Librarians have spoken, and Serials Solutions is honored to have Ulrichsweb™ named runner-up in the "Greatest Usability Revamp" category in Library Journal's Best Databases 2011 list. Two years of research and development, along with the contributions of our library partners, has produced a service that is clearly valued and utilized by the library community.
Here’s what Library Journal has to say about why librarians nominated the newly enhanced Ulrichsweb:
Not only are the giant hardcover serials listings of yore long gone, but the clunky database that replaced them in 1999 is a thing of the past, too. In 2010, Ulrich’s decided that the first iteration of its online presence was no longer working well enough to support the growth in the number of subscribers and the new ways in which the data was being used. Two years of research, as well as input from librarians, resulted in the material being indexed in new ways and the addition of more tools with which to explore it. New languages were added, too, so that speakers of 14 languages including Spanish, French, Chinese, and even Turkish can comfortably use the platform. The interface is now much cleaner; its single search box and advanced search options are particularly intuitive to use. Icons in the results list show which serials are refereed, available on the web, offer reviews, etc.
A growing trend in databases is for personalization options, and Ulrichsweb is on board, offering ways to run the same search repeatedly, for example. Searching using facets is available too, i.e., users are offered aspects of their search to explore—one handy such option is the open access facet, allowing cash-strapped libraries to find what’s available for free in a subject area and perhaps change their journal subscriptions accordingly. Trying to decide which journal database to buy? Ulrichsweb can help with that, as journal listings include information on which database(s) carry the title. Best of all, your library’s link resolver can be used to move from the Ulrichsweb listing to the library’s full-text periodical databases.