Updated 7 November, 2008

NEWS:
List pricing effective 1 April, 2008 (3/9/08)
On March 5, 2007, we will increase the number of concurrent users for each Ph.D. Special Package at no additional cost to our customers.  The key contacts do not need to do anything to their client software as the all the administrative action will take place from our side of things.
The increased number of users for each Ph.D. Special Package is listed as follows:
Ph.D. Schools (Categories 1 and 2)
Ph.D. Package             Current                                NEW!
Special Package 1         3 users for the price of 2    4 users for the price of 2
Special Package 2         5 users for the price of 3    6 users for the price of 3
Special Package 3         7 users for the price of 4    8 users for the price of 4
Special Package 4         9 users for the price of 5    11 users for the price of 5

Ph.D. Schools (Category 3)
Ph.D. Package             Current    NEW!
Special Package 2         5 users for the price of 3    6 users for the price of 3
Special Package 3         7 users for the price of 4    8 users for the price of 4
Special Package 4         9 users for the price of 5    11 users for the price of 5

In February 2006 CAS created ... another tier of PhD schools ... The size of PhD schools continues to be based on the combined number of students and faculty in chemistry and chemistry related disciplines.
The definitions are as follows:
* Ph.D. 1: Ph.D. programs with 20 or fewer graduate students & faculty in chemistry and chemistry related disciplines.
* Ph.D. 2: Ph.D. programs with between 21 and 100 graduate students & faculty in chemistry and chemistry related disciplines.
* Ph.D. 3: Ph.D. programs with 101 or more graduate students & faculty in chemistry and chemistry related disciplines.

CAS Statistics
SciFinder Scholar Percent Successful Access Report for CEIRC (14/6/06)
"On the sheets you will see # of attempts, # successful, # busy.  These numbers represent how many times each month SciFinder Scholar sessions were attempted, how many times successful login was achieved and how many times login was not successful, respectively.  When a login attempt is unsuccessful this means that all of the university's concurrent users were in use and a busy signal was obtained. The graph is a representation of the ratio of successful attempts to total attempts.
    Regarding the total number of attempts, the numbers are normal relative to the total population of SciFinder Scholar subscribers and relative to the size of each school.  At CAS we have found that schools with a 75% success rate generally have users who are content with the ability to gain access to SFS.  When the success rate slips below this level, we believe they need consider getting more access.  This is simple to say but of course we know it is a budgetary issue."

Site Statistics.
Each of the key contacts (Site Adminstrators) of the participating universities have been sent information and a unique password that allows ONLY them to access their respective university usage information on the website www.my.cas.org.  At this site, they have the ability to look at stats; update contact and school information; download software updates; and modify SciFinder Scholar preferences for their university.
See an example of the statistics that are found on this site  - views from MyCAS Scholar reports of:
- The selection screen
- Activity Report December 2006
- Percent Successful Access Report
- IP Detail Report December 2006.
If any key contact has forgotten their loginid and password for this site, contact Lisa Theisen.

CAS Customer Care. CAS Software Support.
When sending emails regarding any technical issues, please also cc to the CAUL Office

CAS SciFinder® Scholar Licence - multiple versions [all restricted access]

Agreement for SciFinder Scholar for the Period January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008 (23/12/06)
Licence amendment 2003-5 (31/12/02)
CEIRC License 2000-2002  (posted 5/8/05)
CAS Licence (first draft - 1999)
Revised version (with questions from Shirley Sullivan & responses from Nadine Palmer, CAS) - Note this version (6/10/99) is similar to, but not the same as, the subsequent CAS/CEIRC licence
License Exhibit IV (1999)
DRAFT letter to CAS from UNSW 11/10/99
DRAFT UNSW licence
CEIRC SciFinder® Scholar 30-day Trial Agreement (signed 9 November 1999, to commence 15 November)

Update / Q&A from Damon Ridley (26/7/04)
Invoice details for CAS SFS for 2005 (24/11/04)
CAS SFS subscription renewals for 2004 (6/9/03)

Attachment I - 2003 CEIRC Prices for current and upgraded configurations.
Current CEIRC subscribers & configurations.
CAS SFS 2001 renewals, 11 August 2000
1999 proposal to CEIRC - SciFinder Scholar Availability in Australia and New Zealand - Press Release 17 January 2000
Introductory email from D. Ridley 22 March 99
answers to CAUL questions from D.Ridley
Features and Benefits of CAS/CEIRC Proposal (Dr Damon Ridley, 9 November 1999)
Downloading and installing SciFinder Scholar 3.0 Software (requires password - contact Institution's Key Contact)

• CAS SFS Pricing effective April 1, 2004 (26/2/04)
• SciFinder Scholar Prices Effective March 31, 2001
• Announcing New 6-For-3 Share Program for Bachelor-degree granting institutions. (2/12/03)

Based on the success of the SciFinder® Scholar 3-For-2 Share Program, CAS will begin offering Bachelor's schools a second share option for broadening affordable access to SciFinder Scholar-a 6-For-3 Share Program.
6-For-3 Share Program
Effective December 1, 2003, CAS will allow six Bachelor's schools to purchase SciFinder Scholar sharing three concurrent users.  While CAS still recommends that schools select their own partners for a Share Program, schools can request CAS to match them with other program participants.  Each participating school will sign its own individual SciFinder Scholar contract and will receive invoices individually.
• SciFinder Scholar Web Site
• SciFinder Scholar Hours of Operation
• Tips on Using SciFinder® Scholar with PowerPoint Appendix (Dr Damon Ridley, 11 November 1999)
• Training information for CEIRC subscribers (updated 2 February 2000)
• ChemPort Connection "Check-in-house Library" option
• e-Seminar series
• Catalysts

• CHEST SciFinder® Scholar One Year Trial Agreement (commencing on 1st October 1999 and terminating on 30th September 2000) (UK only)

Q. Is a new version of Scholar coming soon?
A. Not really.  It is anticipated that an update will occur in 2005.

Q. What is the latest Scholar pricing?
A. You can always obtain information on pricing through http://www.cas.org/SCIFINDER/SCHOLAR/newpricing.html
If you are unsure of whether you qualify for any of the PhD programs, or for programs at the Masters or Bachelors level, then please contact me.

Q. How can I find my usage statistics?
A. You can go to http://my.cas.org .   You need to enter your University login and password.  If you are not sure of these details, please contact me.  When you are in my.cas you will see a number of personalized options (e.g. monthly usage statistics, usage summaries, and success rates are posted).  Note that success rates are daily averages; the full usage statistics will give you a better idea of who is using the system and when.  You may also change you contact information, download the latest version of Scholar, and see how to personalize you full-text links.

Q. How do I proceed to get an upgrade?
A. Please contact me and I shall arrange a quote to be sent.  People wishing to upgrade may get additional benefits if they do so during the remainder of this year.

Q. How can I organize training?
A. CAS is now offering your institution a SciFinder Scholar login ID and password created specifically for training.  This ID will not interfere with your regular Scholar sessions, and can be tailored to include only those IP addresses used in your training facility.
 It probably is easiest if you contact Lisa Theisen ltheisen@cas.org and indicate:
Ø IP range to be used during your training; and
Ø Dates on which you would like your training loginid and password activated.
Please note that you need to give Lisa 15 days prior notice.

Q.  Are walk-in users allowed to use SciFinder Scholar?
A. Only staff and students at your University may use Scholar, and even then they may not use Scholar for commercial reasons (e.g. for patentability searching).  You may wish to note, inter alia:
Ø Staff doing consulting work for outside organizations may not use Scholar for this purpose;
Ø People in Centres in Universities that offer facilities or services to people outside the University may not use Scholar for this purpose;
Ø Some Universities allow outside use (e.g. through a Business Affiliation) of library facilities, and often this is on an annual fee basis: however use of Scholar is not allowed under such arrangements; and
Ø People from outside organizations who are using University facilities (e.g. laboratories) may not use Scholar.

It may be appropriate to check all your IP ranges, and ensure that none are accessible by non-University staff/students.  These people are using up your access routes.  Instead they should use SciFinder http://www.cas.org/SCIFINDER/scicover2.html

Q.  Can a University also have access to SciFinder?
A. Yes.  Please contact me for details.  Access can be for as little as US$8,100 per year.   In addition to being able to search for commercial purposes, SciFinder has a number of other options including:
Ø Current awareness searching;
Ø Sequence searching; and
Ø Additional post-processing tools (e.g. Categorize and Panorama).

I am trying to arrange training sessions at all participating universities, but it just is not physically possible for me to get to every university in the next few weeks!

Accordingly, if you would like to conduct training sessions yourself that will be fine.  I’ll come over later in the year to help with further training and/or promotion.

In order for you to acquire passwords, I need you to complete the “Application for Training Passwords for SciFinder Scholar” and to email it to me.  At the completion of the course I would be grateful if you would send the “Report on Training for SciFinder Scholar”.

I am happy to provide up to 10 simultaneous users for your training sessions.  Naturally I request that you maintain reasonable security over the passwords and that you delete them at the end of the sessions.  It is not necessary for you to delete the software from the training machines.  Indeed leave it there for future sessions.

I have completed a training course “Scholar Course” with Instructors’ Notes.  I hope these are of assistance.  Try to get your attendees to read the notes before the class!  Naturally, the Instructors’ Notes are for your own reference.   “Scholar Course PPT” is a Powerpoint presentation for the Instructor.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

At the bottom of this page is a link to the technical information: http://www.chemport.org/html/english/inhouse_info.html

Further information can be obtained by sending an email to: chemport@cas.org

Universities who have purchased Scholar under the CEIRC/CAS SciFinder Scholar Consortium and who wish to take advantage of this link will need to have the access to full-text documents activated.

The feature is controlled at the Account Level, not at the Individual User Level.  The individual user IP address is merely used to look up the account number to check the account level Holding Link Privilege Flag.  The link is available only to journal documents.

All ChemPort publishers accept IP addresses as a valid form of identification.  Some also support user name/password login.

Note that communication with chemport@cas.org must be through the Key Administrator. However perhaps in the first instance, people with further questions should send them to Diane.  Diane and I then can co-ordinate the questions and responses from CAS, so everyone in due course will benefit collectively from the discussion.

On 7 April, Marian Bate and Rhonda Langford met with Damon Ridley to discuss a possible CAUL consortium arrangement with CAS on SciFinder Scholar.  A number of questions were raised on SciFinder in general.  Questions and answers appear below.

1. How does SciFinder Scholar differ from SciFinder?
Some general information can be found at the website: http://www.cas.org/SCIFINDER/SCHOLAR/index.html
Scholar excludes the “Keep Me Posted”, Browse Table of Contents, Analyze Tools and links to ChemCats and ChemList that are available in SciFinder.  Scholar is an academic product, requires a contract, has one loginid for one concurrent user, and is subscription based with 12/24 hour options.  Additional subscriptions to the substructure search module are available.  Access is restricted by loginid, not by computer so it is possible for authorised users to search through their loginid from any location (including home).

2. How would a trial be conducted?
For a University to be part of a trial, a contract must first be signed.  A copy of the standard contract is available through Damon Ridley.  The trial is for 30 days and provides each School with two simultaneous users that have 24-hour access and substructure search module (SSM).  If a School decides not to purchase Scholar after the trial period they simply need to inform CAS and the contract will be nullified.  If they decide to purchase Scholar then they let CAS know the number of loginids they want, 12/24 hour access, SSM etc. and CAS send an invoice.  There is no additional contract to sign.  Once the contract is signed, Schools download the software by ftp.

3. If CAUL/Universities were to purchase Scholar, it may be preferable to have a two month trial followed by a gap.  In our experience, two month trials are usually needed for full revaluation and, if the users then want the product it normally takes the University a while before they can get the funds together (for example, through cancellation of alternative products).  Further it may take some time before a (possible) consortium arrangement could be made.  Many Australian Universities already have fully committed budgets for 1999, so possibly many universities could first take up the option only in 2000.  Could the standard contract be modified to accommodate these factors?
The experience with universities worldwide is that the 30 day trial period is sufficient for the evaluations to take place, and that staff/students want to start using the product as soon as possible.  In order to facilitate the trial, Damon would try to visit universities as soon as the contract/installation was complete in order to conduct information sessions.  (Visits would clearly need to be co-ordinated by region.) Individual universities could sign up for Scholar and then when a consortium arrangement was reached they would be granted any concessions retrospectively.  The first step would be for universities to work together with Damon to arrange contracts and schedules.

4. How far back does Scholar go?
Scholar currently accesses the CAplus and REGISTRY Files (which date back to 1967 and 1957 respectively).  It is to be noted that the CAplus File is not part of the CAS Academic Program on STN so Scholar users get additional access to the most recent literature and to records that are not indexed by CAS (but which are part of the total coverage of the over 1300 serials specified by CAS).

5. Does Scholar include abstracts?
Yes.  A Scholar record contains the same information as that on the CAplus File on STN.   A major difference however is that the CAS RNs are linked to the REGISTRY File record so if the user wishes to identify the substance represented by the CAS RN in the index entries, all the user needs to do is click on the CAS RN and the exact substance is displayed.  It is important to point out that navigation through the software is very easy and intuitive!

6. Would institutions get credit for the information they already have purchased?
Unfortunately no.  However it must be pointed out that there is very extensive information (over and above that in the print CA) in Scholar, since Scholar is an electronic platform and includes, inter alia, structure searching, and the ability to search keywords and abstracts electronically.

7. What would happen if a subscription was taken now, but a cancellation was taken later?  Are there any rights to data access?
Unfortunately no.  However the CAS database is recognised worldwide as an essential tool for academic researchers.  It covers a very broad range of disciplines.  CAS is a Division of the ACS whose primary mission is to provide chemical information worldwide.  CAS and the ACS have demonstrated over a long period a commitment to academia, with extremely competitive pricing and services.  This  record and commitment will continue.  Scholar is recognised as a leading-technology interface which universities will increasingly use as their primary information resource.

8. What security exists (password protection, authentication, responsibilities of the institution etc)?
Security is implemented by validating the login id against the IP address to be sure the login id is coming from the correct school.

9. Could CAUL pay the initial subscription and others subscribe at the add-on level?  Could CAUL maintain one print/CD subscription and others purchase Scholar at a discount rate?
The immediate answer to this question is no, although CAS would need more information on the proposal.

10. What documentation is supplied?
Scholar has an innovative interface which requires minimal training.   Indeed a basic philosophy of Scholar is that users do not need to know command language nor database content.  People have said “Scholar does to command-line searching what Windows did to DOS commands”.  Nevertheless a little training will definitely help.
CAS already provides substantial help information through “SciFinder solutions”: http://www.cas.org/SCIFINDER/CENTRAL/
General support provided for universities can be seen through:
http://www.cas.org/Support/educ.html
Hardcopy of some SciFinder presentations is also available through Damon, who also provides full support for SciFinder and SciFinder Scholar in Australasia.

11. Would CAS provide free/subsidised access to document delivery services?
Scholar has the capability to fire-up a web browser for access to ChemPort which currently contains full-text documents to over 600 serials.  Institutions that have rights to access full-text documents from the publishers of these serials can do it directly from Scholar.  Scholar also has links to the CAS Document Detective Service for ordering of full-text documents.  Direct access to ordering through the DDS is restricted by default in Scholar although institutions can arrange through CAS for this restriction to be removed.  The point is that CAS recognises the need for direct access to the original literature and Scholar provides it.  This is clearly an area that will expand in Scholar. Scholar

12. For how long does a contract last?  Is there guaranteed pricing/predicted inflation rate?
Contracts are for any 12 month period (there is no need to start at the beginning of the year) and prices are fixed for that period.  It is difficult to predict inflationary pressures, but universities who have had a long association with CAS will know that price increases over the years have been very modest.  CAS is a non-for-profit organisation which is fully committed to be the leading supplier of chemical information worldwide.

13. What message do users get if access is denied (for example, through the number of simultaneous users being exceeded)?   Is it capped?
 The number of loginids purchased determines the number of simultaneous access points and once this is exceeded subsequent loginid attempts are unsuccessful.  Users need to retry later.  This operates for any one time period, and usage is not averaged (say over a monthly period).   Clearly users need to be trained to logoff when they are not using the system, otherwise they will prevent access to others.  (Non-usage for 20 minutes means the user is automatically logged off.)

13. Is there a site license model (for example, unlimited use)?  This occurs under the CAUL agreement with ISI/Current Contents.
Scholar has a separate license for each module purchased.  It may also be pointed out that universities may purchase full subscriptions to SciFinder under which unlimited use is available to up to 20 registered individuals.  The choice here depends upon the needs of the users.

14. What use/management information does CAS provide?  Can CAS monitor unsuccessful login attempts?
Currently, CAS provides a monthly report indicating type and number of tasks performed. CAS is discussing the possibility, and this is ONLY a possibility, of providing more in-depth info, which would include "unsuccessful attempts."

15. What usage information would CAS provide during the trial period?   (This is very important in order for libraries to determine the number of subscriptions to take.)
 CAS will provide as much usage information as possible, for example, rejections, access points, tasks, search duration, etc.

16. Are there any print components (RN Handbook, Index Guides etc) that a university will still need?
This would be a matter for the individual universities to decide (based on their needs).  CAS provides a number of products to suit individual needs.   Universities would better be able to answer these questions after they have trialled/used Scholar.

17. Would graphics printers be needed?  Any other hardware changes?
The hardware requirements are listed at
http://www.cas.org/SCIFINDER/SCHOLAR/systreq.html

18. Why would a university purchase Scholar and not use funds to subsidise online searching under the CAS Academic Program?
The philosophy behind Scholar is that it be an extremely easy interface for end-users.  It minimises the need for knowledge of database content and has “smarts” which overcome the need to know commands and online search tools (proximity operators etc).  It is a true desktop tool for end-users.  Depending on their needs, universities also find the subscription (rather than transactional) pricing preferable.

19. Would a consortium deal include New Zealand universities?
The aim behind consortium arrangements is to provide a platform where a clearly defined group of end-users and CAS reach a mutually beneficial agreement.   CAS would need to understand the benefits, to CAUL and to CAS, before a wider group was to be considered.

20. Would CAS recognise loyalty of long-standing customers?
Hopefully, long-standing customers have received benefits over the years from the purchase of CAS products and certainly CAS appreciates the support that many groups have given.  CAS work with customers to meet their information needs and indeed Scholar, and the changes made to it since its release (for example, daytime access, substructure search, refinement tools, more and better document access, more flexible chemical name and topic searching), have been very much driven by requests from universities.

21. Are additional temporary loginids available for training purposes?
Training on Scholar is minimal, but the need for some training is recognised.  CAS is happy to assist with training programs and Australian universities should contact Damon to discuss options.

22. JANUS <http://www.anu.edu.au/caul/janus/> is a co-operative arrangement between Australian institutions.  Currently a chemistry centre is being considered.  Would links be possible from Janus to CAS databases?
CAS does have its databases linked through other websites.  The normal process is for the original webservice to contact CAS and to discuss mutually beneficial arrangements.

23. Are there plans for Scholar to include other databases?
There are no definitive plans at this point in time, but MEDLINE remains a possibility (probably not until sometime in the year 2000).  Note that MEDLINE will be incorporated into SciFinder late in 1999.

24. Can users subscribe to the TOC service?
At present this is done through SciFinder.  There are no plans to introduce this to Scholar at this stage.  Of course TOC (and Keep Me Posted) services usually are set up to meet specific (individual) end-user requirements and Scholar does not presently have the capability to do this (for what could be a large number of users operating within a single loginid).  This highlights a difference between SciFinder and SciFinder Scholar: SciFinder has individual loginids for individual users on specific machines; Scholar usage is based on concurrent user subscriptions and many users can access a single subscription from any machine.

25. Who will write a consortium proposal?
It probably would be best for CAUL to liaise with Damon on the initial draft.

26. What evaluation of the trial would CAS require?  Would data of the type generally used by the UNSW Library http://www.library.unsw.edu.au/exit.html be useful?
This is a very useful evaluation form.  CAS would be delighted to receive feedback.

27. Do we need to load software on individual workstations?
Yes, the software needs to be loaded onto each workstation.  This is done very simply through a ftp process.

28. Can you explain the pricing options?
(Note all prices are in US$ and are at a single institutional rate)
Prices for one concurrent user range from $15,000 for off peak (12 hour from 5 pm local time) access without substructure module at an organisation which is a CA Print/CD subscriber, to $41,650 for full (24 hour) access with substructure module at an organisation which is not a CA Print/CD subscriber.   Additional loginids are available at around 60% discount.  Combinations of full access, off peak access, and SSM (full or off peak) are possible.  For example, for a CA subscriber, one full access without substructure module plus one off peak with substructure module plus one off peak without substructure costs $44,500.  The corresponding package for a non-subscriber costs $54,700.  If an institution wants to add to its initial package during the contract period, then the extra units are charged on a pro-rata basis.

29. What is the next step?
Already over one third of Australian universities have responded to CAUL’s  initial circular on Scholar, and all have indicated they want to take part in the trial.   Universities should now contact either Diane Costello diane.costello@anu.edu.au or Damon Ridley d.ridley@chem.usyd.edu.au as soon as possible, and Diane and Damon will co-ordinate the contracts/trials.

Those requiring further information about Scholar should contact Damon Ridley directly.

Dear Colleagues, …

The GREAT news is that we are definitely making Scholar available in Australasia now …  There is a possibility of some group discounts with a consortium, although individual universities can always "go it alone".  Indeed that may be the quicker option for you, and, I have been told by CAS, that if a consortium eventuates any existing Scholar users will be put into it.  It is probable that the consortium Scholar arrangement will be linked with PRINT/CD since there are CA subscriber discounts available.  However, the key point is that CAS is very flexible on the pricing options and they definitely want to hear from customers.

I have followed SciFinder/Scholar closely, and my personal opinion is that now is definitely the time for all universities to be involved.  Thus Scholar has additional options (substructure searching, 24 hour access, 12 hour off-peak access, one fee per concurrent user) which every chemistry/biochemistry/ pharmacy/pharmacology etc school requires.   Searching on keywords should definitely use natural language terms and the interface is extremely easy to work with.  Searchers really do not need to know anything - just put in what they want in their natural language and all different types of answer options come up!

With structure searching you may need to know a little (structure drawing program) and have some idea on how to ask the right question, but basically the mechanics are extremely straight forward.

For some further information, I suggest you have a look at the web site http://info.cas.org/SCIFINDER/SCHOLAR/index.html

As I have mentioned there are a number of price options and they focus on:

• Basic package for 1 concurrent user
• Extra concurrent users
• Whether you want the substructure module
• Whether you want 24 hour access or 12 hour (off peak local time)  access.

Full (24 hour) access costs $25,000 for 1st user LOGINID, $9,000 for each additional user.  (For non-subscriber it is $30,400 and $12,000.)

Full access with substructure module for CA subscriber costs $36,250 ($41,650 for non-subscriber).  There are all types of possibilities within the various examples I have given.

Of course you could just get the non-SSM module and rely on STN in REGISTRY for structure searches, but I think the SSM with Scholar will be well accepted and you don't have to worry about costs for individual structure searches.

As I mentioned, there may be additional options through a consortium arrangement.  I cannot comment on any discount yet but I think that if universities maintained their print subscriptions and purchased at least one Scholar package then there is a case for some consortium arrangement.  Those who don't have print subscriptions may still be able to join the consortium in some way.

.... I am writing to you to let you know the latest position.  It is possible that I shall be able to visit all the major centres in May/June, and if you would like me to do so please let me know.  It would be useful if library staff and a couple of key end-users were able to see the options.

Kindest regards,

This site's URL is http://www.caul.edu.au/
Send comments/suggestions/requests about this site ....

This site is written, compiled and maintained by Diane Costello, Executive Officer, CAUL.