Wednesday, October 21, 2009

10 Websites to help you keep up-to-date with Scholarly Journal Contents

1. SciFeeds
Sub-titled ‘Your Life Science Magazine Rack’, which is quite a good explanation, this site lets you view the most recent contents of just over 100 life science journals. You can browse recent issues by subject (e.g. Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, etc), see the most recently updated journal Tables of Contents (TOCs), search the content of TOCs (it’s rather slow), see the most ‘popular’ articles, and if you register, you can do more. There are links to the full text of articles – access to the full text will depend on institutional or personal subscriptions.

2. ticTOCs – Journal Tables of Contents
ticTOCs covers all subjects – over 12,500 journal TOCs are included from more than 430 publishers. You can Search for journal titles, view the latest TOC for each journal, link to the full text of around 390,000 articles (where institutional or personal subscription allows), export TOC feeds to popular feedreaders, and select and save (by ticking them) journal titles in order to view future TOCs (You need to Register (free) to ensure your ‘MyTOCs’ are permanently saved). Heriot-Watt University was one of the partners involved in developing this service, which was funded by JISC.

3. CiteULike Current Issues
CiteULike currently has details of over 13,000 journals. You can search or browse for journal titles, and then scan recent articles in these journals. If you know about RSS feeds, you can get a CiteULike feed for each journal TOC. Access to the full text will depend on institutional or personal subscriptions.

4. FeedNavigator
From the University of Helsinki, FeedNavigator downloads medical RSS feeds published by numerous websites and aggregates their content into a single feed, latest news first. This gives access to over 4,000 medical sources, including numerous many Tables of Contents, which are updated continuously. You can also get a list of journals covered. Access to the full text will depend on institutional or personal subscriptions.

5. MyJournals.org
Displays details of the latest articles in issues of over 570 popular science journals. You can also select from various subject areas. Access to the full text will depend on institutional or personal subscriptions. There’s also a Twitter feed of new items.

6. Zetoc RSS
Zetoc RSS enables you to set up RSS feeds for journals included in the Zetoc service. You can find over 27,000 journal TOC RSS feeds by journal name or by words or phrases in journal titles. Zetoc includes details of more journals than the other services mentioned above. Zetoc RSS is free to use for members of JISC-sponsored UK higher and further education institutions and research councils. It is also available to all of NHS England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A number of other institutions are eligible to subscribe to Zetoc.

7. My Favorite Journals
You can select journals of interest from over 10,000 titles, and these are then added to ‘My Favorite Journals’, then you can select any of these favourites to view the latest Table of Contents. Access to the full text will depend on institutional or personal subscriptions.

8. jOPML
If you know about RSS and OPML, then you can use this site to get journal Tables of Contents RSS feeds as OPML files, and then, for example, load these into your favourite feedreader. Access to the full text will depend on institutional or personal subscriptions.

9. Ebling Library, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have produced a list of journal feeds by topic consisting of RSS feeds for 3000+ biomedical and health sciences. You can view the latest Table of Contents for each journal.

10. SUNCAT: Serials Union CATalogue for the UK research community includes links to TOCs, where available. The TOCs appear on the SUNCAT search result screen and at the top of the full record display.


Monday, October 12, 2009

Knowledge Managers



































Librarianship as a profession is concerned with storage, organising and maintenance of books, papers and journals. But the modern librarian, instead of merely cataloguing books and journals, has become the nerve centre of intellectual development of a nation. As India moves towards becoming a knowledge-based society with a proliferation of learning and research institutes, the demand and importance of library science is growing rapidly. As a result, job opportunities are on the upswing. With the advent of information technology, the traditional concept is being revised to include new-age tools of information like CDs, Internet, e-libraries etc.“Today, a good librarian must be IT-savvy, a good manager and should be able to read the mind of every member,” says Dr VK Anand, librarian, Panjab University, Chandigarh, who is currently on a visit to Cambridge University to deliver a talk on radio-frequency identification technology (RFID), a tagging system used in modern libraries.
"Someone wanting to take up library science should have a basic knowledge of all major subjects, a methodical approach and organising ability,” says Bipin Kumar, manager, British Library, Chandigarh. “The librarian should arrange information (books, journals, CDs) in such a way that everything should be at the reader’s fingertips,” says Gurpreet Singh, chief librarian of CT Group of Institutions, Jalandhar.A librarian today needs to steer the set-up in a direction where people will want to come and spend their time at the library and leave with a feeling of wanting more. Accomplishing this requires more than a degree. “The qualification will get you through the door, but when we talk to a candidate, we look for that creative spark, lateral thinking,” says Mike Welch, director, young audiences and future leaders programme/customer experience, British Council, New Delhi. The modern library now actively caters to people and their needs — the British Council library has classified its books under two broad categories, ‘Be successful’ and ‘Be inspired’, separating material on management, medicine etc from fashion, films, art etc. This is the kind of innovative approach that a librarian is expected to come up with to draw readers in. Jobs are available in public and government libraries, universities, professional and other academic institutions, news and broadcasting agencies, private libraries and libraries meant for special categories of people. They can also work in museums, galleries, archives, information and documentation centres. Some library technicians are self-employed as researchers, consultants, cataloguers etc on a contract basis. Inputs from Sanchita Guha.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
As information experts, librarians find, collect and organise information, and implement systems that make information easy to access. Librarians have a variety of roles, depending on where they work. A librarian has to ensure that a person gets the relevant information in the minimum time with the least effort. The modern librarian may also devise ways to draw more people into trying out new material, thus becoming a knowledge manager
CLOCK WORK
9.30 am: Reach office
10 am: Meet library staff
11 am: Check e-mail and updates
11.30 am: Respond to any queries
1 pm: Lunch
1.30 pm: Go over list of requisitions
4.30 pm: Inspect the library
5.30 pm: Check the day’s transactions
6.30 pm: Leave work

THE PAYOFF
Entry level: Rs 1 lakh-1.5 lakh per annum
Middle level: Rs 1.8 lakh-Rs 2.4 lakh per annum
Senior level: Rs 3 lakh or more per annumIn
government organisations, salary will depend on the grade and scale.
Skills.
Must be a team player.
Command over infotech.
Good managerial skills.
Ability to analyse readers’ needs.
A knack for listening .
Knowledge of major topics.

How do i get there?
Graduates from any stream can take a Bachelor’s degree in library science, a one-year course. The Master’s degree course in library science is also of one year. There are also diploma and certificate courses. The courses are Bachelor of Library & Information Science (BLISc), Bachelor of Library Science (BLSc), Certificate Course in Library Science, Diploma in Archives & Documentation, Diploma in Library Science (DLSc), MPhil, Master of Library & Information Science (MLISc), Master of Library Science (MLSc) and PhD Institutes & urls.
National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resource (NISCAIR), New Delhi www.niscair.res.in.
Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre (INSDOC), New Delhi www.insdoc.org. Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi www.jmi.nic.in
Banaras Hindu University www.bhu.ac.in/banaras.html.
Aligarh Muslim University www.amu.ac.in.
Kurukshetra University www.kukinfo.com.
Panjab University www.puchd.ac.in.
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) www.ignou.ac.in.
Madurai Kamarj University www.mkuniversity.org.
Andhra University www.andhrauniversity.info
Pros & Cons.
Career progression largely depends on one’s performance.
Opportunity to meet people and develop contacts.
Must never lose track of current events.
The hours may be long, depending on the set-upDeveloping a user’s skillsA practitioner gives a glimpse of the changing role of a librarian.
How do you feel the profile of a librarian has changed over the years?
I do believe that the profile and role has changed dramatically, especially in the present century with application of information and communication technology (ICT). Till the last century, the role of a librarian was confined to the information needs of its users. Now it is not limited to providing information, but has been extended to developing the professional and personal skills of library users through activities like workshops, training programmes etc.
How will you define the impact on the profession after the advent of computer?Computer technology has changed the face and services of libraries across the world. In India, its impact was felt after the 1990s on a larger scale. Till the end of the 1980s, libraries were operating its services manually, which required more time and staff effort. But with the IT application, libraries are able to meet the needs of the users better.
How should an aspiring librarian present him/herself to an interviewer?
An aspiring librarian should have the spark and zeal to think from the customers’ point of view. They should have the right kind of attitude to deliver the best to make readers feel successful and inspired in all activities of their life, e.g. design workshops, quizzes, displays, activities around special days of the year etc. A library should not give a feeling of a very serious and dull place; it should be a place where one wants to spend time.
Now that you are heading a library, what kind of ideas and practices do you try to incorporate in your team?
Being a librarian, one should motivate his/her team to come up with ideas and try new things. A librarian should have regular brainstorming sessions with his team and work out new ways to attract customers and build a better collection.

R Vijay Shankar Interviewed by Sanchita Guha








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