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Review from: Information Today, NewsBreaks by Barbara
Quint, November 4, 2002
H.W. Wilson Launches Major Upgrade of WilsonWeb
Serving libraries since 1898, the venerable H.W. Wilson
Co. continues its march into the 21st century with the launch of a new
version of WilsonWeb. Completely redesigned, the new WilsonWeb offers full
linking to full-text sources, multiple search and display options,
database-specific subject thesauri, extensive customization options, and a
simpler interface. Most of the search functionalities added to the
WilsonWeb upgrade have existed on commercial online services for well over
a decade. Other features have only become commonplace since the rise of
the Web.
WilsonWeb hosts more than 50 reference databases—bibliographic
with abstracts and full-text, as well as directory files—that serve
public, academic, school, and special libraries. Though many of the files
are available through other outlets—such as SilverPlatter, Dialog, OCLC,
and others—only WilsonWeb offers complete access to all the content of
all the files. Licensing WilsonWeb databases requires subscription
commitments. At this time, the company does not support pay-per-view
options.
The new WilsonLink component uses SFX software to link to
the extensive full text offered in Wilson files, as well as to any other
open-URL-compliant databases to which the library may subscribe,
regardless of the vendor. Wilson says that the Open URL movement continues
to grow and currently numbers over 200 publishers and aggregators,
including such firms as ExLibris and Elsevier. Subscribing libraries do
not have to spend any additional funds or buy any additional hardware to
link from WilsonWeb entries to non-WilsonWeb full text. Clicking on an
icon will initiate a search of non-Wilson files for specific citations;
another icon offers document delivery support. The system supports
Z39.50-standard client/server protocols for cross-file searching. Users
can also choose to have a search strategy transferred to a Web search
engine such as Google.
The newly added Verity search engine supports a variety of
search techniques: natural language, proximity, Boolean, and
free-text/full text. Relevancy ranking of search results operates off
algorithms that take advantage of Wilson indexing as metatags. For
example, according to Ron Miller, H.W. Wilson's director of product
management, an occurrence of a term in a subject field ranks as
100-percent relevancy. In a UF (Used For) cross-reference to a term, that
relevancy is 90 percent, while appearance in the full text of an article
counts least. Searchers can override relevancy ranking by choosing
chronological order, for example.
Individual database-specific subject thesauri are
available for browsing, including broader, narrower, and related terms.
Searchers can conduct single searches over all the WilsonWeb files to
which they subscribe, though effective use of this technique could involve
checking and accommodating different subject terms in different thesauri.
Results can appear with search terms highlighted and scanning of text for
the appearance of search terms. Full-text search results from Wilson
sources include the option of Adobe PDF full-image retrieval with
photographs, illustrations, charts, and graphics.
Administrators can customize WilsonWeb to accommodate
different groups using the service, such as by renaming buttons and tool
bar text, adding library logos, linking to other library Web pages,
setting the number of records displayed per screen, sorting and displaying
records according to specific criteria, etc. The service also provides
extensive statistics and usage information, which administrators can track
for specific IP address ranges or user passwords. Customization includes
the option to limit search results displayed to items held in the
library's collection. WilsonWeb supports access and functionality for
disabled individuals in compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act.
The databases on WilsonWeb cover a broad array of subjects
and sources, including popular magazines, trade press, books, scholarly
journals, and extensive biographical reference information. In general,
index/citation-only coverage extends to the early 1980s, abstracts to the
early 1990s, and full text to the late 1990s. Some selected files, such as
Art Index Retrospective, may extend coverage back many decades. The
Readers' Guide Retrospective goes all the way back to 1890. Although
abstracting is complete in each file as of the date when it began,
full-text coverage is only partial. For example, out of more than 300
sources indexed and abstracted in Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature,
only 172 have full-text coverage. Out of more than 3,000 titles covered in
the Omnifile, some 1,650 have full-text coverage.
Database options and pricing for periodical databases
cover multiple versions: indexing and bibliographic citations alone,
indexing and citations plus abstracts, and indexing and citations plus
selected full text. Traditionally, Wilson has priced its print products on
a "service basis," tying the price of the index to the number of
journals covered in a library's collection or to a library's annual book
budget. Obviously, online full-text access negates that approach. Pricing
for WilsonWeb depends on the sources selected and the number of
simultaneous users, plus other negotiated factors. (Wilson staff told me
that they hope to eventually abandon the "service basis"
pricing.)
Pricing for a basic installation for a source such as
Business Periodicals Index could start at $1,800 a year; Biography Index
might start at $1,200, and Biography Reference Bank at $2,300. According
to Miller, the company has pay-per-view options under consideration for
future upgrades.
Wilson began its online service in the early 1980s with
Wilsonline, which was based on the National Library of Medicine's version
of ORBIT software. It later added front-end search software (Wilsearch),
then a CD-ROM version (WilsonDisc), then magnetic tape format (WilsonTape),
and finally WilsonWeb.
"Round-the-clock research, remote access, and
constant updates are significant advancements in library research, thanks
to the Internet revolution," observed Miller. "It's the
challenge of information providers such as H.W. Wilson to build on this
foundation with new services and new capabilities—and the new WilsonWeb
is a significant step in that direction."
Miller told me that the last vestige of the initial
electronic foray, a version of Wilsonline still used for in-house editing,
will soon disappear with the introduction of a complete, new editing
platform.
Existing WilsonWeb subscribers will receive automatic
upgrades. Wilson still plans to make its databases available through other
outlets. Current partners—EBSCO, SilverPlatter, Dialog, OCLC, Ovid,
ProQuest, SIRSI, LexisNexis, and Westlaw—get a selection of products.
Some only receive index/citation records, while others receive abstracts
and some full text. OCLC and SilverPlatter have the fullest collection
outside of WilsonWeb, according to a Wilson representative. But
relationships may change in the future. |
