Category «Reference Resources»

Library Acquisition Patterns: Preliminary Findings

Katherine Daniel, Joseph J. Esposito, Roger C. Schonfeld: Several years ago, we set out to better understand how both library acquisition practices and the distribution patterns of publishers and vendors were evolving over time. Within the academic publishing community, there is a sense that academic libraries are acquiring fewer and fewer books and that university presses are struggling amid declining sales. The latter may certainly be true—a recent UK study found that between 2005 and 2014, retail sales of academic books dropped by 13 percent—but what if the academic libraries that constitute part of that market were in reality not making fewer purchases? As new vendors and acquisition methods disrupt customary means of acquiring books, Joseph Esposito, Ithaka S+R’s frequent collaborator and consultant, was inspired to ask whether book sales were actually depressed, or if they only appeared to be because academic libraries were bypassing the traditional wholesale vendors whose metrics are used by university presses to assess sales to libraries for companies like Amazon.

Subjects: E-Commerce, Electronic Subscriptions, Information Management, Libraries & Librarians, Reference Resources

Finding Experts Using the Internet 2018

Marcus Zillman’s guide provides multi-disciplinary researchers a wide range of internet sources to assist in identify, reviewing and engaging the talents of subject matter experts, in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, this guide links to numerous sites and forums that provide answers to a range of questions, from the simple to the complex, from topical matters to technical issues.

Subjects: Business Research, Distance Learning, Expert Witnesses, Internet Resources - Web Links, Reference Resources

Statistics Resources and Big Data 2018

Marcus Zillman’s new guide is a comprehensive resource for all researchers who require access to reliable and accurate publicly available statistics and big data sets that address diverse and timely subject matter. The resources included in this guide are developed and maintained by a range of organizations, including: academic and scholarly sources, the federal government, the corporate and business sectors, open source contributions, advocacy groups, NGOs and IGOs.

Subjects: Big Data, Business Research, Government Resources, Legal Research, Reference Resources

Spotting Fake – Best Practices for Authenticating Trustworthy News Sources

Genevieve Zook’s guide to fake news takes a multifaceted, long view of the history of spreading misinformation, through word of mouth to the acceleration of this activity through social media. Zook identifies examples in which fake news impacts different disciplines, diverse topics and subject matter. She references the survey data gathered by reliable organizations that assist us in better understanding the dimensions of this issue. And vitally, Zook documents actionable resources, many of which are authored by law librarians, to facilitate our ability to make sound decisions, exercise our critical skills, and deliver expert services to our users and customers moving forward.

Subjects: Evaluation of Internet Resources, Internet Resources - Web Links, KM, Law Librarians, Legal Research, Libraries & Librarians, Reference Resources

Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide – Updated June 2017

Sabrina I. Pacifici has completely revised and updated her guide, which she first published in 2005 and has updated yearly since that time. A wide range of free sites with expertly sourced content specific to researchers focused on business, finance, government data, analysis and news from the US and around the world, are included in this article. The resources in this guide are the work of corporate, government, academic, advocacy and news sources and individuals or groups using Open Source applications. This guide is pertinent to professionals who are actively engaged in maintaining a balanced yet diverse group of reliable, actionable free and low cost sources for their daily research.

Subjects: Competitive Intelligence, Financial System, Government Resources, Internet Resources - Web Links, Legal Research, News Resources, Reference Resources, Search Engines

Deep Web Research and Discovery Resources 2017

This report and guide by internet guru Marcus P. Zillman provides researchers with a comprehensive and wide ranging bibliography of “deep web” data, information, documents, code, papers, applications and cutting edge tools. They may be used individually, in groups and in combination, as key drivers to build approaches and queries to harness knowledge and information services that create strategic, actionable results for your clients, users and customers, across all communities of best practice.

Subjects: Business Research, Competitive Intelligence, Internet Resources, Reference Resources, Search Engines, Search Strategies

State Legal Information Census: An Analysis of Primary State Legal Information

This report by Sarah Glassmeyer presents findings from a survey of state level primary legal information. Primary legal information includes code (codified statutes passed by state legislatures), regulations (codified collections of rules passed by administrative agencies) and case law (appellate court decisions). This survey was done with the goal of reviewing the free and open status of this legal information.

Subjects: Government Resources, Law Librarians, Online Legal Research Services, Reference Resources

Bens Guide to the U.S. Government: Free, Educational Content from GPO for Children and Adults of all Ages

Kelly Seifert gives us a tour of Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government, a service of the U.S. Government Publishing Office that presents educational content for children and adults of all ages on the workings of the U.S. Government and U.S. history, with a focus on civics. Recently redesigned, the site features all new site content, a device-friendly infrastructure, and a modernized look and feel that has been optimized for an intuitive learning experience.

Subjects: Business Research, Government Resources, Library Marketing, Reference Resources, Search Engines

Information Quality Resources and Expert Resources

Marcus Zillman’s guide is a comprehensive and selective bibliography including search engines, world wide web resources, services and sites currently offering free, value added content on the web. As more and more of the global population is accessing the web, making informed choices about what content to use to obtain reliable, accurate, actionable information becomes more critical. This guide provides an extensive range of reliable, relevant information to leverage – whether you are an educator, a librarian, a researcher, a lawyer, a student, a professional working on mission critical organizational objectives, or in the interest of current awareness. Gaining insight into your resources can be a challenging process if undertaken without benchmarks and skillfully researched pathfinders. This guide comprises a wide range of resources for everyone who regularly engages with web content for knowledge discovery, producing work product, and creating value added content related to specific sectors, issues or topics.

Subjects: Business Research, Competitive Intelligence, Information Management, Librarian Resources, Reference Resources, Reference Services, Web Site Evaluation