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Weekly News Digest
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March 5, 2015 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.
CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.
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New Report Shows Librarians' Attitudes Toward Access Management Services
OpenAthens announced the key findings from a recent study, “Librarians’ Experiences and Perceptions of Identity and Access Management.” Librarians generally respond positively to challenges in access management, but many feel that their organizations are behind the curve when it comes to current access management services.“Change in electronic publishing is now constant. This continual change is reflected in the way libraries deliver whenever they are needed,” says Jon Bentley, head of product marketing for OpenAthens. “We want to understand the challenges and opportunities this creates for libraries and librarians. These changes require new skills and increased collaboration with colleagues and external partners. But the overall goal remains the same: to provide users with the intelligence they need to make the best decisions.” For more information, read the press release.
hoopla Rolls Out New Interface
hoopla digital began upgrading its users to the newest version (3.0) of the LightSpeed interface, which offers a brighter design, a more robust recommendation engine, and visual features for faster content searches.Other updates include an advanced algorithm for a tailored experience and genre-based searching. Users have quick access to their borrowing history and favorites and can view high-resolution artwork to review titles. To access version 3.0 of LightSpeed, library cardholders (at participating public libraries) can download hoopla’s free app. For more information, read the press release.
LexisNexis Will Help Support Postgraduate Development Programs
LexisNexis Legal & Professional made an alliance with the International Justice Center for Postgraduate Development (IJCPD) to allow postgraduate development programs (law school incubator and residency programs, etc.) to offer free access to essential legal research tools and services to new attorneys as they start their first pro bono activities and establish their practices.Participants will receive a 1-year subscription to Lexis Advance and Lexis Practice Advisor. “With the right tool set in hand, we can focus on enhancing access to justice by resourcing new law graduates with a commitment to social justice so that they are better prepared to practice law,” says Fred Rooney, the IJCPD’s director. For more information, read the press release.
GDELT Adds New Features for Interacting With Global News
GDELT, one of the largest platforms for monitoring global news, launched a variety of new capabilities in version 2.0. Among other functions, it offers real-time translation of news into English from 65 languages, measures 2,000-plus emotions and themes from articles using sentiment analysis, and houses a high-resolution inventory of media systems around the world.Other GDELT 2.0 additions include updates to the GDELT Event and Global Knowledge Graph every 15 minutes; the identification of relevant imagery, videos, and embedded social media posts in various formats; and the compilation of lists of all amounts (e.g., food prices or numbers of troops) mentioned in each article, as well as the names, events, legislation, and other proper nouns mentioned. For more information, read the blog post.
Lookeen Releases Updated Search Features
European Outlook search solution provider Lookeen launched a new version of its interface that expands its core competencies with desktop and Outlook search for Windows users. Version 10 gives instant feedback when searching and has advanced filtering options on standard and virtual desktop clients.Users now have the ability to edit documents from within the desktop search tool. The updated preview feature shows full-fidelity previews of all document types and allows text files to be edited and saved from within Lookeen. For more information, read the press release.
e-Libro Facilitates Information Literacy Instruction in Spanish
Spanish-language ebooks solution e-Libro will offer free information literacy tools in Spanish and English for libraries of all types. These include mini-lessons in finding, using, and evaluating information and citing sources, which will be available as free PDF files. Interested librarians can sign up to download them.“Improving Information Literacy is a top priority for many libraries, but until now there have not been many Spanish language tools readily available,” says Leslie Lees, e-Libro’s VP of U.S. sales and marketing. “Our goal is to help Spanish as well as English speakers improve their information literacy skills to be more successful academically and professionally.” For more information, read the press release.
Monster Makes It Easier for Employers to Find Job Seekers
Monster Social Job Ads is now commercially available for customers in the U.S. after a successful November 2014 beta launch with companies such as eBay, GEICO, and T-Mobile USA, Inc. Monster’s next-generation social recruitment advertising solution gives employers an automated way to distribute selected jobs to targeted candidates on Twitter (excluding their followers).It uses proprietary targeting technology to aggregate career-specific data from more than 100 social sources and Monster’s resume database so employers can find candidates across Twitter. Availability in other markets will follow in coming quarters. For more information, read the press release.
Findaway World Debuts Children's Learning Tablet for Schools and Libraries
Findaway World introduced the Playaway Launchpad, a secure, preloaded learning tablet for children that is designed specifically for circulation in library and classroom environments. It delivers ad-free learning apps grouped by subject area (e.g., math, science, or critical thinking), theme (animals, princesses, fantasy, or nature, etc.), grade level, and age. A reset feature wipes the previous user’s data from the device so it is ready for the next checkout.“Launchpad directly addresses the common pain points of retail tablets, offering a turnkey solution for staff wanting to provide access to a high-quality, interactive learning tool in a safe, fun, and affordable way,” says Jennifer Leombruno, VP of the Playaway Products Group. For more information, read the press release.
IGI Global Unveils New Dictionary App
IGI Global’s InfoSci-Dictionary has a new app for iOS and Android devices. This free resource, which features more than 37,000 terms, is continuously updated with definitions from IGI Global’s newest reference books.These information science and technology definitions are supported by research from 50-plus countries and hundreds of disciplines. For more information, read the press release.
Adam Matthew Grants Free Access to American History Documents
Adam Matthew made part of its The History of America in 50 Documents collection free until March 31, 2015. Fifty hand-picked documents and their associated analyses from the collection’s first module (covering 1493–1859) are available on Adam Matthew’s website. These documents include letters, diaries, maps, pamphlets, and newspapers.Module I of the collection is available now; Module II (1860–1945) is scheduled to launch in summer 2015. For more information, read the press release.
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Brandi Scardilli
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