ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 322 / C&RL News ■ N ovem ber 2000 INTERNET RESOURCES Chemistry sources The num ber of science sites has grown dramatically by Ibironke Lawal C hemistry bears an essential tie with many diverse subject areas, from agriculture to zoology. It touches every hum an activity b cause it deals with the nature of materials, their com position, in teractio n w ith o ther materials, and the environm ent. It is of great interest w hether the materials involved are precious metals used for fine jewelry, poly­ mer used to coat electronic components, drugs used for healing diseases, or the pigments used by a Renaissance painter. Consequently, chem­ istry is called the “central science.” The litera­ ture of chemistry is dynamic, complex, and enormous. Over the past five years, Internet resources have grown dramatically. The Internet is now regarded as a stable medium of communica­ tion. However, Internet docum ents are not necessarily evaluated and do not need to com­ ply with any standard. Therefore, the intellec­ tual integrity of information posted there is not always guaranteed. More recently, the Internet serves as an effective means of disseminating information about products and services of publishers and online vendors, and of research, teaching, and learning activities of academic institutions and of government information. This is a select list of useful Internet re­ sources in chemistry and related disciplines worldwide. M e t a s i t e s • Links fo r c h e m ists. The University of Liverpool and its departm ent of chemistry e ­ designed and m anage this site. It indexes m ore than 7,500 chem istry Web resources in more than 60 categories. It provides links to university chemistry departm ents, including those of international institutions. It also in­ dexes sites for chemical jobs/careers, chem i­ cal com panies/industry, chemical literature and publishing, chemical information, chem ­ istry softw are, and organizations. Access. h ttp : / /w w w .l iv .a c .u k / C h e m i s t r y / L i n k s / links.html. • M etaChem. A searchable and brow s­ able catalog of Internet chem istry resources. Provides access to electronic information re­ sources of all kinds and links to docum ent delivery and print inform ation through li­ brary catalogs. A ustralian D efense Force Academy, the University of New South Wales, a nd collaborators m aintain this site using m etadata technology from the Distributed Systems Technology Center of the Austra­ lian G overnm ent. Users have the benefit of evaluated, classified, a nd indexed entries in this database. The Research Infrastructure Program from the Australian Research Coun­ cil provides funds for the MetaChem project. Access-, h t tp ://m e ta c h e m .c h .a d fa .e d u .a u / index.html. D a t a b a s e s • B e ilste in Abstracts. Beilstein Abstracts is one of the w orld’s most im portant sources of organic chemistry information. Users can access titles, abstracts, and citations from more About the author Ibironke Lawal is engineering and science librarian a t Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond; e-mail: iolawal@vcu.edu http://www.liv.ac.uk/Chemistry/Links/ http://metachem.ch.adfa.edu.au/ mailto:iolawal@vcu.edu C&RL News ■ N ovem ber 2000 / 923 than 140 top journals in organic and related chemistry published from 1980 to the present. There are currently 600,000 articles in the database. It is available free on the Web to ChemWeb members (registration is free). The abstracts database is also integrated in Beilstein Crossfire system (http://www.beilstein.com). Ac­ cess. http://www.chemweb.com/databases/bel/ badisplay.exe?jcode=belabs. • Analytical Abstracts. Analytical Ab­ stracts from the Royal Society of Chemistry is the premier specialist database for analyti­ cal chemistry information covering new tech­ niques and applications. It contains more than 257,000 items from more than 250 jour­ nals and books. Updates are monthly with about 1,200 items. The database contains de­ tails of methods and results written from an analytical perspective covering relevant pa­ pers in more than 12 languages. It has a unique indexing system that facilitates easy retrieval of relevant analytical information. Access to full record is through a subscrip­ tion. Access-, http://www.chemweb.com/da- tabases#2 • Chem ical A bstracts. Chemical Ab­ stracts Service (CAS), a division of the Ameri­ can C h em ical S o cie ty (ACS, http:// www.acs.org/), produces the world’s largest and most comprehensive databases of chemi­ cal information, chemical abstracts, and as­ sociated databases. Collectively, the CAS da­ tabases include more than 19 million abstracts of chemistry and chemistry-related literature and patents and more than 26 million sub­ stance records. It covers all areas of chemis­ try and related disciplines from 1907 to the present. CAS databases are offered on the Internet in two interfaces: a user-friendly Web interface (http://www.cas.org) and STN on the Web (http://stnweb.cas.org), a command- based Web interface. Access to any of the interfaces is through subscription. • PubScience. PubScience provides us­ ers the capability to search across a large com­ pendium of peer-reviewed journal literature with a focus on the physical sciences and other disci­ plines of in­ terest to the Department of Energy (DOE). Developed by DOE’s Office of Scientific and Technical In­ formation and made available to the public in partnership with the Government Printing Office. More than 30 publishers are repre­ sented. This is one of the few free literature searching sites available on the Web. Access-. http://pubsci.osti.gov/. Service-oriented sites • ChemPort. This site connects to full- text documents on the Web. Its features in­ clude direct links from databases like Medline, Embase, Biosis, and Inspec to the correspond­ ing electronic full text at sites and patent of- f i c e s ; single ar- tide sales o f docu­ ments in p o rta b le d o c u - ment format (pdf) for some journals; custom­ ized links to in-house library Web-server ap­ plication; convenient access to document de­ livery service; forward via e-mail the biblio­ graphic information of the citation to the ad­ dress of choice. More than 70 trade, society, and government publishers and patent of­ fices worldwide participate in providing ac­ cess to full-text information. A ccess: http:// www.chemport.org/. • Chem web.com . This Web resource is regarded as the worldwide club for the chemi­ cal community. Access is through free mem­ bership. Its features include free structure searching, live 3-D molecules, full-text search­ ing in many trade and society journals, con­ ferences and meetings information, and browsable Web index. Full-text access to some journals is fee based. In the “people and news” section, users can attend virtual lec­ tures, find a job, advertise for staff, and con­ tact other members. This site also offers Beilstein abstracts free to its members. A c­ cess: http://www.chemweb.com/. Preprints • Chem istry Prep rin t. Though it came a decade after its counterpart, the Los Alamos Physics Preprint, the Chemistry Preprint sever represents a new initiative for the chemistry community. It is a permanent Web archive and distribution medium for research articles http://www.beilstein.com http://www.chemweb.com/databases/bel/ http://www.chemweb.com/da- http://www.acs.org/ http://www.cas.org http://stnweb.cas.org http://pubsci.osti.gov/ http://www.chemport.org/ http://www.chemweb.com/ 924 / C&RL News ■ November 2000 in the field of chemistry and allied sciences. Modeled after the Los Alamos preprint server, it is recognized by Open Archive and deliv­ ered by chem w eb.com . Access-, http:// preprint. chemweb. com/. • PrePRINT Network. PrePRINT Network is a searchable gateway to preprint serv­ ers of the Department of Energy (DOE). It deals with scientific and technical disci­ plines of concern to DOE. Such disciplines include physics, ma­ terials, and chemistry, as well as portions of biology, environmental sciences and nuclear medicine. Users can search one or a collec­ tion of existing preprint servers with a single query. A c c e s s :// http://www.osti.gov/ preprint. Technical reports • GrayLit Network: A science portal o f technical reports. This is the world’s most comprehensive portal to federal gray litera­ ture. Federal agencies participating in this project are Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), Environmen­ tal Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA). A c­ cess-. http ://www. osti .gov/ graylit/. • DOE I n f o r m a tio n B rid g e . Like PubScience and GrayLit, this is a product of the Office of Scientific and Technical Infor­ mation of the Department of Energy (DOE). It is a research resource for scientists and stu­ dents. It offers access to full text and bib­ liographic records of DOE research and development reports in chemistry, physics, biology, environmental sciences, engineer­ ing, and other subject areas. Free access to this resource is possible through the Gov­ ernment Printing Office. A ccess: http:// www. osti. gov/bridge. Patents Patents are an integral part of chemical lit­ erature. In addition, to the ones listed below, the metasites cover patents also. • Chemical Patents Plus. A product of the American Chemical Society, Chemical Pat­ ents Plus gives full text of all classes of pat­ ents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 1975 to the present, with com­ plete images from 1995 to the present. It is searchable by CAS Registry num­ ber or subject. Searching is free, al­ though some fees apply to some displays. Access: http://casweb.cas.org/chempatplus/. • Intellectual Property Mall. This is an internationally acclaimed resource providing information and links to the most valuable online resources in the world. It is the prod­ uct of Franklin Pierce Law Center’s John Cavicchi and Site Surfer Publishing’s Bill Shaw. A ccess: http://www.ipmall.fplc.edu/. Reference tools/data/spectra Finding chemical data poses challenges of its own. Sometimes the task could be com­ pared to looking for a needle in a haystack. The Internet does make it possible for spe­ cific information to be readily and easily ac­ cessible now more than ever before. The fol­ lowing are some of the reliable sources of data on the Internet. • Web Elements. This is one of the most up-to-date and complete periodic tables on the Web. Mark Winter of the University of Sheffield manages this interactive table. A click on any element leads users to a com­ prehensive data information about that ele­ ment. Winter promises a search option in the next version. Access: http://www.webelements. com/webelements. html. • ChemFinder. This is a quick fact-find­ ing database. It is searchable by chemical name, molecular formula, molecular weight, CAS registry number, and chemical structure. It offers free download for ChemDraw, a structure drawing software. There is a list of the sites indexed, a glossary of terms used, and answers to frequently asked questions. Access: http://www.chemfinder.com/. • NIST Webbook. A gateway to the data collection of the National Institute of Stan- For an expanded veMources on the webore resrsion o f this article, visit C&RL NewsNet at http://www.ala.org/ acrl/c&rlnew2. html. http://www.osti.gov/ http://casweb.cas.org/chempatplus/ http://www.ipmall.fplc.edu/ http://www.webelements http://www.chemfinder.com/ http://www.ala.org/ C&RL News ■ N ovem ber 2000 / 925 dards and Technology (NIST), this site pro­ vides access to the data compiled and dis­ tributed by NIST under the Standard Refer­ ence Data program. It contains thermochemi­ cal data for more than 5,000 organic and small inorganic compounds, reaction thermochem­ istry data for more than 8,000 reactions, Infra Red spectra for more than 7,500 compounds, Mass spectra for more than 10,000 com ­ pounds, UV/Vis spectra for more than 400 compounds, electronic and vibrational spec­ tra to more than 3,000 compounds, constants of diatomic molecules for more than 600 com­ pounds, and ion energetics data for more than 14,000 compounds. A ccess: http://webbook. nist.gov/. • T h erm o d ex. Thermodex is an index of selected thermodynamic data handbooks. This site contains records for printed hand­ books and compilations of thermodynamic and thermophysical data for chemical com­ pounds. Type of compound and/or property could be used to search, and the database will return a list of handbooks that might contain the data. A ccess: http://thermodex. lib.utexas.edu/ Electronic jo u rn als Each o f the indexes and directories under the metasites category features online ver­ sions o f print journals of trade and society publishers. The service-oriented sites, such as Chemport ( w w w .chem port.org/) and Chem Web (www.chemweb.com), also offer access to electronic journals. Downloading or viewing full text is free to the journal sub­ scribers but fee based to nonsubscribers. • Online Only Jo u rn a ls . This is a col­ lection of approximately 50 online only journals that the Chemical Abstracts Service monitors. Access: http://info.cas.org/EO/ejoum2.html. A ssociations, organizations, and so cieties • A m erican Ch em ical Society (ACS). ACS is a 161,000-member-strong professional body that seeks to promote the public’s per­ ception and understanding of chemistry and the chemical sciences and assist the federal government with advice on scientific and technological issues involving the chemical sciences. Items on their homepage include career information, meetings, programs, and services. A ccess: http://www.acs.org/. • Royal Society o f C h em istry (RSC). RSC is the counterpart of the American Chemi­ cal Society in the United Kingdom. With 46,000 members, it is a major publisher and pro­ vider of chemical in­ form ation. Like its counterpart, it sup­ ports teaching of chemistry at all levels, orga­ nizes meetings, and is a leader in communi­ cating science to the public. Access-, http:// www.rsc.org/. • Chem Soc. This is an online directory of worldwide chemistry societies. It has a unique indexing feature that allows search­ ing o f individual sites w ithout leaving ChemSoc. The directory lists the names, ad­ dresses, and contact details of all the major national chemistry societies, including Web address for those that have Web sites. A ccess: http://www.chemsoc.com/. Chem ical inform ation resources and instructional m aterials • Chemlnfo. Gary Wiggins of Indiana Uni­ versity compiled and maintains this resource. Compilation started before the Internet came into existence. He expanded, updated, and adapted it for the Internet by 1997. There is a wealth of resources on this site, from data­ bases to chemistry course materials to the archives o f the chminf-1 electronic list. A c­ cess: http ://www. indiana. edu/–cheminfo/. • Teaching Chemical Information: Tips and Techniques. This valuable resource is a product of the Chemical Information Divi­ sion of the American Chemical Society (ACS). It is the resource guide for a workshop that members of the division develop and teach at the national meetings of the ACS. A ccess: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/swain/ workshop/cont.html. New s/newsletters/m agazines • ChemNews.com. This is a product http://webbook http://thermodex http://www.chemport.org/ http://www.chemweb.com http://info.cas.oig/EO/ejoum2.html http://www.acs.org/ http://www.rsc.org/ http://www.chemsoc.com/ http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/swain/ 926 / C&RL News ■ November 2000 of CambridgeSoft.com. Chemnews.com is a prime Internet news publication serving more 250,000 chemists worldwide. It keeps the chemical com­ munity infomied of the latest events in the Internet chemistry world and educates chemists on new and existing products. It is available in four lan­ guages—English, French, German, and Japanese. It has an e-mail edition, Chemists@Intemet. Ac­ cess: http://www.chemnews.com/. • Alchemist. This is a ChemWeb.com Webzine for the latest chemistry news. Access-. http://www.chemweb.com/alchem/2000/ homepage/hp_current.html. • Chemistry. Published by the Ameri­ can Chemical Society (ACS) for its members, student affiliates, and those interested in learn­ ing more about chemical sciences and the ACS. It is called the chemistry tabloid and is pub­ lished quarterly with each issue packed with short and moderately long, informative articles. Access: http://www.acs.org/chemistry. • Chemical Information Sources Discus­ sion List Chminf-1. This virtual reference desk is staffed with some of the world’s most knowl­ edgeable people. It features frequent an­ nouncements of new chemistry reference prod­ ucts and services. There is an archive of all messages posted since 1991 on the cheminfo page at http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/ chminf-l.html. Gary Wiggins of Indiana Uni­ versity is the moderator. Subscribe-, chminf- l@listserv.indiana.edu. Safety • Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Contains approximately 250,000 Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) files from the U.S. Government Department of Defense MSDS database, a mirror data from University of Ver­ mont and the Cornell University. It has an ef­ ficient searching interface. A ccess: http:// msds.pdc.cornell.edu/msdssrch.asp. • Vermont SIRI MSDS. This is a search­ able database of more than 100,000 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). The objective of this site is to make safety information as easily and universally accessible as possible. It re­ places thousands of paper MSDS indexes at individual worksites with a universal online archive. The archive is searchable by chemi­ cal name, chemical trade name, and Chemical Abstract Service registry number. There are mirror sites at the University of Florida http:// siri.org/ and the University of California at Davis http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/msds/. Pro­ vides links to other Internet MSDS and haz­ ardous chemical archives. Access-, http:// hazard.com/msds/. ■ http://www.chemnews.com/ http://www.chemweb.com/alchem/2000/ http://www.acs.org/chemistry http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/ mailto:l@listserv.indiana.edu http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/msds/ C&RL News ■ N ovem ber 2000 / 927