Caught My Eye 4/17/13

Here is an eclectic list of recent publications that includes an editorial in a local newspaper in Steamboat Springs, CO; a report in the NY Times on academic conferences and journals;  a SPARC primer on article level metrics; a presentation made at the ISIC: The Information Behaviour Conference; and a white paper sponsored by Springer on ebook use and attitudes.

• Our View: Library delivers on public promise The local newspaper in Steamboat Springs, CO admits they were wrong more than seven years ago when they opposed the expansion of the Bud Werner Memorial Library.  At the time,  they claimed that the $29 million price tag was too high, especially given that “books and research — had an increasingly digital future.”   But according to this Mea culpa, the new library finished in 2008 “has become one of the premier assets in the city” with circulation far outstripping the national average.

• Scientific Articles Accepted (Personal Checks, Too) This piece in the NY Times reports on what author Gina Kolata calls the “parallel world of pseudo-academia.”  It seems that some scientists may have been participating in  “prestigiously titled conferences and journals that sponsor them” that turn out not to be all the seem.  These conferences and journals have very similar titles to “established, well-known publications and events” but are not the same.

• Article-Level Metrics — A SPARC Primer Given the growing interest in article level metrics as a tool to analyze how articles are being used and shared this 15 page resource should offer a solid grounding for many still learning about ALM’s.  The primer is designed  “to give campus leaders and other interested parties an overview of what ALMs are, why they matter, how they complement established utilities and metrics, and how they might be considered for use in the tenure and promotion process.”

• Convenience Is Crucial Factor in Information-seeking Behavior, according to New Digital Visitors and Residents Report  OCLC Research reports on this paper entitled, “Visitors and Residents: What Motivates Engagement with the Digital Information Environment?”, which was presented at ISIC: The Information Behaviour Conference, held 4-7 September 2012 in Tokyo. The paper offers findings from “the three-year Digital Visitors and Residents project, a longitudinal study funded by JISC, OCLC, the University of Oxford, and the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. The project is an attempt to fill the gap in user behavior studies identified in the JISC Digital Information Seeker Report.

• Springer releases white paper on eBook use and acceptance in an undergraduate institution  Sue Polanka writes in her No Shelf Required blog that “Springer has released a White Paper on ebook use and attitudes.  The study was conducted at Wellesley College.  Deborah Lenares of the Margaret Clapp Library at Wellesley College, and Steven Smith, formerly of Wellesley College and now Head of Collection Management at Boston University Libraries co-authored the white paper…”   (A number of other Springer sponsored studies can be found at Springer White Papers )