Alert Services Available through the UW Libraries
Many of the databases provided by the UW Libraries offer alert services that automatically send email notifications for new citations or table of contents that match a requester's interests.
The names (alert, autoalert, sdi) and the procedures for setting up these services vary among vendors, but they generally operate in the same way. You specify the search terms or the journal titles and the database automatically provides you with updated results via email. For some you must register with a password and establish a profile or personal account; for others you simply provide your email address. Some alert services limit the number of searches you can save. In many databases you can define how often a search is run.
Note: some alert services will provide links to information that are restricted to UW faculty, students and staff. To access those links from off-campus, you will need to go through the Libraries proxy server using the bookmarklet or by proxying the URLs. See the Connect from Off-Campus page for more info.
Here is a list of alert services available through the major databases available at the UW. There are many more - ask us if you have questions about an alert service.
| Databases | Description of Service |
|---|---|
| UW Libraries Catalog | Preferred Searches - is a function available through the Libraries catalog that provides weekly updates of newly received books in the library catalog. More information. |
CSA Databases: ASFA EconLit ERIC GeoRef Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts LISA Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts NTIS PAIS Philosopher's Index Social Services Abstracts Sociological Abstracts Water Resources Abstracts |
Save your searches as alerts. Click the Alerts link located in the top right corner of the screen. Click the New user? link. |
| EBSCO Databases: Academic Search Complete America History & Life ATLA Religion Database Business Source Complete CINAHL Communication & Mass Media Complete ERIC GreenFile Health Source: Consumer Edition Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition Historical Abstracts LISTA (Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts) MasterFILE Premier MEDLINE Military & Government Collection Newspaper Source Regional Business News |
Create an Alert directly from the Result List, Search History, or the Publication list. Create instant RSS feed Alerts by clicking on the orange RSS Feed icons. |
| Engineering Village 2 Databases: Compendex GeoBASE INSPEC |
Save searches and set up email alerts. Click My Alerts and then click Register Now. |
| ISI Databases: Arts & Humanities Citation Index BIOSIS Science Citation Index Social Sciences Citation Index Web of Science Zoological Record |
Save searches and set up email alerts. Click Citation Alerts in the drop-down menu located in the green bar at the top of the screen and then click the Go button. Click the Register link. |
| IEEE Xplore |
Set up email alerts to receive tables of contents of journals whenever a new issue is published. Click on Alerts on the opening page. |
| Ovid Databases: Embase ERIC Global Health PsycINFO |
Click the Personal Account button on the main database page to use the Saved Searches/Alerts service. Check the database's Help - Save Search Options page for more information. |
| Science Direct |
This database includes many journals, most of which are science-oriented, but some other subjects are covered. Click the Alerts button to save subject-type searches or table of contents searches. Click the Help button and read the Alerts section for more information. |
| Silverplatter Databases: FIAF international film archive TRANSPORT |
Silverplatter SDI - Users can save subject-type searches or table of contents searches. Click here for help with this service. |