This digest comes from another list, mainly US based, but it provides some pointers on Google scholar that may be of interest to this list.
I have been using the beta version of Google scholar and have had some very useful results. I am interested in how this development may impact on the RDN in particular.
As an example of stengths and weakness I was recently asked for an article that I had co-authored from someone who found it on Google scholar. The article is not yet in print but Google scholar did not seem to have pointed to the journal pre-print archive where the article is already available.
Chris
-----Original Message-----
From: TLT Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Charles J.
Ansorge
Sent: 20 December 2004 20:33
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: TLT-SWG #54--Reaction to Google.Scholar
(12/20/04 TLT-SWG #54 Approx. 1 page from Chas. Ansorge of U. Neb. Lincoln
<[log in to unmask]>
About a week ago I requested someone, preferably a librarian, prepare an LTA
that dealt with one of Google's latest searching tools that was in the news.
I should have done more investigation before making this request because the
new tool is still in beta form and has limitations that need to be resolved
before it can be considered a serious searching tool. I heard very quickly
from Stephen Balfour, Stephen Bell, Tom Carey and Ilene Frank regarding my
posting. Several of these list subscribers referred me to a very good
review that is available should you want to know more about the tool.
Stephen Balfour has a few very positive comments that he writes in the first
reaction found below.
+++++++++++
Stephen Balfour offers very positive comments regarding this searching
resource.
I am not a librarian, but I adore scholar.google.com. One interesting
feature they have built in allows scholar.google.com to realize that you are
using an address that a library it is pulling information from allows to
access copyrighted materials that have been subscribed to. Thus, when I use
scholar.google.com, many of the copyrighted materials only available to
@tamu.edu persons are also available to me through google! Another
interesting feature allows searches that my library card catalogs (and CMS
portals) will not allow; such as, searching on all the books in a particular
Library of Congress range. By looking at the books returned and the books
marked as being in our library, I get a good feel for what the library shelf
looks like without ever leaving my desk. Magnificent!
Stephen Balfour, Ph.D.
Director of Information Technology, College of Liberal Arts
Associate Member, Graduate Faculty in Psychology
Texas A&M University
[log in to unmask]
+++++++++++
From Stephen Bell, Director of Libraries at Philadelphia University, comes
this first comment regarding Google Scholar:
I hope you'll get a volunteer - a librarian preferably - for the Google
Scholar LTA. Being it's just in BETA, hopefully it won't change too
much. I'm not quite sure what you are looking for in this LTA - insights
into what GS offers and does not offer (because it does miss quite a lot
of content)? I think the most comprehensive information/review that has
been written so far is found at:
http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/reference/peter/dec.htm#googlescholar
I wonder if there is a way to re-use this rather than develop an
entirely new LTA that replicates this information. This author's
"polysearch engine" is also a great tool for seeing where GS has gaps:
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~jacso/scholarly/side-by-side2.htm
+++++++++++
Tom Carey, Associate Vice-President, Learning Resources & Innovation, at the
University of Waterloo and Ilene Frank, librarian in the Reference
Department at the University of South Florida, found the same review for
Google Scholar as Steve did. Below is additional information that Ilene
Frank wrote:
++++++++++++
Since this is Google, Google Scholar's bound to get more powerful and better
and better, but right now there are still some issues
Sincerely,
Ilene Frank, [log in to unmask]
Tampa Campus Library, Reference Department
University of South Florida
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