PRESS RELEASE
June 28, 1996
For Immediate Release
Press Contact: Chrysanne Lowe
(619) 699-6719

Journal Research is Online in Ohio

San Diego, CA - OhioLINK, the state consortium of academic libraries and
the State Library of Ohio, is directing researchers, faculty,
professionals, and students to go online to do their research.  The 35
member institutions of OhioLINK authorized a three-year agreement with
Academic Press to access the publisher's complete collection of research
journals via the world wide web of the internet. OhioLINK is the first US
consortium to subscribe to Academic Press' IDEAL, the International
Digital Electronic Access Library.

"It's an exciting time" said Dr. Kenneth Metzner, Electronic Publishing
Director of Academic Press. "The model of scientific communication is
changing and we are energized by our association with forward-thinking
users, authors, vendors, and libraries such as the members of OhioLINK.
There has been much talk among libraries and publishers about the
potential of the Virtual Library, but this agreement is one of the first
large scale applications of the concept where full-text is involved."

After years of debate and small scale tests conducted by publishers and
libraries worldwide, Academic Press took the lead in January of this year,
and mounted the full text of its 175 primary research journals onto IDEAL.
Today, users can freely browse and search an average of over 2000 new
articles a month using any standard web browser such as Netscape.  Where
others have mounted selected journals in defined subject areas, IDEAL
presents a cross-disciplinary library of information ranging from the
Physical Sciences and Mathematics to Biomedicine and Social Sciences. This
breadth of coverage is unique from what is currently available in the
online journal publishing arena, according to Dr. Metzner.

Through the Academic Press Print and Electronic Access License (APPEAL),
authorized users from licensed library consortia may view, search, print,
and download complete articles.  The features of the internet combined
with the flexibility of this arrangement, allow the scientist an
unprecedented freedom to access vital information. The first consortium to
take advantage of APPEAL was the Higher Education Funding Councils of
Britain (HEFC). HEFC now provides IDEAL to users at more than 160 academic
institutions throughout the United Kingdom.

"In creating this precedent-setting, win-win agreement we met Academic
Press' goal of a stronger and more stable business position and ours of
greatly enhanced access at an affordable cost," says Tom Sanville,
Executive Director of OhioLINK, a statewide program many see as a model.
"Our primary goal of providing the broadest access to information to our
500,000 students, faculty, and staff is significantly enhanced by making
the Academic Press titles available over the network. We expect the
utilization of these journals to rise rapidly over current levels."

Ideal is located at http://www.idealibrary.com or
http://www.europe.idealibrary.com.  The journal Genomics can be accessed
in full text form license-free until September 30, 1996, and Neurobiology
of Diseases until December 1996.  Interested library networks should
contact:

Dr. Kenneth Metzner, Vice President and Director of Electronic Publishing
Academic Press, Inc.
525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego CA 92101 email:
kmetzner@acad.com
 or
Taissa Kusma, Director of Online Product Development,
Academic Press Inc.
1300 Boyston Street, Chestnut Hill MA 02167
email: tkusma@acad.com

The OhioLINK consortium's homepage can be found at www.ohiolink.edu.