Hi,

 

Please find details of the latest issue of Serials for your enjoyment.

 

Cheers

Lesley

 

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Lesley Crawshaw, Faculty Information Consultant, 

Learning and Information Services 

University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, AL10 9AB 

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email: [log in to unmask]

phone: 01707 284662 fax: 01707 284666

list owner:  <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]

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From: MetaPress Alerting [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: 09 July 2007 17:59
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Serials: The Journal for the Serials Community - New Issue Alert

 


 

 <http://www.uksg.org/serials/register.asp> 

 

 


  MONDAY, JULY 9

 

Dear Lesley Crawshaw, 

Volume 20 Number 2/July 2007 of Serials: The Journal for the Serials Community is now available on the uksg.metapress.com web site at  <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=AJHG697KYJ5L> http://uksg.metapress.com.

This issue contains:


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=2HPVWYUHQF8Y5HGR> Editorial

 p. 81


Helen, Hazel


 


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=5DE5E199MV48V7KU> Mini-profile: a day in the life of a sales manager in Africa

 p. 83


Katy Ginanni


 


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=BLN6C67LGX6X77WN> Mini-profile: a day in the life of a marketing manager in China

 p. 85


Helen Duan


 


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=BF4WTW9JCX94TMQY> The librarian: fantastic adventures in the digital world

 p. 87


Scott T Plutchak


 


In the digital world, the librarian is no longer bound and confined by physical location and a physical library. Definitions that equate the function of a librarian with the management of a library are no longer sufficient. ‘Building collections’ and ‘providing access’ are being replaced by the creation of user-centered environments, both physical and virtual. In the digital world, individuals have access to many more sources of information than they could find in any individual library. The complexity of the resulting information space has become so great that the particular skills of librarians in connecting people to the accumulated intellectual, scientific and creative wisdom of other people are more necessary than ever. To fully take advantage of the new possibilities open to them, librarians will have to explore roles that take them far beyond the boundaries of libraries.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=6RC02TMGUQ173NQ9> Marketing the library: using technology to increase visibility, impact and reader engagement

 p. 92


Melinda Kenneway


 


Technological advancements are changing the way people com municate, and methods of teaching, learning and research are becoming more varied and dynamic. The role of the library is central in responding to these changes, and in identifying opportunities for using technology to support the intellectual growth and success of the individuals and institutions that they serve. Fulfilling this role is increasingly requiring librarians to learn and apply marketing skills – understanding user and stakeholder needs, creating awareness and stimulating interest, building loyalty and demonstrating value. Technology is key in supporting effective marketing, and can be used by libraries to increase visibility, to raise levels of information literacy and to deliver a personalized service that anticipates the current and future needs of users.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=9Y80HAC8W4YNMNM9> E-textbooks: opportunities, innovations, distractions and dilemmas

 p. 98


Tom Davy


 


Given huge advances in information technology over the past 20 years, why do students still use textbooks when there are much better ways to deliver courseware digitally?

This article explores the evolution of the textbook and examines why, despite huge investments by publishers, today's students are spending less on textbooks and are not yet using electronic resources to replace them, relying instead on free handouts and Google. This is in stark contrast to the progress that has been made in professional markets where publishers like Thomson, Reed and Wolters Kluwer now derive the majority of their revenues from digital products and services. Academics, it is argued, need to embrace digital courseware solutions, librarians need to offer new services and market themselves more effectively, and publishers need to think beyond e-books to deliver superior learning solutions.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=5UWA850TNREDNRJ7> The students' view: reports from the conference

 p. 103

	

 


This year's lucky students, who were awarded delegate places at the 30th Conference and Exhibition, were Lorraine Johnson from Loughborough University; Angela Nicholson and Nicole LeBoeuf from Strathclyde; Helen Barrell from MMU and Sophie Price from UCL. Here are extracts from their reports.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=1LV72QCGJ23VXEQC> Link resolvers and the serials supply chain: a research project sponsored by UKSG

 p. 111


James Culling


 


In 2006, a UKSG-funded research study explored the data supply chain that has developed in recent years to facilitate the creation of link resolver knowledge bases. Through a combination of interviews and an online survey, a sample of content providers, subscription agents, link resolver suppliers, librarians and other stakeholders was consulted, to better understand this supply chain and any challenges it faces. The final report documents the current data flow arrangements and the roles, relationships and expectations of participating stakeholders. In addition, a number of issues and barriers to improving and extending the data flow for the benefit of library users are identified. Two central recommendations are made. Firstly, a Project COUNTER-style initiative should be established to define a code of practice for effective knowledge base supply chain participation. Secondly, stakeholders should build on early experiments with XML data formats and web services technology to accelerate and automate data transfers.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=1YDE8A8BD144UYLM> The feasibility of developing and implementing journal usage factors: a research project sponsored by UKSG

 p. 117


Peter Shepherd


 


ISI's journal impact factors (IFs), based on citation data, have become generally accepted as a valid measure of the quality of scholarly journals, and are widely used by publishers, authors, funding agencies and librarians as measures of journal quality. There are, nevertheless, misgivings about an over-reliance on impact factor alone in this respect and there is growing interest in the development of usage-based alternatives to citation-based measures of journal performance. Against this background, the United Kingdom Serials Group (UKSG) thought it would be timely to sponsor a study to investigate the feasibility of journal usage factors. This article describes the aims of the study, the results obtained and the conclusions drawn. There appears to be significant support, even among established publishers whose journals perform well in impact factor rankings, for the development and implementation of journal usage factors.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=16FALE15KU606XV3> A guide to UK consortia for publishers, content providers and subscription agents

 p. 124


Paul Harwood


 


An enthusiastic sales executive working for a journal publisher is given the UK academic library market as part of his territory. At first glance, this appears to be a welcome addition compared with some of the more chal lenging markets elsewhere in the world: relatively small country, seemingly uncomplicated higher education structure and quite advanced in embracing online content and consortia activity.

On closer examination however, he uncovers a quite complex structure, with a number of policy-making bodies, funding bodies and membership organizations and a similar number of purchasing organizations all repre senting institutions in their own way. In many instances, there are some excellent initiatives underway, many of which are collaborations between various players. In other cases, especially on the purchasing side, it is quite a challenge for a publisher to know where to start.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=FK5ULUEX61BAWNR7> The licensing battlefield: consortia as new middlemen between publishers, agents and libraries – a view from the Continent

 p. 130


Nol Verhagen


 


Consortia are everywhere nowadays. Every country and every region is now covered by at least one consortium. International co-operation is taking off as well, both formally and informally. Nevertheless there is a wide variation in the nature and size of consortia. One of the most distinguishing features is the role that national governments are assigning to themselves. Consortia are vulnerable to conflicts of interests that are more likely to occur when a government's role is weak. The article deals with pricing issues that haunt the minds of librarians. The mixed feelings of librarians about usage-based pricing schemes are explained. An alternative business model is outlined that allows for differentiation and transparency in the pricing of digital products and that restores flexibility in purchasing decisions for libraries.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=97YXJCXAAU78H52N> How many journals do we have? An alternative approach to journal collection evaluation through local cited article analysis

 p. 134


Jason S Price


 


Librarians are often asked to determine the number of journals they hold in a subject for an academic department undergoing external review. Journal number is a poor indicator of collection quality and subject boundaries are difficult to define. An analysis of articles cited in recent publications by Harvey Mudd College biology faculty demonstrates the value of local cited article analysis for evaluating the breadth and depth of an online and print journal collection. Faculty-level analysis showed that online access varied from 55 to 97% of cited articles, with an average of 81%. Strengths and weaknesses of this method are discussed, and it is concluded that the context-specific identification of the most important journals that it provides is far more useful than an estimate of the number of subject-related journals in a collection.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=83P58G5U5GQ1LHCK> Web 2.0 and Library 2.0: Subscription Agents Respond to New Technology, Trends and Opportunity

 p. 142


Dan Tonkery


 


Library literature is currently filled with articles on Library 2.0, and recent library conferences have a program track on either Web 2.0 or Library 2.0. Some authors challenge the notion that either of these concepts is actually a new set of software or technology. Some in our industry believe that this is all smoke and mirrors. History will show that there is actually a new movement underway that builds on the library as a service to communities. Web 2.0 will help fashion the next generation of library services.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=58XAUYXF090AFE8E> Bringing Chinese research to the world

 p. 143


Sharon Ruwart


 


To be a global leader in science, there are three key elements required of any economy: talent, state-of-the-art infrastructure and access to information. China's ambitious plans to become the world's science hub mean the country is faced with some significant challenges, with its history of social upheaval that has left huge disparities in wealth, education and access to the most basic healthcare and a culture that values visible, tangible resources over electronic tools and information.

Despite these potential barriers to growth, it is an exciting time for science in China and the market provides a significant and interesting opportunity for publishers.


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=CRVLJAPCVWFE0W0D> Key issue

 p. 148


MARK BIDE


 


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=5GHTYCK8DWC55223> Profile: Christine Fyfe

 p. 150

	

 


 <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=AGJNK4TEGL7UTKBG> People

 p. 152


John Jardine


 

The backfile of Serials from 1995 is freely available online, apart from the latest three issues for which you must hold either a UKSG membership or a subscription to Serials to gain access. To access this backfile, click  <http://uksg.metapress.com/link.asp?id=107730> here. 


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