Thursday, March 31, 2005

LexisNexis temporarily suspends full-text acess to five newspapers

Diane recently posted a message on BBLIB that copied two messages from the LexisNexis Academic listserv. The gist of these messages is that LexisNexis is temporarily suspending full-text access to five newsapers. Here'a question from Robert Duncan of Lafayette College, a librarian on the listserv (the reply from LexisNexis is further below:
>"We regret to announce that the London Times and other news content licensed via News International has been temporarily suspended.. . ."

Or, as we all have come to know and love it in LexisNexis: "Times
(London), The".

I'm sure we all appreciate updates like this and understand the lack of control LexisNexis has in these sorts of situations, but it would be helpful to have more useful information, especially in light of the fact that users won't have a clue because the "About this title" page has not been altered.

(1) What does "temporarily suspended" mean? Has all content for "Times (London), The" been removed, or is new content just not being added?

(2) I don't know of any way to search the LN source list for publishers; can you give us an indication of what might comprise "other news content licensed from News International"?

(3) One can still limit a search to "Times (London), The", but results returned are from the Financial Times (or, as we've all come to know and love it, "Financial Times (London)"). Any idea on a resolution to this awkward situation?

Here is the reply from Meg Fraim of LexisNexis:
Temporarily suspended means that all content has been temporarily removed from all LexisNexis services due to an interruption in the rights to electronically distribute the content. LexisNexis is actively pursuing renewing the rights. We are modifying the Source List entries for News International publications within LexisNexis Academic and by tomorrow, they should indicate "temporarily suspended" in the coverage field.

Five publications were temporarily removed:
1) The Times and Sunday Times
2) News of the World
3) Times Higher Education Supplement
4) Times Education Supplements
5) The Sun

Although you cannot search the LexisNexis Academic source list by publisher, there is an online directory of all sources licensed by LexisNexis located at http://web.nexis.com/sources/. Although this directory includes titles not available through LexisNexis Academic due to licensing restrictions, it does provide a way to search by publisher. I know many other academiclibrarians have indicated that they find it to be a useful tool to augment the source list within the product.

As to your final question, the "search by publication" functionality within LexisNexis Academic does admittedly leave a bit to be desired for titles that include common words since it is searching by title. I can't give you a timeframe for resolution, but I can tell you that I heard encouraging news at the end of last week about some infrastructure changes that may enable us to modify the search logic as early as next year. We will keep you apprised of any developments.

Recent EBSCO Enhancements

We continue to expand PDF backfile coverage for key titles in these databases. The following are some examples that we hope you will find valuable:

New Yorker - EBSCO has recently licensed full text for this popular periodical. Academic Search Premier,MasterFILE Premier, MasterFILE Elite, MasterFILE Select or MAS Ultra will soon have access to full text of this publication dating from January 2004 forward.

Vanity Fair - Much the same as the New Yorker (above), customers of Academic Search Elite, Academic Search Premier, MasterFILE Elite, MasterFILE Premier,MasterFILE Select or MAS Ultra will soon have access to full text of this publication.

WWD: Women's Wear Daily - We are excited to answer the many requests to provide full text for this publication. WWD: Women's Wear Daily is now available in full text on Business Source Premier and Business Source: Corporate.

Gartner G2 Market Research Reports - EBSCO has licensed more than 450 Gartner G2 Market Research Reports which are now loaded into Business SourcePremier. As of today, more than 250 are currently available in the database, with others entering the products as we receive data from the publisher.

SWOT Analyses - EBSCO has received many requests for additional SWOT Analyses. In response, we have added hundreds more of these important reports to Business Source Premier and Business Source: Corporate. As of today there are over 2,000 available, with several dozen to be added in the coming months.


Psychology PDF Backfiles in Academic Search Premier -- creating expanded PDF backfiles for numerous psychology journals in Academic Search Premier. ..digitizing the Journal of Clinical Psychology back to 1945. Academic Search Premier is the #1 source of linked full-text for PsycINFO. Soon, many of the top journals in psychology will have PDF archives available back to their first published issue via Academic Search Premier. Recently, EBSCO completed and loaded the PDF backfiles for Annual Review of Psychology (back to 1950), European Journal of Social Psychology (back to 1971), Journal of Analytical Psychology (back to 1955), Journal of Personality (back to 1945), Psychological Science (back to 1990), etc. In addition to complete backfiles available to the first published issue, EBSCO has created PDF backfiles to 1975 for other major psychology journals, including but not limited to British Journal of Psychology, International Journal of Psychology, Journal of General Psychology, Journal of Genetic Psychology,Journal of Personality Assessment, Journal of Psychology, Journal of Social Psychology, Multivariate Behavioral Research, and Teaching of Psychology.

Audio/Video Content - Nearly 100 hours of historical film clips have been added to History Reference Center. This content is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh versions of Windows Media Player. Two download options are provided (High-Speed and Dialup) in order to best meet the bandwidth requirements of all users. Using EBSCOadmin, each subscribing library has the option to make this content available or to suppress its availability, depending on policy for audio and video access within the library.
Available via a unique interface and designed for the professional user, this database provides


PsycEXTRA - Produced by the American Psychological Association and made available via EBSCOhost, this database is the perfect complement to PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES as no overlap exists between the databases. PsycEXTRA is a full text database of "grey" literature covering areas of psychology and related disciplines. (Customers currently subscribing to PsycINFO or PsycARTICLES via EBSCOhost are encouraged to ask about the special incentives available for PsycEXTRA.)


Searchable Cited References - Now available as part of selected EBSCOhost databases, including CINAHL, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Business Source Premier, Academic Search Premier, etc., Searchable Cited References provide a powerful means for extending research by allowing users to locate additional information related to an article of interest. This functionality lets users link directly from a particular article to other articles cited in the bibliography of the original article. It also allows users to link directly from a particular article to other articles in a given database that cite the original article. The basic principal associated with this type of linking considers that if a particular article is of interest to a researcher, then the articles cited by that same article, or that cite the article, are often of value as well.

Seamless Links to Full Text - A breakthrough in linking technology soon to be released by EBSCO will further enhance the power of EBSCO SmartLinks. SmartLinks currently enable users of EBSCOhost citation-only databases (e.g. PsycINFO) to link from search results to the corresponding full text records in other EBSCOhost databases or e-journals to which the library subscribes. When the new technology is released, rather than linking from a result to the appropriate full text when available, the PDF will show up as part of the result list - with no need for an extra step to locate the full text. This will make databases such as PsycINFO, Inspec, EconLit, etc. appear as true full text databases!



Dedicated interface for Business Source Premier
- EBSCO Publishing will be making available a new business-specific interface for use with appropriate Business Source databases. This optional new interface will provide business researchers with the highly-refined tools that they need in order to conduct sophisticated searches for the business content that they require. Through the use of the new business-specific interface, the full text business content of business Source Premier and Business Source Corporate can be located and retrieved more quickly and with greater precision than ever before. An array of sophisticated features will be available with the new business-specific interface that enables users to exert a high level of control over the development of their search strategies. For example, since the content of the Business Source databases is comprised of a wide variety of sources including Academic Journals, SWOT Analyses, Trade Publications, Industry Profiles, Company Profiles, Market Research Reports, and Product Reviews, the new interface will allow users to easily refine their searches to extract only the content from their preferred source-types. The new business-specific interface will also feature easy access to search options for Company, Industry, Author, Subject, and Publication lists all from the Basic Search Screen. In addition, users will be able to enjoy direct access to specialized search screens for browsing Company Profiles, Industry Profiles, Country Reports, and Market Research Reports. The new interface will soon be made available to applicable Business Source customers at no additional charge above and beyond their current subscription costs. In addition, the Business Source line of databases will continue to be available through the EBSCOhost interface in order to provide users with the greatest range of search options available. Subscribing libraries and universities will have the option of searching appropriate Business Source databases via both EBSCOhost and the new business-specific interface.

To activate new interfaces where appropriate, or to learn more about how to utilize some of the EBSCOhost features outlined in this email, contact EBSCO's customer support online at: http://case.support.epnet.com.

For other informational requests, please contact us at:
information@epnet.com.

Scott Bernier
Communications Manager
EBSCO Publishing
sbernier@epnet.com

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Web of Science at SIBL

New York Public Library's Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL) has announced that the Web of Science is now available in their collection. Web of Science consists of three citation databases: Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index, and the Social Sciences Citation Index.

Free access to all Gale products during National Library Week

See this page about free access to all Gale databases from April 10 through April 16.

Free library marketing materials from Gale...

on this page.

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

FARS discs back at reference desk

There are now 2 FARS 2004 discs in the FARS folder. They replace the one that disappeared. They can be used at the Reference Desk side computers where FARS has been installed. (The third one, originally Computer File. 222 c.3 for the ref desk will be made Reference-one day loan.)

Rita

Friday, March 25, 2005

More FARS workshops planned

A student came to the desk today wondering if there would be more FARS workshops. She gave me her e-mail address but it failed. In case she or others ask, I will be doing FARS workshops as follows:

Saturday, April 2, an Accounting Resources workshop is scheduled 12-1:15 p.m. Room 135 in the library building. This is a regularly scheduled library workshop and students should sign up in advance on the Newman Library homepage under Instruction. I will offer some basic information on FARS and for those who want some more information, I can stay around after the regular workshop. The regular workshop includes the databases with journals, analyst reports, SEC filings, etc.

FARS workshops:
(Require no advance registration online. Students can e-mail me at rita_ormsby@baruch.cuny.edu, if they plan to attend, but this isn't required.)

Thursday, April 7, club hours, 1-1:45 p.m. Room 130.
Monday, April 11, 2:00- 2:45 p.m. Room 130
4:30 to 5:15 pm., and 7:45 to 8:30 p.m., Room 130
Tuesday, April 12, 1 to 1:45 p.m. Room 130
Wed. April 13, 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Room 130
Thursday, April 14, 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Room 130
Friday, April 15, 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. Room 135

The Accounting 3100 faculty have received this information and all accounting majors have received it also (if they receive the weekly e-mail from Tony Tinker.)

Rita

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Reference sources on institutional racism and cultural racism

In light of questions at the desk today about information on examples of institutional or cultural racism, I thought I'd post the gist of an e-mail message I sent out on BBLIB two years ago on this same subject. As in 2003, the questions at the desk today were tied to a sociology assignment.

[Here are] some good reference sources with definitions of institutional and/or cultural racism:

- Encyclopedia of Psychology (BF31 .E52 2000) has an entry on "racism" with large subheadings devoted to "institutional racism" and "cultural racism"

- Survey of Social Science: Sociology Series (HM17 .S86 1994) has a long entry on "institutional racism"

- Encyclopedia of American Social History (HN57 .E58 1992) has a good overview of racism that discusses institutional and cultural aspects

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

The Direct Marketing Resource Center

The Direct Marketing Resource Center is in Room 251, on the far side of the Reading Room.

Factiva now has RSS feeds

Factiva launched a beta today allowing you to subscribe to RSS feeds from its database. If you click the new orange button labeled "RSS beta" on the upper right corner of the search screen, you'll see a new page open with a list of industry-specific feeds that you can add to your feed aggregator (here's a list of popular web-based feed readers).

For more info, see this publicly accessible page from Factiva and see this post on the Library Stuff blog (I contributed the screen shots you'll see in the post).

Economic/Financial studies in ICPSR

I wanted to remind everyone about what a great resource ICPSR can be. While it may not be the first thing to come to mind when thinking of economic and financial data, it does have some interesting studies that may be of interest to faculty. Recently for example, a study with the following data was posted: "What Does the Federal Reserve's Economic Value Model Tell Us About Interest Rate Risk at United States Community Banks?", with data gathered by 2 researchers from the Federal Bank of Saint Louis. This particular study can be found at: http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR-STUDY/01309.xml.

Monday, March 21, 2005

Harvard Business School Press cases

In response to a few reference questions that came via chat reference this weekend about where to find Harvard Business School Press cases, I thought I'd pass along some new things I learned.

Basically, if a patron wants one, they'll have to buy it themselves. We don't have online or print access to these cases (few if any libraries do, including the business school library at Harvard). They also can't be requested via interlibrary loan due to the restrictive use policies that the Harvard Business School Press has set for the cases.

Here's a link to the main page about Harvard Business School Press cases. The cases cost $6.50 apiece for electronic download or for orders for print copies.

FYI, in the stacks here, there is a binder of old Harvard Business School cases; the most recent one is from 1990. The call number for this is HD30.4 C388.

Saturday, March 19, 2005

List of topics and subjects in this blog

I added a feature to this blog allowing you to view a list topics that have been covered in individual postings. Say, for example, you recall that there was a posting on the subject of the FARS disks, but you can't remember when it was on the blog. You can of course continue to use the search box on the right side of the page, but you can now also click the link labeled "List of Topics and Subjects in Blog Postings" (above the search box on the right side of the page) and be taken to a page listing all the topics of postings on this blog. You'll see that FARS is among the topics listed on A-Z list of "tags" on this page; click FARS and you'll see on a list of the blog posts on FARS.

The A-Z list of tags may also be useful in another way. If you want review some of the posts that have been put up since we launched the blog in September 2004, you now have a way to navigate those postings by subject.

To set this A-Z list of tags up, I created a free account with a web-based service called del.icio.us. This service allows you save your bookmarks on a web page and to tag each bookmark with an infinite number descriptive tags that you define. If you want to learn more about deli.icio.us, this page on the site explains it in greater detail.

As new posts get added, I'll continue to tag them. If you have any suggestions or comments or concerns about these tags, please let me know.

Friday, March 04, 2005

Lib1016 MW6 moving to VC 8 170

My class, which meets MW 6-7:15pm, will meet in the VC 8 170 starting on Monday, Mar 7.

Finding all books in a foreign language

If you want to find all the books (any subject, any author) in a given language, follow these steps:

(1) Click "Command Search" in CUNY+

(2) Type WLN= and then the three-letter code for the language you want (this page has a list of all the codes)

(3) Run the search. Your results will now include both books in that langauge as well as those translated.

(4) You will now need to filter your search results. Click "Filter."

(5) In the filter page, click "Text in a Field" from the Filter Options.

(6) On the filter page that opens next, select "Language (008)" from the pull down list labeled "Filter."

(7) In the Type Text box, type in the three-letter language code again. Click the "Go" button.

You should now have filtered your results so that most if not all of the translated works have been eliminated from your search results.

For earlier posts on this blog about language and other command searching, see this post and this post.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Roving Librarian

I heard from Anne Esler at Dartmouth and she says "I'm involved with the roving librarian program that the Tuck liaison librarians are doing. We take out laptops and set up shop in a beautiful old dining hall- wood-paneled, fireplace- very nice".
We don't have a wood-paneled room with a fireplace but I encourage you to walk around the reference floor when you can. It almost always results in a question or two.

NYPL Digital Gallery launched today

Great resource! NYPL Digital Gallery.

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Introducing Janet Barnett

Janet Barnett will be working with us at the reference desk this semester on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Janet is a graduate of Pratt. She has worked at TFPL, Dialog, McKinsey & Company, and Grey Advertsing so she brings a wealth of experience to Baruch. Please make her welcome.

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Another blog for reference librarians

Here's a blog just like ours: a blog for librarians staffing a reference desk in a college library (at Eastern Kentucky University.)

Computer lab for continuing ed students

Continuing ed students who stop by the reference desk should be made aware of a special computer lab for them on the 11th floor of the 17 Lexington building. The web site for Baruch's Continuing and Professional Studies program mentions the existence of such a lab, but gives few details about it (such as its exact location).