Searcher articles from March 2004

Searcher archives from March 2004

Skydiving.(Searcher's Voice)
March 1, 2004... So the information profession is at a crisis point and the future holds only a horizon filled with crisis points. So now what do we do? Well, before we all book passage to Jonestown and order up the Kool-Aid, let's take one giant step back and...

Making the case for patent searchers: go tell the clients.
March 1, 2004... If you, at the request of a client, glean and filter information from a variety of sources, you are called a searcher. If you search in science and engineering, you are called a technical searcher. This article describes the work of technical...

Searching becomes conversing: social networking applications for sales, recruiting, etc.(Cover Story)
March 1, 2004... In his 2002 book Smart Mobs, futurist Howard Rheingold writes: "Gossip keeps us up to date on who to trust, who other people trust, who is important, and who decides who is important." (1) This passage could also pass for the mission statement...

Is the big deal dead? Status of the crisis in scholarly publishing.(Leading Libraries)
March 1, 2004... Cornell University Libraries announced to the library community in early November 2003 that it was going to cancel over 200 titles it currently receives from Reed-Elsevier. Harvard University Libraries and the California Digital Library,...

Hey, kids! Let's put on a show: the power of slides.(Tools of the Trade)(MemoriesOnTV 2.0 from PictureToTV.com Pte Ltd)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2004... Nothing strikes fear into an audience like dimming lights and bulleted lists. It's PowerPoint time again. Now before your hackles raise and egos bruise, let me praise PowerPoint for its ease of use and straightforward functions, at least at the...

Grading the upgraded STN Express with Discover! Analysis Edition 7.0.(The Better Mousetrap)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2004... I've always been partial to plain vanilla telnet clients when I utilize network services, probably as a result of my undergraduate days connecting to Sun workstations for e-mail, Web, and biosequence searching. Most professional searchers...

Search inside the book: a new reference tool?(Internet Express)(from Amazon.com)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2004... Since 1995, Web-savvy librarians have used Amazon.com's book listings as an ersatz Books In Print. No, Amazon never claimed to have a comprehensive database. And no, its search engine isn't very precise. But it is fast, fuzzy, forgiving, and...

Interactive technical books: a Bloomberg for engineers.
March 1, 2004... Electronic books have not grabbed mystery and romance readers by their palpitating hearts. Toting an e-book to the beauty shop of using a tablet PC slumped on the sofa lack the paperback's comfy user interface--namely, paper. But engineers...

Factiva.com: comparison of features and benefits.(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2004... In the tumultuous life of information professionals, searchers everywhere must regularly adapt to vendors introducing new technology and restructuring and redesigning old online systems. Some changes, presumably, will streamline the search...

Light praise.(Correspondence)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2004... I really enjoy reading Searcher when it arrives, and every issue gives me something useful for my job. The article in the most recent issue entitled "All I Want for Christmas Is a Dog" [Irene McDermott, "Internet Express" column, vol....

Muddled muggles.(Correspondence)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2004... I was reading your article "Muggle Magic" in the September 2003 edition of Searcher ["Searcher's Voice" column, vol. 11, no. 8] while I was working at the Reference Desk when I noted your statement, "Every skill--no matter how old--is new to...

Contacts.(Directory)
March 1, 2004... Amazon.com Inc. 1200 12th Avenue S Suite 1200 Seattle, WA 98144 (206) 266-1000 (206) 266-4206 (fax) Internet: info@amazon.com URL: http://www.amazon.coml Stephen E. Arnold Arnold Information Technology...