With the release of TOC Premier^TM, EBSCO Information Services is providing libraries and researchers with an unparalleled tool to locate the information they need, thanks to exceptional journal title coverage in the database and the wide range of linking features available through the EBSCOhost^® search interface.

Oliver Pesch, EBSCO Publishing's Senior Vice President, Chief Architect, commented, "On its own, TOC Premier provides a valuable and flexible research tool that is a great starting point for research. When fully integrated into all of a library's resources, it provides a single point of access to almost every element of the library's collection and, thus, increases the value and usability of the entire collection."

The nearly 18 million records in the citation-only database include:
• Records created by EBSCO Publishing's abstracting/indexing operation with proprietary data dating back to 1985, and citations for some titles back to the 60s and 70s
• Records from EBSCOhost Electronic Journals Service (EJS), some of which date back to the early 80s
• Records licensed from the British Library Document Supply Centre, covering its entire 20,000 title collection, dating back to 1993.

Overall, approximately 23,000 titles are represented, and the records from all three sources are updated daily.

Not only does the database provide extensive coverage, but it also includes the linking features available to all EBSCOhost database subscribers. EBSCO SmartLinks™ allows researchers to move easily from TOC records in TOC Premier to corresponding full text articles: in other EBSCO databases; in electronic journals to which the library subscribes through EBSCO and accesses through the EBSCOhost Electronic Journals Service; or in electronic journals to which the library subscribes that are registered with CrossRef. In addition, the library can choose to allow CustomLinks that: search for the record in the library's OPAC; link directly to its online ILL system; or link to document delivery services such as CISTI, Infotrieve®, and the British Library's ArticlesDirect and ARTWeb. Librarians can decide whether to make this feature available and even when it should be activated. For example, if no full text is available locally (electronic or print), then EBSCOhost displays appropriate ILL links and document delivery options. This feature can also allow links to linking servers such as SFX and LinkFinderPlus, as well as search engines like Google™, and more.

EBSCO SmartLinks and CustomLinks provide a library with many options for using the database. With these features configured to a library's particular specifications, TOC Premier becomes an extremely convenient article locator tool, allowing a patron to know instantly if an article is available online in full text or if it's available in print in the library's local holdings.

Another EBSCOhost feature that enhances the value of TOC Premier is the ability of individual users to set up alerts based on searches for either specific journals or topics. When such an alert is created, EBSCOhost e-mails a notification to users that new data related to their search criteria has been added to the database.

Technical support from EBSCO Publishing is available to help librarians implement all the linking features they select to integrate the database into their collection to meet their specific needs.

Released: Aug. 12, 2002