UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 27, Page 3
April 16, 1992
May deadline for researchers to participate in BEST database

     University faculty and professional researchers now have an
opportunity to be a part of a nationally established research-oriented
database of universities, colleges and supporting corporations, called
BEST North America, according to Deanna Benson, administrator of
research services in the Office of Research and Patents.
     The University joined BEST North America last month and should be
a fully participating member by 1993.
     Profiling each member institution, BEST North America contains
information about faculty and professional researchers' expertise,
research and publications. It also lists research parks, centers of
excellence, special equipment, laboratories and intellectual property,
such as patents. Graduate students nearing completion of degree
requirements also may be included.
     "BEST North America is an invaluable resource and also presents
the research, publications and expertise of the University of Delaware
community to a constituency of scholars, researchers and corporations.
We hope to have complete participation from the faculty," Benson said.
     There are many advantages to participation, she said. Using key
words and natural language, such as polymer chemistry, for example,
users can find institutions and researchers in a given field. The
information is valuable for companies that are looking for
consultants, or for faculty or researchers who wish to identify
possible research collaborators off-campus.
     As a participant in the database, the University also will
receive a computer tape from BEST North America of all University of
Delaware data for use in an on-campus system to be called BEST
Delaware. This local database will serve as an all-purpose faculty
directory and will permit researchers to receive many funding
announcements directly from the research office, instead of going
through department chairs or liaisons. BEST Delaware also will contain
a complete list of faculty publications back to 1990, creating an
on-line version of the University's Bibliography of Scholarly
Publications, last published in 1989.
     "This is an exciting opportunity for the University. BEST North
America, which is owned by Cartermill Inc. of Baltimore, is well run
and has an excellent reputation. Since it is supported by member
corporations, the cost to the University is minimal, involving the
collection of information about scholarly accomplishments and research
interests of faculty and professional research staff," Benson said.
     Among the more than 100 universities and colleges that have
joined the network are Cornell, Northwestern, Dartmouth, Temple,
Rutgers, University of Pennsylvania, and units of Harvard and Yale.
Dow, Texaco, Southwestern Bell and Du Pont Merck are among the
supporting corporations.
     At the University, department chairpersons have been asked to
distribute the registration forms to faculty and professional staff
researchers in early April. These forms should be returned to the
chairpersons and, in turn, to the research and patents office for
processing by May 1.
     Graduate students may pick up forms from career planning and
placement or from research and patents offices, and return them
directly to Cartermill.
     BEST North America is a private enterprise and the data base is
not available to the general public. There will be specific sites on
campus, including the Office of Research and Patents, where it can be
accessed. BEST Delaware will be available through UDELNET, the
campuswide network.
     "BEST North America, whose parent network began in Europe, has
been proved to be an effective resource for researchers in all fields,
and we hope that University faculty will take advantage of this new
opportunity," Benson said.
     -Sue Swyers Moncure

     Faculty and professional research staff are invited to a
demonstration of BEST North America from 1:30-2:30 p.m., Monday, April
20, at 311 Newark Hall, Studio A. David Johnson of Cartermill Inc.
will be on hand to show how the database is used and to answer any
questions.