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Library and Information Science Commons

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Wright State University

2009

Off the Shelf

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Library and Information Science

Encyclopedia.Com, Sue Polanka Sep 2009

Encyclopedia.Com, Sue Polanka

University Libraries' Staff Publications

Fall is in the air-football, back-to-school activities, pumpkins, and the annual Reference Books Bulletin "Encyclopedia Update." This year we get to highlight a new encyclopedia. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, acquired HighBeam Research in December 2008, and with that acquisition, the ownership of a fabulous URL EncycLopedia.com, a free resource with more than half a million entries on a variety of topics. The best part? The information is from vetted reference sources. In fact, more than 200 dictionaries and encyclopedias are used to verify content on the site, with many more to follow. This is great news for librarians and …


Reference Universe, Sue Polanka Jun 2009

Reference Universe, Sue Polanka

University Libraries' Staff Publications

One of my favorite things about being a reference librarian is me reference collection. I love perusing the subject encyclopedias for unique content and enjoy watching my collection grow, both in prim and e-book formats. However, I find it difficult to keep up with the resources in this valuable collection. Luckily, I found a tool that not only helps me remember these great tides but unlocks them for me, exposing articles and ideas I may not have considered. My tool is Reference Universe, from Paratext, an index for the articles inside the reference collection, providing access points not found in …


Patron-Driven Acquisition, Sue Polanka Jan 2009

Patron-Driven Acquisition, Sue Polanka

University Libraries' Staff Publications

Patron-Driven Acquisition (PDA) is an e-book business model introduced by NetLibrary almost 10 years ago. The model was slow to develop over the years but has experienced a resurgence with programs from NetLibrary, Ingram Digital, and EBL. PDA stems from two traditional collection development principles—purchasing titles based on patron suggestions and establishing approval plans. The primary differences are that PDA is a business model strictly for e-books, and final selections are made by the patrons.