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The article explores some of the reliable and essential online sources of online about Canada. Topics covered include features of the web sites of private sector organizations, research institutes and government agencies, description of publicly available information and subscription-based databases with Canadian content and Canadian initiatives of interest to online researchers including DNA Barcoding, Arctic Research and Ocean Cable Technology.

Reports on the online legal databases in Canada. Two types of Canadian legal databases online; Case law and statute databases; Overview of legal databases; Statutes; National case law summaries; Dominion Reports Service; Dominion Law Reports; Lawyer's Weekly; All Canada Weekly Summaries; Regional Summary Services; National Reporter System; More.

The article offers industry news briefs as of July 1, 2013. The establishment of Public Library of Science (PLOS) on its PLOS Labs division which will develop software prototypes, and organize open source and open access (OA) development projects. The appointment of Ella Balagula as chief executive officer (CEO) of Knovel Corp., a private company located in Norwich, New York. The death notices of Dwight Opperman, the CEO of West Publishing Co., a publishing company located in Eagan Minnesota.

Explains some of the journal holdings features used in certain databases and gives some tips in using any CD-ROM database journal holdings program. Case of Erindale College Library, located on a suburban campus of the University of Toronto; Use of the Journal Holdings Manager program; Summary of journal holdings features for databases held at the college library.

This section offers online search-related news briefs as of September-October 2014. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has unveiled the Lyon Declaration for Access to Information and Development agenda. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is implementing a new process for identifying journals for listing in its directory. Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL) and Elsevier are jointly pursuing a conversion initiative for pre-1996 articles in Scopus.

Describes the development of the Canadian Law Online in 1991 by Carswell. Opportunity of creating a search interface designed expressly for the new service's intended users which are lawyers and law researchers; Development of a set of guiding principles; Product designer's principles; Designer's tradeoffs.

Reports that EBSCO Canada has formed the Canadian Literary Centre. Combination of the contents of three literary reference series with book reviews, essays, works of literary criticism, author biographies, and current periodical articles; Author information which is available on the database; Use of the reference series 'The Annotated Bibliography of Canada's Major Authors,' 'Canadian Writers and Their Works,' and the 'Canadian Fiction Series.'

This article reports on the agreement formed by the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) with RefWorks LLC that will make RefWorks available to all OCUL members. RefWorks allows users to create personal databases of bibliographic records and access them from any Internet-connected resource. Users can utilize these databases to generate footnotes and bibliographies, collaborate on research, or disseminate references. The OCUL RefWorks system will be hosted at the University of Toronto, which will provide access for all 20 OCUL members. OCUL joins a growing list of consortia subscribing to RefWorks. RefWorks is available through consortia based in Asia, Europe, and North America. Established in 1967, OCUL has a long history of collaboration and cooperation among its member institutions. OCUL's Ontario Scholars Portal initiative supports more than 350,000 faculty and students in the Ontario universities by drawing together, in a unified framework, access to electronic full-text resources, index and abstract databases, numerical and statistical data, and geospatial data.

The article presents information on Canada Online 5, the fifth annual conference for the Canadian online industry, which met in Toronto from November 18-20, 1991. Canada is becoming a nation that is linked together by databases. This was certainly the impression created by Canada Online 5. At a session on "Regional Business Databases," conference attendees heard how in Newfoundland, where unemployment is the highest in Canada, a joint initiative between the federal government and the province of Newfoundland aims to establish a computerized network among business-serving organizations. One day-long session at Canada Online, sponsored by the Information Technology Association of Canada, was devoted to the exploration of public/private partnerships in information distribution. Canada Online highlighted government as a facilitator and promoter of the information industry. Canada Online supplied three days of high quality seminars and presentations on the information industry to a disappointingly low number of attendees.

This article focuses on the availability of the "Headquarters USA" print directory as HQ Online, a searchable electronic database from Omnigraphics in Detroit, Michigan. This database offers access to the headquarters and main offices of top businesses and organizations in the U.S. and Canada. Rates for both in-library and remote patron access are published rather than negotiated, with pricing for remote access based on the population served. The database also lists nonprofit organizations, professional associations, government agencies and offices, educational and cultural institutions and prominent business, government and organizational leaders.

The article presents several news briefs related to several databases. The complete text of the 4th edition of the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM) is now available on diskette from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. NIOSH Manual is a reference guide for sampling and analytical methods for monitoring occupational exposures to toxic substances in air and biological samples. The Wilson Library Bulletin, known for its beautiful, distinctive cover art has announced its first-ever cover contest for members of the profession it serves. All librarians--public, school, academic, special--are invited to submit their own original artwork for consideration. A comprehensive database of business information, ABI/INFORM will be available in 1995 as an individual file and as part of appropriate NEXIS group files. ABI/INFORM offers nearly a million records for articles published in more than 1000 business journals. Abstract and indexing coverage dates from 1971. Online full text coverage dates from 1991 for selected publications.

The article reports that Data Research Associates Inc. has completed development work on its authority processing service and has begun in house completion of its backlog of authority processing contracts. The company has announced that the Birmingham, Alabama Area Library Services has become the first library using an automation system other than Data Research's that has subscribed to Open Data Research's electronic resource-sharing network (DRANET). Authority processing is a technique for standardizing libraries' database entries. Previously, Data Research had relied on third-party services for the performance of this processing on its customers' data. Open DRANET is a dedicated, high speed, multi-protocol telecommunications network interconnecting libraries and other information providers for the purposes of information access and resource sharing. This network is owned, maintained and marketed by Data Research and currently serves more than 50 libraries in the U.S. and Canada.

The article reports that Standard & Poor Corp.'s Compustat has added three new enhancements for Canadian users of its Compustat PC Plus CD-ROM, which supplies data on 12,000 U.S. and Canadian companies. PC Plus contains the premier Compustat financial database of over 12,000 companies delivered on one CD-ROM complete with easy-to-use, state-of-the-art software, and a CD-ROM reader. It is designed for use on an IBM PC AT or compatible. Precalculated ratios and growth rates, geographic data, earnings estimates, a descriptive list of SIC codes, principal officers, and addresses are available for 7,100 publicly traded companies, 270 industry composites, 5,700 research companies and 500 Canadian companies.

This article reports that Infodata Systems Inc. and IBM Canada Ltd. have selected INQUIRE/Text as the full-text retrieval component of the Canadian Automated Patent System (CAPS), being built by IBM Canada for the Canadian Patent Office in Hull. Bridging INQUIRE/Text with IBM's ImagePlus, CAPS will result in the largest document imaging system in the Canadian federal government and likely the largest technological database in Canada. CAPS, a 10-year, $76 million initiative launched in 1986, was born from a need to cope with the growing volume of applications for patents and the growing paper files associated with issued patents. It is informed that CAPS will automate the process of storing, retrieving, classifying, examining, and publishing patents and patent applications.

This article reports that BETACORP Technologies Inc. has released the CD-ROM, 1st Canadian Shareware Disc, with emphasis on content of Canada. 1st Canadian Shareware Disc is comprised of public domain and shareware programs from various categories. It includes educational programs, games, communications, graphics, database, spread-sheet, utilities, sound, music, and Windows 3.0 utilities. Users can have instant access to utilities and programs for their computers. 1st Canadian Shareware Disc is compatible with IBM Personal Computers or compatibles equipped with a CD-ROM drive.

This article reports on the contract awarded to Information Handling Services Canada Ltd. from the Supply and Services Canada to provide the Item Information Services database to the Canadian government in 1991. The information system, is being installed for online access in over 100 locations across Canada in its first phase. Item Information Services system is based upon the Haystack Defense Logistics Information service, owned by Information Handling Services Inc.

The article reports on the selection of CEDROM Technologies Inc. to develop and supply a CD-ROM system for "La Presse." The newspaper is considered as the largest French language newspaper in Canada. CEDROM is also assigned in the marketing of the database on compact disc. The complete editorial content of "La Presse" for the last six months in 1990 will be included in the first CD-ROM. An IBM-compatible microcomputer with Microsoft Windows software and a compact disc reader are required to use the CD-ROM.

This article reports on the addition of the computerized Pest Management Research Information System (PRIS) to CCINFO, the computerized information system of the Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), in 1989. PRIS has been acquired by CCOHS in an agreement with the Research Program Service, Research Branch, of Agriculture Canada. A collection of individual databases, PRIS provides information on pest control products from experimental research up to registration. The system includes databases on experimental pest control products, pest management research data, maximum residue limits in foods, parasitic and predatory insect releases and the minor use program. It also provides a computerized thesaurus to help users find the best terms to use in searching the system.

This article reports on an agreement signed by Executive Telecom System Inc. and UMI/Data Courier as of September 1988. The agreement will provide subscribers to the Human Resource Information Network an access to the Business Dateline Database, a full text regional business press database. It was found that Business Dateline contains nearly 54,000 complete articles discussing regional business. More than 170 regional business publications and daily newspapers from the U.S. and Canada are represented. The database covers significant regional topics for all disciplines of human resources, like local labor issues, and in addition, covers market analysis, new product development executive profiles, real estate, health care, retailing, transportation, and electronics.

This article reports on a program initiated by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) that enables U.S. health and safety professionals to try the CCOHS CCINFOdisc on a 30-day free-trial basis at their worksite as of April 1988. CCINFOdisc is available in two discs. Series A is devoted to workplace chemicals and contains Tradenames, the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances, and the Regulatory Information on Pesticide Products, among other databases. Series B covers other occupational health and safety topics. Both discs contain CCOHS Videotex Information Packages, which use color graphics and animation to explain technical concepts to nontechnical people.

This article reports on a cooperative marketing agreement between Cuadra Associates Inc. and Olivetti Canada Ltd. for the sale of Cuadra's Star, an integrated in-house database system, throughout Canada. Under terms of the agreement, Olivetti will supply the Alpha Micro computer hardware and will be responsible for hardware installation and maintenance for Star users in Canada. Olivetti Canada Ltd. has been marketing the full range of Alpha Micro super-micro computers for a number of years through its Mini-Computer Division and through specialized value added retailers.

This article reports that U.S. supplier of local library systems C. L. Systems Inc. (CLSI) and Canadian bibliographic utility UTLAS Inc. have signed a joint marketing agreement linking their two areas of library automation. Under the agreement, UTLAS will market CLSI local library systems and services in Canada, and CLSI will market UTLAS database products and services in the U.S. The two organizations will provide computer-based cataloging, authority control, online public access catalogs, circulation control, book acquisition, film booking and a variety of conversion services. In addition to jointly marketing their currently-available products, the companies have also announced plans to cooperate in the development of several new products aimed at integrating centralized and localized library automation.

This article reports that QL/Search, an assortment of 80 databases on varied Canadian topics, has been added to Vu/Text Information Services. The QL databases supply information on Canada's environment, parliament, government, law, news, energy, mining, communications and the Canadian north. Both QL and Vu/Text use the same software and search commands, allowing users to search on any word or combination of words since virtually every word is indexed by the software. Access charges are for connect time only, with an open rate of $90 per hour, or $75 per hour for contract subscribers.