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Weekly News Digest
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June 14, 2010 — 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.
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NFAIS and ASIDIC Discuss Possible Merger
Since its inception in 1968, ASIDIC has served a diverse membership from the information industry. With meetings each spring and fall, ASIDIC has provided a venue where its members and friends could meet, share experiences, compare best practices, and discuss the future of the industry. But changes in the industry, the challenging economic environment for publishers and other members, and the emergence of new events and organizations have created a new landscape. In April 2010, the ASIDIC Board of Directors announced that they believe it is time to recommend the dissolution of ASIDIC as an organization. However, in order to ensure that the ASIDIC mission and spirit be preserved, and that the current membership and remaining assets are placed with a like-minded organization that is committed to serving the needs of a diverse Information Community, the ASIDIC Board solicited expressions of interest regarding a potential merger. On April 15, 2010, NFAIS submitted such a letter, followed by a formal proposal in May. NFAIS now reports that the ASIDIC Board has voted unanimously to accept its proposal and has put forth its recommendation to the ASIDIC membership. The ASIDIC Board will be holding information meetings with their members throughout June and will hold a formal email ballot at the end of the month. Many NFAIS member organizations are also members of ASIDIC. According to NFAIS, the essence of the proposal is as follows: - NFAIS members who paid their ASIDIC membership for 2010 will be given a pro-rated rebate.
- Other ASIDIC members in good standing will be granted NFAIS membership through June 30, 2011. At that time they will be given the option to continue NFAIS membership with a 3-year transition to full NFAIS dues.
- Any remaining ASIDIC assets will be used to attract conference speakers to NFAIS events that are in keeping with the mission and spirit of ASIDIC as requested by the ASIDIC Board.
- A member of an ASIDIC Member organization will be invited to serve as a non-voting NFAIS Board member from the close of the merger through June 30, 2011 to assist the NFAIS Board in ensuring a successful transition as well as ensuring the preservation of the ASIDIC spirit and mission within NFAIS.
NFAIS says it is honored that the ASIDIC Board believes that it will provide ASIDIC members with the best possible opportunity for continuing the spirit and tradition of ASIDIC that they have enjoyed. Sources: NFAIS and ASIDIC
EBSCO Launches Corporate Learning Watch
EBSCO Publishing announced Corporate Learning Watch, a new evidence-based monitoring service that investigates learning techniques for corporate learning professionals and focuses on the methods that can be used within businesses to facilitate employee learning. Corporate Learning Watch builds on EBSCO's collection of expert and peer-reviewed corporate learning-related literature to present the user with nonbiased actionable intelligence-an executive decision-support tool based on proprietary, evidence-based content. The resource uses a systematic approach to monitor developments in the literature and follow an established multistep evidence-based literature surveillance process. Corporate Learning Watch provides users with the latest expert analysis and findings on corporate learning issues, all based on the evidence that is presented in the literature. The following is a list of specific areas that the reports in Corporate Learning Watch focus on: - Budgeting
- Community building
- Evaluation
- Learning and technology
- Learning and the individual
- Learning methods
- Learning resources
- Learning staff
- Learning structure
- Learning support
- Organizational change
- Talent management
Corporate Learning Watch has adapted EBSCO's core evidence-based methodology to areas of interest to corporate executives. The evidence-based approach identifies, selects, and systematically evaluates pertinent information and creates a synthesis of the best available evidence. EBSCO's experience with evidence-based content includes Sustainability Watch and the upcoming Food Industry Watch as well as the point-of-care resources it provides to hospitals and other medical institutions, including the clinical decision support resource DynaMed. Corporate Learning Watch may be integrated into corporate portals and intranets. The EBSCOhost Integration Toolkit allows EBSCO's content to be incorporated into an organization's workflow, providing seamless access to premium content. Source: EBSCO Publishing
Support for Public Access to Oil Leak Monitoring Data
Almost 40 organizations led by OpenTheGovernment.org and including a number of library associations, joined in sending a letter to President Obama urging him to give the public access to all monitoring data related to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Assured public access to the data is of great national interest and concern to the public. The data sets are crucial for scientists and the public to understand the extent of the problem and its future implications, and to plan for how to help the area recover and thrive. Library groups include the Special Libraries Association (SLA), American Library Association (ALA), American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The letter stresses that the Administration should affirmatively disclose all monitoring data of the leak, in the interest of meeting the President's commitment on his first full day in office to "disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use," and his Administration's subsequent statements, policies, and directives encouraging the executive branch to give the public prompt access to information that is not required to be withheld, even if there are permissive exemptions, the Administration should affirmatively disclose all monitoring data of the leak. Source: SLA
WorldWideScience.org Launches New Multilingual Tool
WorldWideScience Alliance, which offers a federated search service across multiple databases, has unveiled the beta version of a new multilingual tool. The tool is projected to enable scientists to simultaneously search and translate over 400 million pages of scientific research published in 65 countries from around the world in multiple languages. Multilingual WorldWideScience.orgBETA was officially launched at the recent International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) annual conference held in Helsinki, Finland. WorldWideScience.org BETA will be able to offer researchers real-time searching and translation of articles written in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, and English simultaneously. This new capability is the result of an international public-private partnership between the WorldWideScience Alliance and Microsoft Research, whose translation technology has been paired with the federated searching technology of Deep Web Technologies. Set up in 2007 to create a single portal from which to conduct federated searching of multiple open access scientific databases, the WorldWideScience Alliance initially brought together 12 databases from 10 countries but has since grown to cover the research output of 65 countries worldwide. Bringing together the best in private sector information technology with leading public sector science and technology institutions, including national libraries such as the British Library, this next phase of the WorldWideScience.org project will help to make this a truly global resource and reduce the widespread unnecessary duplication of research. WorldWideScience.org is maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information as the Operating Agent for the WorldWideScience Alliance. Source: WorldWideScience.org
ABC-CLIO eBooks Available Through Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale, a part of Cengage Learning, announced a partnership with ABC-CLIO to distribute select titles from ABC-CLIO's eBook collection through Gale Virtual Reference Library, Gale's ebook platform providing access to thousands of authoritative reference works. Directed toward users of public and academic libraries, nearly 250 ebooks have been selected from a variety of disciplines including history, humanities, current events, and general interest. These titles introduce resources from ABC-CLIO and Praeger to Gale's collection, expanding upon Gale Virtual Reference Library's existing list of ABC-CLIO imprint ebooks from Greenwood, Linworth Publishing, and Libraries Unlimited. A library's Gale Virtual Reference Library ebook collection is cross-searchable with its other Gale resources, including many periodical solutions and resource centers, providing an even greater search results. "By adding these titles to Gale Virtual Reference Library, we are expanding our reach and are providing librarians, students, and researchers with greater access to our ebooks," says Tom Fitzgerald, ABC-CLIO's vice president of sales. "We recognize that users are looking for easy access and authoritative content. Whether they choose to use the ABC-CLIO platform or to take advantage of the expansive Gale Virtual Reference Library, our goal is to make sure they find the information that meets their needs and perhaps are engaged enough to look even further." Source: Gale, a part of Cengage Learning
Thomson Reuters Releases EndNote X4 for Windows
Thomson Reuters has released an upgrade to its EndNote for Windows, a bibliographic management and publishing solution. EndNote X4 enables researchers to import and search PDFs, use new Cite While You Write features that simplify their writing, and collaborate in new ways using EndNote Web. EndNote expands its PDF management from finding full text automatically and attaching PDFs to existing records with drag and drop to now importing a single PDF or a folder of PDFs. EndNote X4 extracts basic bibliographic information using the digital object identifiers (DOI) and CrossRef data to create new records in a reference library. Users can also extend their retrieval results beyond reference data by searching attached PDFs. EndNote X4 is compatible with Microsoft Word 2010 and introduces new formatting options for citing scholarly papers properly. EndNote links in-text citations to the bibliography automatically in Microsoft Word-with or without hyperlinks. Users also have increased options for formatting footnotes with customizable short forms as well as full support of the APA 6th style including a multiple author ellipse. The new combined Edit and Manage Citations command consolidates the most frequently used functions in one Cite While You Write window. And users can view a report of references cited in a Word document with a new auto-group in the EndNote library. All EndNote users receive their own EndNote Web account for collaborating with others and accessing references when away from the desktop. Users can now transfer up to 10,000 references between the web and desktop and can search shared groups when selecting references to cite. Reference lists can be sorted by Times Cited, date added to the library, or date modified to locate references quickly. EndNote Web makes it easy to manage a personal publication list for the free ResearcherID (http://www.researcherid.com) author community. References stored in the EndNote Web group are visible instantly in the public community that enables users to eliminate author misidentification and to review personal citation metrics from the Web of Knowledge. EndNote X4 is designed for Windows XP, Vista, and 7. The list price of EndNote X4 is $299.95. Students in North America can purchase EndNote X4 for $115.95 (U.S.) with a valid student ID. For a list of international distributors, go to www.endnote.com. Special upgrade prices are available to owners of previous versions. EndNote X4 is now available from Thomson Reuters, college and university bookstores, and authorized resellers worldwide. EndNote X4 for Mac OS X will ship in summer 2010. Source: Thomson Reuters
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Brandi Scardilli
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