Archive for the ‘Search News’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Webcast: Preserving OSTI’s Printed Archive

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Webcast: Preserving OSTI’s Printed Archive
A three minute video from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Here’s the Blurb:

The American public has invested billions of dollars in the atomic energy and subsequent related programs. This investment has mostly been in the form of the printed page. OSTIs historical preservation is described.

Direct to “Printed Archive” Video (via YouTube)

Direct to OSTI YouTube Channel

Direct to OSTI Home Page

While print preservation is essential, OSTI is home to many free online databases including:

+ Science Accelerator
+ Science.gov (Content from Many Government Databases, Search Tecnology from OSTI)
+ WorldWideScience (Global in Scope)
+ Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information (Includes over 210K Full Text Documents)
+ DOE Data Explorer
+ Energy Citations Database
+ E-print Network
+ Several Others Linked on the OSTI Home Page

Source: OSTI

Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Government Documents and Political Information, Preservation/Conservation, Print Publications, Resources, Science | No Comments »

Wikimedia and comScore Announce Partnership; Top 10 Countries by Engagement on Wikimedia Sites

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

From the Announcement:

Wikimedia Foundation today announced an on-going partnership with comScore that will help expand the Foundation’s awareness of global Web audience trends and demographics, particularly for top ten projects like Wikipedia. To support the partnership, comScore is providing access to its global Web measurement tool, Media Metrix, which the non-profit Foundation will use to augment its global site-usage statistics, interpret project participation and editing trends, and develop a long-term strategy to expand awareness and usage in new markets – such as Asia

Top 10 Countries by Average Engagement on Wikimedia Foundation Sites, September 2009

Worldwide 12.5 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

Japan 17.0 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

New Zealand 16.1 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

Mexico 15.6 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

United Kingdom 15.5 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

Canada 15.3 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

United States 14.7 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

Hong Kong 14.5 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

Australia 14.3 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

Colombia 14.1 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

Puerto Rico 14.1 (Average Minutes per Visitor)

Source: comScore Media Metrix

Posted in Information Industry, Technology and Internet | No Comments »

New Online: A Browsable List of All Magazines Available in Google Book Search Database

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

This is really great to see and something we’ve been wanting for a long time.

Remember, Google Book Search also includes some digitized magazines. Many people, including the ResourceShelf team have wanted to know the titles of the magazines/serials in the GBS database. In other words, we wanted a titles list or just some way of seeing all of the publications at one time.

Well, today is our lucky day. Nice work Google!

You can can browse the list (either in list or cover format) and then click to visit the magazine(s) of interest. You can also click the “about the magazine” link (one, two, or three lines below the magazine title) to see what what specific issues are available (organized by year). Another way to get to the same place is by clicking the “Browse All Issues” link (again, one, two, or three lines below the magazine title).

According to a post on Inside Google Book Search (a Google blog) there are 88 magazine available at the moment. We will have to go one by one to get the exact dates available for each title. It will be interesting to monitor how often and how many new titles are added to the list and if the backfiles of the 45 current titles grow larger. Score another one for Google listening to its users.

45 titles is a small amount compares to let’s say a Gale/Cengage General OneFile (7100 full-text titles), ProQuest’s ABI/Inform (Over 3,000 titles), or EBSCOhost’s MasterFILE Premier (nearly 1700 titles) but I mention these comparisons for two reasons. First, don’t count Google out of anything. These days if Google wants to “play” in magazines and serials, they will play and play hard, too. Just look at how Google is shaking-up the GPS device marketplace with the launch of Google Mobile Navigation. Second, for those readers who are not in the info/library profession, it’s quite possible that you have 24×7x365 access to the databases (and many others for free) via your public, university, or special library.

OK, since we now have help with magazines, how about another challenge? A list of journals in the Google Scholar database. True, Google finds material through crawling the open web for “Scholar” content but they also work with publishers to make other content accessible. Even a list of titles and dates from these publishers would be a good start.

We will be on the lookout for new magazine titles, increases in backfiles of the 45 titles currently available, and a Google Scholar titles list. Stay tuned!

Source: Inside Google Book Search
Hat Tip: Larry
Hat Tip: Paula H.

Posted in Information Industry | No Comments »

The Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report from The Library of Congress is Now Available Online

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

The 2008 report has been released and is now available online. The report is for the 2008 fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2008 (84 color pages; PDF).

Here are some Fast Facts about the Library of Congress for FY 2008:

+ Welcomed more than 1.6 million onsite visitors

+ Provided reference services to 545,084 individuals in person, by telephone and through written and electronic correspondence

+ Recorded a total of 141,847,810 items in the collections:

+ 21,218,408 cataloged books in the Library of Congress classification system

11,599,606 books in large type and raised characters, incunabula (books printed before 1501), monographs and serials, music, bound newspapers, pamphlets, technical reports and other printed material

++ 109,029,796 items in the nonclassified (special) collections, including:
++ 3,005,028 audio materials, such as discs, tapes, talking books and other recorded formats
++ 62,778,118 manuscripts
++ 5,357,385 maps
++ 16,086,572 microforms
++ 5,674,956 pieces of printed sheet music

+++ 14,388,175 visual materials, as follows:
+++ 1,207,776 moving images
+++ 12,536,764 photographs
+++ 98,288 posters
+++ 545,347 prints and drawings

+ Circulated more than 22 million disc, cassette and braille items to more than 500,000 blind and physically handicapped patrons

+ Registered 232,907 claims to copyright

+ Completed 871,287 research assignments for Congress through the Congressional Research Service

+ Prepared 1,529 legal research reports for Congress and oth er federal agencies through the Law Library

+ Recorded more than 85 million visits and 610 million page views on the Library’s website. At year’s end, the Library’s on line historical collections contained 15.3 million digital files

+ Employed a permanent staff of 3,637 employees

+ Operated with a total fiscal 2008 appropriation of $613,496,414, including the authority to spend $50,447,565 in receipts

Access the FY 2008 Annual Report (84 color pages; PDF)

You can access annual reports for the years 2000-2008 on this page. All reports are in PDF.

Source: Library of Congress

Posted in Libraries and Librarianship | No Comments »

UK: Interim Findings from Study Looking at Information-Seeking Behaviour of Generation Y Doctoral Students

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Interim findings of major study of doctoral researchers indicate urgent need for libraries and universities to develop their understanding of ‘Generation Y’

From the News Release/Summary:

Emerging findings from a major three-year research study into the information-seeking behaviour of doctoral students have highlighted the need for far greater understanding of the generation born between 1982 and 1994 – commonly dubbed Generation Y.

Researchers of Tomorrow was commissioned by the British Library and JISC to establish a benchmark for research behaviour, against which future generations can be measured – and also to provide guidance for librarians and information specialists on how best to meet the research needs of Generation Y scholars.

The longitudinal study will be supported by a number of surveys to establish the wider context of the doctoral research landscape. The first of these surveys has just been completed; it surveyed a representative sample of all doctoral students in the UK and yielded a number of significant interim findings.

+ Information format. Three quarters of Generation Y students – more than those in any other age group – found the information they sought in an e-journal article.

+ Emergent technology. Only a small proportion of respondents (10-30%) in any age group say they use ‘emergent technology’ – such as wikis, virtual research environments, social networking and other Web 2.0 applications – in their research, Of those that do use them, more generally find them useful in their research than not.

+ Help and advice. Fewer Generation Y students than other age groups say they regularly use library staff support to find research resources (11% of Generation Y compared to an average of 17% for other age groups), or take advice from subject specialist librarians (4% compared to 9% average). More Generation Y respondents (46%) than any other age group turn to their fellow students and/or supervisors for support in using emergent technologies.

+ Location of work. Compared to other age groups, more Generation Y researchers work from a dedicated or shared office space (or laboratory or studio) (40%), than work from their own home (39%).

[Snip]

Joanna Newman, the British Library’s Head of Higher Education, said, “The interim findings of the Researchers of Tomorrow study provide a fascinating snapshot of current research behaviour of doctoral students. [Our emphasis] It’s perhaps surprising that so few researchers in the 21-27 range really use the wide range of Web 2.0 applications for research or collaborative working. And when it comes to emergent technology, they’re more likely to seek the advice of their peers or supervisors than librarians or information specialists – a finding that could suggest a need for professionals to rethink how best to deliver advice and support in this area.”

More in the News Release/Summary

See Also: Researchers of Tomorrow Home Page

Source: The British Library

Posted in Information Seeking, Libraries and Librarianship | No Comments »

The Age of Mega Content Sites-Answers.com and Demand Media

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

The ReadWriteWeb article (via The New York Times) provides an overview of Answers.com and their WikiAnswers service from a business angle. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not of value to the info pro.

“Answers” has been around for years. Remember Atomica? Remember Gurnet? These companies became Answers.com. WikiAnswers launched in February, 2007. and allows users to have questions asked and answered. Answers.com also provides the definition of search terms at the top of a Google results page.

Let’s begin with an important question that the author, Richard Macmanus, asks near the end of the article:

…if you search Google for a reference article and the first page of results is littered with Answers.com and Demand Media (eHow.com) articles, is that crowding out the real topic experts?

Takeaways from the Article:

+ Answers.com has moved from 26 to 13 in comScore rankings in only two months.

+ The growth in traffic on Answers.com is largely due to WikiAnswers.

+ Most of Answers.com’s revenue comes via Google AdSense.

+ According to Google page estimates (not always accurate totals), show Answers.com and WikiAnswers have a total of 38 million pages in the Google database. For comparison sake, Wikipedia has 56 million and NY Times offers 13.2 million.

Ed. Note: Even more reason to 1) Use than more than one search engine 2) Learn a few concepts that can help you narrow and focus a search 3) Know about and use specialty databases and search tools. Trying to build a virtual reference shelf with key resources before you need to use them. This is similar to the print model.

Source: NY Times / ReadWriteWeb

Ed. Note: The actual Answers.com database offers content from many excellent sources from respected publishers when you search the “reference topics” portion of the service. However, a visit to the Answers.com home page shows that the site is really focusing on the WikiAnswers (as noted in the article, inexpensive content). Just accessing (searching or browsing) “reference topics” can be a challenge. You can also get to some of these well-known sources by browsing the Answers Library. In just a few minutes browsing the Answers Library we accessed content from Oxford University Press and Gale.

Also, are information professionals and educators are aware of WikiAnswers just like they know about Wikipedia? This doesn’t mean not to use WikiAnswers but rather to have your critical information skills on high alert when using it.

Posted in Information Industry, Reference Tools, Social Media | No Comments »

Data Held in Your Google Account Now Accessible From a Single Location

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

From the Article:

At a European privacy conference in Spain Thursday, the company unveiled a new service called Google Dashboard that summarizes the data that Google collects in users’ accounts for products like Gmail, Picasa Web Albums, Web History, Checkout, Reader and YouTube. Users will be able to adjust their privacy settings for the various Google products directly from the dashboard.

Much of the information was previously available in the accounts and settings sections for each product, so Dashboard simply brings all that information together in one place.

[Snip]

[Our emphasis] Dashboard provides information only about users’ Google accounts for products that require users to log in or products where the log-in is optional. It does not address the search records of people who are not logged into Google or the cookie data that Google uses to aim ads at people. Many advocates say that the collection and storage of such data may raise the biggest privacy concerns.

[Snip]

Still, privacy advocates hailed the product.

“It is a significant step forward in terms of trying to unite the user experience for people who use Google products,” said Ari Schwartz, chief operating officer of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an independent advocacy group that receives some funding from Google and other technology companies. “We still need a lot more to protect consumers’ privacy.”

Access Google Dashboard

Source: Bits Blog, NY Times

See Also: Search Engine Land

Posted in Information Industry, Privacy | No Comments »

From ALA: Updated Public Library Technology Issues Briefs Now Available Online

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

From the News Release:

The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Research & Statistics (ORS) is making available online the most recent data published in the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study. The information provides up-to-date issues briefs related to public library technology and job-seeking, lifelong learning and Internet connectivity.

[Snip]

Current topics include:

“U.S. Public Libraries and E-Government Services,” describing the increased use of online government information and services, the critical role of public libraries in helping provide access and assistance using these resources and the challenges that must be addressed to improve e-government at the local, state and federal level.

“Supporting Learners in U.S. Public Libraries,” outlining many of the technology resources public libraries provide learners of all ages and challenges libraries face in meeting growing demand, as well as describing how sustained funding enables public libraries to offer increased assistance and services to their communities.

“Job-seeking in U.S. Public Libraries,” discussing the range of library resources available to job seekers and challenges to maintaining these services.

“Internet Connectivity in U.S. Public Libraries,” describing the varied opportunities and obstacles facing libraries in acquiring and providing high-speed Internet access in rural, suburban and urban libraries.

You can access these issues briefs here.

Source: American Library Association

Posted in Libraries and Librarianship | No Comments »

October Rankings Published: The Most Popular Downloaded eBooks and Audiobooks from Libraries Using OverDrive

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

OverDrive has updated their rankings page to reflect the most popular downloaded titles from libraries using OverDrive during the month of October.

Access the Complete List

The complete list includes the Top 10 eBooks or audiobooks in eight categories. Most audiobooks include an excerpt. You’ll find it by clicking a title link and looking on the right side of the page.

What follows are the number one audiobooks and eBooks downloaded in each of the eight categories.

This October, 2009 data comes more than 9,000 libraries that use OverDrive.

Download Audiobooks – Adult Fiction
1, The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown (Books on Tape
Two months on list and second month at #1 in this category)

Download Audiobooks – Adult Nonfiction
1. Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell (Hachette Audio)
22 months on list.

Download Audiobooks – Juvenile Fiction
1.Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer (Listening Library)
22 months on list.

Download Audiobooks – Juvenile Nonfiction
1.Night, by Elie Wiesel (Audio Bookshelf, LLC)
22 months on list.

Download eBooks – Adult Fiction
1. The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
2 months on list.

Download eBooks – Adult Nonfiction
1. Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown and Company)
22 months on list.

Download eBooks – Juvenile Fiction
1. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
22 months on list.

Download eBooks – Juvenile Nonfiction
1.Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson (Penguin USA, Inc.)
9 months on list.

Access the Complete Rankings

Source: OverDrive

Posted in E-books, Libraries and Librarianship | No Comments »

New Report from Pew: Social Isolation and New Technology: How the Internet and Mobile Phones Impact Americans’ Social Networks

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Here’s info and links to a new report released today by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Access the Complete Report ||| PDF Version

From the News Release/Summary:

People who use modern information and communication technologies have larger and more diverse social networks, according to new national survey findings that for the first time explore how people use the internet and mobile phones to interact with key family and friends.

These new finding challenge fears that use of new technologies has contributed to a long-term increase in social isolation in the United States.

The new findings from the Pew Internet & American Life Project show that, on average, the size of people’s discussion networks – those with whom people discuss important matters– is 12% larger amongst mobile phone users, 9% larger for those who share photos online, and 9% bigger for those who use instant messaging. The diversity of people’s core networks – their closest and most significant confidants – tends to be 25% larger for mobile phone users, 15% larger for basic internet users, and even larger for frequent internet users, those who use instant messaging, and those who share digital photos online.

[Snip]

Key Findings

+ Some have worried that internet use limits people’s participation in their local communities, but the Pew Internet report finds that most internet activities have little or a positive relationship to local activity. For instance, internet users are as likely as anyone else to visit with their neighbors in person. Cell phone users, those who use the internet frequently at work, and bloggers are more likely to belong to a local voluntary association, such as a youth group or a charitable organization. However, we find some evidence that use of social networking services (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn) substitutes for some neighborhood involvement.

+ Challenging the assumption that internet use encourages social contact across vast distances, this study shows that many internet technologies are used as much for local contact as they are for distant communication.

+ Internet use does not pull people away from public places. Rather, use is associated with frequent visits to places such as parks, cafes, and restaurants, the kinds of locales where research shows that people are likely to encounter a wider array of people and diverse points of view. Indeed, internet access has become a common component of people’s experiences within many public spaces. For instance, of those Americans who have been in a library within the past month, 38% logged on to the internet while they were there, 18% have done so in a café or coffee shop.

+ People’s mobile phone use outpaces their use of landline phones as a primary method of staying in touch with their closest family and friends, but face-to-face contact still trumps all other methods. On average in a typical year, people have in-person contact with their core network ties on about 210 days; they have mobile-phone contact on 195 days of the year; landline phone contact on 125 days; text-messaging contact on the mobile phone 125 days; email contact 72 days; instant messaging contact 55 days; contact via social networking websites 39 days; and contact via letters or cards on 8 days.

More After a Click
(more…)

Posted in Social Media, Technology and Internet, Wireless Web and Search | No Comments »

EBSCOhost and Summon from Serials Solutions To Offer Mobile Friendly Versions

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Thanks to ResourceShelf friend (he’s also quoted in the piece), Gerry McKiernan at Iowa State University, for letting us know about a new LJ article by Josh Hedro that discusses new mobile mobile friendly versions of Summon from Serial Solutions and EBSCOhost.

Summon from Serials Solutions

The Summon mobile interface should provide students and researchers most of the same features and options as the regular search interface, including access to both local materials and electronic resources available from the library. The mobile search site will debut today in time for the opening of the Charleston Conference in Charleston, SC.

The mobile search option is an alternative interface, [our emphasis] not a separate downloadable app.

UPDATE: Here is the official news release from Summon regarding their mobile service.

EBSCOhost

EBSCO will soon release EBSCOhost Mobile; according to a post on EBSCO’s support site, “the interface will include many features for an enhanced mobile experience, is optimized for internet-enabled handheld devices, and qualified for all the major SmartPhones (such as iPhone, Blackberry and Treo).”

ResourceShelf has also learned:

+ Mobile functionality can be turned on or off with desired options by the staff who handle online databases

+ The mobile service will be available for all EBSCOhost databases that use the EBSCOhost interface (there are a few that don’t),

+ A library can select which databases to “mobilize”

+ A persistent link is then available which can be placed on the library web site (portal)

+ Another method allows users with an id password to go to new short urls

The article goes on to ask an essential question. Will searchers utilize these tools? Gerry McKiernan says:

“At this point [mobile-specific searches] are supplemental, or impulse, such that if you’re on the road and you want to search a particular resource … you could do that,” he said. But, he added, “The mobile phone is becoming an all-in-one tool for a variety of functions,” and as that happens, users will come to expect some kind of mobile interface to the tools they’re grown accustomed to using.

Source: Library Journal

Posted in Information Industry, Libraries and Librarianship, Wireless Web and Search | No Comments »

ProQuest Releases Digitized Archive of the Detroit Free Press (1831-1922)

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

The Detroit Free Press joins many other newspapers as part of ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Overall, the collection contains more than 25 million pages dating back to 1764.

From the News Release:

News from the Motor City — from before statehood to the American Civil War to the birth and growth of the automotive industry — is now available in ProQuest Historical Newspapers, the definitive digital archive offering cover-to-cover, full-text, and full-image articles for significant newspapers dating back to the 18th Century. The Detroit Free Press (1831?1922) provides one of the deepest historical files and comprehensive coverage of the social, political and economic development of the Midwest, and offers new avenues into understanding the history of Detroit and Michigan.

Here’s a list of ProQuest Historic Newspapers:

Atlanta Constitution—1868-1945
The Baltimore Sun—1837-1985
The Boston Globe—1872-1926
The Chicago Tribune—1849-1986
The Christian Science Monitor—1908-1996
Detroit Free Press—1831-1922
Hartford Courant—1764-1984
Los Angeles Times—1881-1986
The New York Times with Index—1851-2006
New York Tribune—1841-1922
San Francisco Chronicle—1865-1922
St. Louis Post-Dispatch—1874-1922
Wall Street Journal—1889-1992
Washington Post—1877-1993

International Newspapers:

The Guardian & The Observer—1791-2003
Irish Times & Weekly Irish Times—1859-2008
The Scotsman—1817-1950

Black Newspapers:

Atlanta Daily World—1931-2003
The Baltimore Afro-American—1893-1988
Cleveland Call & Post—1934-1991
Chicago Defender—1910-1975
Los Angeles Sentinel—1934-2005
New York Amsterdam News—1922-1993
The Norfolk Journal & Guide—1921-2003
The Philadelphia Tribune—1912-2001

Source: ProQuest

Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Information Industry | No Comments »

File Sharing and Academic Journals

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Do similar networks exist for other disciplines. Our guess, yes they do. Why do medical professionals and students have to swap articles illegally when they likely have access to them via a academic or public library? We wonder if ease of use (no searching required) and lack of awareness of what their library offers come into play.

From a Blog Post:

A new study, published in the Internet Journal of Medical Informatics, looks at a site aimed specifically at medical professionals and students and finds that thousands of people were obtaining non-open-access materials free of charge. The article says that in a six-month period of watching the unnamed site, nearly 5,500 articles were exchanged, costing journals about $700,000 in that time, or about $1.4-million a year.

The site had 127,626 registered users, who during the study period put in requests for 6,587 journals. There was an 83 percent success rate in finding the article. Nature and Science were the most commonly swapped journals.

Access the Complete Study (via The Internet Journal of Medical Informatics)

Source: Wired Campus (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Posted in Scholarly Publishing | No Comments »

New Keys for the Diffusion of Information in Social Networks

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

A brief but very interesting read!

From the Summary:

Information in social networks moves at an unexpectedly slow pace, with the exception of some mass events. This is one of the main conclusions of a study carried out by researchers at Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) and IBM, who analyze how the behaviour of internauts influences the spread of information through Internet.

The spread of information in social networks, something of crucial importance in awareness and marketing campaigns or the spreading of rumours and viruses, for example, is largely determined by the great heterogeneity of internauts in their response time, according to the researchers. Traditional models estimated that internauts respond in approximately one day and that, as such, it took one day for information to be transmitted. However, this study, based on an actual experiment by IBM to observe and quantify the spread of business information in social networks, points out that it occurs at two speeds due to user activity. “Those who respond very quickly to e-mails, technology addicts who are always connected, are the ones responsible for spreading certain rumours or campaigns quickly via Internet,” notes Esteban Moro, professor of Mathematics at the UC3M.

Source: Carlos III University of Madrid

Posted in Information Science, Social Media | No Comments »

Cataloging Distribution Service of the Library of Congress Releases Cataloger’s Desktop 3.0

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Are you are a cataloger? (This might be of interest.) Do you know a cataloger? (Please share this post.)

From the Announcement:

Barbara Tillett, chief of the Library’s Policy and Standards Division, said “To help users make the most of the new product enhancements, the Library of Congress staff has been busy creating an array of helpful documentation.” A battery of learning aids and practical tips will be accessible shortly online, to help subscribers optimize their use of Cataloger’s Desktop 3.0. The aids include a series of webinars in both English and Spanish, free online training files, PowerPoint presentations and at-a-glance, how-to handouts.

Desktop 3.0 incorporates cutting-edge searching and navigation techniques, including fuzzy matching; finding/excluding similar resources; dynamic drill-downs; contextual analysis; search relevancy; remembering search histories; query federation; faceted search drill-downs; and a search engine that adapts to a user’s search behavior.

See Also: Learn More About Catalogers Desktop 3.0
You can also register for a 30 day free trial.

Source: Cataloging Distribution Service of the Library of Congress

Posted in Cataloging and Metadata | No Comments »

Ken Aulleta, Author of “‘Googled’: Biography Of A Company, And An Age” Chats with Terry Gross on NPR

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Noted author Ken Auletta’s new book, ‘Googled’: Biography Of A Company, And An Age, was released earlier this week and on Monday, November 2, 2009 he was interview on NPR (National Public Radio).

Linked Here You’ll Find:

+ A 30 Minute Radio Interview with Ken Auletta on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. You can listen online or download the file.

+ A Program Summary.

+ An Excerpt from the Book.

+A Text Transcript of the Radio Interview

Source: NPR
Hat Tip: All Points Blog

Posted in Information Industry, Technology and Internet, Web Search | No Comments »

Internet Archive Founder Brewster Kahle Profiled in Forbes

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Brewster Kahle has many titles. These days he’s best known as founder of the Internet Archive (home of The Wayback Machine) and founding member of the Open Content Alliance.

From the Article:

“We have to have universal access to everything, just like a library,” he says. “Do we want that under a single corporation’s control? It is openness, not corporate control, that propels capitalism.”

[Snip]

Digital libraries will shape education, creativity and our shared intellectual heritage, Kahle declares. As founder and director of the Internet Archive, Kahle has posted online digital copies of 1.7 million books, 100,000 hours of television, 200,000 video clips, 70,000 concerts and 415,000 audio recordings. All that material can be downloaded for free from the Archive’s Web site.

[Snip]

Bookserver* uses a range of open source and proprietary electronic book standards, search algorithms, editing tools and libraries. The architecture, as Kahle calls it, potentially separates manufacturers of devices from control over much of the content inside them. It also preserves the idea of the lending library–if you “check out” a volume, others cannot access it in the time allowed to you. Publishers sell their books in the system using credit cards.

The article continues with more about Google Book Search and Kahle’s background.

We were surprised not to see The Wayback Machine mentioned in the stats about the Internet Archive listed above. At the moment (and we know of nothing coming), “Wayback” is probably the best chance a researcher has to access a page no longer on the Internet. Material in “Wayback” dates back to 1996 and as of today, contains more than 150 BILLION archived pages. The Internet Archive also offers a fee-based service that helps organizations organize and archive their web content. It’s called, Archive-It.

* See Also: We Have an In-Depth Post About Bookserver on ResourceShelf
It Includes an comprehensive press review the day after the Bookserver announcement.

Source: Forbes

Posted in Archives and Special Collections, Digital Repositories, Digitization Projects, E-books, Information Industry | No Comments »

Dialog and Its RSS Feeds

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Last week Dialog announced it now has a Twitter feed.

While we were on the site the other day we came across several RSS feeds that have escaped our attention. All of the following links below point directly to the RSS feed except where noted.

+ Dialog Updated Blue Sheets
You’ll be notified as they are updated/released.

+ Database Changes
This is a new page but the RSS feed is not working. We will monitor.
“Details about new fields, reloads, and other recent and forthcoming database-specific updates.”

+ Dialog News

+ Dialog Training News
This feed has not been updated since late September.

+ Quantum2 Highlights

Quantum2 is the Dialog leadership development program for information professionals. It provides the resources to help you transform your organization…the power to lead change.

Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Information Industry | No Comments »

Nice Job: MSN Goes Live with a Preview Version of Completely Redesigned Home Page

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Direct to MSN Home Page Preview

Overall, a much improved clean look to the page and after only a few minutes on the site we found it easy to navigate.

If you want to compare the old design with the new one, here are the links:

Old Design ||| New Design

Fast Facts (via the MSN Blog)

Most significant redesign in 10 years

Cut clutter and reduced links on home page by 50%

Neighborhood news and video is part of the home page

Cool! Easy access from the homepage to Facebook, Twitter, and Windows Live services

One of the options in the settings (top right on page) allows you to change the font size

Other Notes

A Bing search box is at the top of every page.

Other tabs on the home page include:

+ Movies
+ Maps
+ Jobs
+ Popular Searches
+ Shopping

News Content is divided into categories:
News, Entertainment Sports, Money, Lifestyle
Cursor over any of them and you’ll see more options (aka things to do)

Selecting “More” offers numerous additional features including video, real estate, and shopping

Access to the “Local Edition” is located above the green bar (right side of page).You’ll find news, a clickable map, a local directory, video (if available) and lottery numbers.

Greg Sterling from SEL offers more facts analysis.

45% of Bing’s traffic comes via the MSN portal

The new MSN will roll out globally over the next several months. Interestingly the look of the MSN portal may be slightly different country to country, depending on variables unique to each local market. Microsoft also says that it will bring the new MSN experience to mobile devices as well.

Source: MSN Blog, Search Engine Land

Direct to MSN Home Page Preview

Posted in Information Industry | No Comments »

Review: What Bing Does Best

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Access the Complete Review: What Bing Does Best

It’s difficult, if not impossible to run a few or more searches and say a search database (especially a general purpose one is the best) in all situations. Not only does each search engine have its own algorithm but there are numerous variables that can come into play like experience of the searcher, number of search terms used, advanced sytax, etc.

Last night we ran several web searches (we were trying to find an article) and received better results from Bing than we did from Google. However, more searching will undoubtedly take place and it’s very possible that Google will provide better results than Bing. This is why it’s not a bad idea to use more than one search engine making sure each one has a unique database. In other words, while AltaVista and AllTheWeb are still on the web they utilize the same database that Yahoo uses. This is also why learning about and using specialty search tools is worth some of you’re already busy time. Knowing that they exist before running a search on a general engine (to find them) can save you lots of time and add plenty of value. In other words, building your own virtual reference shelf.

When reading the conclusion of an otherwise positive Bing overview, Leslie Meredith, the author of the review, says to use Google for “research” and Bing for, “images, videos, shopping, travel and gossip.” Overall, that’s good stuff for Bing. However, it’s the use Google for “research” that gets to us. How about if you’re looking for images, videos, etc. Isn’t that research too? In your opinion, what’s wrong with Bing, we will call it “research search.”

OK, enough of that. Here’s quick look at what the review has to say about Bing.

+ Positive about the new image found each day on the home page and placing your cursor at different places on the image provides background.

+ Image searching: Positive comments about the continuous scroll and the tools to focus your search.

+ Video Search: Also positive mentions how you can place your cursor on a static video image and immediately a 30 second sample is played (with audio) without having to depart the search results page.

+ Finally positive comments about shopping search (cashback program) and travel search (fare predictor).

Unfortunately, there is no mention of Bing Maps and of it’s useful imagery. The the “Bird’s Eye” view will let someone giving a speech receive and ooh and ahh from the audience. (-: We mentioned it and shared a few examples in this post from yesterday.

Access the Complete Review: What Bing Does Best

Source: Live Science

Posted in Search News, Web Search | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »