Top Five Academic Publishing Trends to look out for in 2013

January 18, 2013 by George Lossius, Publishing Technology Extract:
Here are five predictions of what are likely to be the prominent academic publishing trends and developments in the year to come:
1. R.I.P. Impact Factor?
2. Consolidation
3. The year of the textbook
4. The Inexorable Rise of Mobile
5. The future is data

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Why library websites don’t win awards

NB. Posted with permission from the author: Laura Solomon






On the same shelf:

Fee for service or pay as you go to read NYT Newspaper

--this post will be updated as new reviews / criticism appears on fee-based access

A look at the trends in the market shows many options to charge fee for users. A sample of this in today's news is the following:

N.Y. Times tests website fees on Canadians, CBC News Posted: Mar 17, 2011 6:12 PM ET

New York Times to Put Up Paywall March 28

Game On: New York Times Unveils Digital Subscriptions

Reading now: Library and Information Science Education in India

Library and Information Science Education in India, by Krishan Kumar and Jaideep Sharma. New Delhi, Har-Anand Publications Pvt. Ltd. 2009. ISBN: 8124114650; US$ 33.00; 312 p.

“LIS Education is the most crucial input for the development of libraries. … The book has been primarily written to meet the needs of the researchers of Library and Information Science. It will also serve as a basic source for students of LIS for the course of LIS Education both at M. Phil and MLIS levels.” (cover)

Contents: Chapter: I. History; II Organizations and their role; III. Levels of courses; IV. Admission requirements; V. Course content; VI. Course Delivery : teaching methods tools and evaluation; VII. Infrastructure; VIII. Status and accreditation; IX. Distance education; X. Issues, developments trends and suggestions

Professors Krishan Kumar and Jaideep Sharma have done an excellent job of cataloguing the main facets of LIS education in India. The authors have been directly involved in teaching, training and are personally exposed to the tools, techniques, methods and out-come of LIS programs in India. Both have a good grasp of what is imported and what is exported by LIS professionals and have a balanced approach about how much of thinking local and acting global is essential today—especially introduction of the book reflects this perspective of what works abroad and what works in India. For instance, the recent growth of I schools in California and Mysore will interest many LIS educationists to see the synchronization that is taking place (I-School movement, p. 57).

Library and Information Science Education in India is a handy source for researchers, post-graduates, as well as for an advanced study of LIS education in India as it evolves. This book is also useful for those interested in comparative education, comparative and international librarianship as well as historiography of library world. Library historians, in short, will find this book indispensable.

Full review will appear in Library Times International

On the same shelf:

Diversity and Commonality of Information Science Education in a Pluralistic World (SIG ED) by Ingrid Hsieh-Yee, Heting Chu, Joseph Janes, Eileen Abels, William Moen, Samantha Hastings

Stakeholder's Views on Information Education by Rachel Elkington, Cynthia Fugate, Deanna Morrow Hall, Mark Greene

Fifty years of library and information science education in India: Seminar papers: XV IATLIS National Seminar, Department of Studies in Library and Information ... of Mysore, Mysore, 27-29 November 1997

Another graduate school serving the library field is about to lose the “L” name

Libraries in India - National Developmental Perspectives: A saga of Fifty years since independence, by Mohamed Taher. New Delhi , Concept Publishing, 2001.

Reading now: Usage Statistics of E-Serials

Managing tight budgets, finding right service providers, selecting compatible-and-standardized tools to handle e-serials (data, access, licensing, technical support and usage statistics), motivating staff to adapt to the changing dynamics of e-librarianship, and finally meeting maximum user needs are all the crucial issues of today’s libraries. And for such a scenario here is a book--by David Fowler, presently Head Acquisitions Department, University of Oregon Libraries--as a resource, that helps in moving ahead in some of the significant areas of handling e-serials.

Incidentally, in the context of e-serials, cost (be it as single subscription or consortial bundles), purchasing decisions, library budgets, staff experience and exposure, and most importantly tools (especially,Issues with standardization of usage statistics) are all directly related to available and standardized tools for a ROI both for libraries, and information suppliers (aka information service providers). A few relevant questions, this reviewer can think, that are faced in dealing with e-serials’ usage data include:

a. What type and level of data do libraries want or expect in selecting / de-selecting e-serials (as discussed on p. 261)?

b. Is the supplier collecting legitimate numbers and facts and revealing this as-is to libraries (as discussed on p. 233)?

c. If data indicates a low use of a particular title (as discussed on p. 154, 220), does it mean first that the user is not in-need or otherwise unaware of ways and means to find it, or second, the library lacks a mechanism to create user-friendly gateway (especially the e-resources that may need a different path than what is required for a traditional print), or third there is a communication gap, in other words: lack of semantic synchronization (information seeking behavior matching with information provision)?

d. Is there a relationship between libraries using e-serials (be it on a stand-alone or consortial arrangement) in dealing with—transactions for instance, such as, a) Interlibrary loans, and b) document delivery-- and its impact on collection development / collection management?

e. Advantages and disadvantages of deriving usage statistics from local library management software (as discussed on p. 111), vis-à-vis supplier delivered metrics?

f. Shared-purchase and shared responsibility (as discussed on p. 43) is one size fits-for-all or requires customization by subjects / geography (e.g, Cancer library on p. 183; National Laboratory on p. 151; and Connecticut Academic Libraries, p. 79)? and

g. Electronic Resource Management (ERM) (as discussed on pp. 8, 130, and 252) is one part of the information management solution, but how about integrating a stand-alone resource and looking for an interface with enterprise content management (ECM) system?

While the above hypotheses are a good fit for a new book, and comparative librarianship always looks for such Web analytics, however, Usage Statistics of E-Serials addresses only a few of these concerns, issues and matrixes.

Usage Statistics of E-Serials, lacks a glossary of terms, such as, e-metircs (specifically in relation to web-metrics, librametrics, infometrics, etc.), usage (online, offline, and other modes of distribution permitted / adopted by libraries or end-users), access (in-house, campus wide, remote), tools (local, global, library vendor-supplied, publisher / service-provider supplied), techniques (standard, local), etc.

Further, the book lacks a conclusion. Any reader of a book on statistics is keen on finding an authoritative summary of all that is discussed in the book. For instance, a reader is left with no last word or opinion or ways to know if the editor agrees (fully, partially or not-at-all) with one of the author’s in this collection: ‘Lies, Damn Lies, and Usage Statistics: What's a Librarian to Do?’

Thematically speaking, the utility of the book would have been far more if it was focused on fewer themes or about any specific libraries. In this day of constantly changing dynamics, this book planned in 2004, data collected in 2006 (most cited references are pre-2006), published in 2007, today presents a little dated stories.

Hopefully the editor may consider a (qualitative and quantitative) sequel that is also inclusive of both vertical (within a library system: systematically analyzing budget, user needs, subject specialization, staff—generalists and specialists--storage, retention and deletion) and horizontal (across libraries on the above lines) usage statistics of e-serials .

Nevertheless, I recommend Usage Statistics of E-Serials as a useful resource for serials librarians and those involved in serials management in libraries.

On the same shelf:

• Viewing Library Metrics from Different Perspectives: Inputs, Outputs, and Outcomes ~ Robert E. Dugan
• E-metrics for Library and Information Professionals: How to Use Data for Managing and Evaluating Electronic Resource Collections ~ Andrew C. White and Eric Djiva Kamal
• E-metrics for library and information professionals: How to use data for managing and evaluating electronic resource collections. By Andrew White and Eric ... Acquisitions and Technical Services] ~ N. McDowell

REFERENCE ON THE NET or Net as a Reference Tool

NB. Is the following REFERENCE ON THE NET or Net as a Reference Tool. I would prefer the second title. Reference sources are now scattered both in the library and On the Net--And, librarians have been one of the first to use both the worlds.

Here is what I found and is interesting to show how much libraries (whether search in the library or via virtual Web) depend on the Net. This appeared in The Disseminator is an electronic newsletter published by the Nova Scotia Provincial Library V.9, N.11, November 2002*

Here are some more reference questions referred to the Provincial Library by the Regional Public Libraries. They were answered using resources found on the Internet.

Q. Would like plans for building a wooden clock and wooden mechanisms.

A. At the Canadian Home Workshop Magazine Article Index search page at http://www.canadianhomeworkshop.com/articles.html enter clock as a keyword. This locates quite a few clock woodworking projects with the month, year and page where they appeared in Canadian Home Workshop magazine. You can also search the project plans from Woodworker's Journal and Today's Woodworker Magazine at http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/wwjstore2/webpage3.cfm?DID=1. Again enter clock in the search box and this finds 46 plans which you can browse through. Another useful site is Woodworker's Website Association PlanSearch at http://www.woodworking2.org/PlanSearch/search.htm. Enter clock in the keyword search to locate 18 plans. Some are free including Wooden Clock 1 and Wooden Clock 2 on Brian Law�s Woodenclocks site http://www.woodenclocks.co.uk/. These have plans for wooden mechanisms.

Q. Would like names and addresses of Canadian companies which distribute or manufacture therapeutic magnetic products.

A. Here are three databases which are useful for answering this question:
At the Canadian Company Capabilities database at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_coinf/ccc/engdoc/homepage.html use the search words magnetic therapy to locate companies.

At the Canadian Exporters Catalogue search page at
http://www.worldexport.com/search/default.asp?Param=English select Safety, Medical and Health-Care Products in the Section field and in the Key Word field enter magnetic.

At the Canadian Trade-marks Database search page at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cgi-bin/sc_consu/trade-marks/search_e.pl enter the phrase magnetic therapy and select the Wares and Services (11) field to search in.

***The Disseminator is an electronic newsletter published by the Nova Scotia Provincial Library, which has temporarily ceased publication with the Winter 06/Spring 07 issue.

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

Editorial: Ten Years of Reviewing the Web, 1997–2007

PS. This is not a review from me.

Source:
CHOICE August 2007
IF IT’S AUGUST, THIS MUST BE THE WEB ISSUE
Web X

Nine years ago this month, Choice published its first issue devoted to the Web. That August 1997 special issue, Web I, was a milestone in many ways. It contained Choice’s first Web reviews, some 190 of them. It was, so far as we can tell, Choice’s first August issue. And to our subscribers, who received twelve instead of eleven issues (July-August is combined), it was an example of a lagniappe, that delightful New Orleans practice of rewarding one’s customers by giving them a little something extra.

That little something extra has evolved over the years into something a bit larger. Today’s Web issue is hard to distinguish from a regular installment of the magazine. In fact, with 756 reviews and an expanded set of editorial features that includes Choice’s first ever Outstanding Academic Web Site list (page 68)—not to mention Laura Cohen’s bibliographic essay “Blogs in Academia: A Resource Guide”(page 7), the 2006 edition of Susanne Bjorner’s “Buying Guide: Online Resources for Academic Libraries,” and “Recent & Forthcoming Internet Publications, 2006-2007” (page 17)—Web X is actually one of this year’s largest issues.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of Web X is that it exists at all. That wasn’t something those of us who were present at the creation of Web I ever anticipated. Web I, we thought, was a one-time special production whose primary purpose was to announce that Choice was now reviewing the Web. continue reading