Volume 37, Number 1 - January/February 2013
EDITORIALFrontLines Page 4 Disruptive change can make us nervous, but it should also become a vehicle for opportunities to enhance our value to our employers and to give us fulfilling professional and personal lives. By Marydee Ojala Searcher's Voice Page 33 As Searcher magazine transitions into a section within the new Online Searcher, bq assures her longtime readers that the edginess that has always been a part of her publications is still alive and well, as her first batch of articles illustrates. By Barbara Quint DEPARTMENTSPage 6 Search Engine Update New Search Features, Developments, and Content By Greg R. Notess Page 58 Conference Corral Internet Librarian International and Charleston FEATURESPage 10 Gadzooks, It's MOOCs! the Fuss over Open Source Learning  MOOCs (massive open online courses) have attracted the attention of massive numbers of people, who want to learn without paying tuition or getting college credit. Open source plays an important role. By Stephen E. Arnold Page 16 Competition Among Competitive Intelligence Platforms Platforms for competitive intelligence research have shifted from environmental scanning to reputation monitoring to tracking data from unconventional sources—and numerous new products clamor for the attention of researchers. By Barbie E. Keiser Page 22 Virtual Reference and In-Depth Assistance Using Shared Work Spaces Helping people when they're stuck with a search is vastly easier when a librarian can share the searcher's screen at the point of need, using collaboration tools such as Vyew. By David Stern Page 27 The New Cooperative Patent Classification System: Improving Patent Searching Combating redundancy, shrinking the backlog, and speeding up patent searching is the goal of the new cooperative patent classification system, which will benefit patent searchers worldwide. By David Gange Page 31 Finch and Open Access: Debating the Future of Academic Publishing The research report commissioned by the U.K. government on accessibility, sustain¬ ability, and excellence in academic research came out strongly in favor of the Gold route for open access publishing. By Joanna Ptolomey Page 51 Trends in the Current Information Landscape and Their Significance for Researchers Changes in web search engines, particularly Google, and in how people view information have a striking effect on what researchers can find and how they structure their searches. By Arno H.P. Reuser Page 41  Today's librarians face two futures and two questions. Will we live in an all-digital environment? Can we succeed in a digital future, whether all digital or hybrid? ... SUPPLEMENTAL CONTENT - The Doomsday Scenario By Steve Coffman COLUMNSThe Dollar Sign Page 68 Mining Industry Data: A Checklist Approach Industry information is a standard component of business research, and using a checklist approach helps facilitate the process. By Marydee Ojala Online Spotlight Page 80 blekko: The Search Engine That Can The blekko search engine combines a discerning search engine with a really good librarian. By Mary Ellen Bates InfoLit Land Page 65 The Path of Least Resistance Students choose the easiest, quickest route when confronted with a research project, but a few practical steps will encourage them to change. By William Badke Control-Shift Page 74 Responsive Design Designing websites so they fit on multiple screen sizes is easier when you use responsive design, which allows for a single design that responds to context. By Jeff Wisniewski On the Net Page 61 People searching presents many challenges, but major scholarly databases are making it easier to reliably find and disambiguate author names. By Greg R. Notess EBook Buzz Page 70 Open Access Ebooks Discussions about open access publishing have revolved mainly around journals, but ebooks are also becoming open access. By Sue Polanka Hard Copy Page 77 Recommended Reading on Embedded Librarians, Managing E-Reserves, and Social Media By Deborah Lynne Wiley Internet Express Page 35 Evaluate This! Teaching Web Validity From the Reference Desk There are five keys to identifying quality websites: authority, currency, accuracy, commercialism, scope. Reference and systems librarian Irene McDermott says these are the basic tools for teaching patrons web validity when using the web to track down information. By Irene E. McDermott The Better Mousetrap Page 38 SciFinder Redux and Related Chemical Information Resources Bob Buntrock, a semi-retired chemist and info specialist, revisits SciFinder (SF), the search software used for accessing CAS and STN materials and databases, now that the National Institutes of Health is offering unlimited access to SF throughout its organization and constituent agencies. He highlights new enhancements as well as the main SF features and tools. By Robert E. Buntrock |
