Elsevier Signs Agreement with Monash University Library

Melbourne, 18 September 2006 – Elsevier today announced the signing of an agreement for the provision of vital scientific and medical information to Monash University. The agreement provides the 55,000 strong student community, from 10 faculties, with complete access to 35 Reference Works and 2 Handbooks covering authoritative titles from the core scientific and medical literature including such titles as Encyclopedia of Energy, Encyclopedia of Geology, Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, Treatise on Geochemistry, Encyclopedia of Biodiversity and the International Encyclopedia of Social & Behavioral Science.

The agreement provides the Monash University user community with access to Reference Works and Handbooks via ScienceDirect. Reference Works offer definitive reviews of their fields, via authoritative, validated content, edited by international teams of experts. The scope of these works ranges from the detailed, exhaustive coverage of specialist areas to the broad-based succinct overviews in the Encyclopedias. Via ScienceDirect, extensive browsing and advanced searching is possible across subject, thematic, alphabetical, author and cited author indexes, as well as internal cross-referencing between articles in the work, plus dynamic linking to journal articles and abstract databases, making navigation flexible and easy. In addition, Elsevier’s standard ‘walk-up’ provision allows all citizens free access to scientific and medical information covered under these agreements.

"We are very pleased with the interest in our books on ScienceDirect portfolio from all corners of the Asia Pacific region,” said Pascal van den Nieuwendijk, Elsevier’s Managing Director Science & Technology, Asia Pacific. “The inclusion of books on ScienceDirect, and consequently the use of digital texts among students, researchers and staff, seem to be at a turning point as we head towards a full digital library environment. Monash University is the first university in the Asia Pacific region to opt for a substantial investment in Elsevier’s online reference works and other e-books.’’

“Usage statistics confirm that our large electronic reference collection is increasingly well used and represents a better return on our investment than print reference works,” said Sue Clarke, Director Information Resources at Monash University Library. “The recent refurbishment of the Hargrave-Andrew Library, which services our Science, Engineering and Medical faculties, greatly increased computing facilities and also supplied wireless access throughout the library, stimulating a huge increase in notebook PC use. The sophisticated discovery process available within the electronic works makes it easier to pinpoint the information required and to broaden searches across a wide array of authoritative reference works. ScienceDirect allows users to search across full-text journals, handbooks and major reference works using an intuitive search interface. They can access authoritative information instantly, making it an important component of our extensive electronic collection.”

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About Monash University and Monash University Library
Monash University is Australia’s most internationalised university. It has eight campuses including one in Malaysia and one in South Africa, and centres in London, UK and Prato, Italy. An energetic and dynamic university, Monash is committed to quality education and research. Monash is a member of the Group of Eight (Go8), the top eight leading universities in Australia. Further information is available at: http://www.go8.edu.au/.

From its humble beginnings in 1960 in a room in the Vice-Chancellor’s house, Monash University Library has grown to become one of Australia’s leading academic libraries, with multiple locations, more than 2.8 million physical items and a very extensive electronic collection. The library’s services and resources are a vital support to Monash University’s high standards of learning, teaching and research.

About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier’s 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect, MD Consult, Scopus, bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

Elsevier is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier’s ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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Elsevier

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