“The more idealistic your mission, the more cunning you have to be to get it across.” — Ira Glass
from his 2009 ACRL keynote address
…and in recent “news”: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30420
what would life be without http://www.theonion.com/?
if what you’re after is a clean interface for on-the-go database searching, ebscohost mobile’s got you covered.
seriously. simple. interface.
i’ll paste three screen shots. that’s all it took to get to a full-text pdf of an article.
screen shot #1, the search interface, arrived at via the url http://0-search.ebscohost.com.linus.lmu.edu/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=mobile&defaultdb=a9h. (note that the url we’re using contains our proxy snippet. if you’re not affiliated with loyola marymount university this link won’t work for you.) our default database to begin a search is academic search complete. if you want to begin your search in a different database, choose the hyperlink “choose databases” from this initial search page.
the search box
screen shot #2, the results page for my search phrase “electronic resources”. note the relevancy bar in green.
results of a search for "electronic resources"
screen shot #3. from the results page i touched “pdf full text” and it opened the pdf in the native iphone pdf viewer.
the pdf of the full text
from this point i can click on the + (plus) sign at the bottom of my screen and email myself or a colleague a link to the direct article.
“Neither formulas nor use statistics alone, nor intuition, experience, or pseudo-scholarship alone will suffice in building good collections.” — Paul Metz*
These are the touchstone articles that are informing our methodology for developing a core journal list at our library:
Corby, Katherine. 2003. Constructing core journal lists: mixing science and alchemy. portal: Libraries and the Academy 3(2):207-217. [“The core list must not be a total list of serials in a library collection or research discipline, but only the central, most heavily used part” (p. 208). Summary: outlines possible methodologies for list making: citation analysis, Impact Factor, faculty surveys, cost per use]
Joswick, Kathleen E., and Jeanne Koekkoek Stierman. 1997. The core list mirage: a comparison of the journals frequently consulted by faculty and students. College & Research Libraries 58(1):48-55. [“Local use differs substantially from use in general and, therefore, must continue to be studied if individual institutions are to make informed decisions about their own specialized needs.” (p.54). Summary: the authors conclude that it is “folly” to make local collection dev decisions based on national/international data b/c their study suggests that their undergrads and faculty do not cite or publish in the top JCR cited journals in their respective fields.]
Lewis, Janice Steed, and John D. McDonald. 2002. Defining an undergraduate core journal collection. The Serials Librarian 43(1):45-59. [Summary: multi-criteria methodology: 1) the “expert” list: they used the Basic Periodicals titles from Magazines for Libraries and created a master list encompassing all departments in their university, then looked to see to which they already subscribed; 2) examined the title overlap in 4 popular full-text aggregators, then looked to see to which titles they already subscribed; 3) compared their Basic Periodicals list with the Journal Access Core Collection for the Cal State Univ system.]
Nisonger, Thomas E. 2007. Journals in the core collection: definition, identification, and applications. The Serials Librarian 51(3/4):51-73. [Summary: describes methodologies and practical applications for building and using core journal lists.]
* Paul Metz. 1992. Thirteen steps to avoiding bad luck in a serials cancellation project. Journal of Academic Librarianship 18(May):76-82.
If you’ve been through the process of developing a core journals list at your institution and have can’t-miss articles to suggest, please leave a citation in the comments. Thanks!
This fall the library is hosting a series of presentations from LMU Faculty members to celebrate their recent publications or creative works. Each forum allows the author to present, discuss, and answer questions about their work in a casual setting. Books are available for purchase.
All LMU faculty, students, staff and members of the community are welcome!
Our second event in this series will feature LMU Professor of English Chuck Rosenthal. Dr. Rosenthal recently lived for four months in the Himalayas of northeast India, the setting for his new book, Are we not there yet: Travels in Nepal, North India, and Bhutan
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
5:30pm – 6:30pm
Von der Ahe Family Suite, Level 3
Refreshments will be served!
Visit the Faculty Pub Night Website for the entire schedule of events and more details.
“Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple” — Charles Mingus
this is my guiding quote of the week.
