About CAB Direct
CAB Direct was CABI’s online database platform, providing a single point of access to CABI database subscriptions. CABI described the platform as a gateway to major bibliographic resources including CAB Abstracts and Global Health, used to discover research across agriculture, the environment, the applied life sciences and public health. CABI relaunched the platform in July 2016 with updated search, browsing, project and analysis tools.
CAB Direct is now part of CABI’s platform history rather than the current home for CABI content. CABI launched the CABI Digital Library in July 2022 and reported that the migration from CAB Direct was completed in 2023. This page explains that transition and points readers to current official CABI resources.
CAB Direct and the cabdirect.org domain
Historical CABI documentation identifies www.cabdirect.org as the original CAB Direct domain. During the 2016 relaunch, CABI stated that the address would remain unchanged while the platform itself was replaced with a newer version.
The 2016 platform was designed for literature discovery and research management. Users could search database records, browse by author, serial and subject, use the CAB Thesaurus, analyse results and organise records in projects. These functions belonged to the CAB Direct service as it operated at that time.
From CAB Direct to CABI Digital Library
CABI Digital Library launched in July 2022 as a unified publishing and discovery platform. CABI’s 2023 Annual Review says that more than 15 million records were relocated and that the final steps of the migration from CAB Direct were completed during 2023. CABI describes the Digital Library as the new home for its content.
The change was more than a visual redesign. CABI moved content to a different technical platform and published guidance for users who wanted to recreate searches previously saved in CAB Direct. The current search help still documents differences between CAB Direct search syntax and the CABI Digital Library.
What users can find in the current library
The CABI Digital Library brings together both database records and full-text CABI content. According to CABI’s current search documentation, results may include database abstract records, articles and chapters, whole publications, and CABI news, blogs and events. Users can search across open and subscribed content from one platform.
For researchers who knew CAB Direct primarily through CAB Abstracts or Global Health, those database products remain central to CABI’s search documentation. The current platform also uses CABI indexing structures such as controlled vocabulary and CABI subject classification codes to support precise retrieval.
About CABI
CABI is an international, intergovernmental, not-for-profit organization. Its current public information states that 48 Member Countries guide and influence its work. CABI’s activities include scientific publishing, research and development work focused on agriculture and the environment, alongside other scientific services.
CAB Direct was a CABI service, not a separate company. For current information about CABI’s governance, mission and organizational structure, readers should use CABI’s official website rather than infer present-day organizational details from historical CAB Direct material.
Editorial, indexing and evidence scope
CAB Direct primarily functioned as a discovery platform for bibliographic database records and linked content. It did not establish one universal authorship, peer-review or medical-review process for every source discoverable through the platform. The editorial process for an individual journal article, book chapter, report or other full-text publication depends on the publication and publisher responsible for that item.
For database discovery, CABI applies structured metadata and subject indexing. The current CABI Digital Library help explains the use of CABI Codes and the CAB Thesaurus to improve subject searching. Readers evaluating a specific source should also review the publication record, date, authorship and any journal- or publisher-specific editorial information attached to that source.
Funding and governance context
Funding information on this page refers to CABI as an organization, not to a separate CAB Direct budget. CABI states that its work is supported through a mix that includes programme and project funding from donors, fees paid by Member Countries and profits from publishing activities. CABI’s Member Countries participate in the organization’s governance and strategic direction.
The official sources checked for this page do not provide a current, standalone funding statement for CAB Direct after its migration to the CABI Digital Library, so no separate funding claim is made here.
Contact and support
For general CABI enquiries, the current CABI Wallingford contact details are: CABI, Nosworthy Way, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8DE, UK; +44 (0)1491 832111; enquiries@cabi.org. CABI also provides a central contact page for other offices, publishing enquiries and general questions.
For CABI Digital Library search or platform guidance, use the official help centre and its support contact page. These are the appropriate current resources for users who need assistance with searches, access or migration from older CAB Direct workflows.