics from the e-Science Institute
* An announcement about the second Grid Computing Now! competition
* Congratulations to Professors Richard Kenway, Ed Seidel and Peter Coveney, and to Dr Shantenu Jha! See inside NeSC News to find out about their achievements.

Chemistry World

Get this widget!

Visit the Widget Gallery

Outreach in Collaboration II Event

10th - 11th September 200
CELS, Nottingham Trent University

*Provisional programme http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/physsci/events/detail/outreachII_sept08 now available and early bird rate has been extended until 31st July 2008. Please note, accommodation must be booked by 18th August 2008. *

The aims of this two-day conference are to bring together academics and practitioners to showcase best practice in science outreach and to encourage those who would like to get involved in outreach – but don’t know where to start - to develop their own programmes and activities.

SciFinder e-seminar: Structure Drawing

CAS is hosting an e-Seminar on July 9, 2008 [2:00 – 3:00 PM (14:00–15:00) U.S. Eastern Daylight Time (19:00-20:00 GMT)]

It's live, it's interactive, and it's focused on Structure Drawing: Raising the Bar

Rebroadcast date and times for the seminar will be: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 6:00 AM EDT (11:00 GMT), 9:00 AM EDT (14:00 GMT), and 9:00 PM EDT (1:00 GMT)

<http://www-old.cas.org/meetings/SciFinder_eSeminar02_01.gif>
________________________________

To register, visit: http://casevents.webex.com/ <http://casevents.webex.com/>

After you register, you will receive an e-mail confirmation containing the teleconference phone numbers.
________________________________

Structure Drawing: Raising the Bar

Structure drawing is an essential tool when searching for substances, reactions, and related information in the web version of SciFinder. In this session, we will:

* Provide a detailed overview of structure and reaction drawing options
* Illustrate how to apply minor drawing changes to significantly impact search results, including how to cast a wider net and how to focus an unwieldy answer set
* Share examples and specific tips from SciFinder structure drawing experts

Learn from your desktop or gather your colleagues and share the e-Seminar demonstration in an auditorium or meeting room. You can submit questions at any time during the e-Seminar.
________________________________

For system and other technical requirements needed to participate in this event, please contact WebEx:
Phone: 866-229-3239 (North America) or 916-463-8262 (worldwide)
E-mail: support@webex.com
If you have general questions about SciFinder, please contact CAS Customer Care:
Phone: 800-753-4227 (North America) or 614-447-3700 (worldwide)
E-mail: help@cas.org
Web page: http://www.cas.org/support/custcare.html