Through the looking glass: finding Internet sites to mirror your collection

Many libraries are grappling with the new freedom to link to the Internet directly from a Web-based catalog. A conservative approach that locates only Web sites replicating a library's print holdings is described. Methods for locating URLs include reviewing front matter in reference materials, scouring the Internet for material produced both in print and full text on the Web, electronic mailing lists, publishers' promotional materials, conferences, and journal articles. Readers are encouraged to make links from the catalog to any original material produced in Web-readable form by the university, including dissertations and conference proceedings.     

学科门户智能搜索引擎的设计与构建——农业史门户搜索引擎的实验

面对搜索引擎基于关键词全文检索导致检索准确度低和学科信息门户加工描述只到站点级别的问题,作者提出了将搜索引擎和学科信息门户结合构建智能学科门户搜索引擎的建议--在经过学科专家筛选的、学科信息门户目录中的高质量网站中自动收集网页,形成网页索引,利用自动标引与自动分类方法对收集到的网页进行标引和分类,最后通过分类浏览目录与主题词检索的方式,向用户提供学术资源网页的查找.文章重点介绍了智能学科门户搜索引擎的网页采集、网页自动标引与自动分类及用户接口的设计与实现,并对该搜索引擎存在的问题进行了分析和讨论.     

FRBR and Further

ABSTRACT

Based on his experience, the author summarizes what reference/collection development librarians and library users want and expect from aggregator databases, and what's needed from database vendors and from librarians to meet these expectations. Particularly important are content quality, reliability, modularity, and affordability, interface simplicity and flexibility, and reliable congruence between and integration of print and electronic editions. From vendors, librarians should demand more and better content guarantees, purchase options, communication of content details and changes, full-text searching, and persistent URLs for individual titles. Librarians should provide analyzed cataloging and holdings for all titles in aggregator databases, keep these records current, fully integrate them with records for print and other electronic editions, and incorporate them into web catalogs, in addition to providing other web access tools such as browsable title lists.     

A Graphic Interface to Online Reference Sources

Librarians at the Arnold Bernhard Library of Quinnipiac University were at a crossroads with electronic reference books. At first they had added the titles to the library's web page, generated records to individual titles in the online catalog, and even established links to their content using the link resolver in the online catalog. It was still felt that the collection was not living up to its potential. In 2007, the automation librarian began a project to add one more level of access to these titles – a graphic interface that simulated the process of walking into a reference room and picking out a title – all of this done with no programming beyond basic HTML. Early usage reports beginning in the Fall of 2007 prove that the concept has found an audience.     

基于情景敏感的知识库设计与自动构建

简要介绍基于情景的知识库的概念及作用,通过调研分析当前数据库出版商与收录在线电子期刊的情况,以此设计基于情景的知识库,通过设计网络蜘蛛抓取数据,自动构建知识库,并实现知识库的实时更新,最后给出基于情景知识库的工作原理及工作流程.     

Citation Behavior of Undergraduate Students: A Study of History,Political Science,and Sociology Papers

The goal of this analysis was to obtain local citation behavior data on undergraduates researching history, political science, and sociology papers. The study found that students cited books and journals even with the availability of web sources; however, usage varied by subject. References to specific websites' domains also varied across subject area. Most of the top journal titles that students referenced were online and locally owned. Students cited a broader range of journal titles than predicted by the Law of Scattering and cited titles across a wide array of subject areas. This data helped identify potential gaps in the library's collection and services.     

Quality markers and use of electronic journals in an academic health sciences library.

OBJECTIVES: Patterns of use of electronic versions of journals supplied by an academic health sciences library were examined to determine whether they differed from patterns of use among corresponding print titles and to relate the applicability of print collection development practices to an electronic environment. METHODS: Use data supplied by three major vendors of electronic journals were compared to reshelving data for corresponding print titles, impact factors, and presence on Brandon/Hill Lists. RESULTS: In collections where one-click access from a database record to the full text of articles was possible, electronic use correlated with print use across journal pairs. In both versions, Brandon/Hill titles were used more frequently than non-Brandon/Hill titles, use had modest correlations with journals' impact factors, and clinical use appeared to be higher than research use. Titles that had not been selected for the library's print collections, but which were bundled into publishers' packages, received little use compared to electronic titles also selected in print. CONCLUSIONS: Collection development practices based on quality and user needs can be applied with confidence to the electronic environment. Facilitating direct connections between citation databases and the corresponding journal articles regardless of platform or publisher will support scholarship and quality health care.     

Accessing Locally Created Subject Guides via the Library's Catalog

Abstract

For decades libraries have created subject guides to assist users in navigating their collections. These guides are universally accepted as a core library product of high value across all user groups. No longer confined to paper stashed in kiosks and on counter tops, subject guides are now available online from library Web sites and often emphasize and link to other Web resources. Typically, a link on the library's home page directs users to a Subject Guide List which offers active links to the topical guides. But are these links and listings sufficient to attract users? This article describes the results of a study to catalog selected subject guides on U.S. and British History and analyze usage statistics before and after cataloging. It appears that the library catalog is effective at exposing subject guides and should be considered an additional point of access amidst a growing number of discovery mechanisms.     

World History Internet Resources

Abstract

The following article provides an overview of Internet resources relevant to reference work in world history. It also provides URLs to select sites representing different uses of the world wide web in presenting information for the subject of World History.     

A new approach to collection bias in academic libraries: The extent of corporate control in journal holdings

Questions of collection bias in library journal collections usually turn on a left-right political contrast. This article presents another approach that distinguishes between corporate and non-corporate controlled publications. Using this method, the catalog holdings of all Canadian academic libraries were searched to determine the penetration of socio-political titles of mainstream “corporate publishers” and those of “small publishers.” Canadian academic libraries privilege, by a wide margin, mainstream titles published by corporate entities, although some libraries have impressive “small publisher” collections. This article also analyzed the availability of mainstream and small publisher journals provided by ten popular electronic vendors. These vendors provide very low access to non-corporate “small publisher” titles while covering 100% of surveyed mainstream titles. The implications of such provision rates are examined from the perspective of the scholarly browsing process and the role of the university.     

AN AUTOMATED BOOK CATALOG FOR A LEARNING RESOURCES CENTER PERIODICALS COLLECTION

To permit easy user access to an uncataloged serials collection, a method was devised to produce (via computer facilities) a book catalog. This book catalog includes both an alphabetical listing by serial title and a subject section that lists titles by appropriate category. The programs necessary for this system were designed in the computer center according to specifications outlined by library personnel. The catalog can be easily reproduced from the computer printout and distributed campus-wide as well as used within the Learning Resources Center.     

What the Index Medicus indexes, and why

The main criterion for selecting journals for indexing in Index Medicus, and thereby largely in MEDLARS, is quality. Subject scope varies with the voiced needs of the biomedical community. The Index aims to cover the best journals in all relevant subject fields, but the percentage of journals on a subject indexed depends on the quality of each journal. Country and language coverage depends on quality, even in the case of the best journals of each, although American biases may affect such selection. While a number of guidelines exist for identifying quality journals, information necessary to apply them confidently is often difficult to obtain. The National Library of Medicine is advised by an Ad Hoc Panel on the Selection of Journals for Index Medicus, composed both of NLM officers and extramural members. Criticism has been voiced that too many titles are indexed, compared with titles actually used, but no meaningful statistics of use exist which can identify titles which should be excluded from indexing. Continuing suggestions from users regarding titles indexed would benefit everyone.     

应对学术期刊非法网站的可行方法:使用学术期刊网址导航网

在学术期刊非法网站仍然存在的现状下,提出了一种应对非法网站的可行方法——使用学术期刊网址导航网。设计建设了一个学术期刊网址导航网(网址为http://www.cujc.cn),并已将其投入实际使用。投稿者可以通过该导航网查询到学术期刊的真实网址,从而避免了浏览到非法网站上的学术期刊虚假网页的可能。使用学术期刊网址导航网可以帮助投稿者远离学术期刊非法网站的侵扰,是应对非法网站的一种可行方法。     

Results of Using Vendor-Supplied Analog Technology to Create a Virtual Collection: A Case Study

ABSTRACT

Expanded Collection was an analog version of a “virtual” collection that relied on the Document Delivery Department and vendor intervention to obtain materials. Developed to offset budget cuts, it was a list of 205 periodical titles that were cut from the collection but remained listed in the library catalog. Although initially successful, it became difficult to administer. Court interpretations of copyright law caused the Document Delivery Department to rely on standard interlibrary loan procedures and raised ethical questions about Expanded Collection. Improved efficiency in the interlibrary loan process and the increased access to electronic journals made Expanded Collection obsolete.     

搜索引擎用户点击行为分析

基于大规模分布式搜索引擎系统———北大“天网”的用户点击记录,本文研究发现:用户点击不同URL的数量遵从Heaps定律,点击URL的频度频级服从类Zipf分布,点击URL与页面大小相关,点击URL具有时间局部性,其顺序具有自相似性特征等一些具有普适性的规律。提出了利用点击日志确定相近查询词的一个新的有效算法。这些研究结果对于掌握用户的搜索行为,完善搜索引擎系统的设计,提高检索服务的效率和质量具有重要的意义。     

Ebooks Versus Print Books: Format Preferences in an Academic Library

When a scholarly monograph is made available in both print and electronic formats, which format will users prefer? This study analyzed monograph usage data from three university presses in the University of Toronto Libraries' collections, comparing print and ebook usage patterns of identical titles. The goal was to examine format preferences and determine whether there are differences in usage across subject disciplines or publishers. The study showed that although in many cases users preferred one format over another, they used books in both formats. If a subject was popular, usage tended to be high for both formats, and if unpopular, low for both formats. The data also indicated that there were some noticeable differences in ebook usage for particular subjects, and the authors concluded that format does matter and therefore it is desirable for libraries to provide both formats if possible. The study also highlighted how critical metadata are in promoting the use of electronic resources. If there were no ebook metadata within the library catalog, the ebook usage was low. This analysis adds to a growing body of literature in user preferences on book formats that can assist libraries in making better-informed decisions in collection building.     

VERSO Graphic Interface to Reference Sources: A Project of Quinnipiac University's Arnold Bernhard Library

ABSTRACT

Librarians at the Arnold Bernhard Library of Quinnipiac University were concerned with the usage levels of their electronic reference titles. They added the titles to the library's Web page, made individual records in the online catalog, and even established links between an OPAC keyword search and a search through electronic reference titles. It was still felt that the collection was underutilized. In 2007, the Automation Librarian began a project to add one more level of access to these titles—a graphic interface that simulated the process of walking into a reference room and picking out a title. A preliminary version was loaded in the Fall of 2007, and early results indicate that it has found an audience.     

Analysis of Readex's Serial Set MARC records: Improving the data for the library catalog

Colorado State University Libraries (CSUL) purchased the digitized United States Congressional Serial Set, 1817–1994 and American State Papers (1789–1838) from the Readex Division of NewsBank, Inc. and, once funds and records were available, the accompanying MARC records. The breadth of information found in the Serial Set is described, along with the difficulties in using the print version (incorporated in the literature review, which includes citations of announcements of the digital collections and reviews of the software). The digital version of the Serial Set has its advantages, but there are additional rewards (much greater discovery opportunities) when items in the digital collection are directly accessible from the library catalog. The purchased MARC records, while overall excellent, had problems that needed to be corrected before they were loaded into CSUL's Innovative Interfaces library catalog. Patron access impact was used as a criterion when determining which of the records would be fixed before loading. High impact problems were identified and solutions derived for: multiple 245 (title) fields; 245 s indicator zero with titles beginning with a, an, or the; dollar sign used in text; fixed field date; languages; subject headings; creating proxy URLs; classification numbers; and author authority control (e.g. corporate entries and presidential entry errors).     

Cards and Reflections: The Eugene Gros Collection of Sputnik-Era Technical Literature at Texas A&M University

ABSTRACT

British translator and publisher of Russian technical literature Eugene Gros, evidently of Czech origin, collected over two thousand titles published in the Soviet Union from approximately 1945 to 1965. These books are now at Texas A&M University library, which introduced the books into the OCLC online union catalog from Library of Congress catalog cards while updating name entries, series, subject headings, and classification numbers. Publishers, notable authors, and titles in the Gros collection are surveyed, proceeding from power, mechanical and civil engineering, metallurgy and defense (e.g., aerospace and electrical engineering) to Academy of Sciences and popular publications on science and technology. Book title imagery and style are another perspective on the collection.     

Author's Comments on “College Librarians and the University-Library Syndrome”

Abstract

Adding contents notes to a bibliographic record enhances the accessibility of the record beyond the usual title, author, and subject headings. Does increased accessibility necessarily mean increased circulation? This article summarizes the results of a 22-month study at Stetson University in Florida, a small liberal arts university. The study tracked circulation statistics for over 2,500 titles enhanced by the addition of contents notes in their catalog records. Contents notes were added locally through the OCLC Bibliographic Notification Service and were added manually upon a librarian's recommendation. The results include the number of titles which saw increased circulation, and the amount of staff time taken and costs incurred to add contents notes.