Gale with its imprints such as Macmillan Reference, Primary Source Microfilm, Graham & Whiteside or Charles Scribner‘s Sons is the biggest reference publisher for libraries, schools and companies worldwide and its multitude of well-known publications are available in libraries and learning institutions all over the world. Since September 2000 K.G. Saur Verlag belongs to Gale which is itself part of the Thomson Corporation. Within the Thomson Corporation Gale is assigned to the division of Thomson Learning which specializes in learning products and services for both online and traditional classroom learning for individuals, learning institutions and businesses.

As K.G. Saur Verlag belongs to Gale Group we have distribution rights for all Gale Group publications, independent of their medium, for German Speaking Europe and Eastern Europe. This means for all database products that we are responsible for sales is these regions as well as technical support and all content questions and suggestions users may have. This gives libraries in Eastern Europe a partner for the database products which is closer and already known to them.

In the databases offered through Gale the different print and microfilm collections of Gale and its imprints can be found. These include: Historical Collections, Reference Works such as Encyclopaedias, Almanacs, Biographies and Digests, Monographs, Directories, Bibliographies, articles from Journals and Newspapers

Currently over 70 different database products are offered. These are multidisciplinary databases with full text articles from newspapers and journals (such as the databases InfoTrac One File, Expanded Academic ASAP, Custom Journals and Custom Newspapers) as well as subject specific databases such as well-known Business databases (RDS Business Suite, PROMT or Investext Plus) and Literature titles (Contemporary Authors and Dictionary of Literary Biography). Gale’s newest developments in the area of electronic databases are the Resource Centers. Resource Centers are truly integrated information sources for certain subject areas. These databases combine content from different sources so that all information available for one topic is easily accessible through just one single search interface. This means that information from reliable reference sources, journals, newspapers, primary source documents and selected internet sites is equally combined in one subscription and one database and this huge amount of information is easily accessible through one single search.

The following Resource Centers are available:

• Biography Resource Center
• Health & Wellness Resource Center
• History Resource Center: U.S.
• History Resource Center: Modern World
• Literature Resource Center
• Business & Company Resource Center
• Student Resource Center
• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

Some more information on the key Resource Centers:

The database Literature Resource Center presents literature in all its dimensions and provides users with points of departure for the broadest possible research. The database not only contains articles from the most important literary reference works such as Contemporary Authors and Dictionary of Literary Biography, but also full text journal articles, biographical information, bibliographies, reviews and selected Internet sources – all this easily accessible through one single search query. The redesigned search interface gives access to:

• Over 122.000 biographies of authors as well as longer essays on the 2.500 most-studied authors worldwide
• Over 285.000 full text articles from 160 journals
• 38.000 critical essays
• Over 5.000 links to selected Internet pages
• Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature

Subscribers of Literature Resource Center can add the International Bibliography of the Modern Language Association (MLA) to their subscription – over 1.4 Million bibliographical citations from journals from 1963 up until today, which can be searched at the same time as LRC. When the article full-text is available in LRC it will be displayed together with the citation from the MLA.

Biography Resource Center is Gale’s acclaimed database for biographical research. It combines over 250 full text journals with nearly 80 of the most-used biographical reference works from the Gale Group easily accessible through one search interface. Users can learn about the lives and accomplishments of past and present noteworthy figures for their own interest or conduct in-depth research on a particular event, country or era – Biography Resource Center can answer all these questions in one easy, seamless search. The database contains:

• Narrative Biographies – over 300.000 extensive biographical profiles with detailed information on life and work of noteworthy figures of all times and from all over the world.
• Full texts from journal and newspaper articles – selected articles give current information on the people in Biography Resource Center
• Links to specially selected Internet pages
• Thumbnail biographies – over 900.000 thumbnail biographies from The Complete Marquis Who’s Who complement the biographical information

Today’s business researchers require more than just one source, be it book or periodical, to keep up-to-date. This is why Business & Company Resource Center contains a broad spectrum of global business information and offers easy access to a number of different sources through just one search interface. Users of this database will find answers to their questions concerning finance, economics and marketing, they will find company profiles, investment and country reports and can get information on career and investment opportunities. The database contains:

• More than 450.000 company profiles including corporate parent/sibling relationships
• Company histories
• Stock quotes
• Investment reports
• Company rankings, industry statistics
• Consumer Marketing data
• Industry Newsletter news and analysis
• Press releases

Featuring the authoritative Thomson Financial content used globally by investment banks and financial institutions, Business & Company Resource Center is also distinct in its ability to provide valuable access to business journal news and analysis. The database offers several optional modules to enhance the content for specific topics. The additional modules are the databases PROMT, Newsletters ASAP and Investext Plus.

Summing up it can be said that with this wealth of information in the Gale databases every library can fulfil the needs of their users and give them access to content which is recognized by libraries and users worldwide. In addition to this the data is offered through a web-based search interface, which is customisable according to the needs of the subscribing institution, intuitive and easy-to-use, even for inexperienced users. Searchers have a multitude of display and download options and InfoMarks to share the information with fellow users. Additionally the subscribing institution gets full access to usage statistics for their subscription, unlimited technical support and on-site training as well as the option to open remote access for outside library users all covered by the subscription price. Gale databases can be integrated into the library’s OPAC and interlinked with services from Ingenta and electronic journals offered on SFX servers. This makes it possible to offer easy access to a multitude of information sources to library users by combining different subscriptions in one interface.

K.G. Saur Verlag is well-known for its reliable reference works in print, on microform, on CD-Rom and also online. Recently the collection has been enhanced by a number of new electronic products on CD-Rom and Online, which will be presented in more detail in this paper.

Also known as “the Dietrich” and since September 2001 distributed by K.G. Saur when the range of Dietrich publications was taken over from Zeller Verlag, Osnabrück.

IBZ is a dynamic reference tool for conducting research in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and therefore a valuable tool for interdisciplinary research. It integrates a long tradition of bibliographic expertise: founded in 1896 IBZ has accumulated a wealth of publishing experience. IBZ is available in print, on CD-ROM and online.

IBZ is not just a simple list of citations: all articles are analysed and indexed based on the controlled vocabulary used by the German National Library (Schlagwortnormdatei – SWD) in German and English. Thus it offers instant access to multiple topics irrespective of the original language of the article. The online version additionally contains a number of non-subject-indexed articles which are accessible through the general index.

IBZ contains more than 2,1 million bibliographic references and is growing by approx. 120.000 entries annually. Currently 6.000 mainly European periodicals are indexed; 51% of those are in the English language, 37% in German, the rest in other European languages. The bibliography is truly interdisciplinary in the Social Sciences and Humanities.

The database is updated monthly and covers the years 1983-2002. It is hosted by GBV (Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund Göttingen - Joint Library Network Göttingen) and offers multiple search possibilities. The data is connected to an easy-to-use document delivery system for receiving the full-text articles.

IBR is an interdisciplinary index which provides access to book reviews, mainly in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. It is an indispensable source for locating books reviewed in the leading scholarly journals. IBR has been published since 1971 and is international in scope. It is available in print, on CD-Rom and online.

IBR contains more than 830.000 citations of book reviews. Approx. 60.000 entries are added annually, all entries have English and German subject headings. 65% of the book reviews are in the English language, 23% in German, the rest in other European languages. IBR is interdisciplinary in the Social Sciences and Humanities.

The online database is hosted by GBV (Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund Göttingen - Joint Library Network Göttingen) and currently updated twice a year. Monthly updates and the connection to a document delivery system for books and articles are planned.

As indispensable additions to IBZ and IBR and to access the entire spectrum of scholarly literature in the Humanities and Social Sciences two more databases are available:

International Annual Bibliography of Conference Proceedings (IJBK) contains over 740.000 articles from over 20.000 mainly European Conference Proceedings after 1984. Besides the Humanities and Social Sciences other academic subjects are also considered for this publication. The Congress Proceedings are 78% in the English language, 17% in German and 5% in 22 other languages. The articles are searchable by subject classification in German and English. IJBK is available in print, on CD-Rom and online.

The International Annual Bibliography of Festschriften (IJBF) provides access to valuable information published in Festschriften which is hard to find otherwise. Especially in the Humanities and Social Sciences Festschriften are popular scholarly forums. With annually over 1.000 new titles and a total of over 12.000 Festschriften, IJBF is internationally unparalleled in its scope and depth. All articles receive a subject classification so that information is easily accessible to researchers either by subject term or by author title or keyword. IJBF is available on CD-Rom and online.

K.G. Saur’s newest development is the English Bibliography 1945 to the Present which will be available from October 2002. The scope of the project is to complete the World Bibliographies on CD-ROM (English Bibliography 15th Century to 1901 and English Bibliography 1901 to 1945) and to offer within one database a current bibliography of English language titles published worldwide. This is a unique project which hasn’t been attempted by anyone so far.

The first step is to include the following data in the bibliography:

• English language books and serials of the Library of Congress file
• British Library Catalogue to 1975
• Further databases from the British Library:
  • British National Bibliography (BNB)
  • Document Supply Centre Monographs (DSC Monographs)
  • Science Reference and Information Service Current Catalogue (SRIS)
  • Humanities and Social Sciences Current Catalogue (HSS)

Additionally data from the National Libraries of Australia, New Zealand and Canada will be included. Discussions with these libraries are under way.

The English Bibliography 1945 to the Present will be available as an online database via the Internet as well as on DVD. The online version will be updated on a weekly basis; the DVD will be published with four annual updates.

The benefits of this product are clear:

• It cumulates all current English language titles
• It is a universal product as it combines English language titles from all countries from over the world
• It is a unique bibliographic product
• It is ultimately up-to-date with weekly updates
• It offers high research comfort
• It has an easy-to-use interface

This could only be a very short overview about the multitude of electronic resources available from K.G. Saur Verlag. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information or request information material!