Chemistry Resource ‘SciFinder’ Now Available via the Web

Long available only with the Scholar client, you can now register for an account to search SciFinder via the web. When you register for a web account, you’ll receive your own username and password. This, in conjunction with IP authentication of a computer on the UMass network, will enable you to search SciFinder through your web browser, rather than with the Scholar client.

To register for a SciFinder web account and to connect to the SciFinder web version, visit the Library’s SciFinder page. Should you want to download the SciFinder Scholar client, it’s available from this page too.

The Library has purchased access to SciFinder for 6 simultaneous users. Please, when you finish your work, logoff SciFinder so others can connect to it.

For more information about the database, visit the SciFinder site. If you would like assistance using SciFinder, contact the Chemistry librarian, Paulina Borrego.

JSTOR Offers New Interface, New Features

JSTOR, the digital archive of scholarly journals, has recently unveiled a new public interface. The new JSTOR makes it easier to:

  • browse and search across journals from within 47 disciplines,
  • limit searches to individual journal titles,
  • view your search history and apply revised limits to your search results
  • navigate between pages of articles and citations in search results

“MyJSTOR” is a new feature that enables you to create an individual account where you can set your preferences and view saved citations.

The JSTOR archive contains content first published in 1665 and includes the first volumes of over 1,000 journal titles through issues published 3-5 years ago. The Library makes the JSTOR interface available through the Research Databases list, and individual journals within the archive can be accessed from the UMass Amherst Library Catalog and E-Journals List.

Updates to Biography Resource Center

The Biography Resource Center has redesigned its user interface and added new categories for browsing and searching. For example, within “Biographical Facts Search” I can choose “Fencer” as an occupation and “British” as nationality and retrieve a list of two people.

Bob Anderson (also known as Robert Anderson) is listed in Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television, Volume 46. Gale Group, 2003 as a choreographer, stunt performer, swordmaster. He was a fencing consultant for the 1998 movie The Parent Trap, among other film credits.

The entries for people with multiple listings, such as Jeanette Winterson, are displayed by date last updated. In addition, search results can be sorted by narrative biography, thumbnail biography, Marquis Who’s Who, magazine articles and websites.