Library and Information Science Commons^™

Proposing An Information Value Chain To Improve Information Services To Disabled Library Patrons Using Assistive Technologies, Devendra Potnis, Kevin Mallary

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Information services offered by academic libraries increasingly rely on assistive technologies (AT) to facilitate disabled patrons’ retrieval and use of information for learning and teaching. However, disabled patrons’ access to AT might not always lead to their use, resulting in the underutilization of information services offered by academic libraries. We adopt an inward-looking, service innovation perspective to improve information services for disabled patrons using AT. The open coding of qualitative responses collected from administrators and librarians in 186 academic libraries in public universities in the United States, reveals 10 mechanisms (i.e., modified work practices), which involve searching, compiling, mixing, framing, …

Online In London, At 25, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

IT'S BEEN SEVERAL years since I last attended the Online Information Meeting in London, so I was especially looking forward to the 25th-anniversary meeting this past December. Although some Americans chose to cancel, many Europeans attended. In 2000, about half of the attendees were librarians, and I suspect the proportion was similar this time.

The Web And Content Companies, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

All CAS electronic services are now on the web. The company views the web as "an opportunity to offer more convenient access to scientific databases and reach new audiences with little or no experience in traditional online searching." OCLC believes "the web has allowed OCLC and libraries to think in new ways about virtually every aspect of their operations: cataloging, reference, and resource sharing."

Are You A Super Searcher?, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

MILLIONS OF PEOPLE around the world consider themselves to be good online searchers, and probably hundreds of thousands of them rate themselves as experts. College librarians and professors notice that a growing number of undergraduates and graduate students feel confident in their online abilities. Everyone who works in a library knows at least the library's online catalog system and probably many other online, CD-ROM, and web search systems. If everyone is above average, as in Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon, what makes an online searcher stand out?

Shaping The Web "As We Want It", Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

The 1998 Online World Conference, sponsored by Online, Inc., was marked by president of Alexa Internet Brewster Kahle's speech. Kahle feels that libraries should 1) a collection with selection; 2) easy and open access; 3) organized materials; 4) preservation of the valuable and rare; and 5) aid to patrons. Other highlights of the conference are presented.

Whole Lotta Movin’ Goin’ On, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

WHEN I LIVED IN California, the hot, dry days of September and October were always referred to as "earthquake weather." Although the term may not be accurate geologically, shaking and moving was the autumnal activity of some of the major California-based information companies. The parent companies of both Dialog and Information Access Company (IAC) announced in September that they would be moving corporate headquarters out of California (see InfoTech, U 10/15/98, p. 25-26). What will it mean for us, their customers?

Furor Over Prices, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Tenopir discusses online databases and the major shift in pricing policies that just occurred at the DIALOG corporation. Right now is really not the best time for vendors to start increasing prices.

Linking To Full Texts, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

IT HAS BECOME routine for librarians to help a patron compile a comprehensive customized bibliography from online or CD-ROM indexes. In fact, patrons no longer consider it sufficient to compile a list of resources. Although searching indexes and abstracts was never the end of the information seeking process, in the print world an index search was so tedious that users focused energy on the search process. Interlibrary loan could suffice for articles the library didn't hold. Now, as library users become familiar with the convenience of online searching and their expectations rise, they expect instantaneous access to full articles.

To …

Will Online Vendors Survive?, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Online systems such as IAC, DIALOG, LEXIS/NEXIS and others are refocusing their market strategies following major corporation changes in the last year. Critical mass in the number of services, assets, customer size are necessary to compete in the changing, global information world.

Medline On The Web: Databases For Free, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

The National Library of Medicine is offering free access to its MEDLINE bibliographic database through two search systems on the Internet, Grateful Med and PubMed. Information on the various versions of MEDLINE is available on 'Dr. Felix's Free MEDLINE Page.'

Beyond The Cd-Rom Model, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Companies such as SilverPlatter Information Inc (SP) and Ovid Technologies Inc should think of themselves as being in the information industry rather than the CD-ROM industry. New products include SP's Electronic Reference Library client/server software and the Ovid Java Client web software.

Reading Vendor Literature, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Literature from database producers and online vendors can be a helpful starting point in deciding which distributor to select for a library. However, librarians should be cautious of phrases such as 'easy to use' and 'low cost,' as well as misleading descriptions of size.

The Complexities Of Electronic Journals, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Electronic journals are available from a variety of sources with varying formats and prices. The growth of technology has produced a range of delivery mechanisms. Variations in quality and accessibility make it impractical for libraries to replace print formats with electronic journals.

Integrating Electronic Reference., Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Offers information from a 1994 survey of Association of Research Libraries' (ARL) members by the author and reference librarian Ralf Neufang and compares it with 1991 survey of the same group. How most of the 96 responding libraries provide CD-ROM databases for patrons; Intermediary online; End user online; Tape-loaded databases; Patron access to the Internet; Patron expectations; User instruction; Integrated reference.

Online Images On Stn, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Chemical Journals of the American Chemical Society has increased the usefulness of its online files by adding images to the ASCII text. Instructions are presenting for searching the STN International network and downloading information.

Online Law, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Mead Corp is selling Mead Data Central, the owner of the full-text legal resource database LEXIS. The major competitor of LEXIS is WESTLAW, which is introducing a voice-activated system using LawTalk and expanding natural language searching.

Moving Toward Quality, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Data base searchers have begun a movement to demand improved quality in online data bases, and some cooperative responses from producers and systems have been received. Some companies are using Total Quality Management programs, and others have developed systems for users to report problems.

Online Information Anxiety, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Librarians contribute to the information overload problem by attempting to provide the best possible collections and service. Solutions to the information anxiety problem created by online databases are discussed.

Article Delivery Solutions, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article discusses solutions to the problems of libraries that offer online or CD-ROM searching of bibliographic databases. One perennial problem facing libraries that offer online or CD-ROM searching of bibliographic databases is helping patrons get copies of the documents they identify in a search. Although the problem exists even with printed indexes, database searching makes it easier to locate more items in a wider variety of sources. Patrons with long printouts of articles in sometimes obscure journals are common in libraries, especially as libraries provide CD-ROM indexes for self-service searching. Some libraries report an increase in the use of …

Why Don’T Librarians Use Full-Text Databases?, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

The majority of database use in libraries is on bibliographic or referral databases instead of full-text databases. The advantages of full-text databases and reasons that more libraries should use them are discussed.

Who Owns Whom?: Online Systems And Buyouts, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Since 1986, three of the six commercial online systems most used by libraries and information centers have changed hands. The implications of these buyouts for online professionals are discussed.