Reference at Newman Library

Year: 2009

Presentation and Discussion of Text Message Reference

Text messaging reference (a.k.a., SMS reference and text a librarian) is this year’s hot topic in reference services. Attend the next meeting of the Virtual Reference SIG on October 23 and find out what it is really like to handle queries from patrons when you are using text messages as your means of communication. Alexa Pearce from NYU Libraries will lead off our group’s informal discussion with a presentation about her library’s pilot program that uses texting for reference service. This event is free and open to all who share an interest in reference services in libraries.

When: October 23, 2009, 10 am – 12 noon

Where: Metropolitan Library Council of New York (57 East 11th Street, 4th floor, New York, NY) directions here

RSVP: Not required. Just show up and be ready to share ideas and opinions.

Video Tutorials at Ohio University Libraries

Ohio University Libraries have put together a nice collection of video tutorials on things like how to find a book, how to find an article, etc. Some of these are screencasts, while others are actual videos shot with a videocamera. The folks behind this project used WordPress to organize all the videos (each one is tagged).

If you’ve heard of Ohio University’s library before, it’s probably because of a couple of notable projects they’ve undertaken in the past:

Biz Wiki

Chad Boeninger created BizWiki, a subject guide on business resources, four years ago using wiki software and has done a really great job with it. Recently, on a post from his personal blog, he looked back over what he has learned as he’s developed this resource.

Video reference kiosk

A kiosk was set up on one of the upper floors of the library that featured a PC running Skype on it. From this PC kiosk, patrons can interact via video chat with librarians. Former Ohio University librarian, Char Booth, has done many presentations on this, including this one, and has written about it for Internet Reference Services Quarterly (I have a copy of the article if anyone wants to see it).

Euromonitor GMID –> Passport GMID?

Mike Waldman mentioned in an email today that we now have access to more content in Euromonitor GMID and that the database seems to have been renamed as Passport GMID:

We have upgraded Euromonitor GMID to Passport GMID. It now includes:

Strategy Briefings

Strategy Briefings offer in-depth forward looking analysis of global trends predicted to influence consumer markets in the future.  Recently published strategy briefings include:

  • Global Trends 2009 – What is the World Coming to?
  • Loyalty Marketing: Attracting and Retaining Customers in Difficult Times.
  • Global Market for Food Intolerance: At War with Our Food

Industry Watch

Industry Watch articles allow users to recognize the impact and implications of industry events making the news:

  • New product launches, marketing strategies and industry trends
  • Acquisitions, disposals and strategic partnerships
  • Regulatory issues and seasonal trends

Country Briefings

Country briefings examine key country trends in specified topics.  To date we have reported on the business environment and income and expenditure in more than 80 countries.

Country Profiles

Country profiles allow users to locate important country facts easily.  They present demographic, macro-economic and political information for 205 countries in a clear systematic way.  Facts include head of state, political structure, inflation, GDP growth and more.  As well as statistics, they provide a written overview of a country’s operating environment and future outlook.  There are also 7 Regional Profiles which are similar in structure.

Country Insight Articles

Topical country insight articles are prominently featured.  These articles provide insight into current political, economic and social issues.  A typical country insight article may look at topics such as rising unemployment rates, declining housing values and the economic weakening across the globe.

Global Consumer Trend Monitoring Articles

Global consumer trend monitoring articles examine factors influencing consumer behavior.  Emerging trends and attitudes are covered along with new consumer segments.

Country Pulse

Country Pulse summaries provide constantly updated snapshots of what’s in the public consciousness and how it may affect consumer spending behavior.  What are people talking about, what are they concerned with and what excites them?

If you log in to the database, the name Euromonitor GMID has been replaced with Passport GMID, although the site does still feature the name “Euromonitor International” in two locations. Rather than replace Euromonitor GMID from the list of databases with Passport GMID, Mike has added an entry for Passport GMID and kept the entry for Euromonitor GMID. This may help us in a transition period to help get our students and faculty used to this name change. Here’s the real question, though: how long should we keep listing Euromonitor GMID on our library web site? At what point can we assume that those who happen to know the database by name will have gotten the message that the database has been renamed?

Keeping Up with the New MLA Citation Rules

Many of our databases offer a link to click to see a particular record or item in different citation formats. I just noticed today that the Cite Now feature in CQ Researcher Online offers this message when you try to display a citation in MLA style:

The MLA citation style is currently unavailable while we revise the format to reflect the new MLA standards.

This past spring, I looked at the new MLA rules for citing sources and wrote a post on my Digital Reference blog about the more notable changes. One thing that occurred to me as I wrote that post was a concern over the lag time between the publication of those new guidelines in the new seventh edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers and when various databases that offer to automatically cite materials for you will incorporate these new rules. This concern can also be extended to when citation management software (from Zotero, EndWorks, RefWorks, etc.) and faculty themselves will take note of the changes.

What I am worried about specifically is a student using the new guidelines and finding other sources of authority (database citation tools, citation management toosl, and faculty) offering a different (and older) set of rules.