Landolt-Börnstein goes online!

All volumes of the natural sciences and technology database available in the Internet -- individual articles can soon be ordered -- stronger focus on engineering -- new service will be presented at Online Information 2001"

Heidelberg, November 14, 2001. One hundred and eighteen years and 140,000 printed pages after it first began, all 290 volumes of Landolt-Börnstein, the data collection on chemistry, physics and technology published by Springer-Verlag, is now available online. The editor-in-chief Professor Werner Martienssen pressed the start button in Heidelberg last week, putting the database online. The online version of Landolt-Börnstein is integrated in Springer-Verlag's LINK portal and offers the well-known advantages of this electronic information service. In the near future, non-subscribers will also be able to purchase individual articles from Landolt-Börnstein and to pay for them using a new invoicing system.

The printed version of Landolt-Börnstein is well established among experts; it was founded in 1883 by the physicists/chemists Richard Börnstein and Hans Landolt and soon became a standard reference work consulted by international natural scientists and engineers. It has been published in English since 1961. The data collected over a period of decades has increased over the past few years to such an extent that the editors and publishers decided to make it available in electronic form too. This view was reinforced by the results of a market research study, in which 83 percent of users said that they would prefer an online version to the print one.

All subscribers of the complete Landolt-Börnstein can now register to gain access to the online version immediately. The volumes up to 1990 are available to Internet users worldwide at no charge. The invaluable advantage of the online version," says Martienssen, is its proximity to the user. As soon as a new volume has been published, readers will be able to initiate discussions with the authors and editors, something that will no doubt be fruitful for both sides." A tailor-made search allows users to search by CAS number, author name, substance, and much more; the results of the search appear on screen within a matter of seconds.

The aim of Landolt-Börnstein's editors has always been to gather well-founded knowledge from the fields of chemistry and physics, to take a critical look at it, put it in a useful order, and publish it in individual, reader-friendly volumes. A database has thus been created that is integrated in a coherent scientific context and is continually growing. In future, more emphasis is to be placed on engineering and applied natural sciences, and a separate new group will be devoted to these areas. It will contain information on interdisciplinary problems such as climatology, radiation protection, and environmental protection, among other things.

The new service is to be presented for the first time from December 4-6, 2001 at Online Information 2001" in London. Venue: Olympia Springer-Verlag, Stand No. 66, Ground Floor, Grand Hall.

For further details, please contact: Ms. Gertraud Griepke, Tel. +49 (0)6221-487-8457;
                                                                                                         e-mail: griepke@springer.de

Press contact: Ms. Stefanie Müller; Tel.: +49 (0)6221-487-8681; e-mail: stefanie.mueller@springer.de

For further details on Online Information:
see the web site at www.online-information.co.uk
Contact Rebekah Hart, Marketing Manager at Learned Information Europe Ltd
Telephone:+44 (0)1865 388000
e-mail: rebekah_hart@learned.co.uk