Ovid Web Gateway

Headnote

Ovid has supported a sophisticated interface for searching bibliographic and full-text databases for some time. It is now offering a Web-based version of this interface that is capable of accessing Z39.50-compliant OPACs and databases anywhere in the world. The Ovid Web Gateway builds on the Ovid Server, thus allowing for a variety of functions and configurations at the user-, group-, and database-specific level. The Web Gateway has a selection of download formats and delivery options.

The continuing demand for information to be accessible across the World Wide Web increases daily. The old standard DOS-based command-line databases of the past are being replaced by a more graphically appealing Web version. The initial problem that is encountered with these new Webbased versions is that there has generally been a loss of functionality when compared to the older, less "sexy" DOS version. As users have begun to complain about this loss, vendors have finally begun to react accordingly by migrating all of the search tools to their Web versions.

Overview

Ovid's recent release of its Web Gateway provides an attractive overlay to the power of the Ovid Server by allowing for the conversion of the server's communications into a Web page document format. The interface offers a basic and advanced searching option. The Web Gateway interface offers all of the functionality of the UNIX version (see Brandt 1996) in a visually appealing Web format. The Web Gateway continues the Ovid design of specific search screens for the different search options available. Ovid also offers the ability to map to subject headings, search scope notes on selected terms, search the Thesaurus or Tree, and to explode terms in the search. A variety of display and report options are available on every page of citations.

Ovid has seamlessly transferred over the ability to search the unique indexes of databases, including the MESH medical subject headings and the ERIC Thesaurus, to name a few. Ovid's Web Gateway adequately integrates the differences of each individual database into its search interface.

Vendor Profile

Ovid Technologies, Inc.

333 Seventh Avenue

New York, NY 10001 USA

Phone: [phone], ext. 249 (toll-free)

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [email protected]

URL: http://www.ovid.com

Mark Nelson, President

Martin Kahn, Chairman of the Board

Deborah Hull,...