Library and Information Science Commons^™

History Of E-Journals And Electronic Databases In The Uri Libraries, William T. O'Malley

Collection Development Reports and Documents

Examines the history of the acquisition of electronic journals and databases at the University of Rhode Island Library. Brief statement of policy, strategy, risk, costs, pricing, and peers.

A Comparison Of Openurl Link Resolvers: The Results Of A University Of Connecticut Libraries Environmental Scan, Jill Livingston, Deborah Sanford, David Bretthauer

Published Works

This study examines the system architecture and capabilities of commercially available OpenURL link resolvers. These emerging technological tools are designed to increase use of library collections by automating the process of locating and accessing library holdings. Data for the study, largely experiential feedback received from libraries employing OpenURL link resolvers, was gathered through a series of evaluative activities. These included a preliminary literature review, Web survey, follow-up e-mail survey, and on-site visits to libraries. Results were analyzed within the context of the University of Connecticut Libraries’ resources and needs. Analysis revealed wide variation in library experiences with and perception of …

Digging Deeper Still: Coverage Of Archaeology From The United Kingdom, Ireland, And Select Commonwealth Nations From 1950 To 2000+ In Discipline-Specific And Subject-Oriented Online Indexes, David C. Tyler, Katharine C. Potter, Susan M. Leach, Jennifer M. Kreifels, Barbara Turner

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Librarians, faculty, professional researchers, and students often encounter difficulties in locating pertinent journal articles for the field of archaeology. This article examines the coverage given by 13 discipline-specific and subject-oriented indexes available online over a 50-year interval to 89 archaeology journals originating in the United Kingdom and in Ireland. The coverage provided by the individual indexes and several of the larger issues surrounding the coverage of the field are discussed, and a few recommendations are offered.

Metadata Basics: A Literature Survey And Subject Analysis, Nicole Mitchell

The Southeastern Librarian

Librarians today are wrestling with an everchanging digital environment. In some way oranother, we must all adapt to new technologies, skills, and ways of thinking. What comes to mind when you hear the word “metadata?” Is itintimidating? Do metadatists and catalogers explain the term adequately? While this articleby no means captures all there is about metadata, it is intended to provide librarians with a basic understanding of what is involved in metadatawork.

Digging A Little Deeper: Coverage Of Archaeology From The U.S. From 1950 To 2000+ In Discipline-Specific And Subject-Oriented Online Indexes, David C. Tyler, Katharine C. Potter, Susan M. Leach, Jennifer M. Kreifels

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Librarians, faculty and professional researchers, and students often encounter difficulties in locating pertinent journal articles for the field of archaeology. This article examines the coverage given to ninety-three archaeology journals originating in the United States over a fifty-year interval by twelve discipline-specific and subject-oriented indexes available online. The coverage provided by the individual indexes and some of the larger issues surrounding the coverage of the field itself are discussed, and several recommendations are offered.

Reference Database Usage Statistics 2005-2006, Andree J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

Statistics on the use of online reference databases at the University of Rhode Island during the period from July 2005 through June 2006. Includes COUNTER-compliant data on sessions, searches, turnaways, full text articles downloaded, cost per search, and other metrics.

Thinking About Linking, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

LINKING TO FULL TEXT THROUGH link resolver technology and the OpenURL standard has made electronic journals a cornerstone of library collections. Users expect that full text will always be a click or two away and it brings the library catalog, indexing and abstracting databases, and full text into an integrated system. The impact is great as major and smaller players embrace linking to all types of digital materials.

Moving History Forward, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

CURRENT EVENTS, CURRENT awareness, and faster news mean the immediate present often dominates our worldview. But for many researchers, history informs the latest hot topic.

Visualizing Search, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

EXPECT MORE SEARCH SYSTEMS to incorporate visualization and other sophisticated search and display techniques. They not only give a system a distinctive look, they also help users get deeper into results and stimulate thinking about search strategies. Instruction librarians can use these tools to move students and researchers beyond just plain search and retrieval.

Some traditional systems are now adopting new search tools that go beyond text results. They incorporate clustering and visualization into search display that sidesteps long lists of document titles and the tendency of users to select just from the first ten results and stop there. These …

Citation Help In Databases: Helpful Or Harmful?, Jane G. Kessler, Mary K. Van Ullen

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

A review of the help files in several major databases revealed that database vendors have begun including information on citing sources, which has the potential to be very useful to students. Surprisingly, 94% of the citation examples in the databases reviewed had errors. The average number of errors per example was 4.3. The citation help appears to have been put together quickly, with little thought and no proofreading. Librarians must insist that vendors correct or remove this information.

Building Bridges, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

MY CAREER AS A LIBRARIAN, LJ columnist, researcher, and teacher has been about building bridges--bridges between librarians and publishers, students and knowledge, and research and practice--which is probably why I was selected to deliver the NFAIS (National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services) Miles Conrad Memorial Lecture. Established in 1965, the lecture commemorates NFAIS founder G. Miles Conrad and honors people who have made significant contributions to information science (www.nfais.org). It isn't often that a librarian gets such acknowledgment from the information industry.

The work of librarians and information industry professionals is about connecting users to the information they need. …

Where Is The Proper Balance? Public Access To Government Information In An Era Of Concern Over National Security, James T. Shaw

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

My goal today is not to tell you precisely where the proper balance is, because that can only be worked out in democratic interplay among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of our governments. That process is awkward, halting, and sometimes maddening; but I continue to have great faith in the wisdom of our Founders, who perceived that checks and balances would over time prove a guarantor of our liberties. We must always remember that the Founders deliberately structured the Federal government so that it could never be too efficient. Recall that Benito Mussolini made great progress in making the …

The Value Of The Container, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

WHY ALL THE FUSS ABOUT ELECtronic journals? That was the question raised by Michael Gorman, the outspoken president of the American Library Association (ALA), at a session on "Future of Libraries" at the recent Online Information Meeting in London. "What we want is articles," said Gorman, calling the idea of putting them together in things called journals "irrelevant."

"We don't need e-journals," said the controversial Gorman. Articles should be put together by "our interests, not the editor's." The real problem, according to Gorman, is that there is no viable economic model. "Buying all articles [including those no one reads] is …

Intellectual Property Research: From The Dustiest Law Book To The Most Far Off Database, Jon R. Cavicchi

Law Faculty Scholarship

This issue of IDEA introduces a regular series of articles on intellectual property research tools and strategies based on my experience for over a decade as Intellectual Property Librarian and Research Professor at Franklin Pierce Law Center. Pierce Law is consistently ranked among the top law schools training IP professionals. I have taught IP legal research, patent, trademark and copyright searching to hundreds of students and IP professionals in Pierce Law Graduate Programs. I have tackled hundreds of reference and research questions as well as working on countless projects requiring IP information. So I have been faced with challenges and …