Following the success of the subject gateways, developed as part of the eLib programme, JISC will fund a three-year programme which will expand the subject gateways model to cover all subject areas on a broadly faculty-hub basis.  As part of this Resource Discovery Network (RDN), EEVL [01] and Heriot-Watt University successfully bid to establish an Engineering, Mathematics and Computing (EMC) 'Hub' (a focused collection of gateways).  The EMC Hub, which will be funded from 1st August 1999, will develop services in these three subjects, expanding existing services and bringing online new ones.

The EEVL service currently provides a searchable, browsable catalogue of over 4,350 quality engineering resources, and various targeted engineering search engines.  The existing EEVL Catalogue will be further expanded to include Aerospace and Defence Technology, working in partnership with Cranfield University.  Separate services will be created for Mathematics (in partnership with Birmingham University) and Computing.  The services will build on the experiences learned from developing the EEVL services and will provide quick and easy access to quality Internet resources in the three subject areas, with the possibility of developing cross-searching across the different subject areas.

The initial work of the Hub will involve integrating the resources already present in the aerospace and defence part of Cranfield University Internet Site Explorer (CRUISE) [02] into an expanded section of EEVL.  Reviews of currently available Mathematics gateways in the UK and elsewhere will contribute to the development of the Hub Maths gateway.  Possibilities for this gateway include mirroring or collaborating with other services.

More information about the EMC Hub is available [03], or contact Roddy MacLeod, EMC Hub Co-ordinator, <R.A.MacLeod@hw.ac.uk>
 

The UKOLUG Meeting, Engineering Information Sources: Provider & Consumers is taking place on the 23rd of June 1999.  The meeting will be  held in the Wolfson Technology Resource Centre, Edinburgh University Library, George Square.  Speakers include Dr Alan Bridges, of Strathclyde University, talking about Construction Industry Information Sources, and Dave Wilson, Webmaster of the Engineer Online.  EEVL will also demonstrate its new cross-search service, EEVL's All-in-one Search on the Internet for Engineering Resources (EASIER).  More information and a booking form are available from the UKOLUG web site. [04]

References

1. EEVL
   <URL: http://www.eevl.ac.uk/>
2. CRUISE
   <URL: http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/cils/library/subjects/webinfo.htm>
3. The EMC Hub
   <URL: http://www.eevl.ac.uk/emc.html>
4. Engineering Information Sources: Provider & Consumers
   <URL: http://www.ukolug.co.uk/meetings/engineering.htm>

Author Details

Linda Kerr
Library, Riccarton, Edinburgh  EH14 4AS
Heriot-Watt University
Email: L.Kerr@hw.ac.uk

Linda Kerr is EEVL Services Officer, based at Heriot-Watt University