ABC of Evaluating Library Resources: Authority, Body and Currency

 A - Authority: includes author, publisher, editor, compiler, etc. -- Can we trust the authority; What makes (qualifications, skills, expertise) this person (him/her) an authority;

B -  Body: includes the content in the body of the source to be evaluated for its objectivity or bias, accuracy, completeness, relevancy, format;

C - Currency: current, up to date content. -- Info courtesy: 'ABCs of Evaluation' (online sources: p. 69; Databases: p. 73; Print sources: p. 75) The Research Virtuoso: How to Find Anything You Need to Know Victor Gad, Jessica Rovito and Peggy Thomas of Toronto Public library (see pages: 68-77) 

The following Library guides have examples to evaluate Library Resources, such as, Printed Books, Databases and E-Resources (Websites, online and digitized):

• The ABCs of Evaluating Websites: Evaluation Info - SSW 401 Social Policy - Research Guides at Simmons College 
• ABCs of Evaluating Websites, LibGuides at Utica College
• The ABCs of Evaluating Web Sites, Open Web/Internet - Speech/Communications Research Guide - LibGuides at San Diego Mesa College

On the same shelf:

• Web Research: Selecting, Evaluating, and Citing (2nd Edition) Marie L. Radford
• Interactive Open Educational Resources: A Guide to Finding, Choosing, and Using Whats Out There to Transform College Teaching
  John D. Shank
• Retool Your School: The Educator's Essential Guide to Google's Free Power Apps
  James Lerman
• New Directions in Human Information Behavior (Information Science and Knowledge Management)
  Amanda Spink
• Web Wisdom: How To Evaluate and Create Information Quality on the Web
  Marsha Ann Tate
• Metadata and Organizing Educational Resources on the Internet (Journal of Internet Cataloging)
  Jane Greenberg
• Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (Advances in Intelligent and Soft Computing)
  Honghua Tan
• The Research Virtuoso: Brilliant Methods for Normal Brains
  Joe Weissmann
• The Oxford Guide to Library Research 3rd (third) Edition by Mann, Thomas published by Oxford University Press, USA (2005)
• Information Literacy: Navigating and Evaluating Today's Media
  Sara Armstrong
•   User-Centered Library Websites: Usability Evaluation Methods (Chandos Information Professional Series)
  Carole A George
•   Semantic Web Technologies and Social Searching for Librarians (THE TECH SET® #20
  Robin Fay

• Research Virtuoso: To improve teen's research skills beyond googling for school and for life

How to Review a Book

A review is basically both a description and a critical evaluation of a book. It should focus on the  purpose (audience)  scope( coverage & /or limitations, i.e. what it does not cover), contents (and context), authority (author and publisher), critical evaluationn (strength, weekness) and value (commend or don't commend).

For Further Reading:

Queen's UniversityHow to Write Book Reviews

AcqWeb

Bookwire:This book industry website provides links to several major review publications, including Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Book Report (from AOL), the Boston Book Review, and others.

Booklist: Published by the American Library Assocaiation, Booklist is a great source for brief reviews of current publications. Reviews from 1995 to the present available on the site, indexed by date, author, and genre

How to Write a Book Review - Los Angeles Valley College

How to Review a Book

How to Write a History Book Review | Department of History, The University of Iowa

How To Find A Book Review

How to Write a Critical Book Review

Like ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ for books: reviews to use

Greg Quill, Toronto Star,
Extract:

A couple of young Canadian web specialists have come up with a useful tool that will help you select good books to read, using the reviews of mainstream literary critics. Taking their cues from Rotten Tomatoes, the popular website that aggregates the work of professional movie reviewers around the world, Sarnia native Rahul Simha and his tech-savvy buddies, Canadian Vish Chapala and American Mohit Aggarwal, have built a website, idreambooks.com, that collects, aggregates and links the published works of professional book reviewers.continue reading

Writers in News: Peter Watts and John Gribbin

•  Tiger Woods accident pushes up sales of physics book
•  Canadian sci-fi writer arrested at US border

John Gribbin Get a Grip on Physics,



Watts' books include "Starfish," "Maelstrom" and "Behemoth," known as the "Rifters Trilogy."

Partitions (Tr. of 'Kitne Pakistan') by Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena

PS. This is not a review from my desktop.

This book is translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari as 'Partitions'

"Kamleshwar’s Kitne Pakistan enjoys cult status as a novel that dared to ask crucial questions about the making and writing of history.

With India’s partition in 1947 as its reference point, the novel presents a limitless canvas against which the most extraordinary trial in the history of mankind runs its course. Present in a court that transcends space and time are Mughal Emperors Babar and Aurangzeb, Spanish adventurer Hernando Cortez, Lord Mountbatten, Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein. Along with political leaders, religious zealots and scheming gods of mythology, they stand accused of creating countless fractured nations, leaving a never-ending trail of hatred and distrust..."
continue reading the book description

Extract from another article by Asghar Ali Engineer: "My friend and noted Hindi writer Kamleshwar wrote an excellent novel Kitne Pakistan (How Many Pakistan?) and in that novel he counts Maulana Shibli No’mani as one of narrow minded Muslim. I told Kamleshwar he has done great injustice to Shibli. He was highly critical of Muslim League and its politics and great supporter of Indian national Congress and nationalist. Kamleshwar told me he will make the necessary change in the English version of the Novel which was being published by Penguin. However, soon after that he died and I do not know whether he could get time to make that correction." continue reading, Shibli Nomani and national politics

See also reviews by

• Amitava Kumar :: Kamleshwar, Alvida :: January :: 2007
• The Hindu : Literary Review / Book Review : In a new light
• The collector of tears
• Press Release; Jamia Millia Islamia
• kamaleshwar - Palash Speaks

Selling Your Book to Libraries -- Self-published or Privately Printed Books

Note: Its a open market and company's who promote self-publishing must be evaluated. The Idiot's guide gives you know how, the job is yours. Test the market, compare the competitors and do as-you-like-it. Read the bottom line, from the last link posted below.


"I'll make a guess that your dream is to see your book on the New York Times Bestseller list. To walk by a Borders or Barnes and Noble and know your book is stocked on the shelves. Those are great dreams and it is important to have a big vision for your book sales. But there is one market that you should not overlook - the public and school library market. Libraries have large budgets and some regional systems have buyers that purchase on behalf of 20 or more locations. " continue reading

On the same shelf:

• The real secret to a successful blog/book/business
• Book Publisher Experiments
• The book that never grew up
• BEWARE: Self-Publishing Scams ~~ Five Things to Watch Out for when Choosing a Self-publishing Company

Federated Search - Reading now

The term federated search is also known as, meta-search, cross-search, combined-search, and aggregated-search. First, it is about simultaneously searching, with one-click, in several electronic sources. Second, it is about getting all the search results displayed in a single browser. And the book I am reading is Federated Search by Christopher N. Cox

I recommend the book for a basic understanding on the emerging theme of federated search strategies, especially about American academic libraries’ experiences in this sphere.

OCLC Top 1000: 2005 Complete list

"This list, updated for 2005, contains the "Top 1000" titles owned by OCLC member libraries—the intellectual works that have been judged to be worth owning by the "purchase vote" oflibraries." Complete list

Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy

This is not a review, it is just an aggregation of some content.

Dante.Inferno.Canto I:

• Dante.Inferno.C anto II
• Dante.Inferno.C anto III
• Watch all @ 14 Videos Youtube
  

Info courtesy: Dante Explorer:

Dante Explorer is a journey through the afterlife of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise with the poet Dante in his work, The Divine Comedy.

Why would I want to read Dante today? Here are 10 reasons to read Dante

New to Dante? A Beginners guide to Dante

Ready to start the journey? Begin the Journey - Inferno

Dante Explorer is updated regularly, please check back often at the: Dante Explorer Blog for the most current post, or subscribe to the RSS feed at the top of the page.

Being Muslim (Groundwork Guide Series)

This book is not an idiot or a dummy series. It is, hence, different altogether in content, context, and communication that helps understand the people, minds, concepts, and percepts. Being Muslim, in short, is interesting, thought provoking and educating. See a few extracts, reviews, etc.:

Quotes I like from this book:
>> "He who wrongs a Jew or a Christian will have me as his accuser on the Day of Judgment." Prophet Muhammad, -- a.k.a., Hadith (page 27)
>> "Donot consider me better than Moses" Prophet Muhammad, -- a.k.a., Hadith (p. 34)
>> "I am closest of all people to Jesus, son of Mary." Prophet Muhammad, -- a.k.a., Hadith (p. 34)
>> "Extremists are also being reminded that the wrath of God constitutes a minuscule part of the Qur'an" (author, p. 147)
>> "Nowadays, jihad is often used without any religious connotation, more or less equivalent to the English word, cusade -- a crusade against drugs..." (Rudolph Peters, p. 127)
>> "The most used word in the Qu'ran, after Allah, is ilm (knowledge)" (author, p. 147).
>> "Not all the Saudi restrictions are Islamic. The taboo against women drivers, for example, is not haram (forbidden), but it is not permitted, in deference to tradition." (author, p. 99).

From the Publisher:
Since 9/11, the world has been confronted with the most volatile facets of Islam with little explanation of how or why these controversial elements developed. Written by one of North America's most honored journalists, Being Muslim presents an up-front and clear explanation of this complex and emotion-laden subject.

From School Library Journal:
The author's tone is conversational and engaging, and frequent breaks in the text make this small book very readable.—Sondra VanderPloeg, Tracy Memorial Library, New London, NH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Without preaching or political jargon and drawing on his travels and interviews in Muslim countries, he shows that the extremists are being challenged by a new generation of Muslims, and welcomes the current internal reformation.

By Deva Kautilya "Too Many Books Too Little Time!" (Cleveland, OH)
I heard the interview of the author on NPR while driving to the airport from a client site! I could not wait to get this book from the library.

By Naazish YarKhan
A must read.

By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) -
If it's an easy overview of key issues, topics and social and political concerns you need to serve as an introduction to Muslim concerns, you can't go wrong with BEING MUSLIM, based on travels in Muslim lands and interviews with experts there and in the West.

Book Publisher Experiments

Publishers warm up to 'Net, sell chapters, give away books Nate Anderson, Arstechnica (Feb 11)

Two book publishers will be making more 'print' available online: Random House will sell selected chunks, and HarperCollins will make some titles free to read.

continue reading info posted by Gwen @ Internet News

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

When a book gets really popular, like The Time Traveler’s Wife, then I’m sure I don’t want to read it. When I finally got over myself and read it, it was terrific. This is just probably my need to be special, or something. Thus spake: Ted!

See also: Same shelf and aisle, The Sheila Variations: Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
Strangely enough, I cringed from reading Harry Potter.

THE GILLER: Which book is likely to win the Giller?

Nov 05, 2007 04:30 AM Vit Wagner Publishing Reporter, Toronto Star

Winning a Scotiabank Giller Prize or a Governor General's Award is guaranteed to boost the sales of any author, with relatively unsung writers having the most to gain.
That's good news for whoever wins this year's Giller, being handed out tomorrow night in Toronto at a gala televised live on Bravo!
Last year's winning book, Vincent Lam's Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, experienced a 464 per cent sales increase in the first week after the win, while Peter Behrens' The Law of Dreams received a 360 per cent boost in the first week after its GG win for English-language fiction last fall. continue reading

The jury named the finalists. They are:

Elizabeth Hay for her novel Late Nights on Air, McClelland & Stewart


Michael Ondaatje for his novel Divisadero, McClelland & Stewart


Daniel Poliquin for his novel A Secret Between Us, trans. Donald Winkler, Douglas & McIntyre

M.G. Vassanji for his novel The Assassin’s Song, Doubleday Canada

Alissa York for her novel Effigy, Random House Canada

You can't beat free advertising! - Media Convergence’s

This is not a review, rather an example that helps you consider how to reach out and outreach, as well suggests the positive advantage of the push and pull medium-- a reflection on Dr. Ranganathan's Five laws, esp. books are for use.

"We received a multiple book order from a library today.
After replying to the librarian I checked our website to see if I could tell how she found us. What I learned was that our company and our two new local history titles were mentioned, along with a link, in the Kentucky Literary Newsletter which has over 1,700 online subscribers..." continue reading Bill Guffey @ Biblio-Technician

What book would you most want your kids to read?

PS. This is not my comment. Thanks to Prof. Norma Bruce Faculty Emeritus, Ohio State University Libraries, for her creative visualizations.

Here's a really odd response, showing great narrowness of mind and ignorance of what's on the shelves of bookstores and libraries, from an Ohio State University Professor of English, Kathy Fagan:

"I would be glad for my kids to read anything. Except maybe books by Anne Coulter." onCampus, Sept. 20, 2007, p. 16

See? Didn't I tell you about banned books starting in the selection process? I wonder what sort of grades she gives to conservatives. A sample of her poetry

36 Blog Rules to Keep You in Business

If ou are a corporate blogger or interested in what works in blogsphere, you have Nancy Flynn's excellent book that tells you have far, how much and how deep should you go, and more so what are the boundaries that you should be aware. [Info courtesy: Microsoft Momentum, June 2007: 7]

BLOG RULES: A Business Guide to Managing Policy, Public Relations, and Legal Issues by Nancy Flynn (AMACOM Books, 2006)
Here are some rules to keep you and your business in business and out of court.
Blog Rule #1: The blog is an electronic communications powerhouse.
Blog Rule #2: Business blogs are not necessary or appropriate for every organization.
Blog Rule #3: Savvy business owners and executives must learn how to strategically and successfully manage the blogosphere today.
Blog Rule #4: It’s the casual, conversational, anything-goes nature of the blog that makes it both so appealing to blog writers and readers.
Blog Rule #5: An organization without an external blog program may risk losing position, market share, reputation, and sales to tech-savvy competitors.
Blog Rule #6: The strategic management of blogs or any other electronic business communications tool begins with the establishment of written rules and policies governing usage and content.
Blog Rule #7: A business blog opens the organization up to potential disasters.
Blog Rule #8: Management, technology, and the legal system have not yet caught up with the potential benefits and risks of business blogging.
Blog Rule #9: Strategic blog management begins with the establishment of a clear objective.
Blog Rule #10: Don’t allow IT (or legal, records management, or human resources) to dictate your business blog program.
Blog Rule #11: Require employees to sign a confidentiality agreement to protect trade secrets and confidential data belonging to the organization, employees, customers, business partners, and other third parties.
Blog Rule #12: Use discipline to maximize employee compliance with blog rules, policies, and procedures. continue reading Blog Rule # 13 - 36

From The Critics
Business Times (New Haven, CT):
Blog Rules is the one guide readers need to help ensure that their organizations are helped and not hindered by this revolutionary tool.
Niche Magazine:
Since the rules about business relationships and blogs can be hazy, Nancy Flynn has written an essential guide..
Library Journal:
Flynn's book... is more strictly for CEOs fearful of blogging. [continue reading these critical notes at bn.com]

Table of Contents (sample, see full list at bn.com)
Ch. 1 Why blog rules? 3
Ch. 2 Blogs pose unprecedented risks to business 13
Ch. 3 Start with a clear objective : why blog? 20
Ch. 4 Proceed with caution : self-assessment for would-be business bloggers 26
Ch. 5 Treat blog posts as business records 39

GANGA: A Journey Down the Ganges River

Om Jaya Ganga Mata: Theme music



PS. This review is not mine.
Jai Ganga Maatey, by Sardar Khushwant Singh
The Ganga is 1,516 miles long from its source at Gangotri to the Bay of Bengal. Many of the world�s rivers are much larger and broader, e.g. the Nile, Amazon, Yangtze and Mississippi are more than twice as long. Many are much larger than the Ganga as well and have steamers plying on them. A few are historic, e.g. the Indus from which India derives its name.

All are loved by people who live along their banks. To the English their biggest river is Father Thames. The Mississippi was immortalised by Paul Robeson singing Ole Man River. But no river in the world has commanded so much worship as the Ganga. She comes from the Milky way through the tresses of Lord Shiva down to the earth. Most Indians revere her as their mother. Even a Muslim like the poet Mohammed Iqbal referred it as the base of Aryan settlement in India:

Ai aab-e-rood-e-Ganga
Voh din hai yaad tujh ko
Utra teyrey kinarey ttha kaarwaan hamaara

(O ye limpid waters of the Ganga
Remember you the day
When our caravan reached your banks
And settled down to stay.)

Even a non-believer like me used to make it a point to go to Hardwar once a year to watch the aarti at sunset at Har-ki-Pauri and join the throng in shouting "Jai Ganga Maatey � Victory to thee Mother Ganga."

There is no logic behind worshiping the Ganga, nor any basis for believing that its waters have healing properties.

Nevertheless, from times immemorial our rulers, including Muslims, get their drinking water from Hardwar.

The same water channelised in canals or taps is not sacred; only that brought from Rishikesh in Hardwar passes the test of sanctity.

It is from that that Kanwarias in their thousands fill their water pots and trudge to distant towns and villages to sell it. People anxious to go to heaven come to die or at least be cremated by the Ganga�s banks. Around Varanasi there is a taxi and rikshaw service to bring corpses from adjacent towns and villages to the Ganga: it is known as the Swarg Mail. Though we worship the Ganga, we rob it by diverting its waters into canals, block its flow by erecting dams, and foul its stream by human excreta and factory effluents. At places you can�t bear the stench it emits. We are that kind of people.

You can read all about it in Ganga by Julvana Grandall Hollick (Random House). He is columnist and TV film producer. He & his wife did the entire length of the river Alpha to Omega. It makes delightfully informative reading. Source: Deccan Chronicle

About the book / author:
Combining travelogue, science, and history, Ganga is a fascinating portrait of a river and a culture. It will show you India as you have never imagined it.

Julian Crandall Hollick is an award-winning producer and writer of radio documentaries. His programs have aired on NPR, the BBC, and CBC in Canada, and his writing has appeared in publications including Smithsonian and The New Republic. Hollick was described by Peter Jennings as “the person who taught me about Islam,” and by countless Indians as “the man who knows more about India than we Indians” (Radio Midday, Mumbai). Island Press"

Amazing Pace: Turbo-Charged Business Development

NB. The following is not about a book with a similar title, Amazing pace : the story of Olympic champion Michael Phelps from Sydney to Athens to Beijing, by Paul McMullen.

Here we are sailing in a different pace and in a different style, called busienss development. Amazing Pace: Turbo-Charged Business Development
Dr. Earl R. Smith II, ISBN: 1424186277, 183 pages.

Following is a description of the book:
I’ve never met a CEO who was really happy with the way business development was working. They all end up saying the same thing. “Traditional solutions fail to produce expected results while regularly generating unexpected costs. There needs to be a better way.”

Amazing Pace shows you how to turbo-charge business development. Over decades of experience as a CEO, board member and senior advisor, I have developed a unique approach to turbo-charging business development. It involves: 1) a board of advisors, which is populated by very senior people who are dedicated to driving the top line; 2) a different approach to resourcing and organizing a company’s senior management team; and 3) an approach that focuses on building revenue in large chunks.

This book will show you how it’s done. It will also help you avoid the pitfalls and leverage the strengths of your company. Read on—this really works!

Table of Contents
Introduction
The Conundrum that is Business Development
Chapter 1: Five Reasons Why Business Development Is So Difficult To Get Right
Chapter 2: Seven Reasons Why Advisory Boards Don’t Produce
Chapter 3: Battle at the Cottage Gate
Chapter 4: Dysfunctional Advisory Boards – A Family of Problems
Chapter 5: Advisory Boards as Business Development Engines – The Beginnings
Advisory Boards
Chapter 1: Turbocharged Business Development
Chapter 2: Benefits and Costs
Chapter 3: John’s Questions – Round Two
Chapter 4: Change Management
Planning for Two Journeys
Chapter 1: Change Management
Chapter 2: Board Design and Population
A Working Board
Chapter 1: The First Board Meeting
Chapter 2: Conflict, Renegotiation and Removal
Chapter 3: First Blood
On Leadership
Chapter 1: Leadership That Empowers – The Fire of the Mind
Chapter 2: Leadership that Limits - The ‘Completeness Doctrine’
Chapter 3: A Balanced Senior Management Team
Managing Mt. Rushmore
Retrospective
Chapter 1: Anniversary
Chapter 2: Assessing the Impact
Final Thoughts
Contact Information

Like this book? Send an Electronic Postcard Now!

Shelf Location:
Business > Industry
Economics > Business and Industry
Finance > Business and Industry
Business > Management

How Doctors Think by Jerome E. Groopman

Info courtesy: Ricklibrarian and a suggestion: "Groopman's book is already very popular. Every library should have it."

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. SignatureReviewed by Perri Klass:
Every reflective doctor will learn from this book—and every prospective patient will find thoughtful advice for communicating successfully in the medical setting and getting better care.Many of the physicians Dr. Groopman writes about are visionaries and heroes; their diagnostic and therapeutic triumphs are astounding. And these are the doctors who are, like the author, willing to anatomize their own serious errors.

See also:

Information Seeking Behavior of the Believers

Information Seeking Behavior - Quote of the day

Words of Wisdom from Technology Guru Bill Thompson

Harry Potter book pages found online

Kevin Griffin, CanWest News Service
Published: Monday, July 16, 2007
A 33-year-old Vancouverite has downloaded what appears to be about 60 per cent of the seventh and final Harry Potter book — even though the children’s novel isn’t supposed to be officially released until midnight Saturday. continue reading

See also:

Read the review of the new "Potter" movie

Much more @ Google's