Organization Monkey

i sign off on emails to vendors & publishers with the valediction, “kind regards,” and then type my name. i used to use “sincerely,” but that didn’t seem quite right for professional communication. i considered the simple, “regards,” but that seemed a little too something-or-other. “cheers” is a bit too friendly. “thanks!” is awkward for the kind of correspondence i do (suggesting changes to licensing terms and other problem-solving). i ended up with “kind regards,” which seems just right.

how do you sign off your professional correspondence?

you all probably already know about e-lis, right? it’s an open archive for library and information science. a simple search at the site for the term metadata retrieved 335 results. bliss. i chuckled at the directions on the complicated-looking advanced search screen: “don’t panic! just leave the fields you don’t want to search blank.” seriously though, this may be a good resource to add to your usual databases when beginning a literature review.

bonus keyword searches: organization retrieves 476 results; monkey retrieves 0.

finally i have proof that there are others like me out there, crazy about organizing things. i mentioned a while back that i hang my clothes in rainbow color. now i’ve come to learn that others do this also. check out this bookshelf:

In revising the file for my Amendment to Publication Agreement I decided to change the title to be an addendum rather than an amendment. An “amendment” suggests to me that the terms of an already-executed agreement are changed as a result. What I’m doing, however, is producing a new agreement, and adding on something extra, which is an addendum. It’s a subtle point, I know, but I enjoy thinking about these things.

The revised Addendum is up and running. I used the language from the ScienceCommons’ Addendum Engine to guide my changes.

how cool is that? simple, direct, and clear. i like their clause 5, which states that if the publisher doesn’t return a countersigned copy and publishes the work it means that they agree to the terms in the addendum. now i must go update my own addendum to include that language.

has anyone out there used the semantic web browser called disco or employed its firefox bookmarklet? if so, leave a comment about how you’ve found its use and give an example of a search you’ve done.