The Chemical Structure Association (CSA) Trust is an internationally recognized organization established to promote the critical importance of chemical information to advances in chemical research. In support of its charter, the Trust has created a unique Grant Program, renamed in honor of Professor Jacques-Émile Dubois who made significant contributions to the field of cheminformatics. The Trust is currently inviting the submission of grant applications for 2010.

Purpose of the Grants:
The Grant Program has been created to provide funding for the career development of young researchers who have demonstrated excellence in their education, research or development activities that are related to the systems and methods used to store, process and retrieve information about chemical structures, reactions and compounds. A Grant will be awarded annually up to a maximum of three thousand U.S. dollars ($3,000). Grants are awarded for specific purposes, and within one year each grantee is required to submit a brief written report detailing how the grant funds were allocated.

Who is Eligible?
Applicant(s), age 35 or younger, who have demonstrated excellence in their chemical information related research and who are developing careers that have the potential to have a positive impact on the utility of chemical information relevant to chemical structures, reactions and compounds, are invited to submit applications. While the primary focus of the Grant Program is the career development of young researchers, additional bursaries may be made available at the discretion of the Trust. All requests must follow the application procedures noted below and will be weighed against the same criteria.

What Activities are Eligible?
Grants may be awarded to acquire the tools necessary to support research activities, or for travel to collaborate with research groups, to attend a conference relevant to one’s area of research, to gain access to special computational facilities, or to acquire unique research techniques in support of one’s research.

Application Requirements:
Applications must include the following documentation:

1. A letter that details the work upon which the Grant application is to be evaluated as well as details on research recently completed by the applicant;
2. The amount of Grant funds being requested and the details regarding the purpose for which the Grant will be used (e.g. cost of equipment, travel expenses if the request is for financial support of meeting attendance, etc.). The relevance of the above-stated purpose to the Trust’s objectives and the clarity of this statement are essential in the evaluation of the application);
3. A brief biographical sketch, including a statement of academic qualifications;
4. Two reference letters in support of the application. Additional materials may be supplied at the discretion of the applicant only if relevant to the application and if such materials provide information not already included in items 1–4. Three copies of the complete application document must be supplied for distribution to the Grants Committee.

Deadline for Applications:
Applications must be received no later than March 15, 2010. Successful applicants will be notified no later than May 1, 2010.

Address for Submission of Applications:
Two copies of the application documentation should be forwarded to: Bonnie Lawlor, CSA Trust Grant Committee Chair, 276 Upper Gulph Road, Radnor, PA 19087, USA. If you wish to enter your application by e-mail, please contact Bonnie Lawlor at blawlor@nfais.org prior to submission so that she can contact you if the e-mail does not arrive.

ChemBioOffice Ultra Software: License codes for ChemBioOffice also expired recently. You must sign into CambridgeSoft’s web site to get the new code. Go to the Download and Install, and Reactivate sections of the ChemBioOffice web page for more details.

Stanford to Accept Digital Dissertations

Please note that it is still possible to get a print copy of a thesis bound by SULAIR’s Bindery Unit. The rates are: Pre-printed = $16.00, Print & bind from binder = $25.00.

Full-text PDF files of Stanford dissertations from 1989 to present are available to Stanford users from Current Research @ Stanford University, a Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses, hosted by UMI.

If you are getting more “busy” signals when you try to login to use SciFinder, this is due to a reduction in the number of users available. The total number of simultaneous users for SciFinder has decreased from 11 to 8. Allocation of simultaneous seats for each interface is a set value. As a catalyst to encourage users to migrate from the client to the web, last week I changed the allocation of simultaneous users from 4 web/4 client to 5 web/3 client. I also reduced the inactivity timeout from 20 to 12 minutes.

CAS has worked hard to make the two interfaces equivalent in terms of features offered. Last week they announced significant enhancements in performance and speed. If you tried out the web version some time ago when it was still alpha/beta, I encourage you to try it again. Hopefully, you’ll find the web version to be a viable tool in your research.

For those that haven’t tried using the web version yet, please note one-time registration is required to set up a personal login. The web version offers several important advantages not available in the client version. They include:

• You can access the web version from off-campus.
• Keep-Me-Posted feature that allows you to set up alerts using authors, subjects, or structures. A maximum of 20 alerts are allowed per login ID.
• Hypertext link from the ACS Publications site to SciFinder for individual articles. These links allow you to retrieve the SciFinder record for a citation and from there view citing papers.

Security issues have grown during the past nine months. One of the prime targets by information pirates has been SciFinder. Using only the web version will help limit access to authorized Stanford users.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Grace Baysinger (graceb@stanford.edu).

• SciFinder How To Guides: Web Version
• SciFinder Tutorials: Web Version

Socrates and SearchWorks will be available. Request links for recalls, paging, etc. in Socrates will be available. However, paged materials will not be delivered until January 4, 2010. Recalled materials won’t be required to be returned until the first week of Winter Quarter classes.

There will be no Searches for Missing Items. Searches will resume on January 4, 2010.

Interlibrary Borrowing and RLCP: Throughout the winter closure patrons can continue to submit ILB and RLCP requests. Requests will not be processed until Monday, January 4, 2010. Patrons should expect a delay in receiving requested materials. (About ILB and RLCP)

Stanford Auxiliary Libraries (SAL1&2): Paging available December 29 – 31, 2009 and January 2, 2010, 1 – 5 p.m. For inquiries, please call 650-723-9201.

Stanford Auxiliary Libraries (SAL3, and SAL-Newark): There will be no paging December 19, 2009 – January 3, 2010.

Branch Libraries: For branch libraries that are open, circulation desks will be open for borrowing only. Reference services and the processing of document delivery, interlibrary loans, holds, recalls, and course reserves will resume on January 4, 2010.

Green Library will be open December 21–23, 28–31, 9am–5pm with these limited services:

• The Loan Desk and the Privileges Office will be open.
• The Information Center Desk and offices will be closed. We will provide only limited email reference and there will be no processing of interlibrary requests for the entire period.
• The Velma Denning Room and SSRC reception desk will be closed.
• The Social Sciences, Humanities & Area Studies offices will be closed. Curators, subject specialists, and most library staff will not be available for consultation.
• With the exception of the closed areas, all spaces, collections, and computers will be available.