University Park, PA -- The Penn State University Libraries are offering hands-on sessions on using the new Web-based version of Biological Abstracts, an expansive database for life sciences research. Two training sessions will be held on Wednesday, April 3, 2002—the first from 10:00 a.m.–noon and the second from 2:00–4:00 p.m., both in 302 Paterno Library on Penn State's University Park campus.

The informative sessions will be conducted by Myrna Shields, senior trainer/educator for BIOSIS—a not-for-profit organization with offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the United Kingdom that helps researchers, educators, students, and others access information related to the life sciences.

Considered the most comprehensive collection of bibliographic references to life sciences journals, Biological Abstracts is now fully Web-based for better access and faster updating. The entire online version from 1969 to the present is available through the Fast Track in LIAS (the Library Information Access System) and includes links to full-text journal articles when available.

Biological Abstracts comprises all life sciences fields, including agriculture, biochemistry, biomedicine, ecology, genetics, natural history, molecular biology, plant pathology, veterinary science, wildlife management, zoology, and more. Each year, more than 350,000 article references are indexed from approximately 5,200 worldwide biological and medical research journals. Nearly 90 percent of the records include in-depth abstracts written by the authors.

These free sessions are recommended for anyone, from novice to expert, studying the life sciences or related fields. No registration is required. For more information, contact Kathy Fescemyer at kaf12@psu.edu or 814-865-7056.