Journal of Web Librarianship

Special Issue for 4(3): "Library Intranets 2.0"

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:32:29 GMT

The Journal of Web Librarianship is pleased to announce an upcoming special issue, "Library Intranets 2.0." Manuscript proposals are now being accepted!

Web 2.0 tools have dramatically increased opportunities for communication and collaboration in all areas of our online lives. Library literature abounds with accounts of how libraries are successfully using these tools to connect with users, but how are librarians and library staff leveraging 2.0 technologies to improve internal communication? This special peer-reviewed issue of the Journal of Web Librarianship focuses on use of 2.0 tools, technologies, and philosophies for creating organizational synergy via Web 2.0 intranets in all kinds of libraries.

Nina McHale, Assistant Professor and Web Librarian at the University of Colorado Denver, will be guest editing this special issue. She has experience in reference and systems, and prior to coming to Auraria Library, she held academic positions at Howard Community College (Columbia, Maryland) and Georgetown University. Her research interests include Web and Library 2.0, usability testing, user-centered design, and federated searching. She holds a joint MA/MSLS in English and library science from The Catholic University of America.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

-identifying/creating best practices for internal information sharing (formats, workflow, access control, etc.)
-2.0 tools for improving internal communication
-use of open source software, i.e., Drupal, MediaWiki, for library intranets
-use of proprietary products, i.e., Microsoft SharePoint
-migrating intranets, managing content
-failed intranets: lessons learned
-2.0 buy-in and staff training
-spanning physical distances: connecting consortium members, branches, etc.

Query letters and preliminary proposals are welcome if potential authors would like to discuss their ideas with the editors. Please submit queries and manuscripts to guest editor Nina McHale at jwl.special@gmail.com. Please refer to the JWL web site, http://www.lib.jmu.edu/org/jwl for Instructions for Authors.

Timeline:
November 1, 2009 - Manuscript submissions due.
January 2010 - Authors will receive preliminary notices and/or peer-review comments
March 2010 - Revisions due for accepted manuscripts

The Journal of Web Librarianship
Nina McHale, Special Issue Editor
Jody Condit Fagan, Editor

Email: jwl.special@gmail.com
Website: http://www.lib.jmu.edu/org/jwl/

Marketing Today's Academic Library: A Bold New Approach to Communicating with Students

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:08:25 GMT

Check out JWL columnist Brian Matthews' new book, on sale now from ALA Editions:
Marketing Today's Academic Library: A Bold New Approach to Communicating with Students
[review]

Computers in Libraries 2009

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:57:09 GMT

I'm at Computers in Libraries 2009! So many great topics. If you're not here and want to feel part of the buzz, follow the CIL 2009 hashtag on twitter!

LIS Editors web site: resources for authors

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:02:19 GMT

A group of Library & Information Science journal editors began meeting at ALA conferences to discuss issues of common interest. The group now has a web site, which has resources for authors.

The Library Web Site of the Future

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:01:25 GMT

Admittedly, I am tired of reading articles designed to stir up hornets' nests, and this is one. "Now is the time to let this ship sink to its watery grave" -- is this kind of hyperbole really necessary? And it ill supports the author's gist, that library web sites should shift their emphasis (not sink). Case in point, in the middle of this article, Bell admits library web sites have their uses (marketing, news), just not the ones most libraries currently put them to (content portals) which should be moved to course web sites and other useful locations.

"The Library Web Site of the Future," By Steven J. Bell
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2009/02/17/bell

Looking for what's next: Is it time to start talking about Library 2.1?

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:59:55 GMT

I am pleased to announce that Social Eyes, the column by Brian Mathews, has a new preprint available on the JWL web site, "Looking for what's next: Is it time to start talking about Library 2.1?" Check out Brian's other great columns while you're there:

JWL 3(2): Looking for what’s next: Is it time to start talking about Library 2.1?[.doc]
JWL 3(1): Social Software and the Search for the Holy Grail[.doc]
JWL 2(4): Twitter & the Library: Thoughts on the Syndicated Lifestyle [.doc]

The Journal of Web Librarianship is now on Informaworld!

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:33:21 GMT

JWL is pleased to announce that its online version is now hosted on Taylor and Francis' electronic journal platform, Informaworld! Subscribe to the journal's RSS feed to receive table of contents updates, get reprints, or become a subscriber!

Citing unusual sources

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:02:01 GMT

As a journal editor, I do get asked citation questions from time to time. So far, no one has asked me how to cite alien mind transmissions. If you have such a question or similar, please enjoy the humor at the Postmodern Language Association's "Newest Rulings on Alternative Source Citing," http://www.pmla.org/altsource.html

Social Eyes preprints now available

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:12:27 GMT

Considering its timely nature, JWL is now posting preprints of Social Eyes online as soon as they are submitted to production. This means the entire world can read Brian Mathews' column for several weeks before it comes out in print. Enjoy the upcoming column from volume2, issue 4, "Twitter & the Library: Thoughts on the Syndicated Lifestyle," at http://www.lib.jmu.edu/org/jwl/socialeyes.aspx.

Google Books and the Google Library Project Settlement

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:08:11 GMT

On October 28, 2008, Google, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), and the Authors Guild reached a settlement agreement concerning Google’s scanning of copyrighted works.The Association of Research Libraries has prepared a helpful guide to the implications for libraries:

A Guide for the Perplexed: Libraries & the Google Library Project Settlement (Nov. 13, ‘08)

Forthcoming in JWL 2(4)

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:45:33 GMT

ARTICLES

"Designing Search: Effective Search Interfaces for Academic Library Web Sites." - Susan Teague-Rector and James Ghaphery

"Assessing the Effectiveness of Online Library Instruction with Finance Students." -Curt Friehs and Cindy Craig

"21st Century Reader's Aids." -Michael M. Smith

"Searching for a New Way to Reach Patrons: A Search Engine Optimization Pilot Project at Binghamton University." - Erin E. Rushton, Martha Daisy Kelehan, and Marcy A. Strong

"Reviewing Digital Scholarship: The Need for Discipline-Based Peer Review" by Jeanne Cross

COMMUNICATIONS

"The Library Web Site: Collaborative Content Creation and Management." -Robert Slater

"Predicting Web Trends for Web Services Librarians." -Steven Ovadia

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
Global Connections: The Memory of the Netherlands, by Sarah Beasley and Candice Kail

SOCIAL EYES
Twitter & the Library: Thoughts on the Syndicated Lifestyle, by Brian Mathews

REVIEWS
Readings on Librarianship and the Web, edited by Lisa
Ennis and Nicole Mitchell. JWL is pleased to welcome Lisa and Nicole
as the new reviews section editors with issue 3(1)!

Call for Book Reviewers & Announcing a New Reviews Editor: Journal of Web Librarianship

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:42:43 GMT

Please excuse cross postings!

The Journal of Web Librarianship is pleased to announce Lisa Ennis and Nicole Mitchell as new co-editors of the reviews section beginning with volume 3, issue 1.

Lisa is the Systems Librarian at UAB’s Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences. She received her M.A. in History from Georgia College & State University and her M.S. in Information Sciences from the University of Tennessee. Nicole is a reference librarian at UAB’s Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences. She received her M.A. in History from Georgia College & State University and her M.L.I.S. from the University of Alabama.

We are currently seeking contributors to the reviews section!

The Journal of Web Librarianship scope, which extends to the Reviews section, includes:

* web page design
* usability testing of library or library-related sites
* cataloging or classification of Web information
* international issues in web librarianship
* scholars' use of the web
* information architecture
* RSS feeds, podcasting, blogs, and other 2.0 technologies,
* search engines
* the history of libraries and the web
* emerging and future aspects of web librarianship.

New reviewers, including MLIS students and recent graduates, are welcome to apply. If you are interested, please email Lisa and Nicole at jwl.reviews@gmail.com with a copy of your resume, statement of interest, and a writing sample (preferably of a review).

Journal of Web Librarianship Moving to Informaworld!

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:48:12 GMT

Beginning in November 2008, Taylor & Francis will begin to load journal titles formerly published by Haworth Press to www.informaworld.com. Feeds provided to link resolver intermediaries will include links to Haworth titles. Taylor & Francis expects for all Haworth content to be available on informaworld by mid-December. The Haworth Press site will run in tandem with informaworld until 30th March 2009, after which date the site will be closed.

In most cases, institutional online access should be transferred automatically to your institution's informaworld account. T&F will send emails once all content is loaded and while dual hosting is in effect. Report any anomalies to the informaworld support team at support@informaworld.com.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson ... and web librarianship?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:56:21 GMT

I'm a huge Neal Stephenson fan, and early this morning I finished his recent work, Anathem. As usual, he tackles big concepts in a big way, and not surprisingly, with implications for our information world. The biggest takeaways are for the information world in general, with ideas about how time affects information flow, information relevance, and information importance.

For web librarianship, the thought-sparks are interesting, but less far-reaching: his vision of the "reticulum" which might be a future, other-world variant of our Internet, and the designated class of people (Itas) who use it. The Itas and the common folk in the book ("extramuros") all carry "jeejahs," which can be thought of as other-world descendents of our mobile devices.

In my enthusiasm for Neal, and knowing he is keen on libraries and librarians, I'm actually considering a special issue that treats connections between his ideas and web librarianship in general. Who knows -- maybe he'd even write an introduction!

Taylor & Francis journals are now members of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:33:16 GMT

Taylor & Francis has bought a corporate subscription for all its journals to become members of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Membership in COPE will enhance the partnership between editor and publisher in upholding ethical standards and combating infringements of publication ethics. COPE was founded 10 years ago by a group of medical journal editors concerned about publication misconduct (e.g. plagiarism, attempted or actual redundant publication, attempts to pass off fraudulent data, unethical research, and breaches of confidentiality)

JWL 2(2/3) due out next week

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:38:05 GMT

I am pleased to announce that the special double issue of JWL on library web sites: usability and evaluation, edited by Dr. Amanda Spink and Dr. Helen Partridge, is scheduled to be mailed out next week!

Notice regarding the JWL Reviews section

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:59:12 GMT

If you have written an unpublished book review or are seeking information about the Reviews section, please email the editor at jweblib@gmail.com.

The Kindle is a Prius

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:43:31 GMT

I have a Toyota Prius, so being a librarian I looked up Prius to find out what it means -- "that which comes before." And I totally got it: The Prius is not the car of the future. It is the John the Baptist to some future Jesus. The Prius comes before, to pave the way for the true future car.

I recently got to try an Amazon Kindle, courtesy of my institution, who bought several for us to experiment with. If you want a real review, check out Gizmodo's Kindle Review. What I find far more interesting than the Kindle's current incarnation is the entity or system which will come next.
What excited me most about the Kindle was looking at my home library and thinking about being able to take it with me on an airplane - or to the office - or anywhere. No more sacrificing my reading choice based on weight and size of book. I am not a gadgety girl; I don't like small screens; I don't like reading online. I like paper books very much. But the Kindle's display really is that awesome, and it is unobtrusive and controllable, like a book. When you turn it on, it opens to the last page you left, just like a book. So it opened my eyes.

One day I will have my home library on a server. I will have a digital ID so I can authenticate to all that I own. I will have a superlight device that can grab my texts via broadband, so that no matter where I am, I can crack open Cryptonimicon or look up the first line of Anna Karenina. And it will be able to read any of these out loud in a voice of my choosing. An alarm clock / snooze feature would be nice. It will be both my library and my storyteller.

Two Kinds of Power

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:27:20 GMT

At the American Library Association Annual conference, Joe Janes threw out a verbal cite to the intriguing title: "Two Kinds of Power," which Google told me was an essay by Patrick Wilson. I'm sure some will think me slow to discover this gem's relevance for today - but the copy I got through ILL from the Library of Virginia was last checked out 35 years ago, so I'm not the only slow one. The sparks of inspiration were a-flying as words from 1968 seemed to tie into Google's mission and beyond.

What are the two kinds of power? I'll tell you, but you still won't know unless you read the book.
Descriptive and Exploitative.

Told you so. Why else you should read this book:

You think today's problems are unique to today's technology (wrong!)
You are trying to wrap your head around what kind of information system library users should provide
You need a theoretical framework for a new library system you're developing
You're writing specs for a new library system
You take delight in ideas ahead of their time
You're looking for something to really make you think.

JWL special issue on Library Web Sites: Usability and Evaluation: TOC

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:43:47 GMT

I am so pleased to announce the table of contents for the upcoming JWL special issue on Library Web Sites: Usability and Evaluation
edited by Professor Amanda Spink and Dr. Helen Partridge. This will be JWL 2(2/3).: Table of Contents

Toward a User-Centered Academic Library Home Page, Nina McHale
Card Sorting Usability Tests of the WMU Libraries’ Web Site, Michael Whang
Assessing Library Instruction Through Web Site Usability, Remi Castonguay
Usability of the Journal Finder Interface, Beth Ellington
Measuring Law Library Catalog Website Usability: A Web Analytic Approach, Marjorie Crawford and Wei Fang
User-Centered Design in Practice: the Brown University Experience, Sarah Bordac and Jean Rainwater
Focus Groups and Usability Testing in Redesigning an Academic Library’s Website, Bonnie W. Oldham
Usability Studies and User-Centered Design in Digital Libraries, David Comeaux
Exploratory Study of School-age Children's Use of a Heterogenous Resource Site, David Robbins, Jason Holmes, Athena Salaba, and Yin Zhang
CONTENTdm Digital Collection Management Software and End-User Efficiency, Maggie Dickson
Developing a Standardized List of Questions for the Usability Testing of an Academic Library Website, Galina Letnikova
Separate but equal? A comparison of content on library web pages and their text versions, Brenda Hazard
Conferences as Information Grounds: Website Evaluation with a Mobile Usability Laboratory, Jenny Bossaller, Dr. Sanda Erdelez, Anindita Paul, Heather Hill, and Jiazhen Wang
Making Sense of an Academic Library Web Site: Toward a More Usable Interface for University Researchers, Karla Saari Kitalong, Ph. D. , Meg Scharf, and Athena Hoeppner

Guest Editors:

Professor Amanda Spink
Faculty of Information Technology
Queensland University of Technology
Gardens Point Campus, GPO Box 2434
Brisbane QLD 4000 Australia
Email: ah.spink@qut.edu.au

Dr. Helen Partridge
Faculty of Information Technology
Queensland University of Technology
Gardens Point Campus, GPO Box 2434
Brisbane QLD 4000 Australia
Email: h.partridge@qut.edu.au

The Incredible Hulk searches a Library Web Interface

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:55:45 GMT

Saw the new Hulk with Ed Norton this weekend. I'm not a Hulk-smash fan, but the non-Hulk parts were actually pretty good. Anyway, what made me sit up in my seat was a brief glimpse of a filmmaker's idea of what a cool library web page interface would look like: Bruce Banner breaks into a university lab to get "the data" and the interface he pulls up said something like "Culver University Library Interface" and of course it had a black background. I would love to have gotten a screenshot of that one! So there's an interesting article idea: library interfaces in popular culture. I bet we could learn a lot from these hastily-thrown-together interfaces. They're trying to make an interface people would expect to see without any limits whatsoever.

We can supply those later : )

JWL 1(4) is on the shelves!

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:22:50 GMT

I received my copy of JWL 1(4) some time last week... It looks great and it is well worth the wait for you readers! I expect our publication schedule to catch up at least a bit this year. Taylor & Francis has done a great job keeping me updated and their turnaround time from issue submission to print is shorter.

As a reminder, it includes the following exciting items:

COLUMNS:

Forging a Second Life: My Reality in a Virtual World, Brian S. Mathews
South African Ensemble, Sarah Beasley and Candice Kail

ARTICLES AND COMMUNICATIONS:

What a User Wants: Redesigning a Library’s Web Site Based on a Card-Sort Analysis,            Laura Pope Robbins, Lisa Esposito, Chris Kretz, Michael Aloi

Promoting the Development of Online Learning Communities for Library Professional Organizations,            Barbara A. Blummer

Adventures in Online Mentoring: The New Members’ Roundtable Career Mentoring Program,            Samantha Schmehl Hines

Connecting Social Technologies with Information Literacy,           Kara Jones

Twenty Steps to Marketing Your Library Online, Sarah Houghton-Jan

REVIEWS

Professional Readings on Librarianship and the Web, Phillip M. Edwards, Review Editor

JWL 1(4) to ship in late May

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:22:07 GMT

Just a minor update to the publication schedule JWL 1(4) is now slated to ship 5/29. Thanks for your patience!

A new kind of library servce? Human-curated ventures

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:03:32 GMT

The current issue of Wired magazine highlights a growing trend toward "human-curated information," with subscription services popping up to assemble your daily information page which would replace your iGoogle aggregator of subscription feeds and search alerts. Services like Brijit and Mahalo use the power of humans to assemble search results. Finally, the Web world is beginning to see what librarians have known all along: the information world may be just too complex for algorithms.

The article adds, "In December, Google announced that it was developing knol, a tool that will allow experts to write authoritative introductions — knols — about a vast range of subjects.

Brendan I. Koerner, "Algorithms Are Terrific. But to Search Smarter, Find a Person, " Wired 3/24/2008,
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-04/bz_curator

Library rap video on YouTube

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:28:28 GMT

Yes, the words "library rap video" fill me with fear and apprehension. Yet, Carson-Newman College DELIVERS with "Come to the Library!"

The first 20 seconds is priceless, but if you want to skip to the rapping, go to about 4:28 in the video:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9NBm_coZx8I