EDITORIAL
Journals Online Starting this year there will be an ongoing experiment at Cornell University that has the potential to affect every research chemist in the world. It does not involve cold fusion or superconductivity but rather the way in which information about these and many other topics is disseminated and digested. The Chemistry Online Retrieval Experiment (CORE) is exploring the vast potential of electronic search and storage technology and attempting to optimize its use in scientific research. The hardware required for online literature searching and document storage and display exists, but the CORE project seeks to answer key questions regarding the ideal use of such technology. The human factor is critical to this experiment, and chemists are being provided with the opportunity to directly influence its outcome. The CORE project involves the cooperation of Cornell University's Mann Library, Bellcore, the American Chemical Society, Chemical Abstracts, and the Online Computer Library Center in providing the technical personnel and equipment as well as the documents required for this undertaking. Chemists at Cornell have the honor of serving as subjects in this experiment; they will provide crucial data that should lead to the optimization of this system. Online searching has been a part of the chemist's literature toolbox for some time. The CORE project seeks to extend this power to full-text search and display. Journals and reports will be fully accessible from the library workstation. What are the questions and problems the experiment will seek to answer? Fulltext storage and display adds new dimensions to searching. In addition to key word and subject searches, the user may
browse among articles, tables of contents, indices, and so on. One purpose of this experiment is to determine the optimal searching and browsing features from both the user's perspective and that of an efficient system. The display and storage formats are also critical. Should text be stored as text, with figures added, or will full-page digital reproductions be required? The economics underlying such a project encompass the concerns of publishers, libraries, and users. The overall usefulness of such a system is tied to all of these factors. The CORE project will seek to answer questions and identify key areas of concern by providing a prototype system at Cornell. Seven years' worth of 20 ACSpublished journals will represent a "critical mass" of literature. Workstations will be made accessible so that researchers may use the system. User preferences, comments, and complaints will be used to redesign and reconfigure the system for optimal utility. The chemistry community is being provided with a rare opportunity to help shape its own future. The success of this experiment will help determine the way in which chemists seek and retrieve information in the next century. Many of us will be closely watching the CORE project with great excitement and anticipation. Readers who want to learn more about CORE should contact Jan Olsen, Director, Mann Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 62, NO. 3, FEBRUARY 1, 1990 · 121 A
