In Reference

Grolier Online Trial and Enrollment Begins

BCR is sponsoring another trial this year for libraries and schools that want to try out the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia/Encyclopedia Americana online package. The trial period runs from February 15 to April 15. BCR's annual group subscription is from May 1, 1999 to April 30, 2000. Renewals and new subscriptions also will be taken during the trial period.

The Grolier package has changed. The Grolier and Americana encylcopedias remain a package subscription, with the new package containing a vastly enhanced Encyclopedia Americana. The Book of Knowledge, which was included free in the package last fall as a trial, now is included only as part of the Grolier/Americana Deluxe Package. Prices for the new year's subscription are:

To enroll in the trial, subscribe or renew your subscription, complete the online form on BCR's web site. A $100 minimum subscription is required, along with a $10 fee if you want separate billing.

New URLs Added to FirstSearch

OCLC has added two new URLs for access to the OCLC FirstSearch service. They are: All previously available FirstSearch URLs continue to be active. They are: Any problems encountered in accessing FirstSearch using any of the URLs listed should be reported to the OCLC User and Network Support at (800) 848-5800.

Periodical Titles Improved

Periodical Titles in OCLC FirstSearch on the web, which helps find specific titles and generates lists of titles for FirstSearch databases, has been improved. Users can now retrieve title lists in OCLC FirstSearch more quickly. List results are now displayed in pages of 25 titles as the default display. This can be customized to display any number of titles. Title information for Business and Management Practices, PsycINFO and MDX Health Digest has been added. Title information for OCLC FirstSearch Electronic Collections Online, Aids and Cancer Research, BasicBIOSIS, EBSCO MasterFILE, EconLit, Environmental has been updated.

Did You Know?

Did you know that OCLC provides a system alert page on its web site to inform users of OCLC system outages? You can access the page at.

SilverPlatter Revises Database Prices

SilverPlatter has reduced the price for ClinPSYC database and has changed the prices for Sociofile, INSPEC and ClinPSYC databases. (For questions or to subscribe to any reference database -- CD-ROM, online or Internet-accessible -- contact BCR's Jim Hensinger or Karen Graham.)