Volume 45, Number 6 - November/December 2021
EDITORIALFrontLines Page 3 Today's environment has led to a certain amount of distrust in experts. Possession of a law degree doesn't mean the legal advice given is expert. Physicians can be mistaken, sometimes with disastrous consequences. By Marydee Ojala DEPARTMENTSPage 6 Search Engine Update Page 26 Conference Corral SLA Destination Everywhere FEATURESPage 8 Where the Experts Are: Expanding Your Search for Diverse Voices Voices from experts have historically been less diverse than the general population. However, a push to include more minority and multicultural opinions presents opportunities for information professionals to exercise their considerable skills at locating experts from a variety of sources, including traditional publications and social media. By Barbie E. Keiser Page 14 From Search and Discovery to Research and Reproducibility A challenge for scientific research is reproducibility, the ability get consistent results using the same set of data, code, and methodology described in the original research paper. HP research information manager Qin Zhu explains the importance of reproducibility and outlines what online databases have done to address the problem. By Qin Zhu Page 20 Gathering, storing, and disseminating statistical data in the U.S. is not centralized as it is in other countries. This structural situation causes problems with insufficient resources, inconsistent data, difficulties in data sharing, and concerns about privacy and confidentiality. Now is the time to fix these statistical infrastructure problems, asserts Laura Gordon-Murnane. By Laura Gordon-Murnane COLUMNSInternet Express Page 29 Carly Lamphere, a longtime fan of titles such as The Oregon Trail, notes that the value of education-oriented video games is still being debated. She takes a look at the first offerings, including some oldies but goodies; evaluates some current popular videos for both students and adults; and posits what needs to happen to make videos finally accepted as an important part of a teacher's curriculum. By Carly Lamphere InfoLit Land Page 32 In a perfect world, news reports of scientific discoveries, medical research, and technological advances would appear only after their worth had been established by extensive peer review. The prevalence of preprints worries information literacy expert Bill Badke. By William Badke Technology and Power Page 35 Convenience, Surveillance Capitalism, and Library User Experience Convenience has become paramount in many aspects of modern life, including the library user experience. Bohyun Kim has some concerns about balancing convenience with the library's higher mission and the prevalence of surveillance capitalism. By Bohyun Kim The Dollar Sign Page 38 SPAC Patrol: Researching Special Purpose Acquisition Companies SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, have come into their own recently as a means for companies to go public quicker and with less scrutiny than the traditional IPO. Marydee Ojala looks at various sources of information about SPACs. By Marydee Ojala Metrics Mashup Page 41 Faculty Opinions: A Reputational Approach to Research Impact Elaine Lasda wonders what research impact metrics actually measure, noting that some are behavioral and others empirical. The Faculty Opinion Score uses predictive analytics and machine learning to provide a new approach to assessing article quality. By Elaine M. Lasda Hard Copy Page 44 Recommended Reading on Online Searching, the Enduring Impact of Libraries and Librarians, Creativity, and New Library Spaces By Jennifer A. Bartlett Online Spotlight Page 48 Licensed Content in a New World Digital content took center stage as remote working became a necessity. It raised significant issues with contracts, licenses, and negotiations. By Mary Ellen Bates |
