The Reporter: June 1995, Vol.6, No.3
What's New on CPMCnet

CPMCnet Usage Soars

Usage on CPMCnet, the Internet and World Wide Web information service for CPMC, is at an all-time high, reports Dr. Robert Kahn, director of the Center for Academic Information Technology. A wide range of local CPMC and worldwide health sciences information resources is available through CPMCnet, which was developed and is maintained by the center.

In April, 30,000 files per week on average were requested by CPMCnet users. The network's development team is keeping pace by adding several new features.

New Navigation and Search Features

Improved navigation marks the primary advance, says Jeff Zucker, CPMCnet editor-in-chief. A "jump to" button has been added at the top of every page, and a "jump to anywhere" item has been added to the main menu. These buttons bring users to a page listing the most heavily used items on CPMCnet, ColumbiaWeb, and the Internet. A full alphabetical listing of CPMCnet menu titles ensures that users are never more than two mouse clicks away from any item on CPMCnet.

A new "quick search" menu option and the "search" button on the top of every page now brings users to a search page that presents all CPMCnet full text databases. Users can search a single database or all databases simultaneously with a single entry.

PDR Now Available Via CPMCnet

In another advance, an online version of the complete Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) is available under the "CPMC Health Sciences Resources" menu. The full text of PDR is licensed for use at CPMC. A new World Wide Web interface has been created by the CPMCnet development team that improves and replaces the current Folio Views version. It allows searches by trade name and generic and therapeutic classes from a single screen and has other features available only in the CPMCnet World Wide Web edition.

The faculty profiles database also got a facelift, Mr. Zucker says. This database now contains hundreds of curricula vitae of Health Sciences faculty and includes lists of publications, research interests, and subject area keywords. A full text search allows users to search for research interests, professional memberships, and any word in the curriculum vitae.

Other Additions and Revisions

According to Gary Sebel, programmer with the Center for Academic Information Technology, other additions to CPMCnet include many new departmental home pages; a new menu for departments and organizations at CPMC; new databases under the Office of Grants and Contracts menu, including guidelines for review of misconduct, new and enhanced versions of national and international research resources, and the equipment and core resources directory.

Also, full text and graphics of a new publication, Child Poverty News & Issues, have been added. This newsletter is published three times a year by the National Center for Children in Poverty in the School of Public Health.

For home users, restricted databases, such as Medline and PDR, are now available for those with a University e-mail identification number and the dial-in SLIP/PPP/Netscape software. Such users will go directly to Medline instead of accessing it via CLIO PLUS.

How to Access CPMCnet

Access to CPMCnet is available in three ways: 1)select it from the CPMC Network Menu, under Scholarly Information 2)using a World Wide Web browser, such as Netscape, set the URL to http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/ 3) telnet to cpmcnet.columbia.edu (login: cpmcnet).

Users can send mail to: help@cpmcnet.columbia.edu or call 305-1668 (ext.71668) for more information about accessing CPMCnet.