Some important electronic-based sources of chemical information

3 Some important electronic-based sources of chemical information 

The development of computer databases over the last decade has brought about a revolution in the way in which we search and store chemical 

There are disadvantages too. Some databases do not include all of the material available in conventional form for example, much of the early Chemical Abstracts is not available on-line. Another problem is that the software for on-line searching is relatively complex, so it is more difficult to learn and, as a result, on-line searches by inexperienced users can be unreliable. The increasing use of personal computers and graphical input and output have made database searching much easier but a good understanding of the software is stUl essential. Finally the cost of hardware, software, consumables, and the searches themselves, can be considerable. 

Below we briefly outline details of some of the more important chemical databases available. All these databases are commercial and require registration and payment of an annual fee to use, although in the UK the Cambridge Structural Database and REACCS are available free to the academic community as part of the Chemical Databank Service (CDS) based at Daresbury, Warrington. In general access to such databases will vary from institute to institute and as there are a wide range of different chemistry databases potentially accessible you should ask at your library for a list of those available to you. It is not possible to describe the operation of all the databases here, but you should be able to get help from your librarians or your supervisor and learn how these very powerful tools can help you. 

---