[baisl] Re: Experience with ScienceDirect College Edition
- From: Mark Roquet <mroquet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "baisl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <baisl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 17:22:32 +0000
Hello,
One good option for open access science content is the Digital Commons Network
- http://network.bepress.com/ (full disclosure: I worked at bepress in between
school library positions and helped launch this site - I don't have any equity
or financial interest). It's a discovery portal for a million plus OA
articles, books, theses and dissertations from 350+ colleges and universities.
My wife is at a small high school with no database subscriptions and uses it
quite a bit with her science classes; her students call it "the donut site."
Pros:
-Free free free
-Every record is full-text and open access; no log-ins, paywalls or
citation-only records
-Most of the content was uploaded by academic librarians and has been vetted in
some fashion
-Not just hard sciences; all academic fields (but some are much better
represented than others - physics is very pro-OA; chemistry is very anti-OA)
-The browsing functionality is great
-Library-led scholarly publishing is a really cool development and we should
support it!
Cons:
-It's not very consistent; many open access journals are included in full; a
lot of other content is faculty publications uploaded by libraries, which are
limited to what publishers allow.
-I've occasionally come across some pretty bad undergraduate capstone projects
and ETDs
-The search functionality isn't great
-Liberty University (Jerry Falwell's school in Virginia) is a client, and I
cringe every time I see their content alongside Yale, Purdue, or the University
of Iowa
Since I left, they've also launched a neat portal for OA undergraduate writing
and research, if that's useful to anyone - http://undergraduatecommons.com/
Best,
Mark
Mark Roquet | Information and Digital Literacy Specialist
The Seven Hills School | 975 North San Carlos Drive | Walnut Creek, CA 94598
T. 925.933.0666 x4943 | F. 925.933.6271
________________________________
From: baisl-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <baisl-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of
Cathy Rettberg <crettberg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2014 11:42 AM
To: baisl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [baisl] Re: Experience with ScienceDirect College Edition
I will echo everything Lisa said - it's difficult to use and kids complain
about results they can't access, but it fills in some gaps and does get used.
My biggest problem has been access - our subscription will work fine for a
while and suddenly we're back to "guest access." And yes I am paying the bill!
It's also hard to only have on-campus access, but that can be planned for if
only we can get them to actually plan ahead.
Cathy
---------
Cathy Rettberg, Head Librarian
Menlo School
Atherton, CA
http://library.menloschool.org<http://library.menloschool.org/>
What I'm reading:
Jackaby/Ritter
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 11:11 AM, Lisa Newton
<lnewton@xxxxxxxx<mailto:lnewton@xxxxxxxx>> wrote:
We use Science Direct and I have mixed feelings.
Pros:
- There are a TON of available journals.
- It has an "Advanced" search and "Expert" search feature which allows you to
search using their built-in limiters or using Boolean. This is a nice way to
teach advanced searching skills.
Cons:
- We use Science Direct because students' needs go past what's offered in Gale,
but Science Direct seems a little TOO advanced. I feel like it's at graduate
level and beyond. Honestly, I have trouble sometimes understanding and reading
the articles. My freshmen use it for Science Fair and often get overwhelmed.
- The only way to filter out titles to which you don't have access is to check
the "Subscribed Publications" and "Open Access" boxes in the Advanced Search.
I try to drill this into my students heads, but they forget. Also, we
occasionally get results that we don't have access to, even when we do check
those boxes.
- Science Direct is for on-campus use only. They authenticate, but don't allow
off-campus use. This is a huge con, since students often want to do research
at home.
Bottom line: It's too much for regular science classes, in my humble opinion.
Might be useful for AP classes and faculty research. However, I keep
subscribing to it because I haven't found anything better and the teachers like
it. I'd love to hear any recommendations for alternatives.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Lisa Newton
Librarian
York School
9501 York Road
Monterey, CA 93940
lnewton@xxxxxxxx<mailto:lnewton@xxxxxxxx>
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 11:03 AM, Catherine Sullivan
<catherinesul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:catherinesul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
wrote:
Hello there
We are also interested in Elsevier's Science Direct. I am wondering if we
could obtain some consortium pricing:) Please share any feedback you may
receive regarding Science Direct.
Happy Holidays
Catherine
Catherine Sullivan
Librarian
+ 415-558-2048<tel:415-558-2048>
French American International School | International High School
Lycée International Franco-Américain
150 Oak Street | San Francisco, CA 94102 | USA
www.frenchamericansf.org<http://www.frenchamericansf.org/>
[http://www.frenchamericansf.org/uploaded/email_files/Gmail_Signature_Banner-Final-Left_Justify-Blue-72.jpg?1415730318714]
What I am reading?
The Secret Place by Tana French and The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 10:21 AM, Kerry Fender
<kfender@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:kfender@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Greetings, librarians!
We are considering adding Elsevier's ScienceDirect database to provide students
with access to academic journals in the sciences, since their needs go beyond
what is offered through our Gale databases. For those of you who subscribe to
ScienceDirect, I would love to hear about your experiences-- and your students
experiences-- with using this resource. I am especially interested in the
user's experience with Elsevier's search functionality, which will return
full-text results in journals available to subscribers AND results from
journals that are not accessible to ScienceDirect College Edition subscribers.
I am told that there is no way for a user to filter for only the full-text
journals available to them. Is this a recurring problem, or a rare issue?
If you have a favorite resource for full-text, peer-reviewed journals in the
sciences, please share!
Thanks,
Kerry Fender
Director of the Lucas Family Library
Sacred Heart Schools - Atherton
150 Valparaiso Ave
Atherton, CA 94027
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