Elsevier Library Connect Newsletter: 6:3 August 2008

This Elsevier "Library Connect" issue theme is "e-Learning".

"If anyone knows eLearning, it’s Generation Y, right? We thought it only fitting to launch Library Connect’s new Next Gen section in this issue, since next-gen’ers can practically eLearn with their eyes closed."

* Spotlight
Hear from Next Gen librarians as they discuss their experiences with eLearning.
- eLearning: Libraries increasingly help steer the ship, By Erika Bennett, Reference Librarian, Harold Abel School of Psychology, Capella University, USA
eLearning has traveled a long distance in a very short time. One can’t deny that, so far this Millennium, its impact has been enormous. In 2007, the Sloan Consortium reported that 3.5 million American college students (20%) were enrolled in an online course. The rise in online enrollments from 2005 to 2006 alone was 10%.
- eLearning 2.0, By Guofu Qian, Systems Librarian, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Library, China.
What is eLearning 2.0? This term refers to ways of thinking about eLearning which have been inspired by the emergence of Web 2.0. In my opinion, eLearning 2.0 is an eLearning environment based on Web 2.0 technologies. The most important characteristic of eLearning 2.0 is collective intelligence, which is also a core characteristic of Web 2.0.In the world of eLearning 2.0, eLearners can share their knowledge and experience by creating blog, wiki, photo, video and audio content freely and easily. This function gives eLearners an opportunity to become eTeachers, and vice versa. The bottom line? Web 2.0 technology makes all sorts of eLearning platforms easy-to-use.

* Librarians speak out
- How is your library implementing eLearning?

* Also in this issue
- Tsinghua University Library case study: Developing a virtual learning environment By Lin Jia and Wang Yuan, Tsinghua University Library, China
" eLearning can help students become active learners, and libraries should play a greater role in this process of transformation."

- Dr. Bakary Diallo explains how the African Virtual University is furthering higher education through hybrid offerings, Interview by Risa Blumlein, Library Marketing Intern, Elsevier, USA
"Coupled with frequent power outages, digital illiteracy, poor connectivity in some areas, lack of computer and telephone access, high operational costs of telephones and unfavorable ICT policies, the AVU (African Virtual University) had to refocus its strategy as one that would take cognizance of the different levels of technological and educational development throughout the African continent."

Access Elsevier Library Connect issues on:
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/librariansinfo.librarians/lc_home

GAELIC Newsletter: September 2008

The GAELIC September Newsletter is quite informative. These are the main topics:

* NEW STAFF MEMBER

Welcome to Carole Willis who joined FOTIM as the new GAELIC Programme Manager Contact details for Carole:carole@fotim.ac.za, 011 786 4185

* STRATEGIC PLANNING

The GAELIC Governing Board members have for some time been aware that the structure of GAELIC requires a facelift, and so after much discussion the new structure was accepted at their meeting in July. Although the goals of GAELIC will remain the same, the plan is to move away from a focus group structure and concentrate more on our strategic objectives.

INNOPAC Project group

Read the GAELIC STRATEGIC PLAN' IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR 2008 on:

http://www.gaelic.ac.za/docs/strategicplan2008.pdf

View the Structure Diagram on:

http://www.gaelic.ac.za/docs/structure2008.pdf

* FOCUS GROUPS

In light of the new structure that has been decided by the Board, the Focus Group structure will no longer be in effect. The emphasis will change from these specialised group areas to the 3 major objective areas of the new strategic plan. Some of the groups will automatically fit into an objective area while others might find that their previous focus areas are now split over 2 objectives. Some groups will find that they have been "put on ice" for the time being as their focus is not currently relevant.

Read the September 2008 Focus Group update on:

http://www.gaelic.ac.za/docs/focusgroupupdate_sept2008.pdf

* THE WAY FORWARD

In support of the new approach, 3 teams have been formed. They each comprise the following member structure:
- Members of Focus Groups who have expertise in that particular Objective
- Members of the GGB to champion the team;
- A Convener (at the level of Library Director) to guide each group.

Read more on: http://www.gaelic.ac.za/docs/convenorsmanagers_sept2008.pdf

* REPORTS BACK:

Strategic Objective 1: Innopac Project Workshop

Investigate and implement a joint integrated Millennium system This area is the most functional at the current time and the members of the Innopac Project Team have just finished presenting the results of the system survey that was conducted. Results of this survey will be sent to individual institutions for viewing in the near future.In July a very successful workshop was held to assess the results of this survey and to discuss the way forward. Some of the questions that were posed include…who is responsible for training? What is the role of the user group? How to ensure ownership of the processes? Read more on:
http://www.gaelic.ac.za/docs/innopacprojectreport_aug2008.pdf.

Strategic Objective 2: Virtual Learning Environments (VLE)

Build capacity through identification and provision of training needs and services for the optimal utilization of resources,Virtual Learning Environment:

- Is Higher education keeping up with the expectations of our students?

- Students are increasingly 'transliterate', communicating across a range of technologies. Can academics keep up?

Read more about this challenge in UK Higher Education: Grappling with the digital divide:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=403135&c=1

And where are the GAELIC libraries in this problem? Well if you support the VLE Survey that was sent out earlier in the year and is about to be sent out again with a slightly amended approach, we will be able to assess this situation within our member institutions.

P.S. Dr Anette van Vuren is Operational Manager in VLE group

Strategic Objective 3:

Improve cost efficiency through joint procurement and resources sharing

P.S. Hannie Sander is Convenor of this group

* NEWS AND VIEWS

- IUG-SA 2008, Theme: "Innovate or mummify"

Don't forget to diarise the 12th-14th November as these are the dates when the annual IUG-SA is happening on the NNMU North Campus in Port Elizabete. The theme of the conference is "Innovate or mummify" or how to maximize the Millennium products to make the most of the library system. Some of the subjects under consideration are Statistics, using Macro's and templates, Millennium ILL, Collection Development & reporting tools, Cataloguing challenges of FRBR, Copyright management and course packs, New releases and System enhancement requests to name just a few. Please note the cut off date for early bird registration has been extended until 30th September. For more details and registration go to:

http://www.seals.ac.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=25

- Don't forget the Directors Symposium happening on the 12th November.

Under discussion: What is expected of the library in the research environment? eResearch and the challenges facing libraries to deliver.

* NOTABLE:

- IFLA

Well IFLA has come and gone again and for those lucky people who went to Canada this year we hope you came back inspired and motivated and ready to share your new insights with the rest of us. Next year the event takes place in Milan, Italy and of note is that a proudly South African Librarian is to head IFLA next year. Ellen Tise of Stellenbosch University is the incoming president for 2009.Read about it in Library Journal: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6478649.html?rssid=220

Visit GAELIC website for more information: http://www.gaelic.ac.za/

Elsevier Library Connect Newsletter: Vol.6, no. 2, 2008

This "Library Connect" issue explores how libraries and publishers are seeking to understand and serve upcoming generations — in particular Millennials, the generation born from about 1979 to 1994. This generation includes Net natives — people who’ve always known the digital world and embrace its latest offerings.

Features
- Commons, chat and collaboration: How we’re connecting with Millennials at Murdoch University Library
- The future of the undergraduate library: Asking questions with too many answers and too many opportunities
- Millennial disconnects with publishers and libraries
- Undergrads’ research habits, motivators and attitudes:What studies tell us:
The 2006 study revealed key findings:

1: Today’s undergrads are achievement-oriented
- Of students interviewed, only 40% proactively conducted course-related research, but 100% engaged in online study daily or a few times per week.
- “The mean frequency was 4 or 5 times per week and the mean duration was 1.5 hours per search session, implying about 6.7 hours per week spent searching [for course-related information].”
2: Today’s undergrads are selective and like to control their time
- 100% of students interviewed in 2006 used Google and listed it in their top three starting points. Recent research (CIBER, 2008) commissioned by the British Library and JISC states that search engines have become the primary brand Millennials associate with the Internet and are ubiquitously used by this generation.
- But all students interviewed by Elsevier also used their university library websites or catalogs, and they didn’t feel overly positive towards Google.
3: Today’s undergrads are practical
When asked what constitutes a good source of information, students interviewed in 2006 gave the following answers, listed by popularity:
> Recommended by friends
> Its reputation
> Prior personal experience
> Ease of use
> Provides links to other reliable sources
4: Today’s undergrads spend time in libraries
- Regarding their use of the university library, 100% of 2006 interviewees reported visiting the library and 80% reported doing so more than once a week. The majority reported consulting librarians but “only to retrieve books or for inter library loans” and did not consider them a source of recommendations for information sources
5: Today's undergrads are social but prefer to do research at home
Of students interviewed in 2006, 60% preferred to do research from home. When asked to rank their reasons for being on campus, after “to attend a seminar or lecture and studying for exams,” the second and third most popular reasons given were socializing with friends and playing sports.
In conclusion, the research illustrated that today’s undergrads may exhibit a different persona than preceding generations, yet are displaying rather traditional information-seeking behavior. Just as social applications like Facebook don’t make people genuinely more social, the availability of tools such as Google doesn't make today’s undergrads more adept researchers or equip them to skip the very real and challenging work required to earn a degree.
More interesting articles:
* How we're moving to a primarily digital library
* How we’re redesigning academic libraries to keep them as the center of campus
* How we're transforming our library spaces and mindset
* Librarians Speak Up:How is your library innovating to support Millennials?
* Looking to help researchers stay connected? Try TopCited (www.topcited.com) and 2collab (www.2collab.com)
* Q: Why does Elsevier request transfer of copyright?

If you have missed Elsevier "Library Connect" previous issues got to:
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/librariansinfo.librarians/lc_home

What's new @ JSTOR

The latest (4th June, 2008) from JSTOR Publishers:
* The first journal to be released on the new JSTOR platform is available now, The Willson Bulletin, Life Sciences Collection; Release content: Vol.1-116, 1889-2004 (full-text through the UJ Databases)
* Platform updates during the week of 9th June:
- The "Page of First Match" will be restored. Selecting this option will once again take users to the first page upon which a search term appears, rather than the first page of the article.
- The ability to jump to search term locations by page will be restored. Users will see the "Your search term occurs on ..." indicator at the top of each article page.
- Tumbnail images on the "Images in JSTOR" tab will be restored.
- An error that caused dificulties with the Adobe Reader Find and Search functionality in downloaded PDFs will be corrected.
- Several bugs with searching Author names, Phrase searching, Wildcard searching, and Fuzzy searching will be corrected.
* Future updates:
- PDFs with OCR errors: Approximately 5-10% of PDF versions of articles in the JSTOR archives are currently missing supporting OCR coordinates and await reprocessing on the new platform.
- Terms & Conditions pop-up boxes
- EZPoxy Reminder

UKSG Serials-eNews

Some of the topics in the UKSG Searials-eNews in the latest, 18 April 2008 Newsletter are:

UKSG Conference, 7-9 April 2008 (official webpage: http://www.uksg.org.uk/events/conference08)

Catch up with what has been going on at the UKSG 2008 conference via Serials-eNews, the UKSG website and blog. Main reports of plenaries are on the blog, available via the hyperlinks in the introductions. This issue covers the six plenary sessions, with links to reports and comment on the conference blog. You can read about one of the breakout sessions, and others will be featured in the next couple of issues.

In Plenary Session 3, three speakers covered different aspects of usage data and user behaviour. David Nicholas posed the question that we are still working as if content is king, when we should be looking at the consumer as king - their behaviour is very different depending on who they are. Access is no longer the outcome - we need to go beyond making sure that access is easy and quick, rather we should be profiling behaviours in order to find best practice and see what works and what does not. This point was picked up by Ian Bannerman in his presentation which urged caution about the current state of, and reliance on, usage statistics and his concerns about the proposed usage factor work.......Herbert van der Sompel (LANL) gave an excellent presentation on the work they are doing in the MESUR project - a systematic effort to define, validate and cross-validate a range of usage-based metrics of scholarly impact by creating a semantic model of the scholarly communication process.

The focus of Plenary Session 4 was firmly on the challenges of large-scale digitisation in the third plenary.

The Plenary Session 5 addressed innovation and the challenges that confront us when technology enables new behaviours that require business models adapt to trends. Geoffrey Bilder at CrossRef highlighted the potential for the web to function as a database, linking related items such as an author on Amazon and a concept on Wikipedia. Peter Murray-Rust on the faculty at the University of Cambridge pointed out the issues inherent when publishers attempt to package data sets as if they were print journals.

Other NEWS:

* CrossRef and Plagiarism detection service

CrossRef and iParadigms, LLC are launching the CrossCheck service to which can be used to help verify the originality of scholarly content. Following the recent pilot of CrossCheck, the service is scheduled to go live in June. For more detail, read Key issue by Amy Brand, Director of Business and Product Development, CrossRef, in the March issue of Serials.

* CAB eBooks goes live

CAB International's (CABI) book collection can now be purchased digitally with the launch of CAB eBooks. By developing its own web-based portal, CABI can now provide customers with digital copies of its publications dating from 2000 to 2008. More than 140 titles in the applied life sciences are now available in the front-file collection (2005 - 2008), growing to 200 titles by the end of 2008. In addition, CAB eBooks is fully integrated with CAB Abstracts, the online bibliographic database. Each chapter is indexed and abstracted individually to ensure that specific slices of information can be easily retrieved. The e-books are available as a complete package or in six separate subject collections: agriculture; animal and veterinary sciences; environmental sciences; human health, food, and nutrition; leisure and tourism; and plant sciences.

* OCLC releases EZproxy 5.0

OCLC has released a new version of EZproxy, the software solution for serving library users remotely, that offers new features. More than 2,500 institutions in over 60 countries have purchased EZproxy software to provide libraries a solution for authenticating remote user access to licensed databases

* The Library of Congress Experience

The Library of Congress has launched a new project called the Library of Congress Experience, putting more exclusive Library of Congress content online and making material accessible in new ways, both in person and online. Touchscreen kiosks giving access to the digitised content are situated throughout the halls of the Library of Congress for visitors to use. This new content is also available online. To use the 'Interactives' online, it is necessary to download a free version of Silverlight, the Microsoft technology that enables the zooming and other exploratory activities. A companion website features the same interactive exhibitions with additional educational resources that teachers and librarians can use with young people.

Click on the TITLE to view the newsletter

Bates latest InfoTips: April 2008

I have received yesterday this April Newsletter alert from Mary Ellen Bates/Bates Information Service. This is what tips for searching she gave:

Yahoo:

"In an act of faith that Yahoo! will survive its possible absorption into The Borg, otherwise known as Microsoft, I'll mention one interesting Yahoo! search tip. If you enclose your search terms in [square brackets], you will only retrieve pages that have those words in that order. Mind you, this isn't a phrase search -- those two words may be anywhere in the page, but the first term must appear before the second. So, for example, the search [subprime crisis] will retrieve pages with "subprime mortgage crisis", "subprime lending crisis" "the subprime mortgage industry is in crisis right now" and so on. It will not retrieve "there is a crisis in subprime mortgages", however".

Conference Tagging

"I mentioned Technorati.com in my March 2008 InfoTip, but I had one of those epiphanies today and thought up another use for this blog-search tool. When bloggers attend a professional conference, they often talk about the sessions they find particularly noteworthy. In fact, they will sometimes transcribe the speaker's PowerPoint presentation along with their own thoughts. Conference organizers are now encouraging bloggers to use a standard tag to identify blog posts about the conference, so that anyone can search for blogs about that conference. What that means is, if you can identify the appropriate tag, you can search for all blogs with that conference tag, and get at least a sense of the key themes and most thought-provoking sessions. See, for example, the blog entries that were tagged with CIL2008, the agreed-upon tag for the Computers in Libraries conference"

Click on the TITLE to read more about this and the previous Bates Newsletters.

Wiley-Blackwell Library Newsletter; March 2008

Keep abreast with the latest Wiley-Blackwell news, by reading through this newsletter:

* View the latest news in Key Subject Areas
* New Titles online from Wiley-Blackwell (journals, books – some highlighted titles of interest)
* Platform Updates
* Conference shedules (for librarians)
* Just for fun (statistics show….; quotes about statistics)

South African Information Services News: February 2008

What are the latest news from South African Information Services:

* Dialog alerts

As a Dialog customer, you’re eligible for our special alert setup service . Utilize our expert search staff – at no charge – to assist with setting up alerts on your most business-critical strategies. You’ll be the first to know of essential information that will keep you at the forefront of your industry and eliminate hours of research time. You can also have teammates included in your distribution, at your specified frequency, so you’re all in the know. Whether you’re short on time, staff or lack expertise in a specific area, your Dialog search team is ready to help. Visit www.scientific.thomson.com/forms/alerts to request a confidential alert setup consultation -- and, make sure you’re one of the first to know.

* World News Connection
Sign up today for a free trial. World News Connection offers:
• Unique content from hard-to-monitor countries
• Content provided through and in exclusive partnership with NTIS
• Ideal source for the latest information on current developments in over 100 countries
• Receive email updates on specific topics with alerts
• Records from 1995 to present
• Updates daily with from 300 – 1,000 records per day
For a free trial and/or more information (including the source list), please contact Lynne on 011 469 4032 or lynner@saonlinefinfo.co.za

* Training and consultancy
Contact Christa on 083 980 3087 or christaf@soanlineinfo.co.za for any training needs.

UKSG Serials-eNews

Some of the topics in the UKSG Searials-eNews in the last three issues were:

22 Feb 2008, no. 164

* Harvard Faculty adopts open access requirement

Harvard University's arts and sciences faculty has approved a plan that will post finished academic papers online free, unless scholars specifically decide to opt out of the open access programme. While other institutions have similar repositories for their faculty's work, Harvard's is unique for making online publication the default option. The policy will allow Harvard authors to publish in any journal that permits posting online after publication.

* CrossRef launches free citation tool for bloggers

CrossRef has launched the beta version of a plug-in that allows bloggers to look up and insert DOI-enabled citations in the course of authoring a blog. The plug-in, which is available for download, allows the blogger to use a widget-based interface to search CrossRef metadata using citations or partial citations. The results of the search, with multiple hits, are displayed and the author can then either click on a hit to follow the DOI to the publisher's site, or click on an icon next to the hit to insert the citation into their blog entry (as either a full citation or as a short 'op. cit.').

* What does Higher Education want from Publishers?

The purpose of this well-attended conference was to review the future of the textbook - a campaign which the Publishers Association has promoted since 2003. There were a number of highlights to the day, which started with an impressive overview of academic publishing and university concerns. Students and academics from Manchester Metropolitan University gave their views on how they wanted to use textbook material. The presentations from the conference are available online.

8 Feb 2008, no 163:

* Researchers of the future: underskilled?

Discussion on the report about the so-called "Google Generation" - Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slais/research/ciber/downloads/

The report counters the common assumption that the 'Google Generation' - young people born or brought up in the Internet age - is the most adept at using the web. "Our verdict: This is a dangerous myth. Digital literacies and information literacies do not go hand in hand. A careful look at the literature over the past 25 years finds no improvement (or deterioration) in young people's information skills."

The report claims that, although young people demonstrate an ease and familiarity with computers, they rely on the most basic search tools and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to asses the information that they find on the web.

The report calls for libraries to respond urgently to the changing needs of researchers and other users and to understand the new means of searching and navigating information. Learning what researchers want and need is crucial if libraries are not to become obsolete - libraries and information services need to become "much more e-consumer-friendly and less stodgy and intellectual".

* Academics want to improve peer review

A study involving 3,000 authors, reviewers and editors has been written up in a new report by Mark Waring Consulting called Peer review in scholarly journals: perspective of the scholarly community - an international study. The full report, Peer review in scholarly journals: perspective of the scholarly community - an international study, can be accessed on the Publishing Research Consortium website. A summary report, Peer review: benefits, perceptions, and alternatives, is also available.

* Swets to act as global sales partner for Wiley's OnlineBooks

Wiley has announced that it has chosen Swets to act as a global sales partner for its range of OnlineBooks. This deal makes the range of electronic book material hosted on Wiley Interscience's web platform available to order directly through Swets.

* The Royal Society chooses HighWire
HighWire Press and the Royal Society have announced a new partnership in the provision of the independent scientific academy's publications online. All content of the Society's eight periodicals, some dating back as early as 1665, will be live on HighWire's e-publishing platform from 2009.

25 Jan 2008, no. 162:

* The issue of identity for institutions and individuals:

Thomson Scientific has launched ResearcherID.com, a web environment which enables researchers to create stable personal identifiers to present their works and manage public presentation of their personal metrics. Each individual identification (ID) number will act as a digital 'calling card' that the researcher can place anywhere, such as a personal home page, a CV, or a university page. The identifier links to a personal workspace that automatically updates citation data, user-generated tags and keywords, and professional information that can be shared with the public or kept for personal monitoring. ResearcherID.com ensures an accurate record of a researcher's output and attribution, providing a gateway for colleagues to pinpoint not only that researcher's published work, but also the researcher as a potential collaborator. Web of Science users will be able to create identifiers and workspaces to share publicly, with wider availability via trusted sponsors in the future.

* IEEE continues to update legacy content

Originally promised to be 180,000 documents large, the IEEE Xplore legacy collection has topped 237,286 documents as IEEE continues to complete its vision to provide the first volume, first issue release of all its technology journals.

Institute of Physics: Librarian Insider Newsletter

In the latest December issue of IoP "Librarian Insider" Newsletter, you will find the following information:

* News: New look for IoP. Some improvements to the website were made.
* Did you know? NEW product!

IOPscience … always more to discover. IoP introduces their new platform for electronic journal content, IOPscience. Some of the features are:
- Related Articles: A ‘Related Articles' tab has been added to every abstract page in IOPscience.
- Content Finder: The introduction of the ‘Content Finder’ allows you to go straight to a specific article in the service.
- Saved Searches: Personalization features have been enhanced, with the inclusion of a brand new tab called ‘My IOPscience’.
- Most cited: The IOPscience homepage, and all journal homepages, now show the 5 most cited articles
- Enhanced PDFs: All PDFs downloaded from IOPscience now include an interactive coversheet, allowing you to link back to IOPscience at any time.
IOPscience provides site-wide access to content from 1874 to the present day, and is available by electronically license. IoP want to give every customer cost-effective access to IOP content, through our tailored pricing model, which is based on a number of factors including the size of relevant research at your institution and your geographic location.

Click on the TITLE to view the Newsletter

UKSG Serials-eNews

In the Current UKSG Serials-eNews, no. 161, 11 Jan 2008, the following news are noteworthy:

* UKSG seminar report: Caught up in web 2.0? Feedback from Web 2.0 seminar. Presenters from Ingenta, CABI, Talis, etc. talked about the "the web 2.0 emphasis is on public sharing of data and enabling improved communication", "Blogs have also been used to replace email communication between library staff", "some advice on the use of web 2.0 concepts in web page design", "a publisher's view of web 2.0 and talked about the move from formal to informal scholarly communication", "number of case studies describe the use of social software for the presentation of reading lists", " about web 2.0 in relation to library management and catalogue systems", "the life of an avatar inside the virtual world, Second Life".

* Cambridge Journals Online. 2007 has been a significant year for Cambridge Journals, marking their tenth year of online journals publishing. Some key new developments were released by Cambridge Journals Online in December

* Thomson Scientific launches journal citation impact forum. Thomson Scientific have launched an online Citation Impact Forum aimed at promoting scholarly discussion about all facets of citation-based research evaluation - from Thomson Scientific's own influential Journal Impact Factor to emerging citation metrics, such as the h-index.

* Discussion paper: the identification of digital book content. An important discussion paper on the identification of digital content, written for BIC and the Book Industry Study Group in the US by Michael Holdsworth, has been published. It can be freely accessed on the website.

* CrossRef passes 30 million DOI mark. CrossRef recently registered its 30 millionth DOI. While the majority of CrossRef's Digital Object IdentifiersR (DOIs) are assigned to online journal articles, there are now over 2.5 million DOI names assigned to other types of publications, including conference proceedings, dissertations, books, datasets, and technical reports. Over 2,400 publishers and societies participate in CrossRef linking.

* JSTOR and the journal 'Science'. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has reversed its earlier decision to pull its flagship publication, Science, from JSTOR, the scholarly electronic journals archive. Officials issued this statement: "AAAS and JSTOR are pleased to announce that we have concluded an ongoing discussion and have been able to reach an agreement to continue what has been a very productive relationship between JSTOR and the journal Science."

* Wiley-Blackwell takes on journals. Wiley-Blackwell have formed two new publishing partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region. They will publish Basic & Applied Pathology and Pacific Focus from 2008. The have also been selected by the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) to publish IUBMB Life.

Other announcement of interest are: Nature Archive go live; Nature GeoScience launched (the library order it for the Faculty of Science); Nature Publishing launches Mucosal Immunology; Future present: changing your environment with e-books? EBSCO digitises backfile for International Political Science Abstracts

South African Information Services News: December 2007

Some of us have received the December 2007 newsletter from South African Information Services. They inform us about:

* SLIS Professional of the Year: Norma Roberts from Anglo American

* World News Connection: Make sure you don’t miss the opportunity of a free trial. World News Connection offers:
• Unique content from hard-to-monitor countries
• Content provided through and in exclusive partnership with NTIS
• Ideal source for the latest information on current developments in over 100 countries
• Receive email updates on specific topics with alerts
• Records from 1995 to present
• Updates daily with from 300 – 1,000 records per day
For a free trial in early 2008 and/or more information, please contact Lynne on 011 469 4032 or lynner@saonlinefinfo.co.za

* Lemon Leadership Workshop
South African Online Information Services in conjuction with a leading Training Company is offering the Lemon Leadership Seminar: On 28 February 2008, At the Dainfern Golf Club Conference Rooms; R1 950.00 per delegate (excl. VAT). The LEMON Leadership® course is not a “How To” of leadership, but a “Who are you?” course that looks at leadership in a fresh way. For more information and to book, contact Christa on 083 980 3087 or christaf@saonlineinfo.co.za

* Materials Science databases
Essential materials science files from CSA/Proquest include
· METADEX® (File 32),
· Aluminum Industry Abstracts (File 33),
· Ceramic Abstracts/World Ceramic Abstracts (File 335),
· Corrosion Abstracts (File 46),
· Engineered Materials Abstracts (File 293) and
· Solid State and Superconductivity Abstracts (File 68).
These databases contain content on materials science, metallurgy, ceramics, polymers and composites used in engineering applications. Sources include journal articles, conference papers, reports, monographs and other publications. The databases are also available for license in a single mega-file CSA Technology Research Database (File 23).For more information and/or a quotation contact Lynne on 011 469 4032 or lynner@saonlineinfo.co.za
* 2008 Dialog Database Catalog
Please let Christa know if you need a new 2008 Dialog database catalog.christaf@saonlineinfo.co.za

Have a fantastic festive season and a prosperous new year!
Lynne, Christa and Lorraine

What's New @ JSTOR

Some of the latest news from JSTOR Publishers in December:
Collections - Currently UJ have access to all Collections as part of 3 year offer for all Africa continent. http://www.jstor.org/about/collection.list.html
Did you Know?
* New JSTOR platform has been developed. It will be available in 2008. http://sandbox.jstor.org/jstorPreview.html
* Free Preview of Aluka is extended to June 30, 2008. Since February 2007 institutions that have access to JSTOR have had the opportunity to access Aluka at no charge. Aluka is a digital library of primary source materials:

- Government documents, personal accounts, and correspondence documenting liberation movements in six southern African countries -- see a list of collections;

- Photographs, 3D models, and travelogues documenting cultural heritage sites in Africa, as well as a broadly based collection of African rock art;

- High-quality digitized plant specimens, botanical drawings, paintings, photographs, and expedition accounts.
Click on the TITLE for more information.

Wiley-Blackwell Newsletter: December 2007

Welcome to the first issue of the new Wiley-Blackwell newsletter for librarians and information professionals. We will keep you updated here on new products, website developments, special offers, publishing news, and tips for making better use of your licensed resources. Don't forget that as from 2008 the UJ Library will have access to BlackwellSynergy.
This issues offers:
* Latest News in Key Subject Areas
* New Titles Online From Wiley-Blackwell
* Wiley-Blackwell Newly Launched Journals for 2008 (available on BlackwellSynergy)
* Journal Backfiles
* Books Online
* Reference Works
* Platforms Updates - Blackwell Synergy changed its individual login functionality from username/password to e-mail address/password last month.
* Understanding Impact Factors
This newsletter can provide an opportunity for us to select new online books, reference works, etc. Click on the TITLE for access.

Elsevier Library Connect Newsletter Vol.5, no. 4 2007

Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Office 2.0, Health 2.0, Government 2.0, Education 2.0. We just can’t get enough of 2.0! There is some hype around 2.0 somewhat reminiscent of the dot com bubble period, but for our organizations there are and will be real impacts of 2.0 concepts and technologies....

In this issue the main focus is on Web 2.0. Topics such as:

* Using RSS to connect with your users

* Library 2.0: the new e-world order

* Web 2.0 and scholarly publishing

* How can using 2.0 help researchers find highly relevant results (Scirus Topic Pages)

and others can give you an indication of what is Elsevier doing with Web 2.0 tools, but also to read how other libraries are implementing these tools.

UKSG Serials-eNews

When I'm receiving newsletters' notifications through my e-mail, I will either find time to have a quick look at them, or I will just sort them in a folder "Journals & Newsletters" and have a look when the time permits me. Today I even created a folder " Blog entries", which will remind me to write something for this blog.

What's new in UKSG Serials-eNews, 19 October 2007, no 156?

* UKSG will have a seminar on 22nd November, discussing "Caught up in Web 2.0? Practical implementations and creative solutions for librarians and publishers". They say " as Facebook and MySpace wage their own war for the hearts and minds of social networking desciples, the innovators and early adopters in the library and publishing communities are already forging ahead with practical and creative implementations of new technology..." http://www.uksg.org/event/web20. One of the presenters, Andy Powell (Eduserv Foundation)will talk about " A snapshot of UK library and educational use of Second Life". This could be very interesting for us, as we also want to implement the Second life.

* Gottingen University and Springer sign Open Choice pilot agreement

* SwetsWise Online content signs up its 400th publisher

* NetLibrary and Elsevier offer libraries eBook discounts

* Digital Lives research Project webpages and blog go live

These are some of the highlights of this issue. To view all, either click on the title or go to: http://www.ringgold.com/UKSG/si_pd.cfm?AC=3992

South African Information Services News

The October 2007 newsletter from South African Information Services is now available. You can find information on:

* Frost & Sullivan Market Engineering Database Reloaded with New Content
Frost & Sullivan Market Engineering (File 767) contains in-depth analyses and forecasts of market trends in 11 industries. With the recent reload to the file, records now include tables, charts, figures, spreadsheets and Microsoft® PowerPoint presentations. In DialogClassic Web™, DialogLink 5 and DialogWeb, you can view the images displayed within the record. In Dialog Classic products, records will contain URLs to the images. In addition to images, some records have attachments (e.g., Microsoft® Excel Spreadsheets) that can be downloaded to your computer. In addition, the file is now updating daily beginning in September 2007. Check the Dialog Bluesheet for more information.

* World News Connection
• Unique content from hard-to-monitor countries
• Content provided through and in exclusive partnership with NTIS
• Ideal source for the latest information on current developments in over 100 countries
• Receive email updates on specific topics with alerts
• Records from 1995 to present
• Updates daily with from 300 – 1,000 records per day
For a free trial and/or more information, please contact Lynne on 011 469 4032 or lynner@saonlinefinfo.co.za

* Two New European Trademarks Files Added to Dialog Collection
Two new trademark databases—TRADEMARKSCAN®—Latvia (File 697) and TRADEMARKSCAN®—Portugal (File 688) have joined the European trademark collection. File 697 provides information on 43,120 trademark registrations published since 1993 by the Latvian Trademark Office. File 688 contains information on 194,701 trademark applications and registrations published since 1881 by the Portuguese Trademark office. Both files include inactive published trademarks from the last three years.
* Business File Enhancements
File 745 provides access to the entire collection of Investext (from Thomson Financial) reports from August 1999 to the present, replacing File 545 that only provided 40% coverage of the collection. You will continue to find reports from such well-known investment houses in the United States, Europe and Asia, including Credit Suisse, First Boston, Lehman Brothers, HSBC and Dean Witter, among others.
* 2008 Dialog Database Catalog
The 2008 Dialog Database Catalog will be available soon. Please let Lynne or Christa know how many catalogs you will need.