Scholarly Communication Commons^™

Information Outlook, March 2006, Special Libraries Association

Information Outlook, 2006

Volume 10, Issue 3

Information Outlook, February 2006, Special Libraries Association

Information Outlook, 2006

Volume 10, Issue 2

Assessing Library Collections Using Brief Test Methodology, Jennifer Benedetto Beals

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

The brief test methodology was developed by Howard White as an assessment tool to determine or verify the existing strength of a library collection. The relatively quick and inexpensive procedure utilizes the Research Libraries Group’s Conspectus levels, subject expertise, and cataloging records in WorldCat. In support of the University of Tennessee Libraries’ continuing efforts to encourage resource sharing with Information Alliance partners, I developed a project with art counterparts at the University of Kentucky and Vanderbilt University. Using brief tests, I completed an assessment of each institution’s collection in the subject area of African art. The results enabled us …

Subject Librarians In The Changing Academic Library, Louise Feldman

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This article overviews the literature and key topics surrounding the role of subject librarianship in the evolving environment of academic libraries. Subject librarians are looked at in the context of the broad trends affecting librarianship and in the context of the traditional roles they have held in collection development, instruction, and reference. The author opened a discussion on this topic entitled, “Subject Librarians: Viable or Vanishing?” for the RUSA-CODES Dual Assignments Discussion Group at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio, Texas in January of 2006.

Tiered Reference: The New Landscape Of The Frontlines, Susan Gardner

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Introduction

When one walks into a typical academic library today, he or she is hard-pressed to see a reference librarian in plain view working at a public services desk. The well marked “reference desk” of yore, staffed by a smiling librarian and once a staple of every traditional academic library, has evolved into a less visible, more amorphous facility. Most libraries now use a new service strategy called “tiered reference,” whereby the initial reference contact point is with trained students or paraprofessionals at a general service desk. These non-librarians field all manner of questions, including directional, computing, and occasionally reference. …

Exploring The Lsu Libraries’ Virtual Reference Transcripts: An Analysis, Jenna Ryan, Alice L. Daugherty, Emily C. Mauldin

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

Virtual reference is an important service provided by the Louisiana State University Libraries. A subcommittee within the Reference Department of Middleton Library decided to quantitatively and qualitatively review virtual reference transcripts for the 2005-2006 school year in order to assess and evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the services provided. The transcript analysis provides information reflecting how our patrons are using virtual reference and how our librarians are performing in the virtual environment.

The Use Of Scholarly Monographs In The Journal Literature Of Latin American History, Meiyolet Mendez, Karen Chapman

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This study explores the use of the monograph in the journal literature of Latin American history through a reference study of Hispanic American Historical Review for the years 1985, 1995 and 2005. The authors found that the use of monographs as secondary sources increased over time. Monographs in Spanish and Portuguese were heavily used, although English was the predominant language. Distribution of publication dates varied somewhat over the period, with less use of works from the previous five years in 2005. The most frequently-cited publishers were university presses. The authors concluded that the monograph continues to play a vital …

Managing Digital Resources, Or, How Do You Hold Electrons In Your Hand?, Anna L. Creech

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

In the 1995 publication New Automation Technology for Acquisitions and Collection Development, Nancy Markle Stanley wrote a chapter entitled "Purchasing Electronic Resources: an Acquisitions Perspective"¹ in which she outlines the challenges of managing electronic resources. I had to chuckle a bit when l read the book, because at the time of its publication, my undergraduate library was in the process of finally automating their catalog. The evolution of electronic resources in libraries has all of the characteristics of technological innovation. There are libraries with the funding and vision to be early adopters, and there are libraries on the tail …

Journal Use By Graduate Students As Indicated By Masters’ Theses Bibliographies At An Urban Commuter College, 1991-2004., Ellen A. Sexton

Publications and Research

Citation analyses were carried out on master’s thesis in three disciplines, forensic psychology, forensic science and criminal justice, completed and deposited in John Jay library from 1991 to 2004. The aim was to determine the effect of availability of electronic journals on students’ choice of references. The number of journal citations and the ratio of journal articles to all citations was assessed. Criminal justice theses listed more citations that either science of psychology theses, but relatively fewer journal articles. An increase over time was seen in the number of journal articles cited and in the ratio of journal articles to …

Information Outlook, January 2006, Special Libraries Association

Information Outlook, 2006

Volume 10, Issue 1

Bound By Law? Trapped In A Struggle She Didn't Understand, By Day A Filmmaker, By Night She Fought For Fair Use! [Tales From The Public Domain], Keith Aoki, James Boyle, Jennifer Jenkins

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

A graphic novel about fair use with respect to United States copyright law.

Synopsis:

A documentary is being filmed. A cell phone rings, playing the "Rocky" theme song. The filmmaker is told she must pay $10,000 to clear the rights for the song. Can this be true? "Eyes on the Prize," the great civil rights documentary, was pulled from circulation because the filmmakers' rights to music and footage had expired.

What's going on here? It's the collision of documentary filmmaking and intellectual property law, and it's the inspiration for this comic book. Follow its heroine Akika as she films her …