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Featured Link: World Book Trade (e-books, awards, videos)

Tuesday, September 30, 2003

The Company of Biologists has announced that from January 2004 its journals - Development, Journal of Cell Science and The Journal of Experimental Biology - is offering authors the option of 'open access'
News and Media Information on the Internet - ASLIB training course - 24 October, 2003, London
eCulture: the DigiCULT newsletter - September 2003 is now available
The Visual Resources Association has announced that select chapters of their DLF-sponsored project, Cataloguing Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Objects and their Images, known as CCO, is now available. Based on the core data elements found in the VRA Core 3.0 and the CDWA structures, CCO provides guidelines for selecting, ordering, and formatting data used to populate catalog records. CCO is designed to promote good descriptive cataloging, shared documentation, and enhanced end-user access
Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) is a comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. It publishes a wide range of scholarship from 1991 onward that includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals and policy briefs. Free trial is available
Applications are now being accepted for the First Step Award a Wiley Professional Development Grant, a cash award which is applicable toward travel costs for the next ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, June 24-30, 2004. The purpose of the $1,500 grant is to provide librarians new to the serials field with the opportunity to broaden their perspective and to encourage professional development in American Library Association Conferences and participation in ALA/ALCTS Serials Section activities
Announcing a new Internet-Draft for an Informational RFC, to allow commonly used identifiers to be part of the Web: The "info" URI Scheme for Information Assets with Identifiers in Public Namespaces
The International Society for Knowledge Organization (ISKO) will hold its 8th International ISKO Conference in London, England, July 13-16 2004. The conference will be hosted by the School of Library, Archive and Information Studies at University College London. The theme of the conference is: Knowledge Organization and the Global Information Society. The keynote address will be delivered by Clifford Lynch, Executive Director, Coalition for Networked Information

Monday, September 29, 2003

xrefer has announced version 2.0 of its xreferplus service, which includes improved information visualization capabilities (a new "Research Mapper"), a host of new content and unit conversions. The Research Mapper is a visual map that displays how search terms and topics in xreferplus are interconnected. Users can access the Mapper from any set of search results, enabling them to quickly explore the links among topics within the area they're researching
In partnership with the Department of Canadian Heritage's Canadian Culture Online Program, the Canadian War Museum has announced the launch of a fully searchable online archive containing articles from the Hamilton Spectator's clippings morgue. Featuring more than 144,000 articles, Democracy at War: Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War offers an incomparable look at the Second World War through the eyes of newspaper reports published at the time
freedominfo.org is a one-stop portal that describes best practices, consolidates lessons learned, explains campaign strategies and tactics, and links the efforts of freedom of information advocates around the world. It contains crucial information on freedom of information laws and how they were drafted and implemented, including how various provisions have worked in practice
Internet Resources Newsletter - Issue 109 - October 2003 - edited by Roddy MacLeod, Heriot-Watt University
The Librarian's World and Welcome to It : a day in the life of an academic librarian by Dennis Dillon, University of Texas at Austin - Chronicle.com
The Access Initiative (TAI) is a global coalition of public interest groups collaborating to promote national-level implementation of commitments to access to information, participation, and justice in environmental decision-making
Walter de Gruyter/Mouton Publishers of Berlin has announced journal prices lists for 2004 journals

Sunday, September 28, 2003

October 2003 is National Medical Librarians Month - this year's theme, "Surf Smart"
Emerald's Journals of the Week for September 29, 2003 are International Journal of Public Sector Management and Microelectronics International
The Esther J. Piercy Award Jury is seeking nominations for the award to be presented at the ALA Annual Conference in June 2004. The award, a $1,500 grant and citation donated by Yankee Book Peddler, Inc, recognizes contributions to library collections and technical services by a librarian with no more than 10 years of professional experience, who has shown outstanding promise for continuing contribution and leadership
The National Archives of the UK has announced the launch of a new archive of UK Central Government websites

Saturday, September 27, 2003

Fazzle is a new search engine that searches Wisenut, Altavista, Teoma, Lycos, Yahoo, MSN, and Netscape. Free registration to get advanced search features. You can bookmark or email search results
Michigan Library Association Conference - October 29-31 - Lansing, Michigan
The Institute of Physics is holding a book sale from 1 October 2003 to 31 December 2003, with savings up to 75%

Friday, September 26, 2003

The Friday Brain-teaser from xrefer this week tests your knowledge of famous sons, daughters and associated relations. Answers are here

1. The son of novelist Kingsley Amis is also a writer. What is his name?
2. Who is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip?
3. In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, Joseph was given a coat of many colours by his father. What was his father's name?
4. Which legendary British king had three daughters named Goneril, Regan and Cordelia?
5. Singer Natalie Cole is the daughter of which famous male singer?
6. Mary Wollstonecraft died giving birth to her daughter, Mary, who married which famous poet?
7. Singer Jermaine Jackson married the daughter of which famous record-company boss?
8. In Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", what was the name of Shylock's daughter?
9. In Greek mythology, Oedipus married his mother. What was her name?
10. A notorious New York murderer called himself "Son of Sam". What was his real name?
The webwords website has recently achieved RNIB See it Right accreditation. webwords can be used free by UK libraries to add samples of spoken word books to library catalogues
Questia now has over 45,000 books and 360,000 journal, magazine, and newspaper articles available
UKsubscribe.com - a new subscription service for the UK's most popular magazines
The Library of Congress has announced the release of the online collection of the Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers available at the American Memory Web site
The Sixth International Conference EVA 2003 Moscow - Information for All: Culture and IST. Conference, Workshops, Exhibition, Festivals & Cultural Visits - 1 - 5 December 2003, at the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
The Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog, from Charles W. Bailey, Jr., is now available via a mailing list

Thursday, September 25, 2003

College & Undergraduate Libraries will publish a special issue in December 2004, focusing on marketing activities in undergraduate academic libraries.  Manuscript proposals for this thematic issue are now being accepted.  Articles may address any aspect of marketing, promoting, or publicizing library resources and services. Deadline for proposals is November 15, 2003. Submissions to petruzzb@newpaltz.edu
Raise-a-Reader is an initiative of the CanWest Global Foundation to increase awareness and raise money for children's literacy programs throughout Canada
DigiStates is an online discussion list for individuals who are working on collaborative statewide projects for the digitization of cultural heritage resources
The Association of Internet Researchers International Conference - October 16-19 2003 - Toronto, Canada
The Electronic Database of CMCL, containing a great amount of information on the Coptic Manuscripts and Literature, with full texts, and information on the Coptic civilization at large, is now available
The Interim report on metadata development in The European Library (TEL) is now available
Information about Blackwell Publishing's 2004 online journals purchasing models for library consortia is now available. See also the 2004 Journals Price List and a list of titles joining Blackwell Publishing in 2004

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

AskColorado, a virtual reference service coordinated by the Colorado State Library, has launched a Spanish language version of the service
Call for Papers - Journal of Digital Information - Special issue on Social Aspects of Digital Information in Perspective - deadline is 27 November 2003
International Conference on The Future of Digital Memory and Cultural Heritage - Florence, Italy - 16-17 October 2003
Teen Read Week 2003 - October 19-25, 2003
Call for Papers: IS&T Archiving Conference 2004 - April 20-23, 2004 - San Antonio, TX

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Emerald's Journals of the Week for September 22-28 are Career Development International & Journal of European Industrial Training
City University Department of Information Science has published a new and improved LITC website containing current information, together with the full text of over a hundred Library and Information Briefings (LIBS), originally published in print from 1988 to 2002, on key management and technology topics, as well as access to information about current and past research projects and events
Cambridge University Press has announced its Journals Price List for 2004
Open Access Now - 22 September 2003 issue is now available
Maps and Society Lectures - Thirteenth Series: 2003-2004 - Lectures in the history of cartography convened by Catherine Delano Smith (Institute of Historical Research) and Tony Campbell (formerly Map Library, British Library). Meetings are held on selected Thursdays at the Warburg Institute, London. Admission is free
Exhibition at the Mariam Coffin Canaday Library, Bryn Mawr College - Gender and the London Theatre, 1880-1920 - Opening Sunday, September 28, 2003

Monday, September 22, 2003

The Illinois Network of libraries serving the blind, under the auspices of the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service, will soon offer a web-based, online audio and text-chat book discussion group called Meeting of the Minds on Audio Avenue
The Royal Society of the UK presents "The Future of the World Wide Web" by Professor Tim Berners-Lee. The lecture will be broadcast live on Monday 22 September 2003. The live Internet broadcast will begin at 11:00 am (PDT)
Open Digital Rights Language International Workshop 2004 - Vienna, Austria - 21-23 April

Friday, September 19, 2003

The Friday Brain-teaser from xrefer - This week: Abbreviations: There are some acronyms and abbreviations that we use so often, we may have forgotten what they stand for - that is if we knew in the first place! Clues to the meanings are given in brackets after each one, and you can visit the answers page to see how you did

1. WYSIWYG (used about computers)
2. NIMBY (describing someone who objects to development near his or her own property)
3. DC (district with Washington as its centre)
4. BBC (broadcasting authority in the UK)
5. GNP (measurement of a country's wealth)
6. HB (symbol on a pencil)
7. AIDS (progressive failure of immune system)
8. CORE (US civil-rights organization)
9. NWT (part of Canada)
10. UNESCO (United Nations agency)
The September 2003 issue of Biblio Tech Review from Peter Evans is now available
School Libraries: Making a Difference - This site supports Schools Library Services and school librarians in England and helps them assert the importance of their role and the significance of the school library
Links to resource writeups from the latest issue of ResearchBuzz, September 11-17, are now online
Maximising web presence - Speaker: Phil Bradley - This one day course is for library and information professionals who are responsible for the production and maintenance of web pages. It is specifically designed for managers who wish to increase the visibility of their site on the World Wide Web. At the end of the day delegates should have a clear understanding of managing both website design and content to obtain a better ranking with search engines and improved design for users - 7 October, 2003, London
The annual Information for Scotland Conference celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Over the last ten years this has established itself as one of the major events in the Scottish library and information calendar and has attracted both major speakers and audiences from across the LIS sectors - 5 November 2003 - Edinburgh University Library
The arlis.net Directory of Art, Architecture and Design Resources lists more than 250 organisations that have books, magazines, archives and other material on art, architecture or design. The database includes names, addresses, opening hours, web site addresses and details about access

Thursday, September 18, 2003

Free Pint Newsletter 145 - 18 September 2003 - now available, containing the article Tips on Negotiating Licences for Electronic Products by Paul Pedley
The European Information Association is running a course on EU law for librarians on 16 October in London. EU legal information on the internet explains how EU law is made and looks in detail at the sources which allow you to track European legislation through all its many and various stages
ERPANET and Accademia Nazionale Dei Lincei have announced a joint International Workshop on the Trusted Digital Repository for Cultural Heritage. This three-day workshop will be held in Rome, Italy 17-19 November 2003 in the elegant setting of the 16th Century Palazzo Corsini, residence of the Accademia, in via della Lungara 10
The Connecticut Library Consortium has announced a series of Roundtables for Fall 2003 to Spring 2004. Topics include Audio Visual, Children's Librarians, Genealogy, Interlibrary Loan, Library Management, etc.
The Colorado Association of Libraries' Intellectual Freedom Committee has produced a brochure on the USA PATRIOT Act. The brochure contains answers to frequently asked questions on the Act, refers patrons to additional information sources, and is general enough to be used across the USA
EDINA Newsline - Autumn 2003 edition is now available

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

xrefer has announce that the National Library Board of Singapore has purchased an annual subscription to xreferplus, the online reference library. Under the terms of this license agreement, all residents of Singapore will be able to gain access to the reference service on a 24/7 basis in public libraries, at work or in their own homes via the library board's eLibraryHub website. The National Library Board has over 2 million library members nationwide, and the network includes 20 community libraries and 33 community children's libraries
The timetable for the NoWAL (North West Academic Libraries) programme of talks due to take place in October-December 2003 is now available
Parallel Lives: digital and analog options for access and preservation - Joint conference of the National Preservation Office and King's College London - 10 November 2003 - The British Library Conference Centre, London
CILIP Workshop - Working with digital images - 5 November 2003, London
Simmons College, Graduate School of Library and Information Science has announced its Online Course Preview for Fall 2003
Stipend recipients for the ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce have been announced
Assessment for Advancing Diversity in Libraries - ARL/OLMS Online Lyceum course - October 14-31, 2003 - Participants in this course will have the opportunity to design and/or evaluate their library's diversity program, identify a strategy for program implementation and/or enhancement, and examine different methods to assess the program
The Library of Congress Portals Applications Issues Group (LCPAIG) is still interested in receiving comments from individuals, libraries, professional organizations, and vendors on its List of Portal Application Functionalities for the Library of Congress. The comment period will continue through September 30, 2003
The September 2003 issue of D-Lib Magazine is now available
Monica Ali, Margaret Atwood, Damon Galgut, Zoe Heller, Clare Morrall, and DBC Pierre are the six authors shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2003. The shortlist was announced by the chair of judges, Professor John Carey, at a press conference in London, 16 September
Muniscope tracks down research, legislation as well as practical solutions to current municipal issues. The Muniscope library collection has over 9,000 publications relating to urban, regional and rural settings. More than a library, Muniscope offers an extensive networking service across Canada
Global Access to UK Research: Removing the barriers - 20 November 2003 - Universities UK, London - The barriers of price and licensing restrictions are hindering access to the results of academic research world-wide, and this seminar will place UK initiatives in the context of international moves to create open access to published research

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments
The aim of Unixl.com is to provide a directory for university students and academics with relevant information on many subjects available at most universities worldwide. It will also include some research papers relevant to masters and PHD students
Picture History is an on-line archive of images and film footage illuminating more than 200 years of American history. Included in its holdings is the acclaimed Meserve-Kunhardt Collection of 19th century photography as well as thousands of images that have been researched and acquired by Kunhardt Productions for use in historical documentaries over the past fifteen years. Picture History is intended for the personal use of students, educators, scholars, and the general public curious about the past
Project MUSE has announced that it recently added a For Librarians page to its website. This valuable resource contains a wealth of information to help librarians find out more about Muse and make the most out of a Muse subscription
The Charters of Freedom – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights – are the foundation of American democracy. On September 18, 2003, the Charters of Freedom will return to public display in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington D.C.
Online event at WebJunction: Public Internet Service & CIPA - facilitated by Karen Schneider, Gary Bortel, Bob Bocher, & Carson Block
The Library Learning Network of the College of DuPage and the Colorado Digitization Program will present a national teleconference Digital Treasures for Teaching and Learning on Friday, October 10, from noon to 2:00 p.m. EST. The teleconference can be viewed live at libraries, universities, community colleges and other institutions with a satellite downlink

Monday, September 15, 2003

The 2004 Subscription Price List from IEEE is now available
Maximising Use of E Sources in Academic Libraries - a seminar for information professionals - 1 December 2003 - Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science
ERPANET and CODATA have announced a joint International Archiving Workshop on the Selection, Appraisal and Retention of Scientific Data. This three-day workshop, co-hosted by the Biblioteca Nacional, will be held in Lisbon, Portugal on the 15-17 December 2003

Sunday, September 14, 2003

The October 2003 issue of Walt Crawford's Cites & Insights is now available
In the continuing effort to better serve customers during tight budget times, Gale introduces In the Loop, a bi-weekly e-mail alert with tailored information for librarians including collection and professional development, maximizing budget dollars, supporting patrons' needs and information about special sales and product promotions from Gale
Emerald's Journals of the Week for September 15, 2003 are Managing Service Quality and Work Study
The next Samuel Swett Green Award for exemplary virtual reference will be presented in mid-October. The submission deadline for this award is September 19, 2003, at 12:00 midnight, PDT. Librarians may submit live session transcripts for sessions that have occurred between June 1 and September 19, 2003
New downloadable message print ads have been posted on the American Library Association web site to address the topics of the new role of librarians, recruitment, and pay equity

Saturday, September 13, 2003

12th Nordic Conference on Information and Documentation - September 1-3 2004 - Aalborg Denmark
Cleveland Public Library has launched the online exhibition Baron's Mail Art Collection. A sample of 100 images from Baron's collection, recently given to Special Collections by the artist/collector. Two brief essays introduce the topic of the "appropriateness" of mail art collections among a research library's holdings
Academic Library Association of Ohio Annual Conference 2003 - Information, Innovation, Inspiration - Making the Connection - November 14, 2003 - Dublin, OH
Library and Archives Canada has announced the launch of Canadian Libraries: Bibliography, a rich collection of citations to information about Canadian libraries subdivided by library type, location and topics such as statistics and standards

Friday, September 12, 2003

The Friday Brain-teaser from xrefer - Remember 2002? This week we test your memory of events that occurred last year. You may be surprised at how much you have forgotten about it already. Answers page

1. Which British princess, the younger daughter of George VI, died in 2002?
2. At the Madrid summit in December 1995, the European Council decided that which new currency would be used from 2002?
3. Which British rock band released the album "Heathen Chemistry" in 2002?
4. Which writer won the Whitbread Prize in 2002 for his novel "The Amber Spyglass"?
5. Which golfer won the US Masters and US Open in 2002?
6. Which US film director, whose films included "The Lost Weekend" and "Sunset Boulevard", died in 2002?
7. Who started work as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 2002?
8. Who was re-elected as president of France by a landslide in 2002?
9. From 2002, all television sets sold in the United States contained a V-chip. What does the V-chip do?
10. Which 1998 novel by Nick Hornby was filmed in 2002?
The Royal Society of Chemistry's Chemical Information Group and the Chemical Structure Association Trust will be holding a joint one-day training course on chemical information on 30 October, 2003 in London. This one day training course will contain a series of presentations which will provide an impartial and critical overview of Chemical Information products. It will be given by specialists from academic information departments, vendor representatives and the pharmaceutical industry
The September 2003 issue of LIBRES, the international refereed electronic journal devoted to new research in Library and Information Science, is now available
The Royal College of Nursing has launched the website for the first historical nursing journal online. The project, funded by the Wellcome Trust, provides access to one of the first nursing journals, Nursing Record, from 1888 to 1956. This journal captures the world of nurses and hospitals and is a wonderful source for many fields of research, including women's history, gender, class, ethnicity, culture and colonialism. The journal includes articles, photos, illustrations and advertisements
Registration for the Digital Library Federation Fall Forum in Albuquerque, NM, November 17-19, 2003 is now open
The Technology Source from the Michigan Virtual University - September/October 2003 issue now available

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Public Library Directors' Symposium - learn about Innovative Interface's path and plans for the future, share your ideas, hear speakers from within and outside of the library world, and meet informally with other library directors - October 19-20, 2003 - Berkeley, California
UKOLUG Seminar (London): Patents as part of Commercial Intelligence - Patent information is an important part of business and competitive intelligence. For those who are only occasional users of patent information or are new to this area, the UKOLUG meeting Patents for non-patent people will provide an essentail guide to resources and search techniques - 7 October 2003
Documents highlight U.S. role in Chilean Coup - newly declassified documents shed light on the U.S. government's role in the September 11 1973 overthrow of Salvador Allende, the democratically elected leader of Chile. The military coup ended in Allende's suicide and thrust General Augusto Pinochet into power
What libraries can learn from bookstores: applying the bookstore model to public libraries by Chris Rippel, Central Kansas Library System
Libraries nationwide mark September 11 anniversary - ALA
The Center for Intellectual Property at University of Maryland University College is once again hosting its annual asynchronous online workshop series. This series is of interest to faculty, university counsel, librarians, and instructional design and information professionals. This series of online workshops will provide participants with an understanding of select intellectual property issues facing higher education in today's rapidly changing digital environment

Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Dynix Web Seminar Series: Marketing As If Your Library Depended On It - September 24, 2003 - free one-hour web-based seminar given by Pat Wagner of Pattern Research
Cold North Wind, Inc. and Sporting News, Inc. have announced an agreement to provide the archives of the 117 year-old Sporting News online. Beginning November 1, 2003, the entire published full-page, full-text archives of Sporting News magazine, which virtually chronicles the history of sport, will be available and fully searchable on Cold North Wind’s website, www.paperofrecord.com, an online portal providing a range of historical content aggregated from a variety of different sources. Subscriptions to Paperofrecord.com, which will include the Sporting News magazine archives, will cost $16.75US per month or $99.00US per year
To mark the acceptance of The September 11 Digital Archive in the Library of Congress's permanent collection, the Library will host a day-long symposium on Wednesday, September 10, 2003. September 11 as History: Collecting Today for Tomorrow, featuring commentary by leading U.S. historians, librarians, and archivists, will be held in the Library's Coolidge Auditorium
Archives, Learning & Social Inclusion - November 4, 2003 - York St. John College, UK
Policy Options is Canada's premier public policy magazine. Its goal is to encourage an informed debate on the important public policy issues of today, and of tomorrow. In each edition, short articles on the immediate issues that dominate the headlines are combined with in-depth analyses of longer-term issues that are certain to emerge on the policy horizon

Tuesday, September 09, 2003

Cat and class: it's OK for anyone! - 28-29 October 2003, London - this workshop provides a basic introduction to the skills of information organisation in the context of library and information services and a broad based framework built from principles and practice that participants can take away and develop in their own organisational context
International Workshop on Document Image Analysis for Libraries - January 23-24, 2004 - Palo Alto, CA. This is a 100% participation workshop aimed at bringing together researchers, practitioners and users interested in new technologies that help integrate imaged and encoded documents within digital libraries such that ideally, everything that can be done with encoded documents can also be done with imaged documents
The Library and Information Research Group invites applications for the 2003 Elsevier/LIRG Research Award. The purpose of the Award is to encourage research and innovation in library and information science. It is intended that particular attention will be paid to proposals intended to improve the accessibility, retrievability and usefulness of information. The maximum value of the Award is £1000
Alternative Funding Sources for Schools and Libraries - this free webcast, which is made possible by the sponsors of the LearningTimes Library Online Conference, will explore innovative funding models that public schools and libraries use to augment shrinking state and local fiscal budgets. October 2, 2003

Monday, September 08, 2003

Current Cites - Volume 14, no. 8, August 2003 now available
In2Books is an innovative literacy program that empowers elementary students to achieve their personal best by giving them meaningful books to keep and an adult pen pal to correspond with about the books. To reinforce and expand the learning experience, In2Books provides the key people in students' lives - family members, teachers, and adult pen pals - with state-of-the-art literacy and developmental training. Although initially launched only in Washington, D.C., In2Books plans to expand to other under-resourced public school districts across the country
The Guardian states that Internet shoppers have doubled their spending over the past year to more than £10bn as the e-commerce companies that survived the dotcom bust start to prosper. The most popular online purchases remain CDs, DVDs and books but the figures also show the web is increasingly the most popular way of buying travel, theatre, concert and cinema tickets
John Wiley & Sons increased sales and profits in the first quarter, ended July 31, with its professional/trade publishing division showing the most growth despite continued weaknesses in some of the unit's core markets. Wiley's U.S. professional/ trade revenues increased by 8% over the first quarter of the prior year, to $76.1 million
Emerald's Journals of the Week for September 8-14 are Pigment & Resin Technology & Collection Building

Sunday, September 07, 2003

Among the recent acquisitions of the Library of Congress is the world's largest and most spectacular private collection of original cartoon art. Assembled over the course of sixty years by J. Arthur Wood, Jr., the Art Wood Collection of Caricature and Cartoon more than doubles the Library's existing holdings in this area. A true "Gift to the Nation," it contains an estimated 36,000 works by more than 2,800 artists, and includes a comprehensive array of political cartoons, caricatures, comic strips, humor cartoons, illustrations, and animation cels. Virtually every aspect of the genre is represented by leading creators, making the Library's cartoon collections both comprehensive and unrivaled in the United States
Open Access Now - August 25 issue now available
Gateshead Council's new library web site has gone live, offering a host of innovative services online. iKnow online is a new-style UK public library website. It's aim is to encourage library users to interact with their library service and with other library users, by offering innovative information services and easy to use communication channels, including Forums, Conference Rooms and Livehelp

Saturday, September 06, 2003

Submissions are sought for a special edition of Journal of Digital Information on new applications and contexts for Knowledge Organisation Systems (KOS). This includes but is not restricted to novel applications and representations of KOS in advanced digital library (DL) and semantic Web environments. Submission deadline is 7 October 2003
In anticipation of the Centennial of the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 2005, all back issues now available online. The entire archive, 1905-2002, is available, searchable and free
The American Printing History Association Annual Conference - New York - 24-25 October 2003. Focuses on recent and innovative research in printing history and the book arts, work that makes use of new methods of study or interpretation, that benefits from newly available primary sources, and that treats overlooked or forgotten persons, techniques, or design elements

Friday, September 05, 2003

The Friday Brain-teaser from xrefer - identify well-known people with the same first name. This time, the name is Robert - or Bob. Try to guess who they are from these descriptions, and then see how you did by visiting the answers page

1. 19th-century Scottish author who wrote "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" and "Treasure Island"
2. American singer, born 1941, composer of "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and "Masters of War"
3. American actor and director, born 1937, directed the films "A River Runs Through It" and "Quiz Show"
4. 18th-century Scottish poet who wrote "Auld Lang Syne"
5. Younger brother of an American president, who served as attorney general during his brother's presidency and was assassinated in 1968 by Sirhan Sirhan
6. 19th-century English poet who wrote "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" and "My Last Duchess"
7. American engineer, born 1934, who invented a synthesiser which is named after him
8. American poet (1874-1963), author of poems "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and "The Death of a Hired Man"
9. German composer (1810-1856) who wrote "Carnaval", "Papillons" and the Spring Symphony
10. British musician, born 1945, a founder member of Soft Machine, his solo albums include "End of an Ear" and "Ruth is Stranger than Richard"
GeoLib is a research program of the Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center, which is within the the Institute of Science and Public Affairs at The Florida State University. Its mission is to improve access to digital geographic information for library planning and to apply marketing research theories in solving real-world library problems
The NEO Information Centre was established by the UK Government in response to the recommendations of the Task Force Report on potentially hazardous Near Earth Objects to provide accurate and level-headed information on Near Earth Objects to the public and media and to support the international NEO science community
Info@UK - September 2003 newsletter is now available
Selecting Electronic Products: a beginners guide - 22 October 2003, London - This workshop is designed to assist participants to develop the skills and confidence needed to select and exploit electronic information products. The course will include some practical exercises
The Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards are given for excellence in the publication of catalogs and brochures that accompany exhibitions of library and archival materials, as well as for electronic exhibitions of such materials. The judging of these catalogs, brochures, and electronic exhibitions is carried out by the Exhibition Awards Committee of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS). The announcement of the best catalogs, brochures, and electronic exhibitions selected from the pool of current Leab Award submissions will be made in the spring of 2004, to be followed by the awarding of certificates to the winning institutions at the 2004 American Library Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida
ETD 2004: Seventh International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations: Distributing knowledge worldwide through better scholarly communication - June 3-5, 2004 - University of Kentucky, Lexington
Library and Archives Canada has announced the redesign of the website for Canadian Subject Headings, offering free, up-to-date access to over 6000 subject authority records in the English language, providing in-depth coverage of Canadian topics, including those recently in the news. Coverage focuses on the Canadian cultural, economic, historical, literary, political and social experience
The University libraries of Cornell, Gottingen, and Michigan have announced the first public availability of a significant body of mathematical monographs with access provided through a distributed full text search protocol. The virtual collection, comprising more than 2,000 volumes of significant historical mathematical material (nearly 600,000 pages), resides at the three separate institutions and is provided through interfaces to the three entirely different software systems
Westminster Union List of Periodicals has now been converted into a database and is searchable online
The National Preservation Office is holding a workshop for potential library and archive users of its Preservation Assessment Survey. The workshop will be held at the British Library, London. The cost will be £50 plus VAT, which includes refreshments. Lunch is not provided but participants can use the British Library's restaurant. Numbers are limited to fifteen. The workshop will cover sampling techniques, assessment methods and use of the supporting database
Palgrave Macmillan and the Berkeley Electronic Press offer a combined portfolio of 46 peer-reviewed e-journals (35 e-titles), in all territories except USA and Canada

Thursday, September 04, 2003

September 2003 issues of Information Today, ONLINE, Computers in Libraries, Searcher, MultiMedia Schools, and CRM Magazine are now available
Version 50 of the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography is now available. This selective bibliography presents over 1,950 articles, books, and other printed and electronic sources that are useful in understanding scholarly electronic publishing efforts on the Internet
Public Library Association - 10th National Conference - February 24-28, 2004 - Seattle, Washington
Recall is a search engine at the Internet Archive that indexes the text of over 11 billion pages. The archive has pages dating way back to 1996 through the present day
The Thomson Corporation has announced that it has acquired Techstreet, Inc., a digital content delivery company that provides full-text industry standards and specifications to engineers, researchers, and technical and information professionals worldwide. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed
A new discussion list, LIS-UKBIBS, is now available for UK cataloguers, indexers and all those interested in the application of bibliographic standards and metadata in the UK library environment. Supported on the jiscmail list service, LIS-UKBIBS has replaced the old LIS-UKMARC list
The ALPSP Learned Journals Collection has launched its unique collection of 247 journals from 25 diverse publishers. The ALJC enables small and medium-sized publishers to package their journals with a single umbrella license, pricing model and delivery platform. The new online collection is the result of a unique collaboration between the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, Swets Blackwell and Extenza. Swets Blackwell has orchestrated ALJC's complex licensing and legal structure and also serves as its worldwide sales, marketing and access channel

Wednesday, September 03, 2003

Dialog has announced that it has bolstered its popular Dialog Company Profiles service with an improved search interface, more robust navigation features and an expanded roster of authoritative reference sources
Esquire Cover Gallery - contains 857 magazine covers, dating from 1933
The August 31, 2003 issue of LLRX.com is now available. LLRX.com is a unique, free Web journal dedicated to providing legal and library professionals with the most up-to-date information on a wide range of Internet research and technology-related issues, applications, resources and tools
Internet Resources Newsletter - Issue 108 - September 2003 - edited by Roddy MacLeod, Heriot-Watt University
ASSIGN News from Social Science Libraries and Projects - September 2003 now available
London's Museums Archives and Libraries have collated an events list to advertise and promote the wide range of Black History Month celebrations, events and activities taking place in the London region from October 2003 onwards. Over the past few months over 150 libraries, archives/record offices, museums, galleries and heritage sites throughout London have sent in details about forthcoming events – such as local history talks, seminars, workshops, exhibitions/displays, book/poetry readings, music and drama performances, etc. – organised to celebrate the history and cultural heritage of Britain's Black, Asian and other minority ethnic communities over the centuries

Tuesday, September 02, 2003

The Informed Librarian Online is a monthly compilation of the most recent tables of contents from over 275 titles - valuable domestic and foreign library and information-related journals, e-journals, magazines, e-magazines, newsletters and e-newsletters. Free subscription available.
Swets Blackwell has announced that it plans to change its company name to Swets Information Services in December 2003. The new name will be officially launched during the Online Information 2003 conference and exhibition held in London, UK on December 2 - 4 2003
The LearnAlberta.ca web site supports lifelong learning by providing quality online resources to the Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) community in Alberta. Students, teachers and parents will find multimedia learning resources that directly relate to the Alberta programs of study. LearnAlberta.ca is a safe, reliable and innovative collection of learning resources developed by Alberta Learning in consultation with stakeholders
Emerald is providing free access to Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials & Journal of Property Investment & Finance until September 7 2003
A National Science Foundation Blue-Ribbon Advisory Panel recently recommended a new Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Program, which offers a chance to reformulate many processes of scientific investigation around the unique opportunities of information technology, and for libraries to contribute to scholarly activity in science and engineering research in new ways
Spectrum is a programme run by the American Library Association with the aim of providing 50 bursaries each year to people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds to study library and information science

Monday, September 01, 2003

The CAIS/ACSI conference will be held June 3-5, 2004, and is part of the annual Congress of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, which runs from May 29 to June 5, 2004 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Second Nordic Conference on Scholarly Communication - Towards a New Publishing Environment - Lund 26-28 April 2004
Last week's brain-teaser was about the largest things in the world. Now here's a quiz to test your knowledge of the smallest examples of things in various categories. Answers are here.

1. What is the world's smallest continent?
2. What is the word for the smallest unit of data which a computer system can handle?
3. Which is the smallest state of the United States?
4. What phrase is used for a grand piano of the smallest size?
5. What is the word for the smallest number of members of a committee which must be present before a meeting can be held?
6. What is the world's smallest ocean?
7. What is the word for the smallest element of the image displayed on a computer or TV screen, consisting of a single dot?
8. "MLD" is an abbreviation in medicine for the smallest quantity of a toxic substance or infectious agent that is found to be lethal. What does "MLD" stand for?
9. What is the world's smallest republic?
10. In linguistics, what is the word for the smallest unit of meaning in a language?