#irelibchat - Publishing & Presenting Research in LIS, Tues 12th March 8-9pm

97% of newly qualified librarians indicate they intend writing for journals, newsletters and peer-review publications (Bradley, 2008)

The next #irelibchat Twitter chat is on Tuesday March 12th (two weeks from today) and will discuss writing for publication and presenting research in LIS. The chat is aimed at everyone - including those who may not have undertaken or published any research before. It is a great opportunity to share and discuss:

• Opportunities and venues for publishing your research (e.g. blogs, An Leabharlann, SCONUL Focus and peer-reviewed academic journals)
• Good sources of information on 'Calls for Papers'
• Tips and advice for presenting at conferences
• How to get involved in writing about and presenting your work

Don't be shy :) Say hello and follow the #irelibchat hashtag on Tuesday 12th March at 8-9pm

Bradley, F. Writing for the profession: the experience of new professionals. Library Management 2008, 29(8/9), 729-745.

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The Digital Classroom

This interesting infographic looks at the idea how digital technologies will increasingly shape the classroom. It considers the use of textbooks vs. e-books, book rental options, e-book readers and the customising of textbooks by students. It also considers how classrooms become generally digitally empowered through the proliferation of interactive handheld devices, which are used by students and teacher alike. Access the full in infographic here.

                                                               

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Is it a blog? Is it a journal? The Journal of Creative Library Practice

The Journal of Creative Library Practice (@creativelibprac) is a new open access journal which was launched earlier this week. However, at first glance it looks more like a blog, it uses Wordpress CMS, and the author guidelines even state that articles will be published as a "blog post". Content will be published as soon as it is ready, rather than being held back for the rest of the issue. The relaxed referencing requirements are also welcome (and it would do some other publications good to take note). Whilst articles will be peer-reviewed, the journal's review policy will be similar to that of PLOS ONE, where the "peer review process does not judge the importance of the work, rather focuses on whether the work is done to high scientific and ethical standards and is appropriately described, and that the data support the conclusions".

So a journal that looks like a blog, or a blog that looks like a journal? Either way, what we see is a blurring of the lines between both platforms that poses some interesting questions. From the reader's perspective, I am not sure how well longer articles will work as blog posts. Whilst web pages can be converted to pdfs and ebook formats now using web apps (there are also tools like Readability which can help), this is an added burden for the user compared with simply downloading a ready made pdf. I would perhaps encourage the editors to also offer a pdf option alongside each post. I wonder if, and how, the posts are being archived as well. That said, packaging the journal in a more blog-like format will likely open it up to a new audience who do not typically engage with scholarly publications, and may even encourage them to undertake and publish their own research in a less threatening and more inclusive venue where they have a higher chance of being published. Ultimately though it is an example of a new slant on traditional dissemination - and something we may see a lot more of in the future.

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FRBR

A few weeks ago I attended a handy morning workshop which talked about FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records). FRBR facilitates a more holistic approach to accessing and retrieving bibliographic records from a user's perspective when interacting with a library's OPAC. It represents a conceptional entity relationship model that considers three interrelated group entities: Group 1 (products of intellectual and artistic endeavour), Group 2 (those responsible for intellectual & artistic content) and Group 3 (subjects of works). FRBR thus acknowledges and expresses the multi-faceted relationships that exist between these entities and their relevant attributes (metadata).

Take a look at what the Open Library throws up when searching for "Romeo and Juliet". The result exemplifies the application of FRBR.

The following list of references was given to us for follow-up and further study; you might be interested in this too.

• FRBR: a guide for the perplexed / Maxwell, Robert L. -Chicago: American Library
  Association, 2008.
• Functional requirements for bibliographic records: final report / IFlA Study Group on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records; approved by the Standing Committee of the IFLA Section on Cataloguing. -As amended and corrected through February 2009. (Also at: http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/cataloguing/frbr/frbr_2008.pdf)
• FRBR and RDA : advances in resource description for multiple format resources / Chris
  Oliver. -Library and Archives Canada, 2009. (Also at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/iela/005002-2200-e.html)
• What is FRBR? : a conceptual modelfor the bibliographic universe / Barbara Tillett. Library of Congress, 2004. (Also at: http://www.loc.gov/cds/downloads/FRBR.PDF)
• FRBR: things you should know but were afraid to ask (webcast) / Barbara Tillett. Library of Congress, 2009. At: http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4554)
• Understanding FRBR : what it is and how it will affect our retrieval tools / edited by Arlene G. Taylor. -Westport, Conneticut; London: Libraries Unlimited, 2007.
• Implementing FRBR in libraries: key issues andfuture directions / Yin Zhang and Athena Salaba. -New York; London: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2009.
• Introducing RDA : a guide to the basics / Chris Oliver. - London : Facet Publishing, 2010.
• Rules fbr a dictionary catalog / by Charles A. Cutter. - 4th ed., rewritten. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904. (Also at: http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1048/m1/1/)
• Statement of Principles / adopted by The International Conference on Cataloguing Principles. - Paris, October 1961. (Also at: http://www.nl.go.kr/icc/paper/20.pdf)
• Functional Requirements for Authority Data / by IFLA Working Group on Functional Requirements and Numbering of Authority Records (FRANAR), -K.G. Saur, 2009. (lFLA Series on Bibliographic Control; v. 34)
• Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data (FRSAD): Final Report / approved by the Standing Committee of the Classification and Indexing Section, June 2010. IHA, 2011. (IHA Series on Bibliographic Control; v. 43)
• Practical cataloguing : AACR, RDA and MARC 21 / Anne Welsh and Sue Batley.

 See also the previous post on RDA.

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Altmetric It Bookmarklet

I have been using the Altmetric It Bookmarklet myself for a while now, and more recently as a really useful and quick tool to demonstrate to researchers the importance of thinking "outside the impact factor" and traditional citation metrics. Talking about twitter and social networking tools is all well and good, but nothing hits home to scientists like hard data and numbers. Using the doi of an article, the Altmetric It Bookmarklet will tell you how many times it has been tweeted, blogged about, shared on facebook, added to Mendeley and more.

Impact is not just about citations!

Take an article I have been using in workshops recently to explore the Google Scholar v PubMed idea, Is the coverage of google scholar enough to be used alone for systematic reviews (doi:10.1186/1472-6947-13-7). It was only published last month online (so too soon for any citations to have filtered through) but has already been tweeted by over 100 different accounts. Showing researchers these numbers highlights the value of using tools like twitter to share and disseminate research. Many people, such as industry practitioners, will probably use and apply the findings of your research without ever citing it. This usage still represents impact. You can also get a detailed breakdown of who is sharing your research through the 'more details' link, which opens up a wealth of opportunities for connecting with others. 

However, altmetrics not only capture usage and impact in the social space, but may potentially be an interesting leading indicator for citations. I would love to look at the latter in more detail and explore the correlation between early tweeting/sharing and citations over time. 

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Using Google Scholar and other Google resources for research and teaching

The 40-minute long tutorial below introduces and summarises quite well how to interact with, and get the most out of, various Google resources including Google Scholar (the first 20 minutes), Google News (+ archived newspapers), Google public data explorer, Google Videos (searches all of Youtube and other video sites) and Google Books. The tutorial also introduces the handy Google Alerts and highlights the Google Search Box, which enables you to add Google Scholar custom searches to your website.

I'm sure that most of you are in the know about Google's wee research helpers, but this video is particularly helpful in supporting teachers/librarians who want to introduce their students to these services. However, at this junction it is sensible to ask yourself whether it's actually a good idea to recommend Google Scholar to students in the first place (a judgement call of preference I suppose).

Subscription databases are generally preferred by librarians. And that is because Google Scholar is a search engine and not a bibliographic index of previously published, peer-reviewed works (the top publications list is helpful here). As with everything else on the Web, it's prudent to check whether the search results are accurate and authoritative. Google Scholar could be seen as an extra tool that supports a student's overall research effort. But, it goes without saying that search results ought to be critically appraised and then used accordingly. A sensible approach would be to be open minded here and include Google Scholar (and other services) in formal information literacy classes, which would empower students to use such extra resources sensibly and in a state of conscious awareness.

Ronan’s previous piece on how to become a Google Power Searcher fits neatly into this context.

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