Cover Story
SUNY Prepares for ALEPH

Features
Strategic Automation Consultation

SUNYConnect Means Databases

In Her Own Words
Mary Alice Lynch, Executive Director, Nylink

A Day in a LIfe at the OLIS

How to Contact Us

Linkable Links

Erratum

Link to the OLIS Committees List

For sometime now various database products and services have been offered to all SUNY libraries. Starting in the late 1990s, the offerings have been made under the rubric SUNYConnect. SUNYConnect means working together, sharing a library management system. In addition, SUNYConnect means databases.

This has meant access to a "base package" of FirstSearch databases. A full-text database product from IAC (now part of The Gale Group) has been made available to all SUNY libraries for a number of years. Current awareness services from CARL Uncover Reveal were the first SUNYConnect database services.

SUNYConnect databases have also included an online encyclopedia (Encyclopedia Britannica Online). However, as many of you know, last year Britannica made the decision to start offering EBO access for free. After reviewing the new site, SLiCAT advised SUNY OLIS to discontinue the paid service and request a refund from Britannica. The paid site will continue to be available (through April , 2000) via http://www.eb.com:180/. After that date, Britannica Online will not technically be considered part of the SUNYConnect suite of databases.

Two database products from Gale are the most recent additions to SUNYConnect. These are Associations Unlimited and Gale's Literature Resource Center.

A number of SUNY libraries have included mention and description of SUNYConnect on their library web pages. This is generally done on the page or pages that provide links to database products and services. One extensive example of this can be found via Alfred Tech's web site.

Alfred also provides credit to the New York State Library for providing access to the "Health Reference Center." The NYS Library is providing all New York libraries access to this medical/consumer health database through its EmpireLink program. Recently, EmpireLink provided access to an extensive array of databases via the Dialog@Carl Basic Collection.

Slowly (maybe too slowly for some of us) SUNY and New York State are offering an assortment of online databases to their communities.