The Beilstein System [Review]


	
	
	




	Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship
	Spring 1998



	DOI:10.5062/F43J39ZZ





Book Reviews


The Beilstein System: Strategies for Effective Searching



James W. Oliver

Chemistry Librarian

Michigan State University

oliver@pilot.msu.edu




The Beilstein System: Strategies for Effective Searching. Stephen R.
Heller (editor). Washington DC: American Chemical Society, 1998. 208
pages. $74.95 (ISBN 0841235236).



This book complements an earlier book titled The Beilstein Online
Database: Implementation, Content, and Retrieval. ACS Symposium Series,
no. 436 (1989), also edited by Stephen R. Heller. It is important to
note that The Beilstein System is a new title and not a new edition of
the symposium series. It covers material that was not available in 1989
and concentrates on those areas not covered in the earlier book. The
authors describe the means by which the Beilstein Institute compiles
data on organic compounds and the various ways to search the data, such
as Crossfire plus Reactions, Current Facts in Chemistry on CD-ROM,  and
search systems  using different vendors. As a result the book provides a
good explanation of the scope of the database in organic chemistry. It
is useful in understanding what kinds of compounds are included. It
would not serve as a direct tutorial on accessing the Crossfire plus
Reactions or any of the other search systems, but knowing how the
material is covered will enhance the readers knowledge of the database.
I found some chapters very informative and I know what I learned will
improve my searching while using Crossfire plus Reactions.

The first chapter is written by the editor, Stephen Heller, and explains
the history and importance that both the Beilstein Institute and
Handbook play in the coverage of organic chemistry. The second chapter
written by Reiner Luchenbach, who retired as executive director of the
Beilstein Institute in 1996 describes the coverage and treatment of
organic compounds that go into the database. The next several chapters
of the book cover the background of how information on compounds is
presented to the researcher by the use of various computer programs that
access the handbooks data. The chapters  describe the advantages of the
various methods.


The book also contains information on the Crossfire plus Reactions program, a program 
which was not available in 1989 and now subscribed to by a  large number of academic
institutions. Given the greater use today of Crossfire plus Reactions by academics the book
provides a good explanation for using that method to access information. In particular
several chapters (five through nine) provide good descriptions of the content and scope of
the database. They describe the features of the Crossfire server, which enables the
searcher to find information on individual organic compounds and their reactions. Chapter
five covers the architecture of the server, chapter six the interface. Chapters seven and
eight cover the history and use of Crossfire plus Reactions by
academia. Chapter seven covers the use of the program within an academic
environment. Chapter eight describes the revolution that brought the
Crossfire plus Reactions program to use within the academic market,
first by the arrangement with the Committee for Institutional
Cooperation (CIC) within the Big Ten universities. This was a major step
toward reestablishing the status of Beilstein within the academic
community.  The last chapter of the book discusses a recent drawing
program (AutoNom) that allows the user to find the IUPAC name for a
structure.


I found the book to be informative and a worthwhile acquisition for any
academic or corporate library that regularly searches organic chemistry
literature.