Planned downtime for OCLC services on February 20 & 27 to upgrade network storage

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On Sunday, February 27 there will be a scheduled service downtime for a number of OCLC services from 1:00 am until at least 6:00 am and, at most, 11:00 am (U.S. Eastern Time). We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. The following services need to be taken off-line in order to upgrade the storage systems and capacity for all OCLC services. During this time, the following services will be unavailable:

  • ArchiveGrid
  • Connexion
  • Cover art display in WorldCat.org and WorldCat Local
  • Digital Archive
  • FirstSearch
  • FTP services
  • OCLC Usage Statistics
  • WebDewey
  • WorldCat Collection Analysis
  • WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway
  • WorldCat Identities
  • WorldCat Resource Sharing
  • WorldCat Selection
  • xISSN and xISBN

In addition, on Sunday February 20 from 2:00 am until 4:00 am (U.S. Eastern Time), systems and storage testing will be run on WorldCat Local, WorldCat Navigator Group Catalog, OCLC Web-scale Management Services, WorldCat.org, WorldCat knowledge base and CONTENTdm. There is a slight chance that these services will be unavailable during some or all of this testing period. The test is being run in order to make sure that these user-facing services will not be affected by the downtime on February 27.

Both of these events are part of ongoing upgrades that OCLC undertakes in order to improve services for all member libraries. Again, we apologize for the disruption. OCLC is working to minimize outages in the future, and upgrades such as this will help to provide better, more robust service going forward.

Trial Database: Oxford Islamic Studies Online (available until 3/7/2011)

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Oxford Islamic Studies Online (OISO) offers unrivaled online access to the history and culture of Islam and provides full-text access to great Oxford reference and scholarly works, including The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, The Oxford History of Islam, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, two classic interpretations of the Qur’an, a Concordance of the Qur’an, What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, and the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World.

This OSU Trial runs through 3/7/2011.

Please tell us what you think. Comments on this resource can be submitted on the electronic resource evaluation form.

Trial Database: Plunkett Research Online (available until March 15, 2011)

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Plunkett Research Online provides statistics, trends, and in-depth analysis of industries and the companies that make up those industries.  Besides public companies, it includes information on many international companies, and many private companies.

This OSU Trial runs through 3/15/2011.

Please tell us what you think. Comments on this resource can be submitted on the electronic resource evaluation form.

Now Available: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

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The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is a collection of more than 57,000 specially written and illustrated biographies, which describe the lives of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond from the 4th century BC to the 21st century. It includes 16,500 biographies of new subjects from all periods. The revised entries offer detailed and extensive biographical information drawn from primary and secondary sources.

Now available: LearningExpress Library

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LearningExpress Library provides supplemental skill building tests and ebooks for students of all ages.  In the section for college students, you’ll discover eBooks, instantly scored practice tests, and interactive lessons in areas such as public speaking and mathematics skills improvement. If you have an eye on graduate school, you’ll find practice tests for the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, and more. Free Registration is required to utilize this resource.

Now Available: Encyclopedia of Geography

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The six volumes (1200+ entries) of the Encyclopedia of Geography encapsulate a diverse array of topics to offer a comprehensive and useful summary of the state of the discipline in the early 21st century.  Key features:

  • Gives a concise historical sketch of geography’s long, rich, and fascinating history, including human geography, physical geography, and GIS
  • Provides succinct summaries of trends such as globalization, environmental destruction, new geospatial technologies, and cyberspace
  • Decomposes geography into the six broad subject areas: physical geography; human geography; nature and society; methods, models, and GIS; history of geography; and geographer biographies, geographic organizations, and important social movements
  • Provides hundreds of color illustrations and images that lend depth and realism to the text
  • Includes a special map section
  • Cross references between entries allow readers to pursue topics in depth

Trial Database: ProQuest Newsstand™ (available until Feb. 3, 2011)

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During January 2011, OSU Libraries is trialing ProQuest Newsstand™. This full-text newspaper database provides access to more than 1,200 newspapers. Find the Chicago Tribune here exclusively. Other national titles are: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe. More than 90 regional, local, and military titles are also included. For many titles backfiles date to 1980s.

The OSU Trial runs through 2/3/11.