Amsterdam, 31 May, 2011 – Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today that Google Maps functionality is now available in its journals. This new feature enriches online articles on SciVerse ScienceDirect with interactive maps, adapting to the needs of various scientific disciplines to visualize and interact with the author's geographic data.
Elsevier is one of the first publishers to introduce Google Maps functionality permanently in a selection of its journals, enhancing the online article, and serving the information needs of the scientific community. The Google Maps application enriches an article with research data that is visualized on an interactive map. These maps, which will appear in the online article on SciVerse ScienceDirect, are based on KML (geographic annotation) files created by authors.
"Offering authors the opportunity to include interactive maps in their article is part of our never-ending quest to explore better ways to create and deliver online scientific content," said IJsbrand Jan Aalbersberg, Vice President of Content Innovation at Elsevier. "The interactive maps will help users to increase the effectiveness of their research exploration and make their interaction with the content more efficient. The introduction of Google Maps on SciVerse ScienceDirect is another milestone in our ongoing partnership with researchers, aimed at creating optimal capabilities for exchanging research results and effectively digesting scientific information."
Professor M. Santosh, Editor-in-Chief of Gondwana Research, added: "Our authors are delighted with this new feature. It greatly expands the visibility and reach of their articles, and broadens the horizon of information dissemination and interactivity. At the same time, our readers benefit from the additional information the maps provide. By partnering with researchers in developing this innovative feature, Elsevier has introduced an innovation that is truly valued by our community."
The Google Maps functionality is initially piloted with seven journals on SciVerse ScienceDirect, in earth sciences, life sciences, and social sciences. Scaling up to all applicable Elsevier journals on SciVerse ScienceDirect is expected to happen later this year.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.
A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).