This is from ABC-CLIO, our vendor for the Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life database.
Dear Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life subscribers,
Celebrating 50 years of reference publishing in 2005, ABC-CLIO embarked on a multi-year program to upgrade and enhance Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life. With a redesigned interface and over 1.2 million entries and 330,000 full-text links, these landmark resources are more than ever the first place to begin any search in the area of history.
A beta version of both databases will be available to you as of Thursday, December 1, whereby you can choose to access either the existing database or the beta site version, for the entire month of December. We think you, and your patrons, will be pleased with the new look, navigational ease, and enhanced research capabilities available within the beta site version. The option of using either the existing or the beta databases will last throughout December, before the newly enhanced version becomes the sole access option for both Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life, on Monday, January 2, 2006.
The following enhancements will be accessible to you via the beta site version on Thursday, December 1:
* New interface will allow users to get to the information they need quickly and easily, with fewer page downloads and fewer mouse clicks
* A combined simple and advanced search screen allows the user to control the display of search fields and search results* New pop-up help tips assist the user in constructing successful searches
* New retrospective coverage from JSTOR journals dating from 1838-2005, resulting in an increase of nearly 78% in full-text links by project’s end
* New search history functionality records search criteria, allowing users to rerun previous searches
* New expand and collapse record functionality streamlines the process of viewing results by displaying and hiding abstracts at the click of a mouse
Other useful enhancements –
* A new Export to Citation Manager feature will allow the user to save results directly to EndNote, ProCite, or Reference Manager
* New setup functionality for non-OpenURL resolvers, permitting linking to non-OpenURL catalogs
* A User’s Forum will provide technical and database content support and a place for discussions related to the databases
* Full-text links to over 330,000 sources, including ProQuest’s Dissertations and Theses Database