We call it current awareness, and we're quite hot on it. But if you have research interests, it's something that'll concern you too. (Even if you didn't know there was a name for it!)
So - how do you keep abreast of developments and publications in your subject? Current awareness!
What to do?
If you only follow a few journals, you can generally set up electronic alerts via your online access. (Ask your subject librarian if you have any queries about institutional logins.)
Much more comprehensive, though, are the electronic alert systems that do it all for you. The main ones are Zetoc and TicTocs. (TOC = Table of Contents. Easy!) Zetoc is a British Library service, whilst TicTocs is coordinated by JISC.
Zetoc http://zetoc.mimas.ac.uk/ (sign-up involves identifying your institution from a list.)
Welcome to Zetoc. We are one of the world’s most comprehensive research databases, giving you access to over 28,000 journals, 45 million article citations and conference papers through the British Library’s electronic table of contents.
Keeping pace with your peers, staying up to date with new research, and expanding your field of knowledge has never been so simple. We make it easy for you to set-up personalised email Zetoc Alerts or RSS feeds to track the latest articles or journal titles related to your interests. In most cases, you can access abstracts or the full text of articles, depending on your institution’s subscription arrangements.
Our service is free for members of JISC-sponsored UK higher and further education institutions, research councils. Among our subscribers are NHS organisations in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and a number of other institutions are also eligible to subscribe.
TicTocs http://www.tictocs.ac.uk/ (sign-up just involves giving your email address.)
- Search for 1000s of Journal TOC - Table of Contents RSS feeds by Title, Subject or Publisher in a dedicated, simple to use interface;
- Select and View TOCs from your search results, export citations or link to full text and you decide the next step;
- Save or Export: Save your TOCs in your ticTOCs account or export them to a feed reader of your choice.
- Search LESS, get MORE, stay CURRENT.
Be like a scientist - find out what's been published straight away. Stay sharp, stay ahead of the game! Please do ask your subject librarian if you need further advice.
Simon McKerrell studied for his PhD here at RCS some years ago, so we were delighted to see he is rapidly building up an admirable series of publications.
