Medical information, health sciences librarians, and professional liability

As a gatekeeper to medical literature and a critical link in the delivery of information to physicians, the librarian's role raises the issue of the librarian's professional liability. The paper suggests several ways in which liability may attach to the librarian or the librarian's employers. Although the librarian's personal risk is negligible, the physician's exposure due to ineffective library work is substantial since the courts have held that a physician must keep abreast of progress in his field. Librarians can also become associated with professional liability actions as part of a case against a physician or hospital through the legal doctrine of vicarious liability. The paper concludes by suggesting several proactive steps for health sciences librarians to pursue to insulate themselves from professional liability and to insulate physicians and institutions from vicarious liability.     

A survey of Web-based business models for e-government in the Netherlands

Governments worldwide are increasingly using Web-based business models to enhance their service delivery. Yet the concept of the business model is unexplored within the context of e-government. Drawing upon the literature on e-commerce, we develop a taxonomy for analyzing Web-based business models for e-government. Based on a systematic survey of 59 e-government Web sites in the Netherlands, our findings indicate that most of the Web sites use the content provider or direct-to-customer business models, while only a few are using novel business models. Overall, the concept of business model is appealing and useful in the public sector. Specifically it compliments research on Web site quality by analyzing and describing Web sites using atomic e-government business models and suggesting improvements by using combinations of business models.     

On the problem of determining a citation index of publications by Kazakh scientists

This paper discusses the evaluation of scientific activity with the help of some scientometric indices, in particular, a citation index. The information massif of the bibliographic database of citations to domestic publications of Kazakh authors is statistically described.     

Key issues of the development of the information infrastructure and information support of innovation activities

We consider some issues of the development of the national information infrastructure in the field of innovation, including a national system of accounting for the results of scientific and technical activities (RSTA) and a national new-generation research computer network (NNGRCN). The current state of the national system of scientific and technical information and its resources for information support of innovation processes are analyzed. In the context of further development of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), we propose a Conception of scientific and technical support for programs and projects of NIS member-states in the field of innovation, making it possible to incorporate the existing innovation-oriented information resources into a joint distributed integrated information system as well as to create new information resources and technologies.     

Politico-economic interactions of German public performing arts institutions

Our paper analyzes the conduct of German public performing arts institutions in terms of non-market decision making or public choice. Apart from consumers of performing arts managers of performing arts institutions and public donors are main agents. A manager of a performing arts institution will not assume that the number of visitors is independent of his institution's programme or the ticket prices. By the same reasoning he will regard the amount of public subsidies not as exogenous, but dependent on his own policy. If future grants depend on present and past success (however defined), this will feed back into managerial decisions, along with expectations about demand. Data for the Federal Republic of Germany serve to empirically support the theoretical argument.     

Enhancing reference services with the support of your colleagues

The expertise of colleagues and experience gained through professional organizations is an overlooked resource for adding value to reference service. Collegial networks must be nurtured. They deserve the support and investment of the institution.