Volume 39, Number 2 - March/April 2015
EDITORIALFrontLines Page 4 Open access, with its promise of free scholarly information, can be seen as one of those gifts, but it has strings attached. By Marydee Ojala Searcher's Voice Page 33 Although she might sound a bit "geezer-ish" when awash in nostalgia of the in-print reference era gone by, upon further reflection, Barbara Quint attests that these times of information affluence, for all their challenges, as her story of "Miami Harold" attests, truly are the good "new" days. By Barbara Quint DEPARTMENTSPage 8 Search Engine Update By Greg R. Notess Page 60 Conference Corral Academic Publishing Gets 10 to 25 FEATURESPage 10 The Digital Public Domain: Unlocking the Mysteries of Generations Past  Public domain sites contain the rich cultural heritage of generations past, free from copyright restraints. Spanning a range of disciplines, from ancient manuscripts to hidden treasures in art museums to biological specimens, the digital public domain has much to offer online searchers. By Laura Gordon-Murnane Page 16 Springshare's release of LibGuides 2.0 prompted librarians from Northwestern University to re-evaluate how the library manages its system of research guides. They used the adoption of LibGuides 2.0 to gain user feedback, from both students and staff, and to create a new and improved LibGuides service. By Lauren McKeen, John Hernandez Page 22 The Struggle for Open Mathematics Software Woody Evans ponders the philosophical implications of open mathematics as he contrasts Google-powered SageMathCloud, Wolfram Research's Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha, and MATLAB with a variety of open mathematics software projects. By Woody Evans Page 42 Lee College librarians Jeannie Colson and Kelly Allen share their adventures in implementing a discovery service in their small academic library. They outline how to manage content (and knowing what content is included and what isn't), and how to figure out the best way to provide access to databases not included on the main index. By Jeannie Colson, Kelly Allen Page 50 Techniques for Finding and Evaluating Great Library Apps Reliance on mobile devices is pervasive in libraries, giving librarians the opportunity to identify apps that will be useful for students. Academic librarian Mary Oberlies identifies app categories, shares a performance measurement list, and suggests ways to keep up with new apps. By Mary K. Oberlies Page 54 Book Discovery Through Lists, Reviews, Summaries, and Recommendations Books have taken on new meanings, as formats and devices alter our reading habits. Barbie Keiser reviews the many ways people identify books they want to read, from "best books" lists to social media recommendations and more. By Barbie E. Keiser IN-DEPTH REPORTSPage 38 Digging Deeper: Do Scholarly Databases Offer Hope for Future Citation Research? Nancy Herther examines the new "science" of altmetrics and illustrates how almetrics is challenging cited reference data for research impact assessment. She looks at the resulting issues facing information professionals as well as how the new metrics system is affecting scholarly databases. By Nancy K. Herther COLUMNSInternet Express Page 35 Your Money’s No Good Here: Mobile Wallets With credit card breaches on the rise, Irene McDermott examines the emerging technology of mobile wallets. She looks at the current barriers to the mobile wallet as currency and how it measures up security-wise. She also touches on NFC (near field communication) devices, which can do much more than make payments, and may be a librarian's new best friend. By Irene E. McDermott On the Net Page 62 Locations and Usability of Advanced Search, Facets, Filters, and Limits Web search guru Greg Notess explains how to use facets, filters, and limits to perform advanced search functions in web search engines. He also discusses where these advanced search functions are located. By Greg R. Notess The Dollar Sign Page 65 The Fine Points of Finding Franchising Information The franchise economy is alive, thriving, and international. This Dollar Sign column explains the franchising concept, identifies relevant indexing terms for research, and describes information-rich websites. By Marydee Ojala The Open Road Page 68 Introducing ‘Generation Open’: The Next Generation of Open Advocates Reporting from the November 2014 OpenCon meeting, Abby Clobridge is delighted to find that students and early career researchers are passionate about open access, open education, and open data. By Abby Clobridge InfoLit Land Page 71 Whatever Happened to Browse Bill Badke bemoans the decline of the browse function in discovery systems, on webpages, and with catalog databases, noting that it is very helpful in locating already identified information. By William Badke Control-Shift Page 74 Learning From Lean Startups Libraries can learn many lessons from startup companies about being agile, flexible, and creative. Can we take risks? Automate tasks? Accept failure? We need to look for possibilities and opportunities amid change and disruption. By Darlene Fichter Hard Copy Page 77 Recommended Reading on Mashups, Reference Sources, Networks, and Advertising By Deborah Lynne Wiley Online Spotlight Page 80 The Seven Sins of People Search Given the millions of people active on social media, the dynamics of searching for information about individuals has been altered dramatically. Mary Ellen Bates shares her insights about successful searching. By Mary Ellen Bates |
