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Current Awareness Services

Are you interested in tracking the latest information on a particular topic? Set up an "Alert" on journal articles or company information.
In general, the following types of journal article alerts are possible:

  • Table of Contents
  • Subject Searches
  • Current Research

Here are some options via the Cornell University Library Gateway:

Library-Provided Services

MyContents is a table of contents service that is part of a collection of personal services provided by the Cornell University Library. It enables you to receive the tables-of-contents (TOC) of journals of interest to you. The TOCs are automatically forwarded to your e-mailbox on a regular basis. To sign up and select journal titles, go to the MyContents page and log in for instructions or contact the reference staff to give you assistance.

Self-Service Options

Faculty, staff and students at Cornell have a number of options for keeping up-to-date with the literature on particular topics, written by certain authors, or published in various journals. In addition to services provided by the Library staff, you can take a do-it-yourself approach using a number of different resources noted below.

Agricola, Biosis, CAB Abstracts (via WebSPIRS)

You search databases such as Agricola, Biosis and CAB Abstracts with the WebSPIRS interface(aka SilverPlatter, the owning company). Once you have connected to the WebSPIRS interface, you can sign up for an SDI (Selective Dissemination of Information) to receive e-mail notification of new content that matches your research interests for any Silver Platter database. This is done by saving a search and setting it up as an SDI. SDIs can be set to run for up to one year.

  1. From either on or off campus, connect to either Agricola, Biosis, CAB Abstracts (or any individual SilverPlatter database) through the Library Gateway's Find Databases.
  2. Create one or more searches. You can configure an SDI from a combination of searches.
  3. When you retrieve results, click the button "Back to Search."
  4. The lower half of the screen is the Search History pane. Select the checkbox next to the search(es) you want to save for your SDI. Click on the button "Create SDI."
  5. A "Database Conflict" screen may appear next. This happens when you have opened only some of the databases in a Database Group. Silver Platter runs SDIs against Database Groups rather than individual databases. These Groups are usually the complete run of the database over multiple years of coverage.

    Silver Platter recommends that you open the entire group and rerun your search to see the results that will make up the SDI baseline that forms the basis of your SDI. To do this, select the button "Cancel" to return to the search page. Select the button "Change Databases." Select the entire run of the database, rerun your search, and set up your SDI as described in the next steps.

    Or, if you are satisfied with the opened databases, and don't need to see the search results that will make up your baseline, click the button "Continue."
  6. The Create a New SDI page appears. Fill in the form as desired.
  7. When you have completed the form, click "Create SDI."
  8. If all the information was accepted, a message appears that you will be notified when your SDI has been processed. The notification will be sent to your e-mail address.
  9. To manage your SDI account, go to the Search History pane and select the button "SDI Account."

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EbscoHost

  1. From either on or off campus, connect to Business Source Premier via EbscoHost, available through the Library Gateway's Find Databases.
  2. Click "Sign In to My EBSCOhost" (upper left).
  3. Click the "I'm a new user" link. The Create a New Account Screen displays with Personal Account entered in the Account Type field.
  4. Fill in the fields on the Create a New Account Screen. When you have completed the fields, click Continue.
  5. If all of the information was accepted, a message appears that provides your user name and password. Click OK. You will be automatically logged in as a personal user. You should note the user name and password that you created, so that you can log in at a future session.

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Emerald

Provides personal e-mail notification of new articles published online, ensuring that you are kept up-to-date with the very latest research. You can receive these updates in three ways:

  • Saved Search Alert - after each search from within Emerald you will be given the option of adding it to your alert profile. Each time new articles are added to the database, you will be sent the brief citations of any new articles that match your search criteria.
  • ToC (Table of Contents) Alert - will e-mail you the contents page of any chosen journal whenever the latest issue becomes available online.
  • Weekly Digests - This service provides you with an e-mail summary of all Emerald Fulltext journals updated each week.

To get started: from either on or off campus, connect to Emerald fulltext, available through the Library Gateway's Find Databases.

Saved Search Alert
After each search from within Emerald you will be given the option of adding it to your alert profile.

  1. Simply click on the 'Save search' option.
  2. The screen will display your current search along with any saved searches you have previously set up. Please enter a name for your saved search in the box provided, so that you can easily identify it in future.
  3. Select the maximum number of articles that you will see in each alert by altering the box marked 'Hits'.
  4. Once you are happy with the alert details click on 'Add' to add it to your alert profile.

Each time new articles are added to the database, you will be sent the brief citations of any new articles that match your search criteria.

Managing Saved Searches
In the left hand menu click on 'Manage saved searches' on any search results page. The next page lists all your current saved search alerts. Here you can update, test or delete your alerts.

  1. Click on 'Edit'.
  2. You can alter the name of your saved search here.
  3. You can also alter the maximum number of articles that you will see in each alert by altering the box marked 'Hits'.
  4. Click on 'Update' to save any changes.

Once you have finished your amendments you can test the search by clicking on 'Test'.
If you decide to remove the alert, simply click on the 'Delete' option next to the relevant alert, or select 'Clear All Previous Searches' to delete them all.

Table of Contents (ToC) Alert - will e-mail you the contents page of any chosen journal whenever the latest issue becomes available online.

  1. Select 'Alerts' then 'TOC' from the left hand menu
  2. Click on the 'Select Journal' link
  3. Click on the initial letter of the journal you want to add
  4. Select the journal title(s) (use Ctrl to add multiple journals)
  5. Click 'Add' to select the journal(s) to add to your ToC alerts list
  6. Click 'Done' to complete the process

The journals will now appear in your ToC alerts lists. Select 'Save' to store the list to your profile.

Weekly Digest alert - will e-mail you a summary of all the Emerald Fulltext journals updated each week. They are available in two formats. You may subscribe to an alert that contains a list of all journal issues published, or to an alert that contains a list of issues from journals that your organization subscribes to.

  1. Select 'Alerts' then 'Weekly Digests' from the left hand menu
  2. To subscribe, simply select the appropriate option and click on 'Save' to confirm
  3. To unsubscribe, simply deselect the appropriate option and click on 'Save' to confirm

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IngentaConnect

To set up an account to receive table of contents notification, or to run saved searches, you will need to set up a personal Ingenta account. Please follow these instructions.

Sometimes there are sporadic problems accessing IngentaConnect articles from off campus. If this happens, you can follow the registration procedure described below to set up an IngentaConnect account. Once you set up your account, you can use this account to log into the IngentaConnect site and obtain full text articles from off campus.

To Register an Account

  1. Connect to http://www.ingentaconnect.com/.
  2. On the right side of the page, under "Need to Register?" click on Sign up here.
  3. Fill out the Personal Registration form. The fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required. You may wish to make a note of your user name and password for future reference.
  4. Select the button labeled Register.

This completes the registration process. In subsequent visits. connect to http://www.ingentaconnect.com/ and log in with your username and password. Then, proceed with your activities.

To sign up for New Issue Alerts

  1. On the right side of the screen, under "Manage My Ingenta," select New Issue Alerts.
  2. Select the tab labeled "Add."
  3. Search or browse for the journal(s) for which you want to receive tables of contents via e-mail. From the resulting lists, select the journals you want by clicking the box opposite each title.
  4. When you have made your selections, click on the work add at the top or the bottom of the list. Each title you select will be added to your alerts list.
  5. Repeat the search and selection process until you have selected all the journals you want.
  6. Click on the Current tab and you will see the publication has been added to your list of alerts. Check that the e-mail address is correct, and that you will receive the e-mail in plain text or graphical (HTML) format.
  7. You will receive an alert when a new issue of your selected journal is published on IngentaConnect.

How to set up a Search Alert

With a Search Alert, you can run a search, save it, and receive e-mail notification of new content.

  1. Log into your IngentaConnect account and run a search.
  2. Select the Saved Search tab and check the box next to the appropriate search.
  3. From the drop down menu select Create alert. You will be taken to the Search Alerts tab where your search alerts are listed. Make sure that the e-mail address for the alerts is correct.
  4. You will receive a weekly alert via e-mail. You will receive an alert only when there are new results matching your search.

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Mergent Online

  1. Log into Mergent and Enter Mergent Online
  2. Choose EDGAR Search tab
  3. Click Email Alerts on upper right
  4. Enter your e-mail address and click Edit My Alerts
  5. Follow directions to create alerts for EDGAR filings for specific companies

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ProQuest

The ProQuest database, available through Find Databases on the Library Gateway, lets you create alerts to notify you of new information. You can:

  • Create an alert for a search you've just run, and receive an e-mail notification of new search results.
  • Create an alert for a recent search, and receive an e-mail notification of new search results.
  • Create an alert for a publication, and receive an e-mail notification of new issues published.

To get started: from either on or off campus, connect to the ProQuest database via ABI/Inform, available through the Library Gateway's Find Databases.

Search Alert
Once you have set up a search alert, you will receive an e-mail that will include a results list similar in layout to the standard ProQuest search results page, including links to the pertinent information. This e-mail can include up to 50 results. At the bottom of the page, you will see a view all search results link. Click this link to rerun the search, showing both the newly published information and all previous information.

Near the top of the e-mail you will see a Delete this alert link. Click this link to delete the alert, so you no longer receive updated results.

How to Create a Search Alert
Follow these steps to create a new search alert:

  1. Run the desired search from either the Basic or the Advanced page.
  2. On the Results page, click Set Up Alert. You will see the Set up Your Search Alert page.
  3. Complete the required information and click Save.
  4. You will see a confirmation page, summarizing your information. If the information is correct, click Done. Otherwise, you can click Delete this Alert to delete the alert.

Search Alerts on Recent Searches

Follow these steps to create an alert on a recent search:

  1. From the Basic or Advanced page, click the # Recent Searches link . Or, from the Results page, click the # Recent Searches link located near the bottom of the page in the grey Tools bar. You will see the Recent Searches page.
  2. Locate the desired search, and click the Set up Alert button next to the search. You will see the Set up Your Search Alert page.
  3. Complete the required information and click Save.
  4. You will see a confirmation page, summarizing your information. If the information is correct, click Done. Otherwise, you can click Delete this Alert to delete the alert.

Publication Alerts
Once you have set up a publication alert, you will receive an e-mail that will include a results list similar in layout to the standard ProQuest search results page, including links to the pertinent information.

  • At the bottom of the page you may see a View more results for this alert at ProQuest link. Click this link to view the next page of search results.
  • At the bottom of the page you may see navigation links. Click these links to view additional pages of search results.
  • Near the top of the e-mail you will see a Delete this alert link. Click this link to delete the alert, so you no longer receive updated results.

How to Create a Publication Alert
Follow these steps to create a new publication alert:

  1. Locate the desired publication using Publication search.
  2. From the Publication page, click the Set up Alert button. You will see the Set up Your Publication Alert page.
  3. Complete the required information and click Save.
  4. You will see a confirmation page, summarizing your information. If the information is correct, click Done. Otherwise, you can click Delete this Alert to delete the alert.

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PubMed MEDLINE

You can search the PubMed MEDLINE biomedical literature database directly at http://pubmed.gov or from the Library Gateway to produce current awareness updates on a monthly or other regular schedule. Simply conduct your subject, author or journal search, then apply "limits" to select "30 days" under the Entrez date pull-down menu or choose a specific Entrez date range, such as 2003-01-20 to 2003-02-09. You can also perform monthly or other updates using PubMed's Cubby function.

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ScienceDirect Alerts

A ScienceDirect Alert allows you to receive e-mail notification of new content that matches your research interests for hundreds of journals from Elsevier's ScienceDirect. You can create a Search Alert, Journal Issue Alert and Citation Alert, as well as create a Create a Favorite Journal List which you can browse and search.
  1. From either on or off campus, connect to ScienceDirect, available through the Library Gateway's Find Databases.
  2. Select the button "My Alerts."
  3. Select "Register Now" on the right side of the page.
  4. Fill out the registration form. When completed, select "done."
  5. Select "login now" to enter ScienceDirect with your new account. Please note that user names and passwords are case sensitive.
  6. The next screen offers you the option to create three types of alerts:
    • Search Alerts: you can run a search, then save it, and receive e-mail daily, weekly or monthly when this search retrieves new results
    • Journal Issue Alerts: you will receive e-mail notification when a new issue of a particular journal becomes available
    • Citation Alerts: you will receive e-mail notification when a selected article is cited by new articles added to ScienceDirect

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