Library Blog

Good news for all those interested in any aspect of Chemistry. We now have access to Reaxys, www.reaxys.com, the fully web-based, updated version of the Crossfire database, but with a simpler, more streamlined interface.

Reaxys is an extensive repository of experimentally validated chemical data, including structures, reactions (including multi-step reactions) and physical properties. The information, dating back to the late eighteenth century, is drawn from source publications carefully selected for their importance and relevance particularly to synthetic chemists. Some of this information is not available through any other database.

Reaxys includes everything that was available through the Crossfire database but with many more easily accessible features and additional search capabilities, such as the ability to generate a structure query directly from names and/or phrases. The old Beilstein and Gmelin databases have been amalgamated for easier searching and, of course, there is still a powerful structure searching facility. Reaxys supports various Structure Editors, including Isis Draw, Symyx, the Crossfire Structure Editor and Marvin Sketch – the default Structure Editor. Search results can be filtered by key properties, synthesis yield or by other ranking criteria. All IUPAC names are available through the supported structure editors. Existing full-text links to our journals will be as before.

No username and password are required for access on campus but these will be necessary off campus. Registration is also required when setting up alerts and saving search histories.

Reaxys can run on Apple operating systems so there should not be any problems using Macintosh computers.

For further information or help, please contact Joan Whitaker, J.Whitaker@qub.ac.uk, ext. 6270.

“EBSCO’s Literary Reference Center™ databases provide users with a broad spectrum of information on thousands of authors and their works across literary disciplines and timeframes. These full-text databases combine information from major respected reference works, books, literary journals, and original content from EBSCO Publishing to create two comprehensive literary resources.”

Access to EBSCO’s Literary Reference Centre is available until May 28th 2010 (on-campus only) at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip&group=trial&defaultdb=lfh

Please contact Diarmuid Kennedy (d.g.kennedy@qub.ac.uk) with any comments or questions.

From now until May 31st QUB have access to the Illustrated London News Historical Archive.  The Illustrated London News Historical Archive makes available for the first time online the complete searchable facsimile run of the the entire run on the Illustrated London News from its first publication on 14 May 1842 to its last in 2003. Every item ever printed in the paper, from 1842 to 2003, can be searched and browsed article by article and page by page.

Access is available (on-campus only) at the following URL:  http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/qubelfast?db=ILN

Please contact Diarmuid Kennedy (d.g.kennedy@qub.ac.uk) with any comments or questions.

It seems that the inter-library loan article requesting service does not work properly with the Windows 7 operating system.  The article details are not transmitted to library staff who are therefore unable to process the request.

Until the problem has been resolved article requests should be submitted by one of the following methods:

• On a computer with an operating system other than Windows 7
• Via the ‘Place Request’ facility on the Library Catalogue
• By filling in and submitting a printed form available from the Library

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.  The fault has been reported to the software suppliers and we hope there will be a speedy resolution.