Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Back To The Scriptorium: Amid Budget Woes, Vendors And Librarians Find A Common Purpose, Carol Tenopir, Gayle Baker, Jill E. Grogg

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Picture medieval monks hunched over their desks in the scriptorium as they labor to copy manuscripts. A 21st-century version of this activity is being repeated daily in the world's libraries and publishing houses as major digitization projects seek to preserve millions of printed books and documents. The work of medieval scribes ensured that the classics were available when the invention of movable type and the printing press made books accessible to the masses, transforming the world. Today's laborers are hunched over digitization equipment, but their goal is the same: copying and preserving resources so they are available now and into …

Information With A Twist: Vendors Keep The Party Going With Web 2.0, Carol Tenopir, Gayle Baker, Jill E. Grogg

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies led the social whirl of the information industry. Publishers and librarians tried to keep their products and services relevant by mixing authoritative content with user involvement, but that wasn't enough. Enhancing interfaces, adding new forms of content, and making strategic acquisitions--all are necessary to ensure that the information industry party continues.

Not Your Family Farm: The Information Industry Added Value With Unique Content And Custom Tools As Large Search Engines Entered The Market, Carol Tenopir, Gayle Baker, Jill E. Grogg

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

The information industry continues to consolidate, just as agribusiness has consolidated and now dominates farming. Both the family farm and the small information company still exist but are becoming rarer in an age of mergers, acquisitions, and increased economies of scale. Small companies distinguish themselves by high quality, special themes, or useful tools to keep and build their customer base.

The database marketplace this year was dominated by the news of several large acquisitions. Wiley's purchase of Blackwell Publishing Ltd. drew concerns from members of the Information Access Alliance (IAA), made up of representatives from SLA, the American Library Association, …

Renovating This Old House, Carol Tenopir, Gayle Baker, William Robinson, Jill E. Grogg

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

When we turn on the faucet we expect water to flow. When we flip the power switch, we expect light. We want a house to work and to look good. This old house of online databases is getting a new look and, in some cases, a new foundation to make it more attractive and robust for 2006.

Much of the value of a renovation lies in respecting history while reinforcing the foundation to keep the house intact. Information providers are using state-of-the-art technologies to create digital historical back files and collections.

Shopping For Information: Industry Behemoths, Niche Sellers, And Boutique Shops Compete For Library Dollars, Carol Tenopir, Gayle Baker, William Robinson

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Both librarians and end users have more shopping options than ever when it comes to finding information. From small boutiques with specialized products to the one-stop shopping of megastores, the database marketplace of 2005 resembles retail shopping. But some worry that the information marketplace will be subject to the same uncertain market conditions of the retail world, where it's difficult for small stores to compete when megachains come to town.

The Information Playground: Usage Data Improves, Google Gets Involved, Reference Ebooks Take Off, Carol Tenopir, Gayle Baker, William Robinson

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

CSA has expanded its social science and humanities offerings. Communication Abstracts from SAGE publications is now online, and new full-text SAGE collections in education and psychology are planned for release in 2004.

Information Today Stands Alone, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

MORE THAN A DECADE ago I wrote about three family-owned publishers that served online information professionals (see "The Database Press," LJ 3/1/89, p. 56-57). Online Inc., Meckler-Media, and Learned Information Inc. each focused on the online community through conferences, journals, books, and other publications.

Now, just a decade later, only Information Today Inc. (the name of Learned Information Inc. since 1995) has stuck totally with the online information professional. In fact, Information Today (see www.infotoday.com) has purchased many of the information professional products from its former competitors, while Online Inc. and MecklerMedia have gone in other directions.

Csa: Not Just Science Anymore, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

ASK LIBRARIANS WHAT they think of when they hear "Cambridge Scientific Abstracts" and most, not surprisingly, would likely cite bibliographic databases in the sciences. That is probably why Cambridge Scientific Abstracts officially changed its name to CSA to reflect a broadened scope of topics and types of sources.

Part of the, Cambridge Information Group (CIG), CSA now publishes databases and journals on many subjects and provides access to these and other companies' products through its Internet Database Service (IDS). Even librarians who hadn't paid attention to changes at CSA took notice this year when CIG purchased the R.R. Bowker Co.

The Power Of Citation Searching, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

IT MAY BE EFFECTIVE to find relevant literature by searching for articles by subject descriptors or keywords, but subject searching is not the only way. When authors of scholarly pieces cite relevant sources in the references or notes sections of their articles, researchers can thus extend their literature searches.

Database And Online System Usage, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

A DECADE AGO I wrote a column called "The Most Popular Databases" (LJ 4/1/91, p. 96,98). I used data from a company called Information Market Indicators (IMI) that tracked usage in a wide sample of libraries, plus CD-ROM best sellers lists from popular computing magazines. It is harder now to track database and system usage over all types of libraries because IMI no longer collects the data, CD-ROM isn't as important in libraries, and there are now many more choices of systems and databases.

Still The Big Three In Special Libraries: Dialog, Factiva, And Lexisnexis, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

JUDGING FROM THE size of their booths, the number of activities sponsored, and the glitz of their parties at the Special Libraries Association (SLA) 2001 annual meeting in San Antonio, Lexis-Nexis, Factiva (Dow Jones/Reuters), and Dialog are still the big three for special librarians. In fact, all three lead in online system revenues. These mainstays in special libraries fiercely compete with each other, but none can afford to take its position for granted--witness Dialog's recent slip from market leader to number three.

Are There Too Many Meetings?, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

AFTER OVER 20 YEARS, the face of online meetings is changing. As of 2001, Online World is no more, the National Online Meeting sports a new name, and ASIS (now ASIST) continues to refocus its meetings. Is the traditional online industry in trouble or were too many meetings vying for our attention and budget?

Trends For The Next Five Years, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Tenopir discusses major trends in the library marketplace in the next five years, including integration and aggregation, and linking indexing and full texts.

Trekking Through Exhibit Halls, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

IT SEEMS AS IF THE exhibit halls at the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and the American Library Association (ALA) conferences get bigger every year, and it takes longer for me to get from one end of the hall to the other. Certainly the glitz of new systems, fancy interfaces, and new technologies is more impressive every year, and new Internet companies keep showing up.

A Name (Un)Like Any Other Name, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

WHAT'S IN A NAME? Plenty, judging from the time, thought, and expense that go into picking a new name for an online company. Can you name the new company monikers for Dow Jones Interactive, Reuters Business Briefing, Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive, UMI, Bell & Howell Information and Learning, the Dialog Corporation, and WLN? Don't be discouraged if you can't. Only close observers can keep up with the continual name changes.

Getting What You Pay For?, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

The old adage "you get what you pay for" doesn't always apply to the World Wide Web. The number of authoritative sites grows daily.

Human Or Automated, Indexing Is Important, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Controlled vocabulary indexing was developed well over a century ago to provide a consistent way for users to search for information, but human-assigned indexing has always been labor-intensive and costly. Because of the importance of indexing, two major information companies are trying automated approaches.

Back To School Know-How, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Fee-based online databases such as Lexis-Nexis and Dialog are trying to attract a new crop of librarians by offering free training and enhanced password management.

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.

Expert Views Of The Future, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

While no one knows for sure what the future holds for libraries or the online industry, experts have their opinions. Tenopir buttonholed 17 of them for their views of coming changes in information science and delivery.

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.

As The Online World Turns, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

The relationship between online vendors and content providers was a major issue at the 1997 Online World conference. Other important topics included pricing of online services and Web sites of online providers.

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.

Generations Of Online Searching, Carol Tenopir

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Presents an excerpt about online searching based on a presentation to the Florida Library Association. The assertion that online searching in the mid-1990s has its roots in earlier online generations; Evolution; Content/databases; People involved; Places people search; Uses for online services; Search engines/interfaces; Survival skills.