E-Views and Reviews: Oxford's Reference Shelf

By Cheryl LaGuardia -- Library Journal, 5/1/2005

I'd like to hear from readers about several e-issues that have come up:

Bait and Switch Have you had any experiences lately with a vendor changing the content of a source after your license is signed—and not telling you?

Licensing Woes and Weirdness I've been hearing about vendors sending the wrong licenses for their products and would like to know if this is widespread. Let me know your stories.

Rename That Product Many of us love ISI Web of Science but are less delighted with the name. It is nonmnemonic and misleading. In my head-to-head review of Web of Science and Scopus (LJ 1/05, p. 40ff.), I found one strength of Web of Science is that it covers the humanities while Scopus does not. So why is it called Web of Science? My users miss it as a resource much of the time—do yours? I'd like ISI to rename this product. Let me know your thoughts and new name suggestions. I'm plumping for Citation Web. As always, I will keep all responses confidential and anonymous.

www.oup.com/online/digitalreference

Oxford Digital Reference Shelf consists of 12 separately searchable, self-contained titles, which include as of April: Encyclopedia of Evolution, Encyclopedia of Global Change, Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages, International Encyclopedia of Dance, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance, Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, and Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance. Oxford notes many new titles will be added soon.

How Does It Work? The advertising might lead you to believe this is one product, but it's actually 12 separate products. The current titles are all purchased or subscribed to (more on this later) separately and searched separately. They use the same interface. The main page contains a single search box with a Help link and information about the product, including immediate context and provenance, the editor, the number of entries, a descriptive (yet not verbose) scope note, ISBNs for both online and print editions, and the publication history. A line of links at screen top takes you to Home, Preface, Acknowledgements (usually listing contributors to the work), Abbreviations, Administrator Area, Help, Contact Us, and Log Out. The Preface, Acknowledgements, and Abbreviations are elements often lacking in an online source.

Can You Use It? Searching is easy. For example, my search in the Encyclopedia of Global Change for "continental drift" yielded one result, which advised me to: See Earth Structure and Development and Plate Tectonics. These links took me to cogent, readily understandable descriptions about the Earth's Core, Crust, and Internal Structure, as well as Sea Floor Spreading and Paleomagnetic Evidence of Crustal Movement.

The most interesting aspect of searching is the Widen Your Search option. In the search discussed above, my result wasn't an entry in itself; it was a linked cross reference. So when I saw a Widen Your Search link on the screen (next to Search Tips), I clicked it and got a new result of 16 hits, all of which were related to my Continental Drift interest. I found the explanation for Widen Your Search in Search Tips: "The Widen Search option…allows you to broaden your search with one click of a button, catching more references to your search term." A further click on Search Defaults told me what the search levels are—Level 1: Standard search. All of your search terms in entry headings (and other important elements in an entry, e.g., entry sections); Level 2: Standard search. All of your search terms in full text; Level 3: Standard search. One or more of your search terms in full text; Level 4: Pattern search (i.e., words spelled like your search term). One or more of your search terms in full text. It's streamlined, clear, and powerful.

How Good Is It? Oxford has created 12 thoughtful, content-rich, easy-to-use online products in this Reference Shelf—it's a ten. And that's even before I discuss pricing.

What's the cost? You can own these online titles. A one-time purchase, including unlimited user access (onsite and remote), is priced not too much above what you pay for a single print copy. There's a sliding scale of costs for the e-format, from $165 (for Dictionary of the Renaissance) to $1,737.50 (for Encyclopedia of Economic History), according to FTE levels and type of library. Oxford gives reduced prices to libraries that own the print and offers discounts when you buy multiple titles or both print and online. The titles can be hosted, on your own or Oxford's servers, for ongoing fees.

The Bottom Line With its refreshing—and smart!—approach to making this content available, Oxford has raised the bar yet again. I hope Oxford pushes the boundaries even further—it has the credibility and authority to do it. Highly recommended to all libraries serving researchers in the appropriate fields.