Dr. Ivana Kadlecova , Director of Library, The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

At the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASCR), the Czech Republic's leading research institution, Thomson Scientific products provide the information support needed to conduct world-class research, and the tools needed to evaluate success.

That's no small feat for this research powerhouse.

In 2003, the ASCR's highly cited research – which spans all scientific fields, from astronomy to classical studies - accounted for more than one-third of the Czech Republic's total number of academic papers published. And beyond contributing to global research with its academic works, the academy advises the Czech government on major issues concerning the government's scientific and research and development policies.

Web of Science which ASCR offers to its more than 6,000 scientists, professors and students in its 60 research institutes across the country, is an integral part of the academy's success.

"Web of Science is our main information source," says Dr. Ivana Kadlecova, the ASCR's library director. "It is crucial for the multiplicity of research we do at the academy."

Along with Web of Science , Dr. Kadlecova praises Current Contents Connect , a current-awareness Web resource to complete bibliographic information from scholarly journals, books and evaluated Web sites; and Journal Citation Reports , the only journal evaluation resource providing statistical information based on citation data. These products help Dr. Kadlecova document and demonstrate her institution's success, securing the academy substantial government funding. (In 2003 alone, the ASCR secured 3,600 million Czech crowns.)

"We prepare two reports on the academy's progress each year – one for our institution, one for the government. We evaluate our results with the citation-analysis tools from our Thomson products."

And while Kadlecova commends their products as "user-friendly" - particularly with the upgrades in 2004 - she's grateful for the personal product support that her Thomson representatives provide.

"From time to time, Thomson representatives will come to our academy to teach us the best way to use their products - often following software upgrades. They're always full-day sessions, and they're very personal and very valuable."

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Ms. Ji-yeon Han , Reference Librarian,
Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)

Ms. Ji-yeon Han says her institution needs the citation indexing support only Thomson Scientific can provide.

"I think Thomson's Science Citation Index  is the best. It is easy to use, and it covers science and technology well. It is very organized, not random at all. Plus, it is very indepth."

In addition to being ranked number one by Asiaweek in 1998, according to Thomson Scientific each POSTECH faculty member is cited on average 2.9 times in international papers. "We are very serious about our research," Ms. Han explains.

Because POSTECH is among Asia's top research universities, having quick and easy access to the best citation index database is a top priority for Ms. Han. With more than 500 researchers, 1,300 graduate students and 200 faculty at this prestigious institution, Ms. Han credits the Science Citation Index as an essential part of POSTECH's cutting-edge status. She remarks, "Our researchers use the Thomson products more than anything else."

POSTECH is home to the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, PAL, Korea's only synchrotron light accelerator. With 14 beam lines currently under operation, more than 3,000 international scientists have conducted nearly 800 research projects since 2000. With eight additional beam lines to be installed by the end of 2004, PAL will become one of the largest synchrotron radiation facilities in the world.

With this kind of pressure on her university's researchers, Ms. Han enjoys the peace of mind Thomson's customer support gives her. "We are very happy with Thomson's response whenever we need help," she reports.

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Peggy Dominy , Information Services Librarian for Sciences and Math,
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Web of Science and ISI Web of Knowledge  are important research tools at Drexel University. Today, three hundred full-time faculty members and more than 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students can access Thomson Scientific products.

Peggy Dominy is the Information Service Librarian for Science at Drexel. She says, "I've found the Web of Science interface easily accessible, simple and straightforward. It's easy to link to full text and to perform searches that cross disciplines."

"The ability to do specific as well as broader searches using Web of Science is important to our researchers," explains Ms. Dominy. Specific searches can target data in a number of ways.

"There was a time when Web of Science limited broad searches to 500 citations and specific data searching to 250 resources," says Ms. Dominy. But when she and others asked Thomson Scientific to expand the limits to accommodate larger data sets, members of the customer service department listened. The limits were eliminated.

Thomson's responsiveness to users' needs is also evident in a simple suggestion Ms. Dominy made herself. The Drexel librarian explains, "When examining search results, I noticed that you needed to scroll down several pages to find the total number of hits. I merely suggested that the number appear at the top of the first page. Now, in the new version it does."

According to Ms. Dominy, easy accessibility on- and off-site, a straightforward interface, the ability to search across disciplines and customer service that responds to researchers' needs are all benefits that make Thomson products valuable research tools at Drexel University.

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