Comments for the Undergraduate Science Librarian

Comment on Hiding the costs of information by Bonnie J. M. Swoger

Bonnie J. M. Swoger — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:55:40 +0000

Christina – I completely agree about providing more than just cost when working with faculty on these issues. I try to bring usage data from the past few years, as well as information about availability in other sources. I view these conversations as collaborations between the faculty and the library. They bring subject expertise and gut knowledge of which journals are important and useful, we bring data about what we are actually using, how much it costs and what changes would make the least impact.

Comment on Hiding the costs of information by Christina Pikas

Christina Pikas — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:06:04 +0000

I actually like the “free to you” marker (is that Sage?) because typically our customers think *everything* is free; that is, until they try to go home and use it and it’s “broken.”

It is super important to engage with customers when making cuts, but I try to have more than just the money data at hand when I do so. Other things like the number of usages are good to present.

Comment on Hiding the costs of information by drgunn

drgunn — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:26:53 +0000

Nick Shockey and I talked a little while ago about developing a browser plugin that would show the researcher the true cost of everything that he accessed “for free”. The problem is actually getting that data. We figured we could start with the article download price since that’s all that’s publicly available, but the other problem would be getting people to install it.

Haven’t gone much past the original thought, but thought I would put it out there.

Comment on Hiding the costs of information by Cathy

Cathy — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:20:08 +0000

This is definitely something librarians need to get better at. I’m making an effort this year.
I’m up front with the costs of database access. I tell my students that their tuition and fees are what pays for the access we have. If they want to get their money’s worth, they’d better use library resources. I also discuss costs with faculty when doing collections development.

A few years ago, we had to do a round of database cuts. We had to eliminate certain ongoing subscription databases, but at the same time, we had other money to spend on one-time only purchases. There was a lot of confusion surrounding that distinction.

There’s also the differing costs of books. Some faculty send me requests to purchase used, paperback copies, thinking that this is a way for them to get more bang for their buck. Then I have to explain our collection development policies and how we buy in hardback, and the cost of repair, rebinding, etc. Sometimes faculty do prices off Amazon or with coupons, which don’t always correlate to what our jobbers charge.
And then there’s ebooks.

Comment on Tracking down a citation shouldn’t be this hard by Rob Lopresti

Rob Lopresti — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:53:58 +0000

I just blundered onto this entry,; don’t know how I missed it in October. Terrific example of the frustration and joys of our biz. Thanks for sharing, as they say.

I am actually writing an article about citations that appear to copy wrong citations without looking at the original. (You might also want to see this thing I wrote: http://www.springerlink.com/content/p4x37p06869w5020 )

But I specially want to recommend an article that a librarian named Frank Place wrote 96 years ago. http://tinyurl.com/6ooafgp

“Articles that mean nothing are ascribed to mythical authors; journals are quoted that never will be published, and dates are indicated that none of us will ever live to see.” -Frank Place

Comment on Books I read in 2009 by Books I read in 2011 « the Undergraduate Science Librarian

Books I read in 2011 « the Undergraduate Science Librarian — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:53:14 +0000

[...] also: Books I read in 2010 and Books I read in 2009 Share this:EmailPrintTwitterFacebookMoreDiggRedditStumbleUponLike this:LikeBe the first to like [...]

Comment on Books I read in 2010 by Books I read in 2011 « the Undergraduate Science Librarian

Books I read in 2011 « the Undergraduate Science Librarian — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:53:10 +0000

[...] also: Books I read in 2010 and Books I read in 2009 Share this:EmailPrintTwitterFacebookMoreDiggRedditStumbleUponLike [...]

Comment on Why scholars cite the things they cite – the real reasons by Joanne

Joanne — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:51:56 +0000

Thanks for this. Citing becomes so automatic, I didn’t even think to break it down to the citation reflecting “I agree” and “You are wrong.”

But you are right!

I am paying “blog calls” to each @scio12 attendee to say “Hi” and give your blog a shoutout on twitter. I look forward to seeing you in January!

Comment on Will this post be cited more often? Non-content factors that influence citation rates. by Ninth Level Ireland » Blog Archive » Will this post be cited more often? Non-content factors that influence citation rates

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:08:42 +0000

[...] “For many researchers, the citation is a make-or-break concept. Most ranking algorithms use citations to determine a journal’s influence or impact. Publication in ‘high impact’ journals is often the key to tenure and promotion, and the number of times an article has been cited is often widely touted in tenure and promotion packets …” (more) [...]

Comment on Some fun for the holidays by Shawn

Shawn — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:00:30 +0000

Glad you like our book tree at Gleeson Library