Current Awareness

This column contains summaries of articles (print and electronic) about information access and retrieval, electronic publishing, preservation and virtual libraries etc. including, with permission, abstracts identified with an * next to the author initials, drawn from Current Cites, the monthly publication distributed electronically by a team of Librarians and Library Staff and edited by Roy Tennant ( http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/CurrentCites ).

If you are interested in providing reviews for the Column, please contact Jane Grogan for further details.

Content Management

Thomas, Kim. Standards body to draft ECM Bible Information World Review 239 October 2007: 2 – The British Standards Institute are reported as developing a standard for enterprise content management (ECM). The proposed standard is expected to be available in the summer of 2008. Ben Richmond, founder of the Content Group, will develop the standard and notes in the report that the standard will also be a code of practice. – [RH]

Veitch, Martin. ECM takes off in a new direction Information World Review 239 October 2007: 17 – The growth of usage of Office SharePoint Server is analysed, with revenues for Microsoft reported as being up by a third in the past year. Familiarity with Microsoft products, low costs and low risks are cited as reasons for its growing success. The products' integration of solutions for search, document management and portal requirements is reported as helping its popularity in meeting the needs of the vast majority of users. – [RH]

Digitisation Projects / Preservation

Albanese, Andrew Richard.  Scan This Book! Library Journal (15 August 2007) ( http://libraryjournal.com/article/CA6466634.html ) – This piece is mostly an interview with Brewster Kahle of the Open Content Alliance, with an introduction that sets the stage. The Open Content Alliance occupies a particular niche among those doing mass digitization, and this interview explores that well. Kahle sees himself as a crusader, and someone following the tradition of libraries in this country while bringing their content to the web. "I see the library system in this country as a $12 billion industry dedicated to preservation and access of materials that are not mediated through a corporate experience," Kahle says. "The alternative is that the materials people learn from are forever mediated by a relatively small number of commercial companies in terms of selection and presentation." – [* RT ]

Griffin, Daniel. National Archives takes charge of securing Whitehall's digital legacy Information World Review 238 September 2007: 6 – The National Archives (NA) plans to launch a three-year scoping exercise to deal with Whitehall digital preservation are detailed by IWR in an interview with Natalie Ceeney, chief executive of the National Archives. The need to create a single process of preservation, financial issues and accessibility are topics covered in this article. The 2006 Mind the Gap report from the Digital Preservation Coalition ( www.dpconline.org ) is noted as a context for the work that the NA are currently undertaking. – [RH]

van der Graaf, Maurits.  DRIVER: Seven Items on a European Agenda for Digital Repositories Ariadne (52)(2007) ( http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue52/vandergraf/ ) – During the last few years, there have been growing number of surveys about digital repositories, which have helped to clarify the activities of these important new systems ( ARL , CNI , CNI/SURF , DSpace , and MIRACLE Project ). Now, the DRIVER Project has added to that knowledge base with a survey of repository activity in 27 European Union countries. In 15 countries, a "sizeable proportion" of research universities have a repository, in five "a few institutions" have repositories, and in seven, there is no known repository activity. The average repository has about 9,000 records. Ninety percent of these records are for textual materials, while 61% are metadata-only records. GNU Eprints is the most commonly used software, followed by DSpace. Check out the article for more details. – [* CB ]

E-Publishing

Chillingworth, Mark. Open access is branded 'junk science' by US lobby Information World Review 238 September 2007: 1 – The Partnership for Research Integrity in Science and Medicine (PRISM), founded by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), has claimed that Open Access publishing is 'junk' and are reported to plan to lobby the US congress on the 'risks' of proposed government interference with the scholarly communication process. Possible changes in National Institute of Health policy as a driver for this move are cited in this article, which also includes comment from open-access campaigners and other industry experts questioning the AAP stance. – [RH]

Lynch, Clifford.  The Shape of the Scientific Article in The Developing Cyberinfrastructure CTWatch Quarterly 3(3)(August 2007) ( http://www.ctwatch.org/quarterly/articles/2007/08/the-shape-of-the-scientific-article-in-the-developing-cyberinfrastructure/ ) – Clifford Lynch elucidates how the scientific article is likely to evolve in response to changes in the way scholarly work is carried out. Much of the focus is on articles and their relationship to data. For example, to what extent should articles incorporate data versus simply reference data, and how well does our current data repository infrastructure support data preservation. Along with the need to make data available comes the need for more meaningful, interactive ways to present data visually. Finally, the literature itself will be commented on a large scale, not just read one article at a time. Lynch addresses these topics, provides some assessment for how well technology is meeting these needs today, and identifies some areas where more development is needed. This is just one article in the current issue of CTWatch Quarterly , which is worth checking out in its entirety. The issue is devoted to "The Coming Revolution in Scholarly Communications & Cyberinfrastructure" and contains articles by Paul Ginsparg, Peter Suber, and many others. – [*BR]

Education / E-Learning

Lewis, David W. A Strategy for Academic Libraries in the First Quarter of the 21st Century College & Research Libraries 68(5) (September 2007): 418-434 – At a library assessment conference a year ago, John Lombardi, then Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, explained that although he had depended on libraries and librarians in his professional career, he no longer knew what an academic library should be. Lewis took this message as a challenge to articulate a "strategy for academic libraries in the digital age or at least in its early stages." His strategy has five parts: 1) complete the migration from print to electronic collections; 2) retire legacy print collections; 3) redeploy library space as informal learning spaces; 4) move library tools and resources to where the users are (for example, course management systems); and 5) shift the focus from purchasing collections to curating locally owned and produced unique and special collections. Whether you agree with his strategy or not, Lewis' article makes for an excellent catalyst to start these discussions with your staff. – [* SG ]

Tebbutt, David. Extending the Raj Information World Review 239 October 2007: 10-12 – A three-page feature on Tata Interactive Systems focuses on their head of operations Alan Samuel. The company background and the career path of Mr Samuel are covered in this in-depth profile. Comments on the e-learning market include the role of electronic performance support systems (EPSS) or 'workflow learning' and future developments for Tata, such as enterprise application training. ( www.tatainteractive.com ) – [RH]

General

Caldwell, Tracey. Google raises temperature of health information market Information World Review 239 October 2007: 1 – News story regarding speculation that Google could buy US health information company WebMD. This is in the light of rising share values and the departure of vice president Adam Bosworth, who previously headed up health at Google. The shift in focus from search to content at Google is commented on, and comparisons are made with Google's recent acquisition of YouTube. – [RH]

Feather, Celeste.  Electronic Resources Communications Management: A Strategy for Success Library Resources & Technical Services 51(3)(July 2007): 204-211, 228 – In her article "Electronic Resources Communications Management," Celeste Feather discusses how e-resources staff can better handle their lines of communication. She writes, "As libraries face the question of how to provide more services with fewer resources, administrators often expect e-resources acquisitions units to manage more resources with fewer staff than their peer print acquisitions units." We can easily apply this situation to other departments in our libraries – it seems that we're all trying to do more with less. If you find yourself in a communications black hole, Feather's article addresses the literature of the organization of communications, provides analysis of the types of communication the department is receiving, and makes recommendations on how communication can be improved. She admits that her findings are specific to her library's needs, but many of her suggestions can be applied at any library. It's no surprise that a movement to increase face-to-face communication helped to relieve what Feather calls "information fatigue." – [*KC]

Genco, Barbara.  20 Maxims for Collection Building Library Journal (15 September 2007) ( http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6476396.html ) – Barbara Genco summarizes her curriculum for a library school course on collection development principles, theory, and practice, in twenty talking points for LJ . Genco embraces emerging and standard technologies as a way to assist librarians in a changing environment. Highlighted issues on her list include security and self-check; user-generated tagging in addition to MARC; content vs. containers; off-site storage and digitization; downloadable digital materials; and the possibility of "one big library." Genco has her eye on the big picture of libraries and collections, and invites us to join her in evaluating what we're doing in our libraries to prepare for the future that's here today. – [*KC]

Gould, A . Cyberinfrastructure, Data and Libraries . D-Lib Magazine , 13 (9/10) (September/October, 2007) http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september07/gold/09gold-pt1.html – In this two-part report, Gold produces a snapshot of the emerging field of “cyberinfrastructure” (“E-Science” in the UK and Europe). Part One acts as a primer for librarians, outlining the history and background of cyberinfrastructure, as well as discussing concepts and issues such as data archiving and digital curation. Part Two engages in further debate, and offers an overview of the roles and responsibilities of libraries and librarians in the cyberinfrastructure domain. Gold believes that librarians should play an integral role in the design of the cyberinfrastructure by positioning themselves as “partners in research”. The report draws on many sources and reviews a range of projects. It also provides a detailed list of readings for those interested in finding out more – [IW].

Head, Alison.  Beyond Google: How do Students Conduct Academic Research? First Monday 12(8)(August 2007) ( http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue12_8/head/ ) – This article, based on research conducted by noted professor and usability specialist Dr. Alison Head, challenges assumptions about student research behavior. Far from turning to Google and confidently flipping out a paper, students rely more on authoritative sources vetted and provided by instructors and librarians, and are more hesitant, diffident, and confused by the research process than is often assumed. The paper concludes by recommending we pay more attention to research instruction and information literacy, but implicit in its suggestions is a ringing endorsement of classic librarian tasks in higher education. – [* KGS ]

Holt, Glen.  Communicating the Value of Your Libraries Bottom Line 20(3) (2007): 119-124 ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/08880450710825833 ) – Short guide to shamelessly promoting the value of your library to various stakeholders through the ever-dependable approach, "What's in it for me" or “WIIFM” for short. The author draws on his extensive experience in cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to lay out basic principles, such as saving the user significant time or money. He concludes with this marvelous piece of advice: "Institutional communication is not just a smattering of marketing here and another smattering of marketing there. It is, instead, a disciplined, planned and thorough method by which a library tells its users why using their library is worth their time, money and effort, that is, why their library is valuable and the value that individuals and families will find there." – [* LRK ]

McDermott, Irene E. Brain fitness: using the web to stay sharp as we age. Searcher 15 (8) (2007): 8-12 – Due to increased longevity in the United States, it is estimated that by 2050, over 16 million Americans may be suffering from Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Recent research from the Cognitive Neuroscience Division of New York's Taub Institute suggests that participating in education or leisure activities may help keep your brain healthier for longer. This article lists over 25 websites people can use to keep their brains alert. A CSS tutorial that helps people create better websites is put forward as an excellent brain booster http://www.echoecho.com/css.htm . – [MT]

Mort, David.  Online Information Drives Growth Research Information (August/September 2007) ( http://www.researchinformation.info/features/feature.php?feature_id=141 ) – How's the European online STM publishing business doing? Looks like it's doing really well: sales increased by 10.5% in 2006 to reach a bit over 1.3 billion Euros, and that was after 15% and 16% increases in 2005 and 2004 respectively. Factor in print sales and the European STM publishing industry generated about 2.1 billion Euros in sales in 2006. But print is of declining importance, only 38% of sales in 2006 vs. 47% in 2004. You can learn more about related European STM publishing topics, such as recent financial results for major publishers and recent merger activity, in this revealing article. – [* CB ]

Specter, Michael.  Damn Spam The New Yorker 83(22) (6 August 2007): 36-41 ( http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/06/070806fa_fact_specter ) – If you're the type to face the bad news directly, this is for you. Not that one needs to be a masochist to enjoy it, but by the conclusion of this entertaining history of the spam problem, it's painfully clear that unless the Internet is turned into some kind of locked-down totalitarian propaganda tool in the future, spammers will continue to find you. E-mail is their current vehicle, but spammers are nothing if not adaptable. Specter visits the milestones in spam history (such as Canter & Siegel in 1994, which was like a bully showing up in the playground where information ran around wanting to be free), invokes the sacred Monty Python skit, and interviews spam police at Microsoft and Google. Statistics showing the scale of the problem are possibly the biggest stunner; expect grim chuckles. – [*JR]

Wallace, Danny P.  Academic Library and Research in the Twenty-First Century: Linking Practice and Research Journal of Academic Librarianship 33(5) (September 2007): 529-626. ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2007.06.003 ) – The author discusses the role of library research in the rapidly changing circumstances of today. As librarians, we live in a time of "uncertainty" where the old metrics (gate counts, circ., etc.) no longer apply, yet where new metrics are not yet established. In the vacuum comes "anecdote and surmise" rather than evidence. To remedy this, he suggests various "targets for research". These include "making sense" of library stats, evaluating the effectiveness of bibliographic instruction and (re-)taking control of online web services and tools. In this way, the research of the 21st Century (Research 2.0?) will distinguish itself by "finding new truths and creating new knowledge, not confirming that which is already known." – [* LRK ]

Yaffa, Joshua.  The Road to Clarity New York Times (August 12 2007): 36 ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/magazine/12fonts-t.html ) – Fonts matter. On the road signs of our highways they can literally mean the difference between life and death. This article is a history of how a new font, Clearview, was developed for road signs in the U.S. It was the first time, the author states that 'anyone attempted to apply systematically the principles of graphic design to the American highway.' The process was careful and took the better part of two decades. The author describes what happened with wonderful detail using it as a vehicle to discuss broader issues of design and typography. If anyone wants an introduction to the subject, this is a great way to start. – [* LRK ]

Information Access

Buckley-Owen, Tim. Law users irked by lacklustre service Information World Review 238 September 2007: 17 – In this sectoral review of online legal information issues of a small pool of suppliers, high costs and poor customer relations are covered. Coverage by the big suppliers and accessibility of niche players are also discussed, alongside issues of speed, and the topic of premium subscription versus open solutions. The development of the European Commission's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid), with new requirements for firms in terms of their conduct, is seen as an opportunity for the sector to meet a need for information. – [RH]

Howard, Jennifer.  Publishers' PR Tactic Angers University Presses and Open-Access Advocates The Chronicle of Higher Education ( 21 September 2007): A13 – As part of its campaign against legislation that would mandate that "all investigators funded by the NIH submit or have submitted for them to the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication," the Association of American Publishers started an initiative called the "Partnership for Research Integrity in Science and Medicine" (otherwise known as PRISM ). Although it may have been still smarting from January's negative publicity caused by its hiring of public relations specialist Eric Dezenhall (whose proposal has recently been made public), the AAP must have thought it was now safe to move ahead with a new anti-open-access campaign. Unfortunately, the result was a firestorm of criticism over assertions made on the PRISM website, with OA advocate Peter Suber providing one of the most incisive rebuttals . Some AAP members (such as Rockefeller University Press ) balked at PRISM's statements, and, subsequently, PRISM reworded some of the more inflammatory rhetoric on the PRISM site. After being approved by the House, the NIH OA mandate fight has shifted to the Senate , with both sides ramping up their PR efforts. – [* CB ]

University of California Office of Scholarly Communication and California Digital Library eScholarship Program.  Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Scholarly Communication: Survey Findings from the University of California (August 2007) ( http://osc.universityofcalifornia.edu/responses/materials/OSC-survey-full-20070828.pdf ) – This report summarizes the findings of a faculty survey, conducted by the University of California's Office of Scholarly Communication, to explore UC faculty perspectives and behaviors regarding scholarly communication issues. Not surprisingly, the survey found a disconnect between the faculty's expressed level of concern about issues such as copyright, and the faculty's willingness to take action. The faculty identified the current tenure and promotion system as a significant barrier to change. The survey results do reveal, however, a high level of faculty awareness about open-access journals and repositories. Of the 1118 respondents, 21% reported having published in an open-access journal, and 14% have deposited peer-reviewed articles into an institutional or subject repository. Although the survey was focused on UC faculty, I believe the findings are largely applicable to the faculty of most research universities in the U.S. Don't let the report's length (126 pages) deter you, as the "Executive Summary" and "Summary of Findings" serve as an excellent guide through the body of the report. – [* SG ]

Information Retrieval

Bjørner, Susanne. Do you speak Google? Google's language options Searcher 15 (9) (2007): 8-17 – The article explains the options Google offers to anyone looking for information in languages other than US English. Google users can specify what language they want to use to find results by adjusting the preferences on the main Google site (a preferences menu located to the right of the search box offering 41 alternative languages). Alternatively, by using the language options on the main Google site, again located to the right of the search box, you can change the results language or select pages from over 89 different countries. Another option now offered by Google is the Google Translate service http://translate.google.com . A Google-translated search will split your browser window and show foreign language Web pages set alongside an automated translation of the pages in your chosen language. Bjørner is cautiously optimistic about the automated English/Spanish translations offered by Google Translate. Whilst Google Translate is unlikely to satisfy native speakers, Bjørner concludes it may be worth a try if you are after a basic translation. – [MT]

Duguid, Paul.  Inheritance and Loss? A Brief Survey of Google Books First Monday 12(8)(6 August 2007) ( http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue12_8/duguid/ ) – Paul Duguid takes us step by step through Google Book Search, looking for online editions of Tristram Shandy and points out some problematic results: the scans are unreadable, the metadata is non-existent, and the editions appearing at the top of the search results are inferior editions that the contributing libraries tucked away in remote storage long ago. Duguid concludes that Google doesn't really appreciate "the bookish character of books." They don't lend themselves to automated digitization processes, and Google's powerful search tools cannot make up for a lack of metadata. Duguid argues that this visible lack of quality threatens the reputation not just of Google, but also those of the contributing libraries – he calls this a kind of "patricide" in which the new digital form is not only inadequate itself, but destroys the original resources it hopes to inherit. Invoking Nicholson Baker, Duguid worries about Google Book Search becoming a kind of digital "double fold" – a high-tech, low-quality project libraries find themselves locked into. These arguments are weakened by a selective and incomplete methodology and some narrow assumptions about the typical or potential uses of Google Book Search. Nevertheless, a thought-provoking articulation of some of the concerns surrounding this project. – [*BR]

McKay, Dana.  Institutional Repositories and Their 'Other' Users: Usability Beyond Authors Ariadne 52(July 2007) ( http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue52/mckay/ ) – A lot has been written on institutional repositories, so much so that it can be hard for someone new to the topic to know where to begin. Through focusing on the various repository user and usability issues, McKay has created a very useful review of the institutional repository literature. Her conclusion is that while authors have been well studied, there are two other important users of institutional repositories that require more attention, namely information seekers ("end-users") and repository managers. She recommends observational studies, formal usability testing, and usage log analyses as three fruitful methods to improve our understanding of repository users. – [* SG ]

Library Management Systems

Caldwell, Tracey. Joy of the open road? Information World Review 238 September 2007: 18 – A three-page feature poses the question whether open source software is a panacea or blind alley for library systems? This article notes the proliferation of open-solutions options evident in academic library procurement exercises. Open-source learning management systems (LMS) such as Moodle, Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) products and Integrated Library Systems (ILS) are among the solutions discussed here. The issues of value for money for larger and smaller organisations are considered. The article includes interviews and a case study (The London School of Economics) of academic institutions that use open source solutions. – [RH]

Cervone, Frank.  ILS Migration in the 21st Century: Some New Things to Think About This Time Around Computers in Libraries 27(7) (July/August 2007): 6-8; 60-62. Cervone pens a timely and useful article on making the tough transition from one integrated library system to another. Given the current upheaval (some forced, some voluntary) in the ILS market, his advice is timely indeed, and those who are not immediately facing such a migration would nonetheless be wise to pin it to their bulletin board for future use. To rephrase an old quote, there are only two kinds of librarians – those who have weathered a system migration and those who will. In addition to listing the basic steps of a migration, Cervone includes a summary list of typical tasks and some links to open source web application testing tools. Highly recommended for anyone with an ILS and a future. – [* RT ]

Security

Piper, Paul S. Phish pharming . Searcher 15 (9) (2007): 40-47 – Phishing refers to the attempt to illicit sensitive personal information from Internet users, typically usernames, passwords or bank details etc. This article provides the reader with a brief history of phishing, identifies the main techniques used by fraudsters, and outlines ways in which you can protect yourself from scams. Phishers will typically contact people with a counterfeit e-mail that appears to come from a genuine organisation, then attempt to direct them to a URL that can gather personal information from the user through a variety of methods. Phishers send out spam messages that can direct recipients to counterfeit websites or use a “man in the middle” technique that intercepts the communications between a user's computer and an authentic website. Pharming is another strategy fraudsters use to redirect website traffic away from legitimate sites and onto other sites by altering files on a user's computer. The article makes a number of recommendations to protect from phishing. Watch out for any sense of desperation in e-mails from institutions and call them up to validate any requests if suspicious. Look out for typos or misspelling in an e-mail message or URL. Don't open links within suspicious e-mails, and go direct to an organisation's official site. Choose different passwords for the various accounts you have with different companies. Finally, if in doubt, check with a local librarian as they are usually up-to-date on current Internet scams/hoaxes. – [MT]

Web 2.0

McDermott, Irene E. All a twitter about Web 2.0: What does it offer libraries? Searcher 15 (9) (2007): 34-39 – The article states that librarians must embrace Web 2.0, websites that host or facilitate user generated content, if they are to survive and thrive. It argues we are currently experiencing a massive boom in Web 2.0 services, and a small number of these felt to be of most use to information professionals are identified. Web 2.0 applications are wide-ranging, and to help understand them, they are categorised into seven broad functional types. The types identified include: publishing platforms like blogs/podcasts, social networks such as http://myspace.com , democratised content networks like www.digg.com , virtual networking platforms such as http://secondlife.com , information aggregators such as http://memeorandum.com , edited social news platforms like www.spinthicket.com and content distribution sites such as http://del.icio.us . – [MT]

Smith, Laura. British Library annual report becomes a video star Information World Review 238 September 2007: 3 – News story relates the British Library's strategy to increase the number of people using its annual report by adapting Web 2.0 technology to this product. Linkages with the projects and resources detailed in the report and video case studies are reported as key elements of this approach. ( www.bl.uk/about/annual/2006to2007/ ) – [RH]

Contributors to Current Cites *

Charles W. Bailey, Jr. , Keri Cascio, Frank Cervone , Susan Gibbons , Leo Robert Klein , Jim Ronningen, Brian Rosenblum, Karen G. Schneider , Roy Tennant

Contributors