STM publisher Elsevier has announced its new Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences, which will provide biomedical and life science researchers with access to reference content updated as science progresses. It is currently available for pre-sale. Access for users will begin on ScienceDirect in late 2014.
Reference Modules combine thousands of related reference work articles into one source of trustworthy information that is continuously updated by experts. The first modules available to researchers were Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering and Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, beginning in September 2013.
The Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences will include content from 17 Elsevier's authoritative, peer-reviewed reference works; articles that are continuously reviewed, updated as needed and then time stamped by the expert editorial board; intuitive subject hierarchies, designed by the editorial board, that make it easy to navigate and find essential information; and linking to relevant journal articles and book chapters on ScienceDirect for additional information.
Biomedical and life science researchers benefit by gaining access to the most current foundational content that was previously locked up during the lengthy publishing process, typically for five to seven years. Librarians, who are increasingly under pressure to stretch budgets further and secure content that contributes to meaningful research and learning, see value in the Reference Modules' continuous reviews and updates led by the expert editorial boards.
It is expected that the Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences will help researchers access increasingly interdisciplinary content they require. The interdisciplinary subjects in the new module will include: cancer, cell biology, developmental biology, endocrinology, epidemiology and public health, genetics and genomics, human nutrition, immunobiology, medical biotechnology, medical microbiology, neurobiology, pathobiology of human disease, pharmacology, physiology, toxicology and virology.
