Scirus v. Google

Library Journal staff, Elsevier's Scirus Science Search Engine Challenges Google, Library Journal, October 15, 2004. Excerpt: "Elsevier Science is throwing down the gauntlet to Google users, challenging them to switch to its Scirus search engine when scouring the web for scientific information. Though the publisher has come under fire for its pricing, Scirus has been available free since its 2001 launch. Amanda Spiteri, marketing director of Elsevier's ScienceDirect, told LJ that Scirus now has attracted more than one million users worldwide, a number 'beyond expectations.'...In addition to searching more than 167 million science-specific web pages, Scirus covers 18 million full-text articles and abstracts from journal sources that include Medline, ScienceDirect, BioMed Central,and preprint archives. Elsevier says that Scirus 'includes more coverage of proprietary and Open Access Initiative sources than any other free search engine.'...[Spiteri] admits there is some suspicion about Elsevier's motives but assures LJ that Scirus isn't a promotion tool for the publisher's products. Spiteri emphasized that Scirus features materials from a wide variety of sources and that results are branded so users can see where the information originated. Elsevier expects to 'benefit from the research output' generated by users to recoup its investment."