Fogler Library, University of Maine - Library newsletter for faculty

FOGLER LIBRARY NEWS SERVICE
Publicizing events, collections, acquisitions and services at UMaine's library
-- Wednesday, October 28, 2009--

SUMMARY
1. Services
      A. Ask a Librarian
      B. Patent and Trademark Depository Library
2. Databases
      A. Engineering Village
      B. Databases from H.W. Wilson

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1.   SERVICES
            A. ASK A LIBRARIAN
Ask for information assistance without leaving your home or office with Ask a Librarian http://library.umaine.edu   Chat and phone service is available Sunday 1 pm - 5 pm & 6 pm - 9 pm, Monday through Thursday 8 am - 9 pm, and Friday 8 am - 5 pm. Email questions can be sent at any time, and you will usually receive a response within 24 hours. This is an ideal option for quick reference questions and database assistance.

            B. PATENT AND TRADEMARK DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM
Patents are often an overlooked source of scientific, engineering, historical and genealogical information. Fogler Library has been designated as the Patent and Trademark Depository Library (PTDL) for the State of Maine since 1993, with the responsibility of assisting Maine residents to research U.S. patents and trademarks. We make available many electronic and print resources to accomplish this mission.

Online patent searching is available for 1976 to present http://www.uspto.gov , searchable by keyword, inventor, assignee, classification code, etc. Pre-1976 patent searches also available online using patent number or the Patent Classification System. Additionally, the 2nd floor Science and Engineering Center has a workstation provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for searching feature-rich, proprietary patent and trademark databases such as QPat, CASSIS and PubWEST. In-house databases offer additional benefits such as increased availability of full-text (keyword) searchable documents, foreign patent collections, customizable interfaces allowing for a more efficient, user-centered search environment, and the ability to save and export bibliographic data to other software such as MS Excel.

Also available are a full range of current reference books on patent law, examination procedures, inventor guidelines, the application process and marketing methods. These are located in the Science and Engineering Center near the patent and trademark workstation. Please contact Martin Wallace e-mail: <martin.wallace@umit.maine.edu> for assistance with using the databases, devising a search strategy, and obtaining patent and trademark information. Consult the Fogler Library web site for additional information: http://www.library.umaine.edu/patents/

2.   DATABASES
         A. ENGINEERING VILLAGE
Engineering Village (EV) is the most comprehensive bibliographic database for engineering, applied physics and computer science research. Combing the Compendex and Inspec indexes, EV includes bibliographic data and abstracts on articles from over 5,000 journals, technical reports and conference proceedings from 1970 to the present. Our EV subscription provides free individual user accounts, allowing a researcher to have a personal login to the database and to tag article records, save searches, set up search alerts, and store article citations in folders. The database is updated weekly with new research articles. Call or e-mail your department's library liaison for more information and for detailed instructions. Fogler Library subject specialist page: http://www.library.umaine.edu/colldev/contacts.htm

         B. DATABASES FROM H.W. WILSON
Three retrospective databases from H.W. Wilson, covering literature from the late 19th to late 20th century, are now accessible through the library's web site at http://www.library.umaine.edu/indexesdb/Indexes.asp
Book Review Digest Retrospective indexes reviews from 1905-1982; Applied Science & Business Periodicals Retrospective covers journals and magazines from 1913-1983; and Readers' Guide Retrospective covers periodicals from 1890 to 1982. For assistance, please contact Reference at 581-1673 or Science & Engineering at 581-1691.
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Distributed by the Fogler Library, The University of Maine, Orono, Maine.
Please send comments or requests for more information on news items to Gretchen Gfeller, 207-581-1696 <gretchen.gfeller@umit.maine.edu> or Nancy Curtis, 207-581-1679 <nancy.curtis@umit.maine.edu>. Newsletters are also posted and archived at <www.library.umaine.edu/librarynews>. If you would prefer not to receive future issues of this news service by e-mail, please send a message to: <librarynews@library.umaine.edu >

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