Search

Reports that as the scholarly communications crisis intensifies in Europe, interest in alternative publishing models is growing. Creation of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition and the International Scholarly Communications Alliance to increase awareness and address the problem; Statement that commercial publishers benefit from the crisis and therefore librarians and researchers will have to address the crisis themselves; How creating institutional e-print repositories such as the E-Prints Archive Software can help.

The article presents information about the tools and devices, which are used as cost-effective searching on the Internet. Cost-effectiveness is the theme of the 90s, the melody running through all minds. Independent researchers are working within the smaller budgets mandated by their financially-stressed clients. Corporate information specialists are facing heavier workloads that used to be shared with now-departed colleagues, end-users. Finally the article concludes that all these people are struggling to do their own online searching without blowing their limited monetary resources. It further reports that Data-Star, the European-based search service, has leveraged the time zone differential into an economic incentive. While Europe sleeps North American customers get a $20 an hour break on most Data-Star files. Even without the geographic discount, many of these databases cost less than their equivalents on dialog and elsewhere. In fact, if one searches particular files over and over, it is worth doing some comparison shopping to see what online service gives the best deal.

This article reports on an announcement by Thomson Financial Networks Inc. in December 1989 that their Investext database will begin distributing research reports from the consulting division of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells. The agreement will give Investext users access to the "EC 1992 Database," a collection of reports dealing exclusively with the business implications of Europe's unification. "As 1992 draws closer, it's critical for international businesses to keep apprised of the European Community's evolving policies," said Martin C. Hensel, Investext general manager. The Investext database contains more than 170,000 company and industry reports written by leading analysts at brokerage firms, investment banks and consulting and research firms worldwide.