Thursday, April 17, 2008

New Product Announcement-->African American Music Reference

African American music reference


African American Music Reference will bring together 50,000 pages of text reference, biographies, chronologies, sheet music, images, lyrics, liner notes, and discographies which chronicle the diverse history and culture of the African American experience through music. The database is constantly expanding to include comprehensive coverage of blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other forms of black American musical expression.

New Product Announcement-->Encyclopedia of Islam

The encyclopaedia of Islam
Note: this includes access to two separate editions, requiring two urls to be in the record
New ed., v.1-12: http://ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca:2048/login?url=http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/uid=3167/title_home?title_id=islam_islam
3rd ed., 2007-
http://ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca:2048/login?url=http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/uid=3167/title_home?title_id=ei3_ei3

The Encyclopaedia of Islam sets out the present state of our knowledge of the Islamic World from religion and history to politics and culture. It embraces articles on distinguished Muslims of every age and land, on tribes and dynasties, on the crafts and sciences, on political and religious institutions, on the geography, ethnography, flora and fauna of the various countries and on the history, topography and monuments of the major towns and cities. Its geographical and historical scope encompasses the old Arabo-Islamic empire, the Islamic countries of Iran, Central Asia, the Indian sub-continent and Indonesia, the Ottoman Empire and all modern Islamic states.

New Product Announcement-->Encylcopedia of the Qu'ran

Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an

Drawing upon a rich scholarly heritage, Brill's Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān (EQ) combines alphabetically-arranged articles about the contents of the Qurʾān. It is an encyclopaedic dictionary of Qurʾānic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis extended with essays on the most important themes and subjects within Qurʾānic studies. With nearly 1000 entries in 5 volumes, the EQ is the first comprehensive, multi-volume reference work on the Qurʾān to appear in a Western language.

New Product Announcement-->Brill Dictionary of Religion

The Brill dictionary of religion

The Brill Dictionary of Religion explicitly reflects the transformation that the academic study of religion has undergone within the last twenty years.

The rationale that underlies the selection of entries and their respective presentation is aimed at reflecting the many aspects of religious fields of discourse in modern societies. To succeed in this endeavor, two perspectives have to be combined: First, the public and communicative aspects of religion have to be addressed explicitly; entries such as “Media,” “Perception,” “Collective Representations,” or “Everyday Life” are examples of this attempt.

The large number of illustrations, sometimes tracing religion in unexpected places, likewise underscores this rationale. Second, the historical dimension is of crucial importance, because a proper understanding of modern religious discourses is impossible without knowledge of the past and a comparison with different periods and contexts. That is why the reader will also find historical overviews both of concepts and of religious traditions.

New Product Annoucement-->Dictionary of gnosis and western esotericism

Dictionary of gnosis & western esotericism

this Dictionary brings together a great range of historical currents and personalities that have flourished in Western culture and society over a period of roughly two millennia, from Late Antiquity to the present. By doing so, it intends not only to provide a comprehensive reference work, but also to question certain ingrained assumptions about the
history of Western religion and culture, and promote new agendas and analytical frameworks for research in these domains. What is at stake in such a shift of perspective can best be illustrated by taking a short look at the main terminological conventions that have traditionally been dominant.

New Product Announcement-->Encyclopedia of Judaism (Brill Online)

Encyclopaedia of Judaism


This new edition of The Encyclopaedia of Judaism nearly doubles the original 3-volume edition in size. It includes fifty-two previously unpublished entries (approximately half a million words) in addition to the entries from the two separately published supplementary volumes. The project now is comprised by more than 225 entries, two and a half million words. Alongside the many gaps in the initial The Encyclopaedia of Judaism that the new entries fill, bibliographies have been updated for all the entries. The result is that this new edition presents what we conceive to be the authoritative consensus of the present age of learning in the humanities and social sciences upon fundamental issues of Judaism. Indeed, this collection of systematic topical expositions shows how the religion, Judaism, is to be presented in the setting of the study of religions.

New Product Announcement-->Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures

Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures

The Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures (EWIC) is an interdisciplinary, transhistorical, and global project. It brings together upwards of 1,000 scholars to write critical essays on women, Muslim and non-Muslim, and Islamic cultures in every region where there have been significant Muslim populations. It aims to cover every topic for which there is significant research, examining these regions from the period just before the rise of Islam to the present. EWIC hopes both to offer the state of the art in the broad sweep of topics to inform the general audience and to take on cutting-edge issues to stimulate new research in new terrains.

New Product Announcement-->Brill's New Jacoby Online

Brill's new Jacoby

Note: also includes Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker, requiring two urls to be in the record
Brill's new Jacoby

Fragment der griechischen Historiker


Brill's New Jacoby (BNJ) is a new edition of the 856 fragmentary historians that comprise F. Jacoby's monumental Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker Parts I-III, but with significant additions. Each author has a Greek text (updated from that of Jacoby where relevant); facing English translation; new, critical commentary (for the first time for authors 608-856, on which Jacoby did not write commentaries); a brief encyclopaedia-style entry about his life, works, importance, etc.; and a select bibliography. BNJ will also include several new authors and many fragments of existing authors that were either unknown to Jacoby or excluded by him. (Depending on the topic they deal with, new authors will be given the same number as the preceding one followed by an A or B in order to distinguish them.) Jacoby's numbering system has been retained so that readers may also consult FGrH without having to refer to a concordance.

BNJ will be published online in batches of 50-60 fragmentary authors every six months, beginning in December 2006 and ending in 2013. Each entry is subject to a stringent peer-refereeing process. There are currently 108 scholars in 16 countries working on the authors: a list of these scholars, together with authors and anticipated publication date, will be published with the next batch of authors.

New Product Announcement-->Classical Music Reference Library

Classical music reference library


Classical Music Reference Library brings together more than 30,000 pages of essential reference materials, spanning the entire history of Western classical music, in a unified online database. Included are the authoritative reference titles Baker's Dictionary of Music, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, and Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music, which have never before been available in electronic form. The Baker's titles, edited by the late Nicholas Slonimsky, offer a comprehensive and highly accessible set of musical reference texts that are essential to music study.

Classical Music Reference Library offers comprehensive coverage of all classical genres, spanning music from the Medieval period to the 21st century, including definitions of musical terms and biographical information on the major classical composers and artists. The first release includes the Baker's resources, as well as biographies, chronologies, primary source readings, and critical texts.

Future releases will include links with Classical Music Library and Classical Scores Library for subscribing customers allow users to find reference materials, and then link straight to audio recordings or scores relevant to that material, as well as more detailed indexing.

New Product Announcement-->Garland encyclopedia of world music online

The Garland encyclopedia of world music online


The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online is the first comprehensive online resource devoted to music research of all the world's peoples. More than 9,000 pages of material, combined with entries by more than 700 expert contributors from all over the world, make this the most complete body of work focused on world music.

Each volume contains an overview of the region, a survey of its musical heritage, traditions and themes; and a description of specific musical genres, practices, and performances. Articles include detailed photographs that show musicians, musical instrument, and the cultural context of dances, rituals, and ceremonies. Other images include drawings, maps, and musical examples for further study. Since its first publication in 1997, The Garland Encyclopedia has been the preeminent reference work for research in ethnomusicology. It has won numerous awards, including the Dartmouth Medal, the New York Public Library Outstanding Reference Book award, and Library Journal's award as one of the 50 Reference Sources for the Millennium. Now for the first time, the entire set of 10 print volumes is available as a single, integrated online database, with additional features from Alexander Street Press.

The first release includes the entire set of 10 print volumes available (over 9,200 pages). Future releases will contain more indexing as well as links to the associated audio examples for each volume.

ew Product Announcement-->Urban Studies Abstracts

Urban studies abstracts

Urban Studies Abstracts includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to urban studies, including urban affairs, community development, urban history, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. Records are selected from many of the top titles within the discipline, including Journal of Urban Affairs, Urban Studies, and Canadian Journal of Urban Research

New Product Announcement-->Violence & Abuse Abstracts

Violence & abuse abstracts

Violence & Abuse Abstracts includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to violence and abuse, including family violence, sexual assault, emotional abuse, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline.

New Product Announcement-->Shock and Vibration Digest

Shock & vibration digest

This will come in handy when they start the pile driving for the new building.

Shock & Vibration Digest includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to shock and vibration, including noise, vibration technologies, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. Records are selected from many of the top titles within the discipline, including Shock & Vibration and Noise Control Engineering Journal.

New Product Announcement-->Race Relations Abstracts

Race relations abstracts

Race Relations Abstracts includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to race relations, including ethnic studies, discrimination, immigration studies, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. Records are selected from many of the top titles within the discipline, including Race, Ethnicity & Education and Ethnic & Racial Studies.

New Product Announcement-->Public Administration Abstracts

Public administration abstracts

Public Administration Abstracts includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to public administration, including public administration research, public administration theory, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. Records are selected from many of the top titles within the discipline, including Public Administration Review, Public Administration Quarterly, and International Journal of Public Administration.

New Product Announcement-->Peace Research Abstracts

Peace research abstracts

Peace Research Abstracts includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to peace research, including conflict resolution, international affairs, peace psychology, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. Records are selected from many of the top titles within the discipline, including International Journal of Peace Studies, International Journal on World Peace, and Conflict Management & Peace Science.

New Product Announcement-->Human Resources Abstracts

Human resources abstracts

Human Resources Abstracts includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to human resources, including human resource management, employee assistance, organizational behavior, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. Records are selected from many of the top titles within the discipline, including Journal of Human Resources, Human Resource Management, and Human Resource Development International.

New Product Announcement-->Family Studies Abstracts

Family studies abstracts

Family Studies Abstracts includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to family studies, including marriage, divorce, family therapy, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. Records are selected from many of the top titles within the discipline, including Journal of Family Studies, Journal of Marriage & Family, and Family Relations.

New Product Announcement-->Educational Administration Abstracts

Educational administration abstracts

Educational Administration Abstracts includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to educational administration, including educational leadership, educational management, educational research, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline. Records are selected from many of the top titles within the discipline, including Journal of Educational Administration & History, American Journal of Education, and Cambridge Journal of Education.

New Product Announcement-->Abstracts in Social Gerontology

Abstracts in social gerontology

Abstracts in Social Gerontology includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to social gerontology, including the psychology of aging, elder abuse, society and the elderly, and other areas of key relevance to the discipline.

Platform Change-->Arctic and Antarctic Regions

Arctic & Antarctic regions

This product is now on the EBSCO platform.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

New JSTOR Platform to launch April 4th

We are excited to announce that the new JSTOR platform will be launched on Friday,
April 4. The behind-the-scenes process for switching from the existing JSTOR to the new platform will begin around 7:00 a.m. EST. We will be making changes throughout the day, but the vast majority of users should experience no interruption or downtime. If you do have any difficulties, though, please contact support@jstor.org.

A document describing features of the new platform is included in the JSTOR Sandbox
(sandbox.jstor.org). The Sandbox also has links to tutorials and training materials focused on the new JSTOR interface. In addition, a list of newly scheduled webinars appears at the end of this announcement, with links to online registration.

We would like to thank all of you for your comments over the past few months and your patience more recently as we performed additional testing. As always, your comments have proven to be invaluable. We look forward to your ongoing feedback as we continue adding enhancements and new content.

Sincerely,

JSTOR User Services
support@jstor.org


Webinars

The following training webinars are led by JSTOR User Services staff. A phone and a computer with online access are required. To register, follow a link in the list below.

Highlights of the New JSTOR Interface
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/507861435

Using the JSTOR Interface
Thursday, April 17, 2008 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/780793020

Highlights of the New JSTOR Interface
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/469266764

Highlights of the New JSTOR Interface
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/401053120

Using the JSTOR Interface
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/680252260

Highlights of the New JSTOR Interface
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/958097487

Hints for Searching Polling the Nation

Hints aren't much, but a reminder of the product.

Search Hints for Polling the Nations

To conduct a successful search, it will be helpful for users to spend some time thinking about the goal of the search.

It is best to avoid putting too many words in the search. For example, to search for comparison of the Iraq war and the Vietnam war, it will be counter productive to enter “comparison of the Iraq war and the Vietnam war.” Simply enter Iraq and Vietnam in the question field. By keeping the search terms simple many questions will be displayed. Additional criteria can always be added to better focus the search.

To follow trends and compare attitudinal changes on an issue, users can find questions with identical wording for review. To find questions with identical wording, copy the question without the question mark and paste it in the search field. If the question is especially long, it may be necessary to select just a portion, containing key words of the question.

Combine a topic and one or two words in the text of the question to focus a search. The examples below demonstrate how to explore several different issues related to gun control.

Issue Would you support or oppose a law requiring a nationwide ban on semi automatic handguns?
Search Topic – Gun Control
Keyword - ban

Issue Do you favor or oppose stricter gun control laws in this country?
Search Topic – Gun Control
Keyword - Stricter gun control laws

Issue Do you think stricter gun control laws would reduce the amount of violent crime in this country or not?
Search terms Topic – Gun Control
Keyword - crime

Backfiles added->Current Digest to the Post Soviet Press (1949 to present)

Current digest of the Soviet Press


The Current Digest of the (Post)Soviet Press was founded in 1949. Each week it presents a selection of Russian-language press materials, carefully translated into English. The translations are intended for use in teaching and research. They are therefore presented as documentary materials without elaboration or comment, and state the opinions and views of the original authors, not of the publisher of the journal.

The Current Digest carried translations of all important documents of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Soviet government, providing an impressive documentary record of:
  • all significant speeches by Soviet leaders;
  • meetings of all Party congresses, including the 1956 20th Party Congress and Nikita Khrushchev’s “secret speech” denouncing the Stalinist “cult of personality”;
  • all five-year plans and reports on plan fulfillment;
  • all important Soviet laws, including initial drafts, official public discussion of the drafts, and final versions as adopted by the USSR Supreme Soviet;
  • Soviet diplomacy, Soviet-US summits and other meetings of Soviet leaders with their foreign counterparts; and
  • all Soviet treaties, including arms-control treaties, and all major foreign-policy developments, from the Cuban missile crisis through the Soviet war in Afghanistan and withdrawal from that country.
In the Soviet period, CDPSP editors were ever alert for anything atypical that might herald a change in Soviet life. At the same time they provided readers with representative samples of what was typically in the press.

OED abandons the alphabet!

MAJOR CHANGE IN CHOICE OF REVISED WORDS PUBLISHED ONLINE!
The sequence o
f revised entries published online since March 2000 has proceeded from the letter M, to quit shilling (representing between a fifth and a quarter of the dictionary). According to that model, the present publication batch would include words from quits to somewhere early in the letter R.

But after several years of steady alphabetical publication, editors of the OED have decided a change was necessary. The latest update departs radically from the former model, in that its 2,116 entries consist for the most part of key English words from across the alphabet, along with the other words which make up the alphabetical cluster surrounding them. From now on, the editors will alternate between these two models each quarter, with the next publication range (in June 2008) continuing from quits, and the subsequent one (September 2008) presenting a further range of major words and their associated alphabetical clusters.

The main purpose of this change is to revise, much earlier than would otherwise have been the case, important English words whose meanings or application have developed most over the past century. Some of these key words are, as one might expect, among those often looked up by readers of the OED.

For more information about the new update program, click here.

NEW AND REVISED WORDS AND SENSES
For your convenience, click here to see a list of the full range of newly revised words. Some words included in this update are: computer, gay, free, heaven, and hell, and the controversial expletive the f-word.

You know what a boycott is, but what about a girlcott? For a list of new words and their meanings, click here.

LATEST NEWS FROM OXFORD ONLINE
This spring we welcome the online versions of two more of our celebrated Oxford reference works, The Encyclopedia of the Modern World and Encyclopedia of Semiotics, which are now available for purchase via the Oxford Digital Reference Shelf.

Also, I'm delighted to announce the launch of Oxford Art Online and Oxford Music Online, as well as the redesigned Grove Art Online and Grove Music Online. Oxford Art Online and Oxford Music Online are the new gateways for online art and music information, respectively, and will be the home for forthcoming art reference products and subscriptions.

Free trials are available to our new online resources -- simply send an e-mail to oxfordonline@oup.com and let us know which product(s) you'd like to try!

GET THE MOST FROM YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
Oxford offers a variety of materials to help your patrons get the most from the Oxford English Dictionary Online: help guides, a guided tour, and a search box which will enable your users to search the Dictionary directly from your website.