For More Information Contact:
Pete Cookingham, Turfgrass Information Center 517-353-7209 or by email at cooking1@msu.edu;
Anne Wilson
STRI
St Ives Estate - Bingley
West Yorkshire, UK BD16 1AU
Tel: 01274 565131; Tel: 800-446-8443 (USA and Canada)
Fax: 01274 561891; E-mail: anne.wilson@stri.co.uk

Date: February 14, 2003
Electronic Back-file of Journal of Turfgrass Science Now Available

The Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) and the Turfgrass Information Center (TIC) are pleased to announce a joint effort that provides electronic access to back issues of the Journal of Turfgrass Science via the Turfgrass Information File (TGIF).
STRI, the United Kingdom’s market leader in turfgrass research, produces the Journal of Turfgrass Science to facilitate the dissemination of turf related research results, while the TIC serves to index the literature of turf, using TGIF to direct users to appropriate research in a vast array of publications, including the Journal of Turfgrass Science. This agreement will enable TGIF users to go directly from a citation/abstract to the full text of the article for all Journal of Turfgrass Science issues published prior to 1999. Electronic full-text availability will be for all years from 1929 up to the last three. In addition, current subscribers to the STRI will also have access to the electronic back-file via the STRI website homepage.

Leading turfgrass research expert Dr. James Beard noted that “This will increase the amount of literature for which users will have direct full-text access, which is particularly useful given that the Journal of Turfgrass Science, and its predecessor the Journal of the Sports Turf Research Institute, is the premier turfgrass research journal in Europe. This will allow students, teachers, researchers and practitioners to spend more time focusing on content rather than spending time looking for the article. This will be an enormous plus.”

Clifford Haka, director of the Michigan State University Libraries, home of the Turfgrass Information Center, stressed that “this is wonderful example of how the research and information gathering process can be simplified. We look forward to this being the first of several research journals for which full-text access can be provided within the Turfgrass Information File.”
STRI spokesperson Anne Wilson, Head of External Affairs, noted that this would provide an enormous benefit to STRI subscribers. “Most of our current subscribers do not have direct access to the entire back-run of our journal at their finger-tips. This will be a most welcome added benefit to their subscription.”

The years 1989 – 1998 are currently available online. Subscribers to the Turfgrass Information File can access these materials at turf.lib.msu.edu. Subscribers to STRI can access these materials via the STRI homepage at www.stri.co.uk. The process of adding earlier years is underway, and it is anticipated that the entire run back to 1929 will be available within this calendar year. Subsequent years, such as 1999, will be added once three years have passed.

Editor’s Note: Please note from Volume 78 2002, the title of Journal of Turfgrass Science was changed to the Journal of Turfgrass and Sports Surface Science. The title was previously the Journal of the Sports Turf Research Institute.

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