With fancy new software developments and growth in both the richness of content and delivery options for information resources, the Database Marketplace 2010 is a feast for buyers. Unfortunately, institutional budget cuts may force more of a famine mentality--with belt-tightening for most, and only purchases that are life-sustaining being served…

The 2009 database marketplace is bounded by two extremes: massive digitization projects to increase access, and retrenchment owing to budget worries. Picture medieval monks hunched over their desks in the scriptorium as they labor to copy manuscripts. A 21st-century version of this activity is being repeated daily in the world's libraries and…

Social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies led the social whirl of the information industry. Publishers and librarians tried to keep their products and services relevant by mixing authoritative content with user involvement, but that was not enough. Enhancing interfaces, adding new forms of content, and making strategic acquisitions--all are…

Virtual reference services seem a natural extension of libraries digital collections and the emphasis on access to the library anytime, anywhere. If patrons use the library from home, it makes sense to provide them with person-to-person online reference. The Library of Congress (LC), OCLC, and several large library systems have developed and…

Considers the increase in the variety of electronic reference options in academic libraries based on surveys of ARL (Association of Research Libraries) members. Discusses online catalogs; CD-ROM databases; World Wide Web access; and changes in library instruction, including formal instruction, point-of-use instruction, and Internet instruction.…

Librarians must get the most for their money and look to technology for new solutions. Several respondents think poor budgets mean more reliance on online databases and electronic full texts with less purchase of print. Companies that produce both media are likely to continue as long as there is a market for both, but they are gearing up for the…

Discusses reference-use statistics in academic libraries. Highlights include new functions and resources, limits of traditional counting methods, ranking the sources, the Internet's impact on instruction, computer-assisted versus one-on-one instruction, and creative solutions to reference services. (AEF)

Suggests that digital resources and telecommunications give librarians the best chance in decades to reexamine and achieve many of their fundamental goals. Discusses the goals of providing the right information in appropriate formats, keeping the intellectual record, providing personalized information services, and serving as educators, and cites…

With wireless connectivity and small laptop computers, people are no longer tied to the desktop for online searching. Handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) offer even greater portability. So far, the most common uses of PDAs are as calendars and address books, or to interface with a laptop or desktop machine. More advanced PDAs, like…

Summarizes four options for libraries that want to offer end user searching: end user systems (Bibliographic Retrieval Service's Afterdark, DIALOG's Knowledge Index); front-end microcomputer software (Sci-Mate Searcher, Pro-Search, WILSEARCH); gateway services (EASYNET); and local databases (now available on floppy and compact discs). Advantages…

Discusses the impact of Internet access on library reference services based on 1994 interviews with almost two dozen university librarians. Highlights include library policy, overcrowded workstations and methods of controlling use, recreational use of terminals that interferes with more formal library use, restriction as a form of censorship, and…

Discussion of academic library instruction focuses on helping users learn online resources. Topics include science instruction; integrating short, subject-specific online instruction into the classroom; virtual tours; long-term approaches; integrating online modules into undergraduate courses; corporate librarians' efforts; and vendors' Web-based…

Open access publishing is a hot topic today. But open access publishing can have many different definitions, and pros and cons vary with the definitions. Open access publishing is especially attractive to companies and small colleges or universities that are likely to have many more readers than authors. A downside is that a membership fee sounds…

Discussion of electronic information access in libraries focuses on five areas that impact quality and cost: (1) hardware, including networking, graphics, and full-text capabilities; (2) software; (3) access and utilization, including Internet and instruction and training; (4) licensing, including suggestions for publishers as well as librarians;…

Provides information to help special librarians make decisions concerning scientific electronic journals. Among the topics are trends in traditional scholarly publishing, including changing patterns in information seeking and journal price increases and their consequences; and the complex nature of electronic journals, including archiving, access,…