E. H. Butler Library - Current Awareness Services: Alerts

NOTE REGARDING ALL ALERT SERVICES
Be sure to refer to individual database/vendor help screens for more information and detailed instructions. Most alert services require registration, including submission of an e-mail address. Read privacy policies for each service prior to signing up. Each service has a unique interface; ease of use varies quite a bit.

Current Awareness Services: Alerts

Alert services send subscribers e-mail updates about new content added to periodical database or journal Web sites. Also called current awareness services, these automatic updates are a way of keeping current with newly published research in one's field. Update notifications may feature a quick link to tables-of-contents on a Web site or citations in a database, or to a list of citations with links to full-text articles. Each publisher and/or vendor may offer one or more of the options below:

Saved search alerts: Receive e-mail notification of recent articles that match your search criteria.

Table of Contents (TOCs): Select journal titles for which you'd like to receive tables of contents for new issues by e-mail.

Below are some useful alert services, along with directions for subscribing:

America: History & Life / Historical Abstracts
[ABC-CLIO]

Content: Together both databases contain over 1.1 million citations and abstracts for journal articles, books, reviews, and dissertations published since 1954. Subjects include American Studies, Anthropology, Cultural Geography, Ethnic Studies, Folklore, Humanities, Political Science, Religion, Education, Sociology, and Women's Studies. Alerts include new citations entered since last update.

Frequency: E-mail alerts are sent when databases are updated monthly.

How to Subscribe:
1. Enter America: History & Life or Historical Abstracts from the library Web page's site index.
2. Select the link, "Click here to access your subscription" and pick a database.
3. Click on the link "CLIO Alert Profile," enter a username, and select the Setup button.
4. Enter your personal information and search criteria for up to ten alerts.
5. To edit your alerts in the future, select the "CLIO Alert Profile" link.

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BioOne Abstracts & Indexes / Philosopher's Index [CSA]

Content: The CSA databases cover research journals focused on biological, ecological, and environmental sciences (BioOne), and journal articles and books in philosophy and related fields (PI).

Frequency: E-mail alerts are sent weekly for up to 6 months (renewable).

How to Subscribe:
1. Enter BioOne Abstracts & Indexes or Philosopher's Index from the library Web page's site index.
2. Run a search, then select the History sub-tab under the Search Tools tab.
3. Save your search as an alert. If this is your first alert, enter your personal information to create an account.
4. Set your alert preferences and save them when done.
5. To edit your alerts in the future, access the Search Tools tab.

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EBSCOhost (including Academic Search Complete, Business Source Premier, ERIC, MLA, PsycINFO, and many more)

Content: The EBSCO databases cover a wide range of academic and popular topics. Alert e-mails may be set up to include articles published within the past month to within the past year.

Frequency: Alert e-mails may be set up for delivery from weekly to monthly, lasting for one month to one year.

How to Subscribe:
1. Select one of the EBSCOhost databases Academic Search Complete, Business Source Premier, ERIC, etc.) library Web page's site index.
2. Select the "Sign in to My EBSCOhost" link, then the "I'm a new user" link.
3. Enter your personal information to create an account.
4. Run a search to generate a Search History.
5. Go to the Advanced Search Screen, select the Search History/Alerts sub-tab, and click the Save Searches/Alerts link.
6. The Saved Search/Alert Screen appears. Enter information about the alert.
7. Select the "Alert" radio button in the "Save Search As" section and options for email will appear. Enter information about the alert emails and save your changes.
8. To edit your alerts in the future, login and access the Search History/Alerts sub-tab.

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IngentaConnect

Content: Provides access to new issue alerts from IngentaConnect's database of over 29,000 publications. To set up TOC (table of contents) notifications or to run saved searches, you must register for a free Ingenta account using the instructions below. Registered users of IngentaConnect may elect to have the latest tables of contents of up to five journal titles e-mailed to them when new issues are available.

Frequency: TOC (table of contents) alerts are sent when new issues are available.

How to subscribe:
Connect to Ingenta.
1. Enter Ingenta from the library Web page's site index. From the main Ingenta page, click on "Need to Register?" on the right side of the page.
2. Next, click on "Sign up here." Complete the required "Personal Registration" fields.
3. Choose a username and password.
4. Once your personal registration is complete, use "Manage my Ingenta" to set up "New Issue Alerts," to save searches, or to change your settings.

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Project MUSE [Johns Hopkins University Press]

Content: Project Muse provides e-mail notifications of new journal issues or new titles available through the database.

Frequency: Weekly e-mail notifications

How to subscribe:
1. Enter Project Muse from the library Web page's site index.
2. Click on "About Muse."
3. Link to "Sign up for Journal Alerts" (under "News & Updates") to receive weekly e-mail notifications of new journal issues or new titles available through the Project Muse database.
4. Enter your e-mail address and choose "Make or Change Selections" to set up new alerts or to change existing alerts.
5. Once you've signed up with Project Muse, you will receive e-mail notification when new issues of the titles, subjects, or collections you selected are available.

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ScienceDirect [ELSEVIER]

Content: There are three types of alerts available through ScienceDirect: search alerts, volume/issue alerts, and citation alerts. You can create a total of 10 search alerts and citation alerts, but you may create an unlimited number of volume/issue alerts and add an unlimited number of topic alerts. You may also set up a list of favorite journals for browsing and/or searching.

Frequency: E-mail notification is sent when materials that match alert criteria become available online through the database.

How to subscribe:
1. Enter ScienceDirect from the library Web page's site index.
2. Click on the "Alerts" tab at the top of the page.
3. Click on "Register Now" to set up a free account for managing search alerts, volume/issue alerts, and citation alerts.
4. Changes to your personal information or alerts can be made thereafter by clicking on "My Profile."

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E. H. Butler Library
Buffalo State College | State University of New York
1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222
(716) 878-6300 | library@buffalostate.edu

This page was last updated on June 4, 2009