Stanford University Libraries

Chemical Literature (Chem 184/284)
University of California at Santa Barbara

Lecture 7: MELVYL Article Databases

Journal Article Databases on the MELVYL System

Journal article indexes have been added to the MELVYL system to provide:

  • power of electronic searching,
  • with no cost-per-use to the searcher,
  • and a common command language which will be “familiar” to the end user.

Common Features of MELVYL Article Databases — Command Mode

  • See Guides to the MELVYL System at http://www.library.ucsb.edu/catalogs/melvyl/guides.html for a set of online guides to the major MELVYL databases and features.
  • All use the same basic search commands as the MELVYL Catalog, e.g. f tw buckminsterfullerene# , though some have unique indexes (additional access points). As in the CAT database, you can add-on searches to existing searches.
  • You can SAVE items found in a given session to a common list and REDO your last search when switching from one file to another.
  • All are linked to the periodical holdings files, so that you can limit to a given campus and/or display call numbers associated with an article:
    • f kw taxol synthesis at ucsb
    • f kw taxol synthesis; d loc ucsb
  • Most have limiting fields: date, language, publication type, etc. In databases with abstracts or full text, you can restrict your search to records with either.
    • f kw gallium arsenide and date 1998
    • f kw (pcr or polymerase chain reaction) and lang eng
    • f kw sulfuric acid production and article text
  • MAIL Command
    • Any MELVYL search result may be sent by e-mail from the terminal with the command MAIL.
    • You can specify which answer numbers to send, and in which format to send them. Examples:
      • mail 1, 3, 6-10 abs loc ucsb to huber@library.ucsb.edu
      • mail list text to huber@library.ucsb.edu
  • Remote Log-in
    • Any MELVYL database may be accessed from home or office either by:
    • Most MELVYL databases have Web access: http://www.melvyl.ucop.edu (see below for more information.)
    • Remote access requires a password, free to any UC student, faculty or staff.
    • See the SEL Desk for a password.
  • UPDATE Command
    • UPDATE allows you to store a search on the MELVYL system for any database.
    • Whenever the database is updated, your search is run against the new records, and hits are e-mailed to you in the desired format.
    • Requires a MELVYL password.

MAGS — the Magazine and Journal Articles File

  • Mainly popular literature, but that does include Scientific American, Science News, New Scientist
  • Some scholarly journals: Science, Nature, JACS
  • Searchable by keyword (includes title, abstract (if any) and subject heading words), title word and/or subject headings, as well as author and journal title.
  • Some articles (not scholarly) are present in full text.
  • Covers 1989 to present.

COMP — the Computer Articles Database

  • Similar to MAGS, but has popular and scholarly computer journals.
  • Lots of full text available.
  • Excellent for evaluations of computer hardware, software. Use the pt (for publication type) field to limit your search to evaluations
    • f xsu modems and pt eval

CC — Current Contents

  • Wide range of scholarly journals.
  • No abstracts or subject headings; search for subjects by title word.
  • Most up-to-date of databases on MELVYL system.
  • Excellent choice for UPDATE searches, especially by author.
  • July 1989 to present.

MEDLINE — the Medical Literature Index

  • Divided into chronological segments
    • MED = 1993–present
    • MED90 = 1990–92
    • MED85 = 1985–89
    • MED80 = 1980–84
    • MED75 = 1975–79
    • MED66 = 1966–74
  • Most records have abstracts; no full text.
  • Strong hierarchical subject indexing.
  • MEDLINE Special Features
    • Chemical substances are searchable by CAS Registry Number: f cas 51-43-4 to search for adrenalin
    • Subject headings may be BROWSEd; an excellent way to find exact subject headings if available, and home in on applicable subheadings. Often gives brief definitions in “scope notes”.

INSPEC — the Physics, Electronics and Computing File

  • Divided chronologically
    • INS = 1993–present
    • INS90 = 1990–91
    • INS85 = 1985–89
    • INS80 = 1980–84
    • INS69 = 1969–79
  • Most records have abstracts, no full text
  • Keyword searchable: titles, abstracts, assigned subject headings, plus authors, journal titles.
  • Special Features of INSPEC
    • Author’s addresses searchable: f aa santa barbara
    • Special chemical searching for inorganic compounds
      • f chem BaCuLaO
      • Only MELVYL field which is case sensitive: f chem Co is not the same as f chem CO
      • Can specify type of application; see supplementary guide.

BIOSIS — Biological Science File

  • BIOSIS is the electronic equivalent of Biological Abstracts, the most important index to biological literature.
  • Divided chronologically
    • BIO = 1993–present
    • BIO88 = 1988–1992. Records from 1985–1988 will be added soon.
    • Note: 1980–87 available on CD-ROM at the SEL Reference Desk
  • Searchable by keyword (title, abstract, biosystematic names), author, journal title, author’s address.
  • Special Features of BIOSIS
    • Concept codes (CC) and biosystematic codes (BC) index broad subject areas and lifeforms respectively
    • Supertaxa (SX) index broad groups: plants, animals, non-human animals, primates, etc. The SX field can only be used to limit a search.

Other Files of Interest

  • JRNL and JRNLE are rivals to CC. Mounted on other systems, they use a Z39.50 interface to let you search using MELVYL commands.
  • ABI: ABI-INFORM. Index to business literature. Lots of full text, good for information on chemical industry.
  • PSYC: PsycInfo, the electronic version of Psychological Abstracts. Index to psychology literature. Includes biopsychology, neuroscience, etc.

MELVYL Web Interface

  • Most databases and features of command line MELVYL are available in MELVYL Web—eventually all should be.
  • At opening screen, you select database and type of search. I suggest you always use POWER search for greater flexibility.
  • Search field and limit field options may all be selected from the menu.
  • Display, saving, printing, downloading and e-mailing of results are all somewhat more cumbersome than in command mode, but in some cases work better.
  • Special features
    • In many cases, when the UC system has a subscription to an electronic journal, there will be a link from the MELVYL record to the online verstion of the article. At present there is no way to limit searches to linked journals.
    • INSPEC on MELVYL has links to Adobe Acrobat page images of IEEE journals and conference proceedings. You can limit searches to those for which images are available. You must register online for access and your computer must have the Adobe Acrobet reader loaded.

This page created by Chuck Huber (huber@library.ucsb.edu).

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