Engineering Library Blog

the place to learn interesting and useful facts about information resources and library services!

“Professional Engineering Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (www.imeche.org), has launched Engineering Conferences Online (ECO), a new online publishing service for conference organizers. ECO (http://eco.pepublishing.com) provides conference organizers with a new way of disseminating important engineering research that would normally be very difficult or impossible to locate in traditional book or CD formats. Papers in ECO will usually be available free of charge on an open access basis and will be fully referenced using DOIs.

ECO has been designed specifically to meet the demands of hosting conference proceedings online. Conferences on ECO feature further information about each conference including links to the conference website, event location, and event date. For the purposes of ECO a new website architecture has been created to ensure that the service was designed specifically for conferences rather than replicating the structure of an electronic journal. ECO plans to forge new partnerships with conference organizers that will give their content a much wider readership in the future.”

Source: Professional Engineering Publishing

Source: Newsbreaks, from Information Today, Inc., Sept. 4, 2008

LHC Technical Reports published in the Journal of Instrumentation - 26 Aug 2008

The Journal of Instrumentation (JINST), jointly published by IOP Publishing and the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), has announced the publication of the complete scientific documentation of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) machine and detectors, which is claimed to be the world’s largest experimental facility in particle physics. The seven major articles, covering the entire LHC project, are published as a special issue of the Journal of Instrumentation and are available online at http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=extra.lhc/jinst.

In time for the LHC start-up on September 10, the articles form a complete scientific documentation of the design and construction of the LHC machine, and all six detectors (ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, LHCb, LHCf and TOTEM). These articles will serve as key references for the stream of scientific results that will begin to emerge from the LHC soon after the first collisions expected later this year.

Journal of Instrumentation is a peer-reviewed journal created by the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA) and IOP Publishing. The journal covers major areas related to concepts and instrumentation in detector physics, accelerator science and associated experimental methods and techniques, theory, modelling and simulations.

Press release.

Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter, August 26, 2008

“IEEE has taken the most requested training topics and created short digital tutorials to show users how to get the most out of IEEE Xplore. Whether you are new to the IEEE Xplore digital library or just looking for a refresher, these modules provide tips for using IEEE Xplore more efficiently. Topics for the tutorials range from setting up e-mail alerts and browsing content to advanced search techniques, creating complex searches from session histories and capitalizing on the many features of the AbstractPlus page. All under five minutes long, these instant training modules are perfect for catching up on useful pointers to help your research go smoothly. The modules can be found under “Digital Library Training” on the Client Services Center site and more will be added soon. See IEEE Xplore Training Videos”

Source: What’s New @ IEEE, August, 2008

IEEE has set up an academic portal, www.accreditation.org to be “The ultimate resource for engineering, computer and technology accreditiation.” Among the links are those about accreditation bodies, accredited/credentialed engineering programs, and engineering as a career.

“New Release: IEEE Applications & Practice Magazine IEEE recently released its first ePub title in IEEE Xplore®, IEEE Applications & Practice Magazine. This ePub marks the beginning of a new publishing method that allows for faster publishing of fresh and dynamic content to ensure that information on new topics can be available quickly. Intended to be a source of timely, significant and technically-reviewed articles, tutorials and application notes, the ePub is an add-on to our existing IEEE Communications Magazine. To access IEEE Applications & Practice Magazine, users should visit the IEEE Communications Magazine Web page in IEEE Xplore.
View the current issue of IEEE Applications & Practice Magazine”

Source: What’s New @ IEEE, August 2008

Princeton University subscribes to IEEE Xplore. IEEE Applications & Practice, as well as IEEE Communications Magazine are listed in the main catalog and the e-journals lists.

“IEEE Presidents’ Change the World Competition Do you know a student who is making a positive impact on the world? To help celebrate 125 years of engineering the future, IEEE is hosting a global competition for students who develop unique solutions to real-world problems using engineering, science, computing and leadership skills to benefit their community or humanity. Winners could walk away with up to US$10,000 and a trip to the 2009 IEEE Honors Ceremony in Los Angeles, California, USA. The competition runs from 1 September 2008 to 28 February 2009.” For more information, read the Competition Flyer

Source: “What’s New @ IEEE”

“SPIE to host Environmental Nanotechnology online conference

The Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, Inc. (SPIE) is hosting an online conference to reduce the carbon footprint of technology transfer. The SPIE Environmental Nanotechnology will present 18 speakers in a live conference on October 15 with tracks on Pollution and Energy Reduction and Environmental Sensing.

Conference proceedings papers will be published online in the SPIE Digital Library immediately after the meeting, as approved. The SPIE Digital Library provides access to more than 230,000 technical papers from SPIE Journals and Conference Proceedings from 1990 to the present. More than 17,000 new research papers are added annually.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology have produced many novel materials and devices for a wide range of applications, including electronics, photonics, biomedicine, and energy. Growing awareness of environmental impacts of climate change has created significant opportunity to apply these to pollution-reduction and energy efficiency. Conference topics include technologies enabling these applications, including areas such as photovoltaics, light-emitting diodes, sensors, and stand-off detectors.”

Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter, Aug. 13, 2008

(Princeton University has a subscription to the SPIE Digital Library.)

EnergyCurrent expands site with new feature and improved search function - 05 Aug 2008

EnergyCurrent.com, a publisher of upstream energy business news focused on offshore petroleum and emerging and alternative energy resources, has enabled a new feature, allowing registered users to comment on all of the site’s articles.

The comments feature allows readers to interact with the stories, adding their views and opinions to up-to-date news articles on the energy industry. EnergyCurrent has also added an improved search function, making it even easier for readers to find the stories that interest them the most.

EnergyCurrent.com is projected as a one-stop resource for news on the rapidly growing upstream energy business segments of offshore oil and gas and emerging and alternative energy resources. Coverage focuses on global offshore exploration and production of oil and gas, field development and construction, the global LNG industry and renewable energy resources such as wind energy, wave energy, solar power, and bio-fuels. The site is free to read online and offers a free daily email digest recapping the previous day’s stories. Source: Knowledgespeak News

“Oxford University Press announces forthcoming journal on OA databases in biology - 29 Jul 2008

Oxford Journals, a division of Oxford University Press (OUP), UK, has announced plans to launch a new online-only journal - The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation. Computational biologist David Landsmann will serve as the journal’s editor-in-chief.

Scheduled for launch in January 2009, the Journal of Biological Databases and Curation aims to strengthen the bridge between database developers and users. It seeks to provide a platform for ‘novel ideas in database research surrounding biological information.’ The journal will reportedly cover only open-access databases.”

Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter, July 29th.

The following report is available from BCC Research for instant online purchase: — but alas, beyond the budgetary limits of academic libraries.

Carbon Capture & Storage Technologies

The global market for carbon capture technologies increased from $80.2 billion in 2006 to $88.7 billion in 2007. It should reach $236.3 billion by 2012, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.8%.

The report covers:

Descriptions of various carbon capture and storage technologies including pre-combustion, oxy-fuel combustion and post-combustion applications.

The current global market status for carbon capture technologies, with trends and forecasts for growth over the next 5 years.

Examination of more than 100 carbon capture and storage research projects taking place in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Australia.

Click here for a complete table of contents. Chapters are listed with prices which range from $94 (appendix, 5-pp.) to $4850 (technologies chapter, 388 pp.)

June 2008 • Report ID: EGY037B • 387 pp. • 140 tbls.

More about the report.

Continue reading "Carbon Capture & Storage Technologies -- expensive market study" »

In the IEEE “What’s New” newsletter, they announce a decision to publish 6 new titles:

+IEEE Transactions on Autonomous Mental Development

+IEEE Transactions on Computational Intelligence and AI in Games

+IEEE Embedded Systems Letters

+IEEE Journal of Optical Communications and Networking

+IEEE Photonics Journal

+IEEE Solid State Circuits Magazine

To read other news, including statistics on increasing citations to IEEE journals, here is the link

Continue reading "IEEE Approves Six New Publications for 2009" »

Today the Royal Society of Chemistry has announced that its new journal, Energy and Environmental Science is freely available in 2008 and 2009. They do ask each individual to register for access, however.

A new journal linking all aspects of the chemical sciences relating to energy conversion and storage, alternative fuel technologies and environmental science.

“O’Reilly Media, a technology publisher, announced two new ebook publishing initiatives. This venture brings new electronic formats, increased portability, and up-to-the-minute options for reading O’Reilly books. An initial selection of 30 popular O’Reilly titles now come bundled in three ebook formats (EPUB, PDF, and Kindle-compatible Mobipocket). Consumers have the option of purchasing an ebook directly from O’Reilly to read on a Kindle as well as most current ebook software and devices, including Adobe Digital Editions, Blackberries, and Sony Readers. A select number of O’Reilly titles will be available for the Kindle through Amazon.”

Source: EContentMag.com July 18th.

” Inderscience announces inaugural issues of five new journals - 14 Jul 2008

STM and business publisher Inderscience, Switzerland, has published the first issues of 5 new titles. The new journals are: International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems; International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets; International Journal of Inventory Research; International Journal of Private Law; and International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing.

International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems covers foundational, engineering and technological aspects of communications systems exhibiting emergent and adaptive behaviour. The journal seeks to address research being undertaken by an interdisciplinary research computing community - and to provide a common platform under which this work can be published and disseminated. A free download of the papers from this first issue is available at http://www.inderscience.com/sample.php?id=263.

International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets encourages application of research methods to solve specific business-related problems in emerging markets. The journal aims to promote articles that are based on the unification of the theoretical-quantitative or the empirical-qualitative approach, and that propose future research directions for scholars and recommend actionable business strategies for managers. A free download of the papers from this first issue is available at http://www.inderscience.com/sample.php?id=249.

International Journal of Inventory Research stimulates innovative inventory research and its application for improving the productivity, customer satisfaction and competitiveness of manufacturing firms, retailers, logistics providers and all organisations that manage inventories. Although the journal maintains a focus on inventory theory, it deals with operational as well as strategic issues, with specific inventory models as well as with general supply chain issues, with firm-level as well as macroeconomic perspectives. A free download of the papers from this first issue is available at http://www.inderscience.com/sample.php?id=178.

International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing deals with science-based sustainability principles and their applications in innovative products, processes and systems for manufacturing with emphasis on economic, environmental and societal aspects of sustainability. The journal covers the biocomplexity of the environment and its associated technological challenges facing the needs of the society for economic growth and prosperity as applied to design and manufacturing of discrete products. A free download of the papers from this first issue is available at http://www.inderscience.com/sample.php?id=127.”

Source: Knowledgespeak Newletter, Bastille Day, 2008

Continue reading "Inderscience (Swiss) announces 5 new Journals" »

“New OA journal on energy research and policy launched - 11 Jul 2008

Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI), Switzerland, has launched a new open access (OA) journal - Energies. Dr. Edwin Kessler, founding Director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory, NOAA, serves as Editor-in-Chief.

Energies is a peer-reviewed journal of related scientific research, technology development and policy and management studies. The journal’s coverage includes subject area’s such as energy sources; energy infrastructure; energy applications; energy saving and efficiency; and other general energy topics.

The inaugural issue of the journal is currently available online at http://www.mdpi.org/energies/list08.htm#issue1. Authors are invited [to] contribute long research papers or comprehensive review papers for consideration and publication in Energies. Papers published are immediately indexed by Google Scholar.” Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter, July 11, 2008

Ed Herman at the University of Buffalo has compiled a resource guide to energy information and data (2007). His references are nearly all governmental. There are descriptions and links to the full texts. There are links to resources on legislation, policy, technical literature, and statistics. He includes sections on New York State and international resources.

This resource was found via the ResourceShelf No. 366. It is one of many resources available via the wiki created by the Government Documents Roundtable of the ALA (American Library Association).

The Science, Technology & Business Division’s Science Reference Services of the Library of Congress offers a series of research guides in specific subject areas. I just learned about this one from Gary Price’s ResourceShelf Newsletter, No. 366. These “Tracer Bullets” can provide an excellent start to your bibliographic/library research project. Browse or search their website if this one, 08-3, isn’t right on target. Of course, the librarians are vitally interested in helping you and learning about your research interests.

Information resources include vocabulary terms, representative books and journals, and samples of other kinds of literature like conference papers, government publications, dissertations, and, of course, abstracting/indexing services.

” Materials science journal STAM converts to no-fee open access model - 08 Jul 2008

The journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (STAM) has reportedly converted to a no-fee open access (OA) model with its January-March issue. The journal is being published by Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in partnership with IOP Publishing.

STAM, sponsored by NIMS, is a web-based, OA source of information on international developments in materials science. According to the editorial in the first issue, the contents are free to read, there is an ‘author friendly’ copyright policy, and there are no publication charges. By employing this publication model, NIMS hopes to contribute to the research activities of materials scientists worldwide.

Further, to give greater worldwide visibility to authors, copies of the journal will be distributed free of charge at international conferences. In addition, the STAM website will feature regularly updated news and research summaries of important developments.”

Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter, July 8, 2008

“US DoE expands global science gateway - 18 Jun 2008

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information has announced that international science portal WorldWideScience.org has expanded its scope to include connections to databases and scientific web sites from over 44 nations.

WorldWideScience.org allows users to question over 200 million science and technology documents not indexed by popular search engines. The portal linked to 12 databases from 10 countries when it debuted in June 2007. The lately expanded service includes 32 national scientific databases and links to portals from 44 countries.

DOE and the British Library along with eight other participating countries first struck an agreement to establish the portal in January 2007. WorldWideScience.org gives science information consumers a single entry point for searching far-reaching science portals in parallel, with only one query, saving time and effort.”

Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter

“EPSRC launches Digital Repositories e-Science Network - 17 Jun 2008

The UK’s Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has launched the Digital Repositories e-Science Network (DReSNet). The network is expected to leverage the synergy between two fields of technology and technique, e-science and digital repositories.

The digital material generated from and used by academic and other research is to an increasing extent being held in formally managed digital repositories. In many cases, these systems are used currently to hold relatively simple objects like an institution’s pre-prints and publications, or e-theses. However, some institutions are beginning to use them to manage research data.

A major motivation in setting up and populating digital repositories has been to make the results of research available to a wider audience. The latest systems allow users to move away from the model of a standalone repository, where objects are simply deposited for subsequent access and download. Instead, researchers are developing more sophisticated models in which a repository is an integrated component of a larger research infrastructure, incorporating advanced tools and workflows. These are being used to model complex webs of information and capture scholarly or scientific processes in their entirety, from raw data through to final publications. Repositories thus add value to the data-driven research lifecycle.

A particular feature of the new network is that it will operate across disciplines, including the arts, humanities and social sciences as well as the sciences in the narrower sense, as the technologies addressed are trans-disciplinary. Given the range of potential applications of the technologies, interest in DReSNet is not restricted to the academic world, but also includes non-academic institutions. Consequently, industrial participants, including commercial companies, cultural heritage organisations (e.g. museums, art galleries and historic libraries), the media, and public/government bodies will be encouraged to participate.”

Source: Knowledgespeak Newsletter, June 17, 2008

Safari 5.8 will have a statistics counter, and “Safari has also enhanced its video content collection. Subscribers will now have access to online videos in Adobe Flash and Windows Media Player as well as QuickTime.”

Princeton University Library has a full subscription to this online e-book service.

Source: EContent magazine, June 16, 2008

Jay Harman has made a long-term study of fluid flows: The biology and physics of vortexes reveal promise of efficiencies in energy and natural systems. Pax Scientific, the company he founded, now has 5 spin-off companies, one being PaxIT absorbed with designing quieter more efficient computer fans.

The article also cites examples of the slowness with which promising inventions get adopted — even in the computer or information technology industries. Read the article in the New York Times from June 8th.

All Engineering Library books can now be renewed online. Please submit requests for book renewals through the online form available on the Engineering Library website (under Services) and on the Princeton University Library website (under Circulation).