Newsletter No. 17
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Free Pint "Helping you make the most of the Web" http://www.freepint.co.uk/ ISSN 1460-7239 25 June 1998 #17 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = IN THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Finding information products and services via the Net" by Sheila Webber FEATURE ARTICLE "Bioscience Information on the Internet" by Dr. Pita Enriquez Harris ANAGRAM FREE PINT FEEDBACK CONTACT INFORMATION ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/250698.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION SCIENTISTS - 40th Anniversary Conference University of Sheffield, 8th -11th July 1998 *** SPECIAL ONE-DAY RATE - Thursday 9th July *** "It's there but where? - Archiving electronic publications" & "Across the way - what can the academic and corporate community share?" #180 stg (members) includes conference dinner and en-suite accommodation. Full programme available from the IIS. Telephone: (+44) 0171 831 8003/8633 or Email: iis@dial.pipex.com > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [ii171] EDITORIAL Once again we bring you a packed Free Pint, brimming with articles and tips on how you can make the most of the Web for your work. We start with tips on how to find information products and services on the Web, and follow this with a detailed look at where to find the best bioscience resources. The feedback section contains letters from readers about the proposed HTML version of Free Pint, and also comments on articles in the last issue. "Tell the world ..." We still desperately need you to spread the word about Free Pint to colleagues and friends, and so why not send this email to them. You can also copy Free Pint (in its entirety) freely to any discussion list or group if you may think members may find it useful. "Tell me what you think ..." We also love to hear your comments, thoughts and suggestions on how we can make Free Pint more relevant to what you do, so why not email me now? My email address is william@freepint.co.uk. May I now invite you to read on and enjoy your seventeenth Free Pint! Kind regards, William Hann Managing Editor william@freepint.co.uk PS: Free Pint looks best in a fixed width font like Courier, and is easier to read and use if you print it out first. Reserve your free copy of Free Pint by emailing subs@freepint.co.uk or visit http://www.freepint.co.uk/ where you will also find past issues, advertising & author details, and of course the Free Pint Forum. PPS: Many thanks to Investext (www.investext.com) for a great party on the 38th floor of the World Financial Centre in the City of London to mark the launch of their new Web product Research Bank Web. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "Your message seen by 9500 information workers" Full details on the page for Advertisers at: http://www.freepint.co.uk/advert.htm or call now on +44 (0)1784 455 435 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TIPS AND TECHNIQUES "Finding information products and services via the Net" by Sheila Webber This article highlights some free specialist directories in the information sector: listing online databases, information consultants and the like. Three key sources are exhibition catalogues, trade or professional associations listing their members, and commercial directories which are offered either in simplified form or in less-than-current editions. Having identified the relevant exhibitions, bodies and directories, finding out if they've a web site can be guessable (e.g. http://www.eirene.com/ for EIRENE) or not (e.g. the DGD site, found via a search engine or library/information supersite). Tracing the search page for the directory, once you've found the site, can also be an interesting challenge. Therefore in most cases below I've given the specific URL of the directory. Obviously you can also trace these companies via all-purpose directories, but often you won't get as much detail. Online products, producers and hosts Exhibition catalogues have always made good directories for specialist topics: the main problem was getting hold of them if you hadn't actually gone to the exhibition. Now that some of them are on the net, that problem is solved. Another advantage of exhibition catalogues is that you know how up-to-date the information is (not the case with many general directories, unfortunately). The online industry catalogues tend to include hyperlinked web addresses and email addresses. The exhibitors' catalogue of Learned Information's *Online Information 97* (London) exhibition is searchable, with hypertext links to the exhibitors' web sites. You can also search a database of abstracts from the conference, and view emerging details of Online Information 98 http://www.learned.co.uk/events/online/onl_search.htm The two big US online conferences both have LONG hyperlinked pages of exhibitors. The New York *National Online Meeting* has its May 1998 list at http://www.infotoday.com/nom98/exhibits.htm, whilst Online Inc's *Online World* conference has exhibitors from 1997 at http://www.onlineinc.com/olworld/ow97/exhibitors.html Germany's *Infobase* exhibition (http://www.infobase.de/) has a searchable database of exhibitors. The site is in a truly vile green colour with pulsating headings and brown and grey text (what WERE they on when they created it?) When compiling this list I was switching between Netscape and Word, and returning to my browser resulted each time in an interesting slime-flowing-down-the-wall effect. Anyway, there's a button, bottom right, if you want to switch to the English language version, otherwise click on Aussteller. Each entry in the catalogue is indexed with a number of product categories, and has contact details including web site. *IDT 98* (June 9-11 in Paris) at http://www.idt.fr/ has a less useful 1997 exhibitors' list: just exhibitors' names, listed alphabetically, with a minority of them hyperlinked. Finally, I'll mention three online source manuals. The 5th edition of Learned Information's *Online Manual* (the latest one is the 6th) can be searched by subject to identify databases on the topic. It will tell you the online host that offers the database, and often hyperlinks to producer's site. http://www.learned.co.uk/databases/tom/ *I'M Guide* from the European Commission contains descriptions of 8,000 European electronic information sources. http://www2.echo.lu/echo/databases/imguide/en/im92-hom.html *Le Repertoire des Banques de Donnees Professionnelles*, on the ADBS site at http://www.adbs.fr/adbs/viepro/bdd/html/1som.htm has about 1,000 entries for electronic databases and sources. The entries I looked at were dated late 1997, and there was also a brief page of industry news (in French). Library suppliers For library suppliers and library automation, at http://www.herts.ac.uk/Libtech/web2.htm there is a list of exhibitors at the 1997 *Libtech* exhibition (the 'catalogue' entries include links to web sites, email addresses etc). By the way, there is no Libtech at Hatfield this year, as the exhibition is moving to Olympia in March 1999 to cohabit with the London International Book Fair. The *LIBF* itself has the 1998 exhibitors catalogue (company address, telephone, fax, but no web details) on its site at http://www.libf.co.uk/ and the *Frankfurt Bookfair* (http://www.frankfurter-buchmesse.de/) has similar details for its exhibitors. Unfortunately the biggest UK library supplier fest, the *Library + Information Show* that took place in June in Birmingham has only one page on the rather clunky site at http://www.resourcex.co.uk/ The UK-based *Biblio Tech Review* has a good directory covering library systems suppliers and consultants, barcoding systems etc. (contact details, links, summary of services/systems offered): and there is the bonus of review articles and news about library-related systems. http://www.biblio-tech.com/biblio/ The European Commission has a regularly updated, annotated list of links to *library systems suppliers* at http://www2.echo.lu/libraries/en/systems.html Information consultants and brokers These directories and listings have varying amounts of information. The smaller ones are worth looking at, as they tend to have more information about the services provided. The 12th edition (1996) of the *Burwell World Directory of Information Brokers* can be searched free (the current one is the 13th edition: 1800 entries in 51 countries) http://www.burwellinc.com/ The *European Information Researchers Network (EIRENE)* is a professional association representing over 65 information brokers. There is a directory of members, outlining their services, personnel, and pricing structure. http://www.eirene.com/ The *Association of Independent Information Professionals* ('800 members in 21 countries') has a VERY long page listing the contact details (no web links) and service areas of its members http://www.aiip.org/ The ADBS site (L'Association des professionnels de l'information et de la documentation, http://www.adbs.fr/) includes a searchable *database of French information consultants*. There is a list of *German information consultants and brokers* on the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Dokumentation site at http://www.darmstadt.gmd.de/DGD/infobroker/infobr.htm > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sheila Webber is a lecturer in the Department of Information Science at the University of Strathclyde. She also leads the "Business Information and the Internet" project at http://business.dis.strath.ac.uk/ where there are descriptive links to business sources and information about the project. ** You can also fill in a brief questionnaire naming your favourite business internet source and you'll be entered in a prize draw! (Information from the questionnaire will be used only for the purposes of the British Library-funded project) ** Sheila can be contacted by email to sheila@dis.strath.ac.uk. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Love it? Hate it? Could be better? What do you think of Free Pint? Email now: feedback@freepint.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FEATURE ARTICLE "Bioscience Information on the Internet" by Dr. Pita Enriquez Harris Information about this field is dominated by three principal influences: 1. The funding agencies; such as The Wellcome Trust, who provide most of the capital for research in the field. 2. The publishers who print all the scientific papers and provide news in the biotech/healthcare sectors. 3. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies who research and develop drugs or products for the mass market or as part of the great research chain. And in between you have the huge mass of scientists working in the field - a very large community that has had unlimited Internet access since before most businesses got a dial-up email account! This makes for a great deal of information, much of it highly specialised. What I am giving you here is a highly personalised version, a whistle stop tour of what is out there. Sites No Self Respecting Bio-Surfer Should Be Without Most biological scientists will remember the first appearance of Medline, the National Library of Medicine's searchable resource of abstracts of just about every biomedical paper you are likely to want to read. Wow! Until recently it was subscriber access on CD ROM only, but now it comes in several flavours on the Internet. My favourite two are Healthgate's Free Medline Search: http://www.healthgate.com/HealthGate/MEDLINE/search.shtml Or, Biomednet's Evaluated Medline (you need to register as a member) http://biomednet.com/db/medline which will record your search history between sessions! Then we have the array of online gene libraries, which catalogue the sequences of all recorded genes. There are too many to list here but at the Internet Sleuth you can check a list of the key sites as well as search them directly from the Sleuth. (http://www.isleuth.com/genetics.html) But when in Rome, ask a Roman how to get to St Peter's. There's a site that has been providing biological scientists with many of their reference points since the early days of the Web - Pedro's BioMolecular Research Tools. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~pedro/research_tools.html Want to find out how to play online with a three-dimensional model of the AIDS virus? You can find out how from one of the sites on Pedro's page. What the Papers Say Finally, all the journal publishers came around to the idea that scientists want to be able to have immediate, desktop access to journals and don't want to have to trawl through the library's heavy bound volumes! So now, almost every journal is available online. Most offer free searching of contents, some of abstracts also. When you bring up the paper you need, you can often download it and print a PDF (Portable Document Format) version right there and then - if you or your department's library is a subscriber. Most simply mirror the content of the print versions, but Science (http://www.sciencemag.org) and Nature (http://www.nature.com) are set up more as general resources for researchers, with information about careers, lab supplies and informative articles and discussions about science. The online magazine HMS Beagle (http://biomednet.com/hmsbeagle) provides an alternative to these journals, being a lively mixture of news and commentary about current research, links to debates and useful web resources. Here's where to find a list of all such journals (Pedro strikes again) http://www.public.iastate.edu/~pedro/rt_journals.html Going shopping Hey, biological scientists can shop with the best of them! You've never really experienced a shopping high until you've paid for a tailor-made gene knocked-out mouse. As for the journal publishers, ditto the lab suppliers. No more need to scan the shelves for this year's New Englands Biolabs catalogue - now you can get everything you might need online, including demos of software products. Nature's site has a searchable guide to research suppliers and biotechnology companies (http://guide.nature.com) or try the deluxe options at BioSupplyNet http://www.biosupplynet.com What is going on and where? To find out who's doing what and where, read the sites of the funding agencies. In the last year, many of these have gone online, sometimes with impressive results. Read carefully and you can find out what the people who control the purse strings are thinking, what they are looking for in terms of a viable project, areas in which they would like to see progress. Some now offer online proposal submission - The Wellcome Trust is going for a paperless office so forget that old green form you've been meaning to fill in. My personal favourites are the site of the Cancer Research Campaign (http://www.crc.org.uk) The Wellcome Trust (http://www.wellcome.ac.uk) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (http://www.hhmi.org) A concession to Big Business Thankfully, it isn't all corporate lather. Some of the biotech companies really do offer some useful resources apart from their share prices and annual reports. And it is worth knowing that many such companies have taken to putting their press releases on the front page, which is very useful indeed for investors / job applicants / competitors! There are a number of sites which have taken upon themselves the job of providing the world with information about the biotechnology industry. My pick of these: Bio-Online http://bio.com - Ambitious, all-encompassing site with a good deal of biotech information. Biospace http://www.biospace.com - This hits the spot - all top biotech news stories run on the front page. Super. Bioportfolio http://www.bioportfolio.com - Essential reading for research into the UK biotech industry. Sites of astonishing coolness Not many things deserve such a title but I know of two sites that do: Biomednet - http://www.biomednet.com - a 'club' for bioscientists. Membership is free - I joined when it began in 1996. Since then it has gone from strength to strength to become a really wonderful resource. I've already quoted sites within the BioMedNet, which gives you an idea of just how useful it really is. It has got it all. As a reference point, or a place to browse about current research, it is unparalleled. A new feature is the BioMedLink, (http://biomednet.com/db/biomedlink) a detailed directory of reviewed web sites in the biomedical field (although it looks as though the search interface of BioMedLink is still in development). And finally, just for fun, Cells Alive - http://www.cellsalive.com Visual tools for the cell biologists, featuring video clips of cells in action. To the accompaniment of appropriate sound effects, cells squirm, contract and engulf each other. Mesmerising. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Pita Enriquez Harris abandoned a career in research molecular biology to co-found The Oxford Knowledge Company Ltd, a company which exists to assist businesses and individuals to extract relevant information from external sources. In the past year Pita has devoted her time to cracking the secrets of finding information on the Internet and to helping design the database technology which powers OKSYS (Oxford Knowledge System), the flagship knowledge-discovery service from The Oxford Knowledge Company. Dr. Pita Enriquez Harris Director, The Oxford Knowledge Company Limited Website: www.oxford-knowledge.co.uk Tel +44 (0) 1865 251566 > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = All past issues of Free Pint at http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/issues.htm > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ANAGRAM This issue's anagram of "Willco Free Pint" is "Frenetic pillow!" [Thank you Noel W] > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FREE PINT FEEDBACK Index of Feedback Subjects: (1) Net Surveys Article in FP #16 (2) HTML Version of Free Pint (3) Marketing Web Sites Article in FP #16 (4) "Information Research FAQ" from The Spire Project > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (1) Subject: Net Surveys Article in FP #16 From: Martin White, Principal Consultant, TFPL Date: 19th June 1998 Dear William Your article on how to design a www survey was excellent, but made no reference to the issues of data protection and industry guidelines on using the internet for surveys. The European Data Protection Directive, and related national legislation on data protection do have quite an impact on how questions are asked, and on what you do with the information. The European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) has published a code of practice on the subject which you can find at http://www.esomar.nl/guidelines/internet_guidelines.htm Regards Martin > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (2) Subject: HTML Version of Free Pint From: William Hann, Managing Editor, Free Pint Date: 25th June 1998 In the last issue of Free Pint we published a letter from a subscriber who suggested producing an HTML version of Free Pint. We asked you your opinion of this and received a sack-full (well, inbox full) of email replies. We have reproduced here a handful of representative emails, followed by our considered decision: "Yuck. E-mail is for plain text. The web is for HTML. If someone wants an HTML version of your newsletter, they should go to your website. To that end, I would suggest that you place the _current_ issue on your website, have a prominent link on the front page of the site to the current issue, and give the http:// address of the current issue in the header of the e-mail version." Padraic Renaghan "Yes an HTML version of Free Pint would be excellent, you have my vote!" Charles Holdsworth "I don't think this email needs any more functionality which a version in HTML could provide (like better structuring and colors). It would just be a waste of bandwidth. It looks best with fixed font, like it should. If one cares for an HTML version, one can use Communicator 4 - Messenger, where the http tags are automatically transformed to links. After all, one must have a browser to view the HTML version, and so simply use Netscape for mail (like I do)." Pavel Pavlov "Just like to register my 'plain text please' vote. HTML coded emails take a while to display themselves, and I was also reading in the Guardian the other day that once you start to get fancy things actually in the emails, the old apocryphal stories of virus-laden emails actually become a possibility (also I remember how difficult it was to read HTML email newsletters when my email software couldn't decode HTML)." Sheila Webber "Honestly, a text version serves well for me and my overloaded e-mail box. (I also believe that some people need to pay for the space they use in their e-mail boxes...). Further, I often read my mail from different places. So, it is preferable that I can get to the information with a minimum of technical stuff. (I might just use a simple telnet terminal emulation programme...). My vote therefore is strongly in favour of a text-based version (as it is now). If you can cope with the additional work producing a HTML-version than I think this would be nice for the backups on the web. But as I said: nice to have." Gundula Haertel, Switzerland "I find Free Pint very useful and informative, but if you introduce a HTML version please continue to send it in plain text also. My email system does not accept attachments, because of fears of importing a virus, which I'm sure applies to other companies. Thanks for a web publication which is worth reading." Ruth Duncan, Media Researcher William Hann replies: It therefore seems that the email newsletter is popular but that subscribers are unaware that there is a version with hypertext links activated on the Web site. Therefore, after much research, consultation and deliberation, we have decided to keep the textual format of Free Pint as it currently is. We would like to remind readers though that as soon as Free Pint is published we also add the issue to the Web site at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ with all hyperlinks activated. The direct address can also now be found in the contents section at the top of Free Pint, with the address for the current issue being: http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/250698.htm We also update our auto-responder which will send the latest issue to anyone who sends an email to auto@freepint.co.uk. > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (3) Subject: Marketing Web Sites Article in FP #16 From: Charles Maurer, Ontario, Canada Date: June 1998 Steve Cartwright omitted an important point in marketing a web site: make sure it can be used without graphics. "It only takes 10 seconds to load the banner" is myopia. Even over a 56K modem, I'm not going to download graphics automatically. If a site does not show what it has to offer without graphics, I'm not likely to spend any time on it at all. Every once in a while I mention this to a webmaster who requires graphics. The reply is inevitably, "I rarely get complaints, I usually get compliments." This statement astonishes me. A web site's graphics waste too much time so somebody says, "To hell with this site, let me try another." Why would this guy waste more time by complaining? Indeed, if he does not enter the site, how will he even lodge a complaint? If a webmaster limits his audience to those who like graphics or at least don't object to them, of course he will get more compliments than complaints. He will, however, be limiting his market. Earlier this year The Economist summarized a study of 100 large corporations' web sites. Customers, stockholders and employees were all agreed: fancy graphics turned them away in droves. Charles Maurer > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (4) Subject: "Information Research FAQ" from The Spire Project From: Rex Cooke, Editor, Free Pint Date: 25th June 1998 A subscriber, Philip Westlake, has brought an excellent resource to our attention. The "Information Research FAQ" (list of Frequently Asked Questions) is available for download free from The Spire Project Web site, and describes itself as serving ... "... to highlight the methods, the resources and the skills used in information research with particular interest in the role of the Internet as both a reservoir and gateway to information resources." If you are using the Internet as a research tool then we would certainly recommend downloading this informative FAQ in text form from the Web site at http://cn.net.au/ > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Do you find Free Pint useful? We would love to hear from you. Send your letters and questions to feedback@freepint.co.uk or email William Hann directly by email to william@freepint.co.uk. Please note, if you write to us we will not publish your letter if you do not wish us to, and cannot guarantee a reply to all letters. Letters may be edited for content and length, and we will withhold your contact details if you wish. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Thank you for reading Free Pint. We hope you will forward this copy to colleagues and friends or ask them to visit our Web site. See you in two weeks! Kind regards, William Hann, Managing Editor william@freepint.co.uk (c) Willco 1998 http://www.willco.co.uk/ > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = CONTACT INFORMATION William Hann, Managing Editor Email: william@freepint.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1784 455 435 Fax: +44 (0)1784 455 436 Rex Cooke, Editor Email: rex@freepint.co.uk Tel/Fax: +44 (0)171 681 1653 Alison Scammell, Account Director Email: alison@freepint.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)181 460 5850 Address (no stamp needed) Willco "Free Pint", Freepost SEA3901, Staines Middlesex, TW18 3BR, United Kingdom Web - http://www.freepint.co.uk Advertising - ads@freepint.co.uk Subscriptions - subs@freepint.co.uk Letters & Comments - feedback@freepint.co.uk Latest Issue Autoresponder - auto@freepint.co.uk > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Free Pint (ISSN 1460-7239) is a free email newsletter for anyone who uses the Internet to get information for their work in any business or organisation. The newsletter is written by professionals who share how they find quality and reliable information on the Internet. To subscribe, unsubscribe, find details about contributing, advertising or to see past issues, please visit the Web site at http://www.freepint.co.uk/ or call +44 (0)1784 455 435 Please note: The newsletter is published by the information consultancy Willco (http://www.willco.co.uk/), and the publishers will NEVER make the subscriber list available to any other company or organisation. The opinions, advice, products and services offered herein are the sole responsibility of the contributors. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the publication, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. This publication may be freely copied and/or distributed in its entirety. However, individual sections MAY NOT be copied and/or distributed without the prior written agreement of the publishers. All rights reserved. > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
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- Publication Date: 24th June 1998
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