July 1999 Release of the CDL

In keeping with the goal of establishing semi-annual releases of new features and enhancements to the CDL, the second release of the CDL is available as of July 7, 1999 and includes the changes noted below.

The CDL is appreciative of the many constructive comments from library staff and patrons — given via focus group sessions, the Digital Library Strategies Forums, feedback forms and email, and campus presentations – that have contributed to these enhancements.

Design and implementation team members who deserve congratulations for the enormous work involved include Brian Warling, Lynne Grigsby-Standfill, Margery Tibbetts, Tony Toyofuku, Sherry Willhite, Claudia Woo, Jayne Dickson, Nancy Gusack, and Lucia Snowhill.

Enhancements to CDL Collections and Services

COLLECTIONS AND SERVICES SECTION: A redesigned initial page for the Collections and Services section features direct links to the main search tools, including the Melvyl Catalog, CDL-hosted databases, and the Online Archive of California’s search interface.

SEARCH: The Search function for the Directory of Collections adds the ability to specify an exact title for more precise retrieval.  If this search produces no results, the user is prompted to do a keyword search.  It is now also possible to select more than one type of format limit.  Every Directory page clearly and consistently indicates how to go to a new search and a new browse form.  A new search engine for the web site itself has been installed, and is available from the Search button at the top of every page.

GENERAL PUBLIC ACCESS: Directory entries for items available to the general public are so indicated and highlighted in a different color.  A link to a pop-up help screen explains in more detail what types of resources the general public may use, and why other resources are limited to UC users.

DIRECTED HELP: Small pop-up windows to deliver important help messages have begun to be available.  Pop-ups will only be displayed when the user requests them and will not obscure or replace the page from which they are requested.

QUICKLINKS: A pull-down menu of major resources and a link to the What’s New section has been added to various pages for convenient access.
GO TO IT NOW: The “Go to it now” button actually does what it says and bypasses the interim message screen to provide a direct connection to most resources, when the user’s IP address indicates access eligibility.

LINKS TO LICENSE TERMS: Links to terms and conditions for use of licensed resources are more prominent.  In addition, many of the full licenses are available for librarian or patron consultation [thanks to Dawn Talbot and UCSD acquisitions staff for directing this project].

DIRECTORY CONTENTS: Records for the approximately 1500 journal titles with ASCII text in MAGS, COMP, and ABI are available.  In addition a direct journal title search in the appropriate database is provided from the Directory entry.

SERVICES: The Services page has been revamped to focus on function rather than the name of the service.  This structure also allows the addition of comparable services in resources other than CDL-hosted databases in the future.  A section on Interlibrary Loan services for UC and non-UC users has been added.

CDL Hosted Databases

NEW Z39.50 DATABASES: The first set of OCLC and RLG databases has been completed with the addition of the English Short Title Catalog (@RLG) (ESTC) and History of Science and Technology (@RLG) (HSCI).  A Z39.50 interface to Stanford’s load of GeoRef is also available.

MULTIPLE DATABASE SEARCHING: The first step in providing multiple database searching allows a single search across backfiles in MEDLINE/HealthStar, INSPEC, and BIOSIS.  This initial phase will return separate results sets for each backfile; however, there are no duplicates across backfiles.

LINKS TO PUBLISHER SITES FROM Z39.50 DATABASES: Dynamic links to journal publisher sites are being created for as many of the Z39.50 databases as possible.  For example, it is possible to link to JSTOR and Project MUSE from the MLA Bibliography.

LINKS INTO HOLDINGS FROM EXTERNAL DATABASES: Changes to the California Periodicals database and the Melvyl Catalog will make it possible for external databases to offer users the option to search these databases by ISSN, ISBN, or title.  We will begin to work with vendors to effect these links.  This function can also be used to link to holdings from the Z39.50 databases with the MLA Bibliography being the first to provide holdings links.

LINKS TO CIRCULATION STATUS: Circulation status is now additionally available for UCR and UCSC. Links to UCLA and UCSB await the implementation of their new systems via DRA.  The link to UCB is dependent upon a software upgrade to their implementation of Sitesearch.

MARC DISPLAY FORMAT: The MARC display format is available to users of the Melvyl Catalog and California Periodicals database and other CDL-hosted databases via the web search interface