The information was always there; it was just a matter of getting to it. Now, there is a new and convenient way for faculty and studen t researchers to access scientific journals and other scholarly materials stored on various academic databases nationally and internationally.

Article Express, designed and developed by the University of Delaware Library, will help link researchers with thousands of journals from major academic database publishers such as Web of Science.

The new system also will provide researchers with materials contained on many of the 170 databases covering numerous academic disciplines. Links to more databases will be added in the future.

At a recent open-house luncheon in the Class of 1941 Lecture Room in the Morris Library, faculty, students and administrators gathered to hear library staff members talk about Article Express and how it works.

President David P. Roselle said, "The ability to search, retrieve and view online over 1 million articles will greatly facilitate the research process for both faculty and students."

?University provost Melvyn Schiavelli noted that programs such as Article Express should continue to strengthen the University's reputation as a leading research institution.

"Enhancements such as Article Express continue to demonstrate the Library's leadership role in improving access to scholarly information," Schiavelli said.

Susan Brynteson, director of libraries, stressed the importance of the new system and the research opportunities it will provide for faculty and students.

"This is an exciting new electronic service offered by the University of Delaware Library, which makes it easier than ever to find journal articles quickly and easily," Brynteson said.

A key feature of the new system is the connection to the Web of Science, a large comprehensive database covering all disciplines including the humanities and the social sciences.

The Web of Science also makes available some 2.2 million GenBank protein sequence and DNA records while providing links to references, abstracts and full-text online articles from more than 8,500 journals.

The Web of Science was made possible through the generosity of the family of Judge Hugh M. Morris, for whom the Morris Library is named.

Full-text Web of Science sources include the American Institute of Physics (AIP), the American Physical Society (APS), Blackwell Science, IDEAL Online Library (Academic Press) and Science Direct.

A product of the Institute for Scientific Information, the Web of Science database covers 1974 to the present, and is the only database that indexes, links and delivers valuable footnote information from the world's leading science, social sciences and arts and humanities journals.

The Silver Platter databases, also accessible through Article Express, include online connections to AGRICOLA, Art Abstracts, BIOETHICSLINE Plus, DRIC, Philosopher's Index and SPORT Discus.

Full-text Silver Platter database connections include the American Physical Society, Project MUSE and SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Science magazine and the Highwire Press, which currently offers 186,685 free full-text articles and 803,066 total articles.

Internet users can access Article Express by going to the Library web at [www.lib.udel. edu] and clicking on "Databases," which provides access to the Web of Science as well as the Silver Platter databases.

Selecting the "Full Text" button will provide links to electronic articles, or by clicking the "Order Article" button, users can find out if the UD library has a subscription to the journal they are seeking. Copies of articles in journals not subscribed to by the library are provided via interlibrary loan at no change to users.

"This is a fantastic system, and it's easy to use," Dave Frey, plant and soil sciences, said. "You get quick service, with expanded databases, and instead of just getting a single abstract, you can get a full-text article."

Frey said he also liked the idea of expanding the list of available reference journals as the library incorporates more databases into the Article Express system.

"This will help research and teaching, " Frey said. "It brings a real nice library to your desk."

Marian L. Palley, political science and international relations and women's studies, also said she liked the idea of members of the UD community being able to have easy access to such a wide variety of research materials.

"I think this is amazing that people can sit in their offices and do their research," Palley said. "This is a phenomenal research tool that will help faculty and provide students access to materials that were not previously available."

Graduate students also expressed appreciation that Article Express grants them increased library research opportunities without making excessive demands on already tight time schedules.

"Before, we weren't getting the journals in print, so this is very useful and very nice," Berk Oktem, a doctoral candidate in chemistry and biochemistry, said. "It makes life easier, and it is a great time-saver."

Postdoctoral chemistry and biochemistry fellow David Kane agreed, noting that the system will eliminate a lot of time-consuming trips to the library.

"Before, you had to physically go to the library, look up the abstract, then go to the stacks," Kane said. "This is amazing: It will save hours and make people much more productive."

Greg Silvis, library computing systems, said that Article Express represents the use of ever-changing computer technology and the growing number of publishers opting to provide scholarly journals online.

"It has only been in the last few months that publishers have been able to provide us with links," Silvis said. "We knew this was something the faculty wanted, and we have been in discussion with the Institute for Scientific Information about providing the links."

Silvis said comments so far include amazement at the number of full-text articles available online, and the user-friendly nature of Article Express.

Mark Grabowski, a library programmer involved in the design and development of Article Express, said the goal now is to expand the number of publication databases in the system.

"I would like to see us continue to expand our databases with full-text links," Grabowski said. "I also would like to make the Article Express `Order Button' provide access to as many databases as possible."

Among the proposed changes to Article Express will be links to Highwire journals, including Science magazine and journals from Catchword and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

–Jerry Rhodes