Soon, we will be shifting our Scifinder Scholar subscription from the local client we use now to the web version. The web version has been available for two years, but we chose to wait until it was sufficiently debugged. Based on reviews from other universities and the fact that CAS is no longer updating the desktop client, we have decided that now is the time to initiate this change.
For more information on the web client, see the following page: http://www.cas.org/products/scifindr/sfweb/ .
Also, CAS will be hosting an open virtual seminar tomorrow, November 19, at 3pm. This will be an excellent opportunity to get hands-on experience with the new web interface. To register for the seminar, go to this website and click on the heading “Exploring the web version of SciFinder using the CAS Virtual Lab!” under Thursday, November 19, 2009. When it asks for your SciFinder Login ID, you can simply type your name.
Finally, one of our colleagues at Buffalo, Ben Wagner, has made a list to compare the features and weaknesses of both the web interface and the desktop client. You can access that list here.
We always welcome your feedback, so please either comment on this post or email Zari Kamarei.
