Thomson Scientific Partnership With University Of Melbourne Creates Powerful New Research Assessment And Collections Management Tool

First Two Australian Universities Sign Up for Journal Use Reports to Increase the Impact of Australian Research

Sydney, Australia, 09/18/2006, Thomson Scientific, part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) and leading provider of information solutions to the worldwide research and business communities, today announced that its partnership with University of Melbourne has resulted in the launch of Journal Use Reports® , a revolutionary research assessment and collections management tool. Australia’s University of Newcastle and University of New South Wales are the first two universities to reach an agreement for access.

Found within ISI Web of Knowledge(SM), Journal Use Reports harnesses the power and depth of Thomson Scientific citation information and combines it with a library’s own usage data to paint a unique picture of the utility of the library’s resources. This information helps librarians prioritize and evaluate their collections, and helps researchers and universities demonstrate the impact and prominence of their research.

“By providing the hard data that we need to make proper, quantitative analyses of our collections, Journal Use Reports will be a key tool in refocusing our holdings,” said Shirley Sullivan, electronic information coordinator at the University of Melbourne . “Journal Use Reports takes the evaluative responsibility off of our researchers, freeing up more time for their studies and streamlining the assessment process. No other product offers this capability. It’s fantastic. You can do so much with it.”

The University of Melbourne had a unique position in the creation of Journal Use Reports by working closely with Thomson Scientific and four universities from the United States to test the program and provide feedback at every stage in the 18-month process.

“It’s been a real eye-opener to be involved at this level of a product’s development, to see how these products evolve,” said Sabina Robertson, manager of student information services, University of Melbourne. “We’ve never been involved in a product’s development from the ground up before. Thomson Scientific has been very receptive to the development partners’ feedback and needs, and in the end, we have a very useful, very rich product.”

“Our work with the University of Melbourne demonstrates our commitment to developing products and solutions that are most valuable to our customers,” said Mark Garlinghouse, vice president, Thomson Scientific Asia Pacific . “This collaboration also underscores our ongoing dedication to the Australian academic community as they represent many of the world’s most esteemed scientific researchers.”

Thomson Scientific in Australia
Thirty-eight of Australia ’s top universities subscribe to ISI Web of Knowledge, the world’s premier research platform. Usage rates within Australia for ISI Web of Knowledge have almost doubled in the last year demonstrating the research community’s continued recognition of the need for high quality information to support Australian research.

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Ryan Sheppard

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Thomson Scientific and Healthcare

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