Analysing the Research Articles Published in Three Periodicals of Medical Librarianship

The present article reports some findings from a bibliometric survey of research articles published in theBulletin of the Medical Library Association, theJournal of the Japan Medical Library Associationand theMedical Information Servicesduring the period from 1990 to 1992. The findings provide valuable information of the articles concerning the methods and subjects, as well as references of the three periodicals.     

On the international research-to-practice conference on modern problems and tasks of information-security assurance (SIB’2017)

This article considers the results of a conference held at the Moscow University of Finance and Law in April 2017. The conference had three sections: Information Security Assurance Technologies, Data Protection Hardware and Software, and Upcoming Trends in Information Security Assurance. More than 40 reports were presented. A brief review of the plenary and main sectional reports is provided.     

Identifying unidentified U.S. government reports

The Library of Congress last published Popular Names of U.S. Government Reports in 1984. In its appendix this helpful reference work lists 108 unidentified reports. This article discusses sources and methods used to identify some of these reports, emphasizing the benefits of using standard reference sources in conjunction with more specialized tools and electronic databases to verify the existence, location and correct citation of government publications. For those reports the authors have further identified, they provide bibliographic information and notes.     

Librarianship and Information Science in Islamic East Africa 1966–1999: An Annotated Bibliography

This work is an annotated bibliography that consists of articles, books, conference papers, dissertations, and reports, etc. published in various library and information science forums on the subject of librarianship in Islamic East Africa. The goal of preparing this work is to provide a list of citations with abstracts that librarians, library students, and library scholars can use to perform research within this subject area and further the body of knowledge. The research methodology that was used to find these citations involved searching the database versions of ERIC, Dissertations Abstracts Online, and Library Literature within the online public access catalog of the Auburn University library system. It also involved searching the online databases of Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA), British Education Index, and Education Abstracts within the DIALOG database as well as the respective print copies of these resources. While this work is by no means an exhaustive analysis of the entire East African library literature, it does strive to be comprehensive in terms of its country-by-country breakdown of librarianship within the region. Islamic East Africa for the purposes of this work incorporates the nations of Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, and Tanzania. In providing a citation for a non-English language work, the English equivalent of the title of that work will be given next to the non-English title.     

Historical development of definitions of information literacy: A literature review of selected resources

This article traces the historical progression of Information Literacy (IL) definitions from 2000 to 2015 in the published literature on first-year seminar and freshman general education IL instruction in the U.S. This period roughly corresponds to the influence of the ACRL's Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (Standards) on the work of LIS professionals and scholars in IL and information literacy instruction (ILI), prior to the adoption in January 2016 of the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (Framework). Following a brief look at the background of IL in Library and Information Science (LIS), the chronological development of IL definitions is examined using the three major categories of IL definitions based on Addison and Meyers' (2013) framework of IL definitions, and concludes with a discussion of limitations of Addison and Meyers' (2013) framework of IL definitions. The information presented here offers one perspective of viewing the development and history of IL in U.S. higher education.     

Growth and nature of international LIS research: An analysis of two journals

The study explores the publication trends of scholarly journal articles in two core Library and Information Science (LIS) journals indexed under ScienceDirect Database during the period for the period 2000–2010, and for the “Top 25 Hottest Papers” for 2006–2010. It examines and presents an analysis of 1000 research papers in the area of LIS published in two journals: The International Information & Library Review (IILR) and Library & Information Science Research (LISR). The study examines the content of the journals, including growth of the literature, authorship patterns, geographical distributions of authors, distribution of papers by journal, citation pattern, ranking pattern, length of articles, and most cited authors. Collaboration was calculated using Subramanyam's formula, and Lotka's law was used to identify authors' productivity. The results indicated that authors' distributions did not follow Lotka's law. The study identified the eight most productive authors with a high of 19 publications in this field. The findings indicate that these publications experienced rapid and exponential growth in literature production. The contributions by scientists from India are examined.     

Power and influence: Enhancing information services within the organization: St. Clair,Guy. New Providence,NJ: Bowker-Saur, 1994. 183 pp. $34.95 (ISBN 1-85739-098-9)

LISR considers for review reference works, dissertations, research methods texts, computer software, and professional literature covering the research process and applications of research. Views expressed are those of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect views of the Editorial Board or publisher. Anyone wishing to write reviews or suggest titles should contact Debora Shaw at the School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405 〈shawd@ indiana.edu or shawd@iubacs.bitnet〉. Publishers, likewise, are requested to forward announcements of new and forthcoming titles that may interest LISR readers.     

Technical reports and non-depository publications

Documents Librarina, Colorado State University Libraries, Fort Collins, CO 80523-0002. USA There was a significant increase in the number of publications disseminated by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) during 1993. This continues the trend of the past few years. NTIS continues to receive and distribute federally funded research and development reports, which are abstracted in Government Reports Announcements and Index (GRA&I) and related abstracts. In 1993 the way in which government information is disseminated changed, and as a result the role of librarians in this process has been critically examined. The trend toward more information being distributed in electronic format continues. Internet access to legislative information is now available, and many agencies are developing Internet sites to provide access to their data. New rules were published in a January 1994 Federal Register to transfer to NTIS unclassified scientific, technical, and engineering information (STEI) resulting from federally funded research and development activities. In response to comments on the proposed rules, NTIS incorporated into their plan the dissemination of these publications to depository libraries. In June, the Federal Deposiory Library Program proposed an interagency agreement with NTIS that would facilitate the distribution of these documents to the depositories. If this agreement is signed, it would result in a plan that would take advantage of the selection and distribution systems already in place in the Depository Library Program. It would make it much easier for depository libraries to select the STEI that they need and to ensure that the publications are made available to the public. All of the publications reviewed below were published in 1993. Technical reports are available from NTIS, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield. VA 22161, USA; the publications may also be obtained from the issuing agencies. 1 wish to thank Fred C. Schmidt (FCS), Head, Documents Department; Lou E. Anderson (LEA), Documents Librarian; and Awilda Reyes (AR), Documents Librarian, all of Colorado State University Libraries, for reviews contributed to this column.     

EditorialEvidence based library and information practice

Whilst many of us engage in supporting clinicians in identifying, appraising and using evidence, how many of us adopt the same approach to our own work? A recent survey by the UK LIS Research Coalition indicated that 60% of respondents use research reports as a source of information whilst a similar proportion of health library respondents use professional events such as conferences as a source of information. This summer sees the 6^th International Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP6) being held at the University of Salford, UK between 27^th‐30^th June which will go some way to satisfying this latter information need whilst the Health Information and Libraries Journal can help satisfy the need for research reports. Whatever you’re doing this summer, let’s make it evidence based.     

On the modern problems and challenges of information security international scientific-practical conference

The proceedings of a conference that was held on April 2014 at the Moscow University of Finance and Law (MFUA) are described. More than 40 papers were presented in three sections: Information Security Technology, Software and Hardware for Data Protection, and Promising Directions of Information Security. Brief overviews of plenary papers, as well as main section reports, are given.     

A comparison of manual and online searching of government document indexes

The online and printed equivalents of the GPO's Monthly Catalog, the National Technical Information Service's Government Reports Announcements & Index, and Congressional Information Service's CIS Index have been examined to compare the recall, precision, overlap, and cost-effectiveness of online and manual searching. The online searches were less labor intensive and retrieved more relevant citations than the manual searches. However, a large number of citations retrieved were not duplicated in equivalent printed and online indexes.     

The Find-It! Illinois controlled vocabulary: Improving access to government information through the Jessica subject tree

The need to improve information access on the Web has resulted in Illinois’ implementation of lexicographer Dr. Jessica Milstead’s subject tree for the Find-It! Illinois Program. In 1999, when the Illinois State Library joined four other states in implementing a state Government Information Locator Service (GILS) project, developing a controlled vocabulary became an essential component for maximizing retrieval of government information. Furthermore, application of library cataloging tools such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is insufficient for online retrieval. An analysis of the structure and content of Dr. Milstead’s subject tree reveals the importance of new tools for improving online access methods. Illinois’ implementation of Dr. Milstead’s subject tree exposed the interest for nationwide application. The Illinois subject tree has been named the “Jessica Tree” to convey its expanded utility. The national adoption of a controlled vocabulary for retrieving state government information online will require collaboration among all states, so that the vision of a Find-It! America can be actualized.     

Information technology in the service society: A twenty-first century lever: National Research Council. Washington,DC: National Academy Press, 1994. 270 pp. $29.00 (ISBN 0-309 04876-1)

LISR considers for review reference works, dissertations, research methods texts, computer software, and professional literature covering the research process and applications of research. Views expressed are those of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect views of the Editorial Board or publisher. Anyone wishing to write reviews or suggest titles should contact Debora Shaw at the School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405 〈shawd@ indiana.edu or shawd@iubacs.bitnet〉. Publishers, likewise, are requested to forward announcements of new and forthcoming titles that may interest LISR readers.     

Multiculturalism in libraries: Du Mont,Rosemary, Buttlar,Lois, & Caynon,William. Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 1994. 256 pp. $55.00 (ISBN 0-313-28418-0)

LISR considers for review reference works, dissertations, research methods texts, computer software, and professional literature covering the research process and applications of research. Views expressed are those of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect views of the Editorial Board or publisher. Anyone wishing to write reviews or suggest titles should contact Debora Shaw at the School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405 〈shawd@ indiana.edu or shawd@iubacs.bitnet〉. Publishers, likewise, are requested to forward announcements of new and forthcoming titles that may interest LISR readers.     

An informetric model for the success-index

Based on an idea by Kosmulski, Franceschini et al. (2012, Scientometrics 92(3), 621–641) propose to classify a publication as “successful” when it receives more citations than a specific comparison term (CT). In the intention of the authors CT should be a suitable estimate of the number of citations that a publication – in a certain scientific context and period of time – should potentially achieve. According to this definition, the success-index is defined as the number of successful papers, among a group of publications examined, such as those associated to a scientist or a journal. In the first part of the paper, the success-index is recalled, discussing its properties and limitations. Next, relying on the theory of Information Production Processes (IPPs), an informetric model of the index is formulated, for a better comprehension of the index and its properties. Particular emphasis is given to a theoretical sensitivity analysis of the index.     

Research issues in public librarianship: Trends for the future: Greiner,Joy M., Ed. Westport,CT: Greenwood Press, 1994. 248 pp. $59.99 (ISBN 0-313-27867-9)

LISR considers for review reference works, dissertations, research methods texts, computer software, and professional literature covering the research process and applications of research. Views expressed are those of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect views of the Editorial Board or publisher. Anyone wishing to write reviews or suggest titles should contact Debora Shaw at the School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405 〈shawd@ indiana.edu or shawd@iubacs.bitnet〉. Publishers, likewise, are requested to forward announcements of new and forthcoming titles that may interest LISR readers.     

The National Technical Information Service - Working to Strengthen U.S. Information Sources

The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is a self-supporting agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that actively collects, organizes, and distributes technical information generated by United States and foreign governments in all areas of science and technology. There are two million titles in the NTIS permanent archives, some of which date as far back as 1945, and last year NTIS added 63,000 new titles to its collection. The entire collection is available at any time - whether a report dates from 20 years ago or last month. In addition, NTIS provides government generated computer software and computerized data files on both tape and diskette through its Federal Computer Products Center. To keep pace with technology transfer activities, the NTIS Center for the Utilization of Federal Technology licenses Federal inventions and makes them available to private industry and prepares and issues a number of publications, catalogs, and directories announcing Federal technologies and resources. In the area of foreign technology, NTIS has recently increased its holdings - up to a third of the reports entering the collection are now from foreign sources.     

Congress’ legislative information systems: THOMAS and the LIS

Information about the legislative activities of the United States Congress is widely available to the public and to the Members themselves through the THOMAS/LIS system 〈http://thomas.loc.gov〉. This article describes the origins of this system and the way in which it integrates distributed legislative data into a single searchable system. It discusses planned enhancements and a number of technical and policy issues that such systems raise.“What a terrific site!!! I’ll be here often!!! I hope this is my tax dollars at work and I support that!! Thank you all!!” Email from a THOMAS user“Just wanted to say THANKS! This is a big help for my 11th grade honors US History course!! Our teacher is really great but he makes us look for documents relating to the various issues that we study.” Email from a THOMAS user“[The LIS and THOMAS were] one of the most remarkable successes LC has had in digital information management systems” (National Research Council, 2000).     

Elusive No Longer? Increasing Accessibility to the Federally Funded Technical Report Literature

Abstract

Since World War II, the United States has been actively pursuing scientific research and development. Over 50 years later, the federally funded technical report literature, the results from the nation's R&D, has grown extensively. However, this vast technical report literature has not had effective methods of dissemination during these decades to provide easy access to its riches. The technology of the late 20th and early 21st century is enabling more effective access to this literature. This article will examine some of the reasons why effective access to federally funded technical reports has been elusive and will illustrate some new technologies that are greatly improving access to this literature.     

Negation recognition in medical narrative reports

Substantial medical data, such as discharge summaries and operative reports are stored in electronic textual form. Databases containing free-text clinical narratives reports often need to be retrieved to find relevant information for clinical and research purposes. The context of negation, a negative finding, is of special importance, since many of the most frequently described findings are such. When searching free-text narratives for patients with a certain medical condition, if negation is not taken into account, many of the documents retrieved will be irrelevant. Hence, negation is a major source of poor precision in medical information retrieval systems. Previous research has shown that negated findings may be difficult to identify if the words implying negations (negation signals) are more than a few words away from them. We present a new pattern learning method for automatic identification of negative context in clinical narratives reports. We compare the new algorithm to previous methods proposed for the same task, and show its advantages: accuracy improvement compared to other machine learning methods, and much faster than manual knowledge engineering techniques with matching accuracy. The new algorithm can be applied also to further context identification and information extraction tasks.