Using Linked Open Data to Enhance Subject Access in Online Primary Sources

Using online primary sources is both rewarding and challenging for users. Improving subject access is essential as these sources become increasingly important in educational curricula. A user needs assessment with humanities users showed improving findability and context for historical subjects were major needs. Linked Data can help by linking related concepts in the sources using specialized vocabularies, enriching them with outside resources, and enabling semantic services that empower users. This article discusses a project to enhance subject access in an online World War I collection by deep linking historical data on the civilian experience in occupied Belgium and France.     

Using Competitive Intelligence Instruction to Develop Practice-Ready Legal Professionals

Competitive intelligence is the identification and use of internal and external information to inform business decisions. Integrating competitive intelligence instruction into the law school curriculum is another option to use when preparing “practice-ready” legal professionals. First, it broadens the curriculum experience beyond the courtroom with its introduction of basic corporate, regulatory, and transactional documents, and second, introduces students to the critical decision-making and business-development skills lawyers use to identify, investigate, and develop business leads necessary for a financially viable legal practice.     

Topic Map as a Method for the Development of Subject Headings Vocabulary: An Introduction to the Project of the National Library of Poland

Subject searches in the National Library of Poland catalog are still comprised of a significant number of all searches, but understanding and exploration of the National Library of Poland Subject Headings causes many problems, not only for the end-users, but also for many librarians. Another problem in the National Library of Poland is the insufficient use of relationships between the terms. The solution could be a properly designed Web application based on a topic map using appropriate visualization that supports indexing and information retrieval in the National Library of Poland. The article presents the main stages of a planned project.     

Building a Better M.I.C.E. Trap: Using Virtual Focus Groups to Assess Subject Guides for Distance Education Students

ABSTRACT

Subject guides are often used as an alternative to in-person library instruction for distance education students. However, when students are not on-campus, it can be difficult to assess if they are getting all of the relevant information they need. In an organization that serves students located across the United States and even outside of the country, a method was needed to assess the effectiveness of library information provided to distance learners on specific topics. The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration (Hotel College) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), offers a number of on-campus and distance education courses, including classes taught at a satellite campus in Singapore. With diverse course offerings via distance education, the conventions and exhibitions subject area was chosen as a case study. Often referred to as M.I.C.E., the study of meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions in a hospitality context is a major subdiscipline within the Hotel College. After researching different approaches to studying the effectiveness of subject guides, a virtual focus group was chosen to gather feedback from students. This paper will demonstrate how focus groups can be created and how the information gathered can be used to increase effectiveness of subject guides. Readers will discover effective techniques and pitfalls for using virtual focus groups in conjunction with subject guides assessment.