The problem of how to rank academic journals in the communication field (human interaction, mass communication, speech, and rhetoric) is one of practical importance to scholars, university administrators, and librarians, yet there is no methodology that covers the field's journals comprehensively and objectively. This article reports a new ranking…

Like many libraries, Seton Hall University Libraries has suffered budget cuts that forced a reduction in serial subscriptions. As science librarian, I report on my efforts to streamline subscriptions and to address the question "Why are science journals so expensive?" Our science journals are significantly more expensive than journals in…

As waves of grim economic news wash over state and federal governments here and abroad, libraries of all types and sizes are bracing for budget cuts the likes of which have not been seen in three generations. Unlike most financial crises, this one is ubiquitous, with all but a handful of states in the red and getting redder. Globally, the meltdown…

Purpose: The purpose of this piece is to provide a snapshot of the first issue of Program. Design/methodology/approach: This is a reproduction of a historical document, the first issue of the news sheet. Findings: Program was published to assist librarians in learning what was possible in the field of computing use in libraries and to provide a…

There's no doubt about it: magazines can be a nuisance. They're easy to rip off, flimsy, and costly. The dogeared, thumb-smudged pages, missing subscription cards, and already-solved crossword puzzles and mazes (completed confidently in ink!) are sure signs that kids find magazines irresistible. Young children and teens love to flip casually…

This article discusses how Phil Davis, Life Sciences Bibliographer at Cornell University, found duplicate articles in Emerald/MCB University Press journals. According to Davis, he has found hundreds of examples of the same article published in more than one journal in at least 73 Emerald/MCB journals over 30 years. This article gives the details…

This timely book provides a foundation in library and electronic research in the fields of nursing and allied health. It explains essential sources and techniques that can be used by nursing students, healthcare researchers, and nurse practitioners who need to gather information independently. Pathways to Nursing covers both physical libraries and…

In the last year the anger and frustration simmering in libraries for a decade or more over the growing dysfunction of the scholarly communications system found a voice, a cause, and a cadre of allies around the globe. This time, the voices that said, "No" to the Big Deals were those of faculty members and academic officers at some very…

Presents method for familiarizing intermediate foreign language student with grammatical concepts through library research. Students are assigned to seek examples of language presented in class using recent periodical literature. Particularly beneficial for students intending to become foreign language teachers. (Author/BK)

The Carolina Consortium came into being for one purpose: to conclude deals that would allow the sharing of both the costs and the content of a large number of academic journals from three major publishers--Wiley, Springer, and Blackwell. In just a few months--and without any central authority, funding, or administrative overhead--librarians from…

Libraries and catalogers face choices in the treatment of the growing collections of electronic journals. Policies issued by CONSER and the Library of Congress allow libraries to edit existing print records to accommodate information pertaining to the electronic versions (single record option) or to create new records for them. The discussion…

Like any well-run company deciding on what products and services to offer, a good library should pay attention to customer demand when it is building its business reference collection. What kind of information do business patrons want? Most are looking for company and industry details: a corporate address or name of an officer, financial data for…

Provides an annotated bibliography of 42 English and Russian language periodicals and books about Russian libraries published from 1987 to 1994 intended for non-Slavic librarians planning to travel to Russia for a work/culture or study experience. An appendix describes visits to three Russian libraries. (Author/LRW)

Librarians, through their professional associations, have long been committed to the social justice principle embedded in the concept of "free access to information". External censorship challenges to library collections threaten this principle overtly. However, censorship can also occur in libraries in various covert and often unconscious ways.…

In this article, the author talks about e-zines, also identified as ezines. E-zines are online resources most commonly referred to as magazines or "zines" (print-world lingo for do-it-yourself publications) for short. Even though delivered over the Web, they are considered publications with small circulation and are primarily delivered over the…