[Scholarly Communication] 

Microsoft has launched the beta version of its new search tool, Windows Live Academic Search, to allow students and researchers to more readily find peer-reviewed scholarly information [edit: Live Search Academic is no longer available]. The service includes journal articles from prominent academic societies and publishers. However, unlike Google Scholar, which crawls the web for academic content, Windows Live Academic Search works closely with publishers so that all content comes directly from the publisher.

For now, the service only covers computer science, electrical engineering, and physics, though it does include related biomedical subject areas such as bioinformatics. Scholarly organizations that have signed up to work with Microsoft on the new search tool include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the American Physical Society (APS). Also cooperating are major publishers such as Blackwell Publishing, Elsevier, the Nature Publishing Group, and John Wiley & Sons, and library organizations including the British Library (BL) and OCLC Online Computer Library Center. Read more.

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