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Weekly News Digest
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August 3, 2009 — 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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Thomson Reuters Introduces New IP Offering for Law Firms
The Legal business of Thomson Reuters announced a new combined offering for U.S. law firms: Westlaw Patents + Thomson Innovation. This new offering pairs the authoritative legal content of Westlaw with the rich patent research capabilities of Thomson Innovation. It is designed to help legal professionals work smarter and more efficiently across the patent workflow-from patent prosecution to litigation. Content comprises worldwide patent data, including English-language translations of Asia Pacific patents and enhanced patent data from Derwent World Patents Index, Markman orders, litigation records, file histories, primary law, scientific literature, and analytical libraries. And powerful reporting and analytical tools, such as clustering and citation mapping, help uncover critical patent insights that might otherwise be missed. To accelerate patent research work, collaboration tools let legal professionals share their research and analysis with colleagues-delivering real-time updates on the work underway. In addition, easy-to-use exporting and reporting gives customers the flexibility to export patent data in preformatted or custom reports that are ready for client presentations. For more information about Westlaw Patents + Thomson Innovation, go to http://west.thomson.com/patents. Source: Thomson Reuters
Library Groups Advise DOJ on Google Book Settlement
The American Library Association (ALA), the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sent a letter to William F. Cavanaugh Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division yesterday, requesting the division to advise the court presiding over the Google Book Settlement to supervise the implementation of the settlement closely, particularly the pricing of institutional subscriptions and the selection of the Book Rights Registry board members.The letter, which was sent following a meeting the library groups had with the Antitrust Division, also recommended that the division itself actively monitor the parties' compliance with the settlement's provisions. The text of the letter is available at www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/GOOGLEDOJ.pdf. In particular, the library groups urged the division to ask the court to review pricing of institutional subscriptions whenever the division concludes that the prices do not meet the economic objectives set forth in the settlement. In order to evaluate the price of an institutional subscription, the groups believe the division should have access to all relevant price information from Google and the registry. The library associations assert that the division should ask the court to review any refusal by the registry to license copyrights in books on the same terms that are available to Google and to also review the selection process for the registry board to ensure the interests of all rightsholders are considered With an absence of competition for the proposed services, the settlement could compromise fundamental library values, such as equity of access to information, patron privacy, and intellectual freedom, according to the library associations who filed comments with the presiding judge on behalf of libraries and the public interest. Source: ALA Washington Office
Open Library Environment Project Draft Final Report Available
The Open Library Environment project (OLE Project) has posted a draft of its final report (http://oleproject.org/final-ole-project-report). With support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (www.mellon.org), a multinational group of libraries is developing the design for an OLE, an alternative to the current model of an integrated library system (ILS). The goal is to produce a design document to inform open source library system development efforts, to guide future library system implementations, and to influence current ILS vendor products. The resulting OLE platform is predicated on service-oriented architecture and a community-source model of development and governance.The response from the library community during this project exceeded all expectations. Workshops quickly filled with participants from libraries large and small, near and far. Webcasts drew interest from around the world. More than 300 libraries, educational institutions, professional organizations, and businesses participated in some phase of the project. Using input from those participants, the project planners produced an OLE design framework that embeds libraries directly in the key processes of scholarship generation, knowledge management, teaching, and learning by utilizing existing enterprise systems, where appropriate, and by delivering new services built on connections between the libraries' business systems and other technology systems. The OLE Project met all of its objectives and was completed on time and within budget. Project members are now in discussions with potential investing partners who will develop and deploy this new library technology platform. Although this is an especially difficult time for libraries to launch new projects and commit funding for them, project planners continue to hear from the library community that it is more critical than ever to create the technology infrastructure that can help libraries serve as a primary nexus of scholarly information management. The OLE Project completed its official goals. But beyond that, it launched a worldwide conversation about the desired future of libraries and what is needed to move libraries toward that future. Source: OLE Project
IMLS Preservation Grant Guidelines Available
Bank of America is partnering with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS; www.imls.gov) to provide grants to small museums, libraries, and archives. The application deadline is Sept. 15, 2009. The grants are designed to raise awareness and fund preservation of treasures held in small museums, libraries, and archives. Grants will help to preserve specific items, including works of art, artifacts, and historical documents that are in need of conservation. Applicants will build on completed conservation assessments of their collections to ensure that the grants are used in accordance with best practices in the field and underscore the importance of assessment planning. The grants of up to $3,000 are aimed at completing stand-alone projects that convey the essential character and experience of the U.S. To access complete application guidelines, visit www.imls.gov/collections/grants/boa.htm. Source: Institute of Museum and Library Services
Wolters Kluwer Health Launches Interactive Platform for Pharmacology Journal Content
Wolters Kluwer Health (www.wolterskluwerhealth.com) has launched an enhanced version of AdisOnline (http://adisonline.com), which provides a host of user-customizable features and purchasing options designed to help keep healthcare professionals better informed about drug development and therapy. AdisOnline has been enhanced to meet the changing market needs of a growing number of clinicians, researchers, and librarians seeking means to greater efficiency. "AdisOnline's new personalization capabilities and pricing-models allow users to identify relevant information faster without having to purchase anything superfluous," says Ingrid Young, Adis marketing manager.
AdisOnline users can now access "themed article collections" of varying sizes covering topics such as Diabetes, Urology, Clinical Trial Methodology, Data Mining, Ethics, and Drug Evaluations.
"We continue to offer subscription access to our journals and newsletters, but we also offer pay-per-view access to collections of articles drawn from titles across the Adis journal portfolio, grouped by niche areas of interest," says Young. Relevant articles from all of the Adis journals are selected regularly by Adis editors and posted in each of the themed collection areas. Customers can access the full-text HTML and all of the rich media associated with any of the papers in each collection on a pay-per-view basis. The price per article in a collection is significantly less than the price of articles bought individually.
Source: Wolters Kluwer Health
Blerp Goes From Alpha to Beta
RocketOn, Inc. (www.rocketon.com), a venture-funded startup, is taking Blerp from alpha to beta with the launch of browser plug-ins for Internet Explorer and Firefox, full integration with Facebook Connect and Twitter, as well as other new features (www.blerp.com). Blerp's users can now post comments anywhere they surf online. The new plug-ins enable users to instantly see posts and activity on whatever sites they visit. At a glance, users can spot where their friends are commenting and join their conversations.Blerp is now fully integrated with Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites. Users don't have to register for Blerp; they can simply use their existing Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, or Yahoo! accounts to access the service.
Users can take any YouTube video, Flickr photo, or other widget and post them on top of any website they choose. Blerp also has a collection of advanced widgets allowing users to post everything from movie reviews to live polls, maps, trivia, and interactive objects. These widgets give users the power to create instant mashups over their favorite sites and weave them into ongoing dialogue with other users. Source: RocketOn, Inc.
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Brandi Scardilli
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