Using SciFinder Web with IE8

In short, it works.

However, if you had added cas.org to IE8's "Compatibility View" feature, you can now turn it off:

http://www.cas.org/support/scifi/ie8.html

Take the Library Outside

The University announces wireless connectivity in three popular outdoor areas on campus:

http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/utoday/
may19-09/wireless

RSC acquires ChemSpider

From CHMINF-L, May 11/09

"ChemSpider is a free access service providing a structure centric community for chemists. Providing access to millions of chemical structures and integration to a multitude of other online services ChemSpider is the richest single source of structure-based chemistry information."

It also hosts an open access journal (currently in its second issue; published articles are freely available; not sure if there are author charges):
http://www.chemspider.com/journal

Full press release at:
http://www.rsc.org/AboutUs/News/PressReleases/
2009/ChemSpider.asp

CAS Launches Free Web-Based Resource "Common Chemistry(tm)" for General Public: Links to Wikipedia records provided in collaboration with Wikipedia

This announcement about Common Chemistry came across CHMINF-L yesterday.

The site has about 7,800 CAS Registry Numbers "of widespread general public interest."
It claims to be "helpful to non-chemists who know either a name or CAS Registry Number® of a common chemical and want to pair both pieces of information."

One can search by chemical name or CASRN.

If searching by chemical name, checking the "Exact Chemical Name Match" seems to be helpful. For example a search for ether without the Exact Chemical Name Match brought up several hundred matches, the first of which was the "Anaesthetic ether" I was thinking of.

However, this might not be immediately apparent to someone of the general public, since the listing for the record looks like:
Registry Number: 60-29-7
Molecular Formula: C4H10O
Chemical Name: Ethane, 1,1'-oxybis-
Show Synonyms

(The show synonyms option expands below the hit, so one could determine that it is the record for anaesthetic ether from that.)

However, using the "Exact Chemical Name Match" with ether brings one directly into the record, where the list of synonyms is displayed, along with a chemical structure and the Wikipedia link.

Link to Common Chemistry: http://www.commonchemistry.org/index.aspx

The full press release is here:
http://www.cas.org/newsevents/releases/
commonchemistry051209.html

SciFInder Compatibility with IE8

From the SciFinder Talk list (and for IE users):

SciFinder is now operational with the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 8. SciFinder customers who use Internet Explorer 8 will no longer have to use the built-in Compatibility View setting to explore SciFinder.

Customers who use Internet Explorer 8 may continue to have a print issue when printing detailed reference answers. Some of the content may be missing from the page. CAS recommends that you export your answer as a PDF or an .rtf file and then print the exported files. CAS hopes to have this issue resolved later this year when full Internet Explorer 8 support will be offered.

If you have any questions regarding this issue, please contact CAS Customer Care at help@cas.org.

MacKimmie Library closed until Sunday due to Electrical Outage

The MacKimmie Library will be closed until Sunday morning due to an electrical outage.

If you are trying to access our electronic databases or journals, use the catalogue:
http://sirsi1.lib.ucalgary.ca/uhtbin/cgisirsi/0/UCALGARY/0/38/2/X/BLASTOFF