CDLINFO

By Rosalie Lack, CDL Digital Special Collections Director

Over four Saturdays in January, February, and March, Bay Area K-12 teachers learned simple and practical ways to team a cutting-edge technology — an iPod touch, PowerPoint, and online tools such as MovieMaker and Garageband — with Calisphere’s thousands of primary source images to bring history to life in the classroom in ways that surprised, delighted, and inspired them.

Given the freedom to join images to sound, they learned to use MovieMaker to create movies based on historic images, complete with soundtracks, and to revitalize PowerPoint image presentations with sound and music.  They also learned how easy it was to use the iPod touch to display PowerPoint images on their classroom TV, eliminating the need for projectors or laptops.  Most of all, they opened up to new ways to incorporate technological solutions into their teaching that will excite and engage their students right away.

These powerful days of discovery were the result of a partnership between the California Digital Library  (CDL), University of California Irvine History Project  (UCIHP), and the California Department of Education California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP  Region IV).  The participants were history/social studies educators (teachers and library media teachers), primarily in grades 4, 8, and 11.

The proof of the project’s success lies in the fact that it will be repeated for a new set of teachers and librarians in June, and again in September.

Read more about this innovative project: http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/calisphere/itouchhistory.html

By Terry Vrable, CDL Acquisitions Coordinator

As part of the 2008 contract renewal for the Blackwell (also known as Wiley-Blackwell) online journals, 213 titles have been added to the CDL’s license.  These include the titles in Blackwell’s 2008 Full Collection model not previously licensed plus 22 recommended titles excluded from the Full Collection.

UC-eLinks will be enabled and the titles cataloged by the Shared Cataloging Program as they become available online at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/.  The full list of CDL-licensed titles is posted at Inside CDL: http://www.cdlib.org/inside/resources/publisher_info/BlackwellLicensedTitles2008.xls.

Details of the title selection process are described in the document “Managing Changes to Journal Packages” available at Inside CDL (http://www.cdlib.org/inside/collect/ejournal_guidelines.html).  Questions regarding these new titles can be directed to CDL Acquisitions, cdl-acquisitions@ucop.edu.

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

How will the Next Generation Melvyl Pilot be evaluated, and how can users provide input?

There are several ways the pilot will be evaluated, including the following:

1. End user assessment during the pilot will be a key piece of the evaluation process.  Two rounds of assessment with faculty and graduate students will take place in May at UC Berkeley and UC Irvine conducted by UC’s End User Assessment Task Group and OCLC’s well-established assessment team.  Participants will be observed and recorded, and their screen moves and audio will be captured for future viewing.  Lessons learned from the assessment will be folded into upcoming versions of the interface.

A second round of testing with end users will take place in the fall to evaluate other features or interface changes made since round one.

2. Users, including librarians, have several other ways of providing input on the pilot:
1. They can provide input using the Feedback link at the bottom of the screen or in the pulldown menu marked Home in the upper left of the screen.  Comments go to both OCLC and to the CDL.  Checking the box “I am a librarian or library employee” ensures the comment goes directly to OCLC first.
2. They can use the Ask a Librarian link under “Get Help” in the Web banner.  As per the recommendation of the Help & End User Support Task Group, the Ask a Librarian links go to the local campus library service.  Those staffing these services are welcome to send any questions to the CDL Helpline for assistance in answering them.
3. There will be a Survey link (coming soon) in the Web banner.  The purpose of the survey is to assess user satisfaction, gather information about ease of use and provide users the opportunity to tell us what features they like and dislike about the service.

Remember, some improvements are already in process.  Don’t forget to read the list of Known Problems to see what OCLC is already working on.

The Next Generation Melvyl is in perpetual beta, and we expect to see enhancements throughout the pilot.  User assessment is key to providing the information that will drive improvements.  Please be sure to encourage users to use one of these mechanisms to tell the UC and OCLC teams what you think.

For more information on the pilot, see http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/about/uc_oclc.html

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

As mentioned in an earlier announcement about the move to EBSCO’s Academic Search Complete (3/19 to Users Council), the UC libraries have received free access to several additional EBSCO databases.  Some of these are aimed at a K-12 audience, and those campuses with education programs requested that we acquire them.

(As a reminder, users can currently use Academic Source Complete, and Gale’s Expanded Academic ASAP will be retired June 30.)

The new titles (in addition to Academic Search Complete) are available now, and can be accessed from the EBSCO dropdown menu.

Business Source® Complete
On the Business Searching Interface
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=bsi  
On the EBSCOhost Interface 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=bth  
Business Source Complete is “the world’s definitive scholarly business database, providing the leading collection of bibliographic and full text content.  As part of the comprehensive coverage offered by this database, indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back as far as 1886 are included.  In addition to the searchable cited references provided for more than 1,200 journals, Business Source Complete contains detailed author profiles for the 20,000 most-cited authors in the database.  Journal ranking studies reveal that Business Source Complete is the overwhelmingly superior database for full text journals in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics.  Additional full text, non-journal content includes financial data, books, monographs, major reference works, book digests, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses and more.”

EBSCO Animals 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=ani 
EBSCO’s Encyclopedia of Animals offers in-depth information on a variety of topics relating to animals.  The database consists of indexing, abstracts, and full text records describing the nature and habitat of familiar animals. Within some of the full text, image links are available for the Windows client.  Images are accessed by double-clicking any image graphic.

Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=funk 
The Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia database indexes over 25,000 records, covering an array of topics.  Full text for each record may be easily accessed by double clicking on the topic from the display.  The database contains various images, offers brief biographies as well as information in a variety of subject areas.  This database is updated annually.

GreenFILE 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=8gh 
GreenFILE offers information covering all aspects of human impact on the environment.  Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles include content on the environmental effects of individuals, corporations and local/national governments, and what can be done on each level to minimize negative impact.  Topics covered include global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.  GreenFILE is multidisciplinary by nature and draws on the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology.

Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=lxh
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) indexes more than 690 periodicals, plus books, research reports and proceedings.  Subject coverage includes librarianship, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management and more.  Coverage in the database extends back as far as the mid-1960s.

MasterFILE Premier 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=f5h 
MasterFILE Premier is designed specifically for public libraries; MasterFILE Premier provides full text for more than 1,750 general periodicals covering general reference, business, health, education, general science, multicultural issues and much more. In addition to the full text, this database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 2,400 titles.   This database features: 5,000full textMagill Book Reviews;nearly 500 full text reference books including theWorld Almanac & Book of Facts; full text from 85,827 biographies; 105,789 full text primary source documents;American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Edition;and an Image Collection of 285,912 photos, maps and flags.  MasterFILE Premier offers PDF backfiles as far back as 1975 for key publications including American Libraries, Foreign Affairs, History Today, Judaism, Library Journaland National Review.

Middle Search Plus 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=mih 
Middle Search Plus contains full text for more than 140 popular, middle school magazines.  All full text articles are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles).  Full text is also available for thousands of biographies and historical essays.  Additionally, Middle Search Plus contains primary source documents including Essential Documents in American History, reference books including the Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia and American Heritage Dictionary,4th Editionfrom Houghton Mifflin, the Encyclopedia of Animals, and an Image Collection of 285,912 photos, maps and flags.

Military & Government Collection 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=mth 
Designed to offer current news pertaining to all branches of the military, this database offers a thorough collection of periodicals, academic journals and other content pertinent to the increasing needs of those sites.  The Military & Government Collection provides cover-to-cover full text for nearly 300 journals and periodicals.  The database also offers indexing and abstracts for nearly 400 titles.  Some publications covered in this database include Air Force Comptroller, Army Reserve Magazine, Defence Studies, JFQ: Joint Force Quarterly, Military Technology, Combat Edge, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Foreign Affairs, Naval Forces, and many more.  Many full text titles are available in native (searchable) PDF, or scanned-in-color.

Newspaper Source 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=nfh 
Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for 28 U.S. and international newspapers, including The Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Times (London), Toronto Star, etc.  The database also contains selected full text for more than 260 U.S. newspapers, including The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, The Miami Herald, Daily News (New York), San Jose Mercury News, etc.  In addition, full text television & radio news transcripts are provided from ABC News, CBS News, CNN, CNN International, FOX News, NPR, etc.

Primary Search 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=prh 
Primary Search, designed specifically for elementary school libraries and public library children’s rooms, contains full text for nearly 70 popular, elementary school magazines. All full text articles are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles).  In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for nearly 100 magazines.  Examples of publications covered in Primary Search include: Appleseeds, Boys’ Life, Cobblestone, Cricket, Highlights for Children, Hopscotch, Jack & Jill, Ladybug, Ranger Rick, Science World, Spider, SuperScience, Time for Kids, Turtle, and many more.  This database also provides the American Heritage Children’s Dictionary, 3rd Edition from Houghton Mifflin, and an Image Collection of 285,912 photos, maps and flags.  Many full text titles are available in native (searchable) PDF, or scanned-in-color.  Full text backfiles go as far back as 1990, while indexing and abstract backfiles go as far back as 1985.

Regional Business News 
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=bwh 
Regional Business News incorporates 75 business journals, newspapers and newswires covering all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States.  Included in this database are Arizona Business, Business North Carolina, Crain’s New York Business (and other Crain Communications editions), Des Moines Business Record, Enterprise Salt Lake City, Fort Worth Business Press, Orange County Business Journal, Westchester County Business Journal, etc.

By Lisa Schiff, Technical Lead for CDL Publishing Services

The California Digital Library (CDL) is pleased to announce a new release of its search and display technology, the eXtensible Text Framework (XTF) Version 2.1.   XTF is an open source, highly flexible software application that supports the search, browse and display of heterogeneous digital content.  XTF offers efficient and practical methods for creating customized end-user interfaces for distinct digital content collections.

Highlights from the 2.1 release include:

• Extensive interface improvements, including new search forms, built-in faceted browsing, and new look and feel.
• Increased support for document and information exchange formats.
• XHTML and OAI-PMH output
• NLM article format indexing and output
• Microsoft Word indexing
• Streamlined XSLT stylesheets for simpler deployment and adaptation.
• Updated documentation that has been moved to the XTF project wiki, allowing XTF implementers to share solutions with entire user community.
• "Freeform" Boolean query language, offered as an experimental feature.
• Backward compatibility with existing XTF implementations.

A complete list of changes is available on the XTF Project page on SourceForge, where the distribution (including documentation) can also be downloaded.

Since the first deployment of XTF in 2005, the development strategy has been to build and maintain an indexing and display technology that is not only customizable, but also draws upon tested components already in use by the digital library and search communities - in particular the Lucene text search engine, Java, XML, and XSLT.  By coordinating these pieces in a single platform that can be used to create multiple unique applications, CDL has succeeded in dramatically reducing the investment in infrastructure, staff training and development for new digital content projects.

XTF offers a suite of customizable features that support diverse intellectual access to content.  Interfaces can be designed to support the distinct tools and presentations that are useful and meaningful to specific audiences.  In addition, XTF offers the following core features:

• Easy to deploy: Drops directly in to a Java application server such as Tomcat or Resin; has been tested on Solaris, Mac, Linux, and Windows operating systems.
• Easy to configure: Can create indexes on any XML element or attribute; entire presentation layer is customizable via XSLT.
• Robust: Optimized to perform well on large documents (e.g., a single text that exceeds 10MB of encoded text); scales to perform well on collections of millions of documents; provides full Unicode support.
• Extensible:
• Works well with a variety of authentication systems (e.g., IP address lists, LDAP, Shibboleth).
• Provides an interface for external data lookups to support thesaurus-based term expansion, recommender systems, etc.
• Can power other digital library services (e.g., XTF contains an OAI-PMH data provider that allows others to harvest metadata, and an SRU interface that exposes searches to federated search engines).
• Can be deployed as separate, modular pieces of a third-party system (e.g., the module that displays snippets of matching text).
• Powerful for the end user:
• Spell checking of queries/li>
• Faceted displays for browsing
• Dynamically updated browse lists
• Session-based bookbags

These basic features can be tuned and modified.  For instance, the same bookbag feature that allows users to store links to entire books, can also store links to citable elements of an object, such as a note or other reference.

A sampling of XTF-based applications both within and outside of the CDL include:

• Mark Twain Project Online (http://www.marktwainproject.org), developed by the Mark Twain Papers Project, the CDL and the University of California Press.
• Calisphere (http://www.calisphere.org/), a curated collection of primary sources keyed to the curriculum standards of California’s K-12 community, developed by the CDL.
• The Encyclopedia of Chicago (http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/), developed by the Chicago History Museum, The Newberry Library, and Northwestern University.
• The Chymistry of Isaac Newton (http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/) and The Swinburne Project (http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/swinburne/www/swinburne/), Indiana University.
• Finding Aides at the New York Public Library (http://labs.nypl.org/2007/10/30/extensible-text-framework-xtf/).
• EECS Technical Reports (http://sunsite2.berkeley.edu:8088/xtf/servlet/org.cdlib.xtf.crossQuery.CrossQuery?rmode=btr), UC Berkeley.

By Lena Zentall, CDL UC Image Service Manager

CDL has added the Saskia Art & Architecture collection to UC Shared Images in ARTstor. Saskia provides over 26,000 core art history images on Western European civilization from more than 100 museums worldwide including the Prado, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Uffizi, the Louvre, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York as well as archaeological sites in Greece, Italy, Turkey and Egypt.  Saskia includes selected African, Asian, and Pre-Columbian art.

You will find the Saskia collection listed as UC Share: CDL Saskia Art & Architecture on the ARTstor home page under Institutional Collections.   You may search Saskia along with the more than 750,000 images in the ARTstor digital library by simply doing a keyword search in ARTstor.  By default, ARTstor searches include all collections.   To limit a search to the Saskia collection only, you may select the collection name from the search menu on the ARTstor home page or advanced search page.

In 2003, the California Digital Library purchased the Saskia Archive to make these images available for educational and research use to all University of California campuses.   Users may download screen size jpeg files from ARTstor for use in
PowerPoint or Keynote.  In addition, full size images are available for downloading to ARTstor’s Offline Image Viewer (OIV) presentation software.

To learn more about UC Shared Images and ARTstor, see the CDL Image Service website: http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/image or contact Lena Zentall, Image Service Manager (lena.zentall@ucop.edu, 510.987.9233).

By Terry Vrable, CDL Acquisitions Coordinator

As part of the 2008 renewal process for the LWW online journals, Journal of Investigative Medicine has been added to the CDL’s agreement with Ovid.

UC-eLinks will be enabled and the title cataloged by the Shared Cataloging Program.  The full list of licensed titles is posted online at http://www.cdlib.org/inside/resources/publisher_info/LWWLicensedTitles2008.xls .

Details of the title selection process are described in the document “Managing Changes to Journal Packages” available at Inside CDL (http://www.cdlib.org/inside/collect/ejournal_guidelines.html ).  Questions regarding these new titles can be directed to CDL Acquisitions, cdl-acquisitions@ucop.edu.