HighWire Press, the “Internet imprint of the Stanford University Libraries”, serves as an online publisher of scholarly journals for scientific societies and publishers. It began in 1995 with the online production of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. As of October 2000, they produce 214 sites online and assist in the online publication of 179,176 free full‐text articles and 786,297 total articles. Most of the journals are in the areas of the life sciences and medicine, with a few in the physical and social sciences. It is one of the two largest archives of free full‐text science articles, surpassed only by the NASA Astrophysics Data System.
“Free” access varies by title. As of October 2000, there were four completely free journals, 70 journals with free back issues (“back” ranging from older than three months to older than five years), and 40 journals offering a free trial period. Indexing is also provided for journals for which the library can activate electronic access to full text by subscribing directly with the publisher or through a subscription agent. All of the more than 180 journals, whether free or subscription‐based, are searchable.
Users can browse lists of journals both alphabetically and by subject. Each title has an “info” screen that gives a description of the journal, how far back it goes (both full text and online content), what free issues are available, and subscription and purchase options. Users have the option to browse the archive or to search all available issues. Searching is available by citation (volume and first page), author, word(s) in title or abstract, and word(s) anywhere in article. Some journals, for example the components of the American Journal of Physiology, allow the search to be executed across additional AJP journals. Searches can be further limited by date.
The user can also select “Search all journals”. The same search criteria are available as for an individual journal, with the exception of the citation search. Users can select one or more journals from a list organized by subject, e.g. biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, physiology, or clinical medicine. There is an option to select “All journals in this category” for each subject. From within the search screen for an individual journal, users can access this broader search capability by selecting “Search more journals”.
The “Search all journals” screen is very clearly organized, with color‐coded sections numbered 1 to 4. Section 1, at the top, contains the search criteria. Section 2 is the list of journal categories, with section 3 (the list of journals in the categories) to the right. Section 4, at the bottom, is the “click ‘search’” box. The designers of the HighWire site are very enamored of frames, much more so than I am. In section 1, users can only see the first search box without scrolling; in section 3, only 11 titles at a time fit in the frame. The screen is visually attractive, but a bit difficult to use. However, there is a non‐frames option available if users look closely. Right after the label “Search criteria” and the link to search help, there is a statement (in fine print) that offers a link to a “simplified search page” for those having trouble using the default page.
Multiple search boxes are connected with AND. Words within a specific box are connected by OR. Boolean AND, OR, and NOT are supported as well as phrase searching (enclosed in quotation marks), a wildcard (*), and parentheses to nest complex searches. Searching is sensitive to uppercase, but lowercase will retrieve both.
Ten results per page are returned by default. This number is customizable by increments of ten, up to 100. The display consists of:
the journal citation;
article title; and
author(s).
Users can choose to see an individual abstract, select multiple abstracts and then “Get all checked abstract(s)”, or go directly to the full text of an article (if available). The search terms are highlighted.
Search results are returned in relevance ranked order. According to the search help, this means that “articles which contain the greatest number of the search terms in the greatest frequency will be listed first”. Articles containing all search terms appear before those containing only one; articles using the terms more frequently appear before those using the terms less frequently; and articles containing the terms in the title or abstract appear before those containing the terms only in the text of the article. Articles of equal relevance appear to display in reverse chronological order.
In addition to an abstract, “full text” and/or “PDF” options display where available for a specific article. Selecting these latter options brings up the article if users have the right to access it, either because it is available for free or because a user or institution has a subscription to the online journal. If not, users are taken to a screen that allows the entry of a user name and password and gives instructions on how to subscribe. While I could quibble about the user‐unfriendliness of allowing users to select an option for“free” full text to which they do not have access, in practice I would expect that an institution that offers HighWire to its patrons (and not someone surfing the site, like me) probably does subscribe to many of the titles.
HighWire provides a rich array of linked research options for its articles. Choices include:
• abstract/full text of this article (depending on which users are currently viewing);
• reprint (PDF) version of this article;
• eLetters: submit a response to this article (depending on publisher);
• similar articles found in: (links to databases such as PubMed, and other journals);
• PubMed Citation (direct link);
• this article has been cited by: (other online articles, with links to abstract and full text);
• Search Medline for articles by: (executes author search in PubMed);
• alert me when new articles cite this article (sign up via e‐mail ‐ depending on publisher); and
• download to citation manager.
The majority of journals available through HighWire provide free access to their back issues. HighWire promises that all previous issues and back material will remain online. Participating publishers also offer “toll‐free linking” of articles: if users have access to the full text of a journal, they can click on a reference in an article and read the full text of the linked article ‐ in whatever journal it may appear.
The following lists and links are available on the HighWire site:
• free online full‐text articles (for journals published online with HighWire assistance);
• most recent issues published online (updated daily, Monday‐Friday);
• upcoming journals;
• usage statistics (some publicly available, most limited to administrator);
• pay‐for‐access sites;
• detailed online article counts;
• journals with sites for readers outside of USA/Canada;
• “earth’s largest free full‐text science archives” [HighWire is number 2]; and
• links to more science journals.
Users can request to be notified via e‐mail when HighWire launches a journal, adds new features and upcoming journals, and when sites begin to require subscriptions.
Institutional subscribers receive unlimited simultaneous access for all desktops at the subscriber site, including remote users on institutional networks (for most journals). Access is provided through IP recognition. Materials may be used for interlibrary loan and course packs. There is unlimited printing and downloading. User statistics are available showing usage by title and institution. A current subscription includes all previous issues and back material that is available online.
The HighWire Press site is optimized for use with monitor settings at 800×600. I had to change my settings from 640×480 ‐ with resulting smaller print ‐ to see all the information in the frames used on the home page and the search screens. This may also account for my curmudgeonly reaction to the page showing the members of the HighWire Press team: two rows of animals, including both resident and visiting dogs as well as a sea monkey, whose function is “aquatic amusement”, before getting to the people? But these are obvious nit‐pickings for a resource that provides such powerful access to electronic scholarly information, both current and archival. Highly recommended for libraries with STM research needs, and particularly for those who have online access to most of the journals included.
