scitech library question

:: In an earlier post, Sarah Kirby compiled a list of free resources with searchable abstracts in scitech areas. In February, she updated the list with additional sites, which have been added to the master list of resources.

This is a very useful list!

One tiny error - Pinakes has an 's'

I'd just like to say that we at EEVL are planning the launch of a new service which will aim to cross-search a few of the sources listed in Sarah's list, plus some others. The aim being to provide (in librarian's terms) a freely available, subject-based, deep-mining metasearch service for engineering, math and computing. Or (in terms more appropriate to those who will use the service) - something that nmakes it easier to find article, books, the best websites, job announcements, technical reports, technical data, eprints, latest research, etc, in engineering, math and computing.

This is proving to be more difficult than it might sound! Though there are various standards in existence which facilitate interoperability, getting diverse databases to wactually work together is another matter altogether. Getting funding to pay for the development work is also really difficult.

The resulting service will be called EEVL Xtra, and although it will show exciting possibilities, and has taken a great deal of effort, I hope that no-one will be disappointed by the fact that it will be no means be comprehensive in terms of coverage. The release date is early May.

Sarah's list will be useful for us in identifying further sources for potential cross-serarching. Each one will require investigation, negotiation and development work, for which funded effort is strictly limited.

So, if anyone can identify potential funders for this work, please get in touch with me.

Roddy MacLeod
EEVL Manager

Posted by: Roddy MacLeod at March 11, 2026 02:53 AM