SCImago Journal & Country Rank

The SCImago Journal & Country Rank is a portal that includes the journals and country scientific indicators developed from the information contained in the Scopus® database (Elsevier B.V.). These indicators can be used to assess and analyze scientific domains.

This platform takes its name from the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) indicatorpdf, developed by SCImago from the widely known algorithm Google PageRank™. This indicator shows the visibility of the journals contained in the Scopus® database from 1996.

Comparison of student and faculty technology use

Alice B. Ruleman, "Comparison of student and faculty technology use", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 29 Iss: 3, pp.16 - 19.

A similar comparison at Rhodes would be useful - anyone interested?

 

Interesting article on 'Higher education trends, challenges and recommendations' in Southern Africa.
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120609110849181#.T9WZYwYH7fg.twitter

Libraries Have a Key Role in Academic Accountability

From CHE: The continuing drive for more accountability in academe presents “a unique opportunity” for libraries, which are well placed to connect students, faculty members, and administrators. That was the takeaway from two summits on the value of academic libraries organized by the Association of College & Research Libraries, or ACRL. The association today released a report, “Connect, Collaborate, and Communicate,” that recaps the summit conversations and offers a few recommendations.
Also see A Tool Kit to Help Academic Librarians Demonstrate Their Value

Joe Murphy's Keynote IATUL 2012

Joe Murphy's Keynote at the  33rd IATUL (International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries) conference in Singapore, 2012.

 

Technologies and Innovation - impact on learning, research & users

~ ! Recommended ! ~

Open access will bankrupt us, publishers’ report claims

Publishers of humanities and social science journals could go bankrupt if all academic papers became freely available after six months, a report commissioned by publishers has warned.

Really! Read Steve Harnad's comments : (BANKRUPTCY BALDERDASH: THE PUBLISHER TAIL AGAIN TRYING TO WAG THE RESEARCH DOG)

2012 top ten trends in academic libraries

A review of the trends and issues affecting academic libraries in higher education

Are graduate students using appropriate resources?

Graduate Student Searching Proficiencies in the Selection of Qualitative and Quantitative Journal References

... findings would suggest that journals which were being referenced the most by students were not necessarily the best sources for research studies...

Academic Library Use of Facebook: Building Relationships with Students

"Given Facebook's explosive growth to become a dominant mode of communication for college students, academic libraries are exploring this applicability of Facebook as a means to deliver and market services. Previous articles have indicated that both librarians and students have mixed opinions about libraries having a presence on Facebook. This may be one of the first studies to consider how libraries are actually utilizing Facebook pages, rather than individual librarian profiles or groups, by analyzing Facebook messages."

‘Making a Difference in the Research Community’: South Africa's Library Academy Experience and the Researcher–Librarian Relationship

Abstract

The paper analyzes problems of theorizing and evaluating a short series of ‘Library Academy’ events within a Carnegie Corporation-funded project to improve library service to researchers in six South African universities.

(Sue Rionda sourced this article)

Changing roles of middle managers in academic libraries

The purpose of this paper is to: address how the library middle management role has changed; assist middle managers in identifying new opportunities and broadening their horizon within middle management; offer strategies for middle managers to be more efficient and effective in the changing era; and lay out the challenges middle managers are facing to further discussions.

E-Content Digital Supplement, May/June 2012
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/archives/issue/e-content-digital-supplement-mayjune-2012

A look at E books and E Content

Coercive Citation in Academic Publishing

When Journal Editors Coerce Authors to Self-Cite. Elsevier is the publisher of 4 of the top 5 journal offenders!

Adventures in Library Instruction ~ with Char Booth

Episode 36: Reflective Teaching, Effective Learning with Char Booth

Listen to the podcast (~62 minutes)

Join us for a fascinating, lively discussion as we talk with Char Booth about her book, Reflective Teaching, Effective Learning: Instructional Literacy for Library Educators.  Discussion includes becoming a reflective teacher and master of instructional literacy, and how both the book's pedological frameworks and practical worksheets both help inform this process. And we also learn about Char's most embarrassing moment of teaching!

Char Booth is the Instruction Services Manager & E-Learning Librarian at Claremont Colleges Library. She blogs at info-mational, http://infomational.wordpress.com/, and tweets at @charbooth.  Char recently won the 2012 ACRL Rockman Publication of the Year Award, and begins as an ACRL Immersion Faculty Member this year.

Mendeley instruction session on YouTube

This is a recording of the Mendeley for Librarians instructional session

African Universities: Ready for the Cloud?

"African institutions could benefit rapidly—essentially leapfrogging to the cloud—given that they are relatively unconstrained by existing IT infrastructure. In addition, the fact that users can access the cloud directly from their own devices and modems frees up institutional electrical power and bandwidth..."

Trends in US Academic Libraries 2012

A SNAPSHOT OF PRIORITIES & PERSPECTIVES U.S. Academic Libraries

2012 OCLC conducted a member survey
to understand librarians’ top
priorities, current key initiatives,
thoughts on service and top
methods for keeping current on
happenings in the library field.

Big on Ecollections, Ebooks, the Online Library

Key Issues for e-Resource Collection Development: A Guide for Libraries

From IFLA: The purpose of this Guide is to help develop an awareness of the key issues that every library will need to consider and address in developing an e-portfolio. The Guide is not intended to be exhaustive, but is written to provide a reasonable and informed introduction to the wide range of issues presented by electronic resources.
A guide that addresses an evolving subject area, such as electronic resources, requires updates. Thus, updates to this Guide at appropriate intervals, as determined by the Standing Committee of the IFLA Acquisition and Collection Development Section, will replace the previous edition on IFLANet. The current document is simply a snapshot of best practices at this point in time.

Future U: Library 3.0 has more resources, greater challenges

This article, retweeted by Fiona S-D, is worth reading

Open Access Publishing: What Authors Want

http://crl.acrl.org/content/73/2/182.full.pdf+html

Campus-based open access author funds are being considered by many
academic libraries as a way to support authors publishing in open access
journals. Article processing fees for open access have been introduced
recently by publishers and have not yet been widely accepted by authors.
Few studies have surveyed authors on their reasons for publishing open
access and their perceptions of open access journals. The present study
was designed to gauge the uptake of library support for author funding
and author satisfaction with open access publishing. Results indicate
that York University authors are increasingly publishing in open access
journals and are appreciative of library funding initiatives. The wider
implications of open access are discussed along with specific recommendations
for publishers.