50 Awesome Things!

50 Awesome Things, Connecticut Library Association Conference May 8 2012
Brighten your day!

 copyrighted image: fee still

What tool do you prefer? Reference management preferences at the CfA. | Digital Scholarship @ Harvard

Perhaps we too should conduct an online survey of users at RU? (Rhodes currently subscribes to Refworks)

"What prompted the question was a debate over preference: Papers, Zotero or Mendeley? Notice, there is no mention of RefWorks, which is a tool that the Harvard Library has purchased (Zotero and Mendeley are free, Papers is available for a minimal fee)"

What tool do you prefer? Reference management preferences at the CfA. | Digital Scholarship @ Harvard

Reevaluating the Role of the Research Librarian - Bio-IT World

As I've been doing research for my mini-dissertation on Embedded Librarianship, I came across several articles and blogposts on the topic which clearly articulate the changing role of the research librarian as being proactive and dynamic. This article endorses this and makes you think how advanced this concept is and how it has become a reality in many sectors. Reevaluating the Role of the Research Librarian - Bio-IT World

Open access to academic resesarch: Eyes on the prize are blind to reality

(Very interesting and topical issues of concern to all academic librarians)

 
From Steven Curry, scientist from Imperial College, London:

"Scientists’ quest for publication in journals with high impact factors is widely perceived as one of the more refractory barriers to the fuller adoption of open access, which I believe to be in the best interests of science. But the barrier problem is complicated...."

Facebook for nerds!

Social Networks for Academics Proliferate, Despite Some Doubts

JSTOR e-books program to launch in mid-2012.

Books at JSTOR: announced in January 2011, is an offshoot of JSTOR, which worked closely with eight university press partners to develop the initial plans for the online scholarly book program. The eight have now expanded to 30 partners. More than 15,000 monographs from the press partners (front and backlist titles) will be fully cross-searchable with JSTOR journal content.

Moving Beyond the NetLibrary Legacy, EBSCO Reshapes Its Ebook Platform

(Library Journal is presenting a series of articles called Exploring Ebook Options that takes an indepth look at some of the ebook platforms that are now in the marketplace. The series, which is focusing primarily on the public library market, has so far provided an ebook primer for libraries just starting out with downloadable media as well as profiles of  Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 and Library Ideas’ Freading. This story examines  Ebooks on EBSCOhost, which has strong academic and corporate roots but is becoming more attractive to public libraries as well.)

(More) The world of university research has long been held to ransom by academic publishers

Academic publishing doesn't add upThe world of university research has long been held to ransom by academic publishers charging exorbitant prices for subscriptions – but that may all be about to end

An unlikely hero!