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Weekly News Digest
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October 24, 2013 — 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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NISO’s Open Discovery Initiative Releases Recommended Practice Draft
A draft of “Open Discovery Initiative: Promoting Transparency in Discovery” is open for public comment until Nov. 18, 2013. This recommended practice from the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) provides guidelines for content providers and discovery service creators on how to address issues that arise in the use of indexed search as part of library discovery services.NISO’s Open Discovery Initiative (ODI) created the recommended practice to help further its goal of “defining standards and/or best practices for the new generation of library discovery services that are based on indexed search,” according to its website. “An increasing number of libraries, especially those that serve academic or research institutions, have invested in index-based discovery services as a strategic interface to all their resources,” says Marshall Breeding, an independent library consultant and co-chair of the ODI Working Group. “These libraries expect their uniquely licensed and purchased electronic content to be made available within their discovery service of choice,” but resources’ indexing and metadata elements are not always clear, he says. ODI uses the recommended practice to suggest improvements for how content is represented in discovery services and to mediate the relationship between content providers and discovery service creators. Content providers can learn about using metadata elements, linking, and technical formats, while discovery service creators can view information on content listings, linking, file formats, transfer methods, and usage statistics. Source: National Information Standards Organization
Springer Announces Korean OA Journal and Book Series
Springer Science+Business Media will publish new South Korean content in partnership with the Korea Nano Technology Research Society (KoNTRS) and KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) Press.KoNTRS will work with Springer to publish a peer-reviewed, open access (OA) journal titled Nano Convergence. This international, interdisciplinary journal will debut in January 2014 and provide all of its research results for free online. Articles will relate to the nanoscience and nanotechnology fields. Soon Hyung Hong, a professor at KAIST, was named editor-in-chief. Beginning in 2014, KAIST Press will introduce about 10 new books per year that will be part of Springer’s KAIST Research Series. KAIST is the country’s first science and engineering graduate school; students can now publish their research using Springer’s resources, according to Si Kyoung Roh, publishing manager at KAIST Press. “The agreement is also expected to provide significant momentum for KAIST researchers to publish their research results with a global publisher, contributing to building an international network,” says Roh. This is not the first time Springer has published works from South Korea. Its publishing program currently includes 43 Korean society journals and 50 new books from Korean authors each year. Source: Springer Science+Business Media
Wiley and The Cochrane Collaboration Develop Cochrane Learning
Wiley and The Cochrane Collaboration recently launched Cochrane Learning, a professional development resource for the healthcare industry. This joint venture uses activities from the Dr Cochrane pilot program, which will continue providing new content through the end of 2013. Wiley and The Cochrane Collaboration will extend their partnership to produce more educational resources in 2014.Cochrane Learning features a suite of online, evidence-based sources from The Cochrane Collaboration that function as a support resource for health professionals looking to improve patient care and to translate new knowledge into effective clinical practices. “We recognize the challenge of making the vast amounts of evidence generated through research more useful for informing decisions about health,” says Mark Wilson, CEO of The Cochrane Collaboration. The company is “committed to producing new products and tools that will help clinicians and other healthcare professionals to use … the high-quality, relevant and up-to-date synthesized research evidence contained in Cochrane systematic reviews.” Users can register to access Cochrane Learning’s free activities on Wiley Health Learning. All activities meet the accreditation standards of the ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education). Source: Wiley
OCLC Adds Collections to WorldCat
OCLC finalized agreements with a group of global publishers that will add more electronic collections to the WorldCat database.These publisher partners will also provide resources to WorldCat’s knowledgebase of worldwide econtent that will simplify the administration process in OCLC WorldShare Metadata management services. Librarians registered with the knowledgebase will have immediate access to new collections (available via subscription or purchase). They can use multiple applications to view metadata, making it easier to manage their library’s electronic resources. During the next few months, OCLC plans to add collections to WorldCat from publishers including Al Manhal (Arabic peer-reviewed documents), the Ecological Society of America (ecological research results and journals), Henry Stewart Talks (online seminars on a variety of topics), New York University Press (trade books and scholarly monographs), SciELO (among other publications, Latin American open access journals), and ciando GmbH (ebook aggregation for German libraries). Source: OCLC
New Bibliography Provides List of Altmetrics Sources
Digital Scholarship released the Altmetrics Bibliography on its website to serve as a resource for understanding altmetrics.The bibliography is a listing of more than 50 English-language articles and technical reports that explore topics such as the impact of scientists’ personal webpages, journal evaluation using social bookmarking data, and the difference between bibliographic and web citations. It does not feature certain online media, including MP3 files, presentation slides, or blog posts. The resources date from January 2001 to September 2013 and are all linked to their freely available online versions. Unavailable titles are linked to their publishers’ descriptions. Digital Scholarship is an open access (OA) publisher that provides information and commentary on digital copyright, digital repositories, scholarly communication, and other OA issues. Publisher Charles W. Bailey Jr. authored the bibliography, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States license. Source: Digital Scholarship
Thomson Reuters Expands Business Law Solutions
Thomson Reuters increased its business law offerings with the release of Business Law Center on WestlawNext and Experts On-Call.Business Law Center on WestlawNext streamlines the research process so transactional attorneys and corporate legal researchers can find timely, accurate, and relevant information. Its single search platform incorporates content ranging from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings to corporate finance transactions. It also features the most comprehensive collection of SEC staff comment letters in the industry. Experts On-Call provides 24/7 dedicated research support to Business Law Center subscribers by email or phone. Experts are available for specialized help with topics such as SEC developments, market trends, and company debt structures. These new services join Company Investigator and other resources on Thomson Reuters’ Business Law Solutions. “By bringing our wealth of transactional data into one place, we have … created a solid foundation for future development of practice area centers that will also include know-how and current awareness resources,” according to Stephen Obenski, senior director and general manager of Business Law Solutions. Source: Thomson Reuters
Polaris Goes Mobile With LEAP
Polaris introduced LEAP, its new library automation software product now in the development phase.LEAP is a web application that allows users to access Polaris services on a desktop, notebook, or tablet web browser. It is designed to help on-the-go embedded librarians work with patrons by adding mobile functionality to Polaris software without removing access on desktop-computer-based systems. LEAP’s structure means that the platform will retain functionality for the next 10-plus years of system use. “Our new web application is device-independent; a librarian just points his or her web-enabled browser to access staff functions,” says Bill Schickling, president and CEO of Polaris. LEAP currently performs 80% of the functions of the Polaris ILS that 80% of patrons need, according to the LEAP website. This release of LEAP is built using HTML5, the newest version of the language for creating websites. Polaris’ current focus is on improving member services and connecting librarians to patrons; it also helps librarians create new workflows. Librarians interested in early access to LEAP via the LEAP Partners Program should contact Polaris. LEAP will officially launch in spring 2014. Source: Polaris
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Brandi Scardilli
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