Information Today articles from January 2009

Information Today archives from January 2009

Applause, applause.(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... At the start of 2009, we're taking a quick look back to the triumphs and victories of 2008. That's right, Information Today is announcing the winners of the 2008 People's Choice Awards. Despite the ebbs and flows of the economy and the many...

Where have all the lawsuits gone?
January 1, 2009... Have you ever wondered what it takes to settle a massive copyright infringement lawsuit? Well, in the case of The Authors Guild lawsuit against Google over Google Book Search, the answer is 3 years, 323 pages of paperwork, and $125 million. ...

hakia helps librarians with credible search results.
January 1, 2009... hakia, a natural language search engine that uses semantic analysis of the web, recently launched a new initiative with librarians to identify "credible" content on the web. The program is designed to provide searchers with a quick way to...

SwetsWise: customized subscription support.
January 1, 2009... Swets is introducing another new tool to its SwetsWise product line just in time for the ALA Midwinter Meeting: SwetsWise Selection Support. Billed as "the most complete evaluation and analysis tool currently available for making collection...

Reed Elsevier takes its B2B arm off the market.(NewsBytes)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... London-based Reed Elsevier took Reed Business Information (RBI) off the market in mid-December, as bid prices for the B2B publishing group continued to decline. After 10 months and a turbulent economy, RBI's bid from suitors, including Bain...

Gannett acquires social media services provider.(NewsBytes)(Gannett Company Inc. acquired with Ripple6, Inc., )(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Gannett Co., Inc. purchased Ripple6, Inc., a social media services provider that powers Gannett's MomsLikeMe.com website and the upcoming MixingBowl.com. Ripple6 is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Gannett, though it will continue to offer its...

OCLC develops search service and more.(NewsBytes)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... OCLC, Syracuse University, and the University of Washington are working together to create a new web search service that relies on librarian feedback. The Reference Extract project will be similar to other popular search engines, but it will...

Clickability establishes media advisory board and more.(NewsBytes)
January 1, 2009... Clickability, Inc. formed the Clickability Media Board of Advisors, which includes senior executives from The New York Times Co.; The Wall Street Journal; Time, Inc.; and NBC Universal, Inc. The board will meet regularly to discuss issues...

Independent News and Media enlists Nstein for content tagging.(News Bytes)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Independent News and Media, Ltd. is using Nstein Technologies' Text Mining Engine to semantically tag and organize its library of media content. The service is semantically analyzing the library and automatically adding content tags, which...

Swets names sales distributor in Vietnam.(News Bytes)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... TED Engineering Documents JSC is the new sales distributor in Vietnam for Swets. The partnership combines Swets' global capabilities with TED's experience marketing and selling information products to the academic marketplace. With the deal in...

Public Knowledge Project accepting registrations for upcoming conference.(News Bytes)
January 1, 2009... Registration is open for the second international Public Knowledge Project (PKP) conference, which will be held July 8-10 at Simon Fraser University's downtown campus in Vancouver, British Columbia. The conference will focus on new reading and...

Jordan, Edmiston Group announces two acquisitions.(News Bytes)
January 1, 2009... Akamai Technologies signed an agreement to acquire acerno, Inc., an online cooperative of shopping and purchase data, for about $95 million. The acquisition will bolster Akamai's new Advertising Decision Solutions products, which combine...

IDEX acquisition adds 1 million expert witness records to LexisNexis.(News Bytes)
January 1, 2009... LexisNexis acquired IDEX, Inc. to boost its collection of expert witness data. IDEX maintains a database of more than 1 million records on 200,000-plus experts, and that content will be integrated into LexisNexis' suite of litigation case...

Achievo moves to new China SDC.(News Bytes)(Achievo Corp.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Achievo Corp. established a new software development center (SDC) in Guangzhou, China. The new SDC, which will house 350 employees, replaces Achievo's current location on Zhongshan Road in Guangzhou, which holds 143 employees. The center will...

Prominent art institute implements Bibliotheca RFID tags.(News Bytes)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute partnered with Bibliotheca RFID Library Systems to automate the sorting, handling, security, and inventory management of its collection, which consists of more than 230,000 printed books, bound...

BlueArc Corp. brings increased efficiency to WilsonWeb.(News Bytes)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... H.W. Wilson is using a BlueArc Titan storage cluster from BlueArc Corp. to enhance online access to its Wilson-Web database. With the 60-terabyte (TB) cluster, H.W. Wilson now offers uninterrupted service through storage maintenance and...

Folly: the gift that keeps on giving.(Up Front With Barbara Quint)
January 1, 2009... As I write this column, my television reception has been out for 3.5 hours. Time-Warner Cable, having taken over ownership a few years ago from Adelphia, decided to upgrade the equipment in the area. Empowered by the new cabling,...

Challenges and opportunities in the new year.(NewsBreak Update)
January 1, 2009... As we look back at the stunning and historic events of 2008 and try to see some positives for 2009, most people agree that we're facing the worst economy in decades with no quick recovery in sight. The numbers reported for bankruptcy filings,...

Words at work.(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... If you stuck your favorite Dilbert cartoon on your computer or bulletin board, you're sure to appreciate some of these corporate buzzwords from BuzzWhack: airball: The corporate version of a cat hairball. Someone who makes lots of noise,...

Letter from the editor.(Editorial)
January 1, 2009... From the looks of today's headlines, we will all be facing a tough road ahead in 2009. But riding out the tough times isn't always a bad thing. By taking a positive spin on our current predicament, we can actually get a chance to look at...

These times in a bottle.(Survey)
January 1, 2009... As I write this think piece, it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But the Phillies have won the World Series, the elections are done, and the holidays are looming on the horizon. So, if this is published in January 2009, then I guess 2010 can't be...

InfoToons.(Cartoon)
January 1, 2009... SO. DID YOU READ THAT MEMO ABOUT CUTTING COSTS? YEAH, BUT IT DOESN'T SOUND THAT BAD... WHAT THE... ? WHAT YEAR IS THIS? HMM, I'M NOT SO SURE. LIGHT A MATCH... I CAN'T SEE A THING! I HEARD WE CAN ONLY USE THE...

Bioline International spreads its wings.(Focus on Publishing)
January 1, 2009... Bioline International is an open access (OA) success story. According to the company, its goal is to facilitate the "global exchange of essential research information published in developing countries," research that Bioline's founders argue is...

The internet is ...(Internet Waves)
January 1, 2009... The internet is many things to many people. It's actually been called a jellyfish. No lie. Last year, a group of Israeli researchers produced a map of the internet, described as the following: The largest, well-connected part is the...

Business method patents in jeopardy.(Legal Issues)
January 1, 2009... The number of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has risen dramatically over the last 20 years. Between 1980 and 1987, the USPTO issued between 60,000 and 80,000 patents per year. Then between 2000 and 2007, the...

Jive Software enables growth in collaboration.(IT Spotlight)
January 1, 2009... Here's a hightech company that offers a variety of enterprise solutions so firms can collaborate and manage any project. FOUNDER Friends Matt Tucker and Bill Lynch founded a social business software company called Jive Software in...

Addicted to add-ons.(Library Stuff Revisited)
January 1, 2009... If there is one web addiction that I have not been able to tame, it's collecting add-ons for Firefox (https://addons.mozilla.org). I currently have 43 add-ons actively running in my browser, and I have an additional two that I use in...

The Next Big Sound and watching Jogli play VJ.(Cool Tools)
January 1, 2009... A few days before I sat down to write this column, I talked to the folks in our IT department who mentioned how iTunes can often cause problems when it's installed on a work PC. iTunes can be a bit of a resource hog, and it can sometimes...

Tools for revenue optimization.(Insider's Perspective)
January 1, 2009... [This column lets experts in the information technology industry discuss the challenges and trends in their special niche in the marketplace.--Ed.] To best optimize the revenue of an online service, managers need to understand how their...

A look at the scientific business of Thomson Reuters.(INTERVIEW With Vin Caraher)(dialogue with Vin Caraher)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... In the 9 months since the Thomson Corp. merged with Reuters Group, PLC to form Thomson Reuters, the consolidation has proved to be a good move. "The first 6 months [were] interesting for us, but I think it's a great marriage of two really...

CILIP.(People Line & the Executive Profile)(appointment of Biddy Fisher)(Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... CILIP announced that Biddy Fisher is its new vice president for 2009 and president-elect for 2010. For the past 13 years, Fisher has been head of information services at Sheffield Hallam University. She was chair of CILIP's Library and...

Serials Solutions.(People Line & the Executive Profile)(appointment of Richard Bodien )(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Serials Solutions has announced that Richard Bodien is its new director of marketing. In this role, he will oversee all advertising, event, marketing, press, and web activities for the company. Bodien joined the company in 2006 as senior...

Attivio, Inc.(People Line & the Executive Profile)(appointment of Alan Cooke at Attivio, Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Attivio, Inc. announced the appointment of Alan Cooke as chief financial officer. Most recently, Cooke was vice president at Merrill Lynch. While there, he worked as an equity research analyst. Prior to that, he held strategic planning and...

LibLime.(People Line & the Executive Profile)(Cookie Wolfrom to join LibLime as customer support specialist)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... LibLime announced that Cookie Wolfrom has joined the company as a customer support specialist. In this role, she will serve as an advocate for customers and help coordinate the resolution of support requests. She will also be a Koha trainer and...

OCLC Eastern.(People Line & the Executive Profile)(appointment of Ellen Mizio)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... OCLC Eastern has named Ellen Mizio as senior training and support coordinator, member services. In this position, she will work with member libraries to assist them in the use of OCLC products and services. She will also consult on training and...

Swets.(People Line & the Executive Profile)(Swets to appoint Debbie Dore as chief commercial officer )(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Swets announced the appointment of Debbie Dore as chief commercial officer. In this role, she will lead the global commercial organization in its next stage of development. Dore joined Swets in 2000 to help manage the integration of Swets...

Alison Denby, publisher, Berkeley electronic press.(People Line & the Executive Profile)
January 1, 2009... What kind of job would entice someone to move thousands of miles away from home? For Alison Denby, the job was becoming a publisher at Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress). While on the East Coast, Denby held senior journals editorial and sales...

Internet use: analysis and abuse.(International REPORT)(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
January 1, 2009... The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently enhanced its scope of economic analyses for its member and nonmember countries. The OECD provides statistical, economic, and social data about national economies, trade,...

Take two searches and call me in the morning.(NewsMakers)(Google Inc. to partner with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... If you think you have the flu, just boot up your computer. The dot-org arm of Google recently partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to introduce Google Flu Trends. Google's website is tracking the number of...

Wugging, anyone?(NewsMakers)(webopedia.com)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The internet is spinning a host of new terms for computer users. Ever heard of "wugging"? It's a slang term for "web use giving," or the process of raising charity money through the internet and websites. Webopedia offers the popular example of...

A new face at the American Institute of Physics.(NewsMakers)(American Institute of Physics to appoint John S. Haynes as vice president of publishing)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Welcome to John S. Haynes, who has been appointed vice president of publishing at the U.S. nonprofit American Institute of Physics (AIP). He will be in charge of specialized print and digital production, hosting, and subscription/fulfillment...

A look at the Information Society.(Conference Circuit)(Conference news)
January 1, 2009... Although it's still midwinter in the Northern Hemisphere, the conference scene is already warming up to a new season. Three conferences are on the horizon for the Information Society, which makes it a special topic of interest this month. And...

Conference dates for 2009.(Conference Circuit)(Conference news)(Calendar)
January 1, 2009... Internet@Schools East March 30-31 Hyatt Regency, Crystal City * Arlington, Va. Computers in Libraries March 30-April 1 (Preconference workshops begin March 29; postconference workshops begin April 2) Hyatt Regency, Crystal City *...

New conference targets search engine developers.(Conference Circuit)
January 1, 2009... O'Reilly Media, which publishes books on a variety of subjects for the publishing and computer industries and organizes similarly focused conferences, announced the launch of Found, a new conference for search developers. The first Found...

The 28th Charleston Conference: the best of times ... the worst of times.(REPORT FROM THE FIELD)(Conference news)
January 1, 2009... The 28th Charleston Conference appropriately adapted this year's theme from Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Amid global economic turmoil, a new administration in Washington, the Google...

Friending Charleston.(REPORT FROM THE FIELD)(conference notes)(Conference notes)
January 1, 2009... Charleston, S.C., has the friendliest people of any city in America, according to Travel + Leisure magazine--and that survey was taken before the librarians hit town. Attendees at the 28th Charleston Conference undoubtedly upped the city's...

Online information 2008: checking the pulse of business.(REPORT FROM THE FIELD)
January 1, 2009... Networking has always been a key component of the Online Information conference in London, and this year was certainly no exception. Sure, it was difficult for attendees not to address the subject of the "doom and gloom" arising from the...

Conferences around the world.(Conference Circuit)(Calendar)
January 1, 2009... For information on ITI's conferences, turn to page 24. January 4-6: Cairo, Egypt (InterContinental Cairo Semiramis Hotel).The 11th IBIMA Conference on Innovation and Knowledge Management in Twin Track Economies addresses knowledge...

Unraveling the web of new legislation.
January 1, 2009... With a new president, a heavily Democratic House of Representatives, and a near-filibuster-proof Senate, new and returning legislators are faced with a host of issues, including privacy, anti-spam, and identity theft. With the economy...

To scam or not to scam.
January 1, 2009... Most people are pretty savvy about online scams these days. But during times of economic unrest, users may be more susceptible to falling prey to deceptively good deals. Sure, we're wary about emails that offer to purchase a large amount...

More scams to keep in mind.(Internet fraud)
January 1, 2009... With the economy in a slump and more layoffs announced every day, people are turning to the internet for full- or part-time jobs. As a result, many individuals are preying on this situation through various scams. The Federal Trade Commission...

Pew reports target networked families, workers.(Pew Internet & American Life Project)
January 1, 2009... Networking technology has made an overwhelming impact on the lives of working Americans, according to two new reports from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. However, that's not always a good thing. The reports--"Networked Families"...

CCC: helping creators license content.(Copyright Clearance Center )
January 1, 2009... The Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) ushered in two new products at the end of 2008 as it celebrated its 30th anniversary as a not-for-profit company with an eye on creating ways to reuse content. The CCC, a longtime provider of copyright...

ProQuest brings British periodicals overseas and more.(Product News & Reviews)(ProQuest L.L.C.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... JISC Collections is offering two collections of British periodicals from ProQuest to the U.K. academic and research community. The collections, called British Periodicals Collections I and II, cover subjects ranging from the arts and humanities...

Bill4Time simplifies billing process for lawyers.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lawyers can now keep track of billing hours for separate accounts automatically with Bill4Time. The web-based service tracks billable hours, generates PDF invoices, lets users keep an eye on case progress, and...

Open Content Alliance embodies open source movement.(Database Review)(Google Inc.)
January 1, 2009... Late last October, news sources headlined the settlement of the Google Book Search copyright suit. The suit pitted Google, whose Book Search project involves large-scale scanning of copyrighted books, against publishers and authors who claimed...

Credo adds economics content to General Reference collection.(Product News & Reviews)(Credo Reference Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Credo Reference is adding seven titles from Edward Elgar Publishing to its Credo General Reference collection.The additions provide Credo users with a variety of content focused on economics. The new titles are A Biographical Dictionary of...

Inmagic offers two new library products.(Product News & Reviews)(Inmagic Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Inmagic, Inc. introduced its new web-based ILS: DB/Text Library Suite. The new offering contains three of the company's library and special collections management products: Inmagic Genie, DB/ Text Works, and DB/Text Web Publisher Pro. Together,...

Clickability Media Solution released.(Product News & Reviews)(Clickability Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Clickability, Inc. unveiled its Clickability Media Solution, which provides a centrally managed software-as-a-solution content repository so large media companies can share content throughout their organizations and...

MIR3 feature channels voice response to emergency notifications.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... MIR3 launched Recorded Response, a new notification feature that allows emergency managers to send messages and receive feedback via voice recordings, enabling recipients to provide more detailed responses. For example, colleges can use the...

SemantiFind puts semantic spin on search engines.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Semanti Corp., based in Edmonton, Alberta, recently rolled out its flagship product called SemantiFind. It's a plug-in for the Firefox web browser that brings semantic search to existing search engines such as Google,Yahoo!, and Microsoft Live...

iRex Digital Reader users get a news fix.(Product News & Reviews)(NewspaperDirect)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NewspaperDirect.com is bringing its PressDisplay.com news portal to the iRex Digital Reader 1000. The service enables iRex users to browse more than 800 newspapers and magazines from 80-plus countries and to download...

Federation of American Scientists targets virtual worlds.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is consolidating information on virtual worlds into one wiki called the Virtual Worlds Almanac (http://vworld.fas.org/wiki/Main_Page). The wiki now indexes 74 virtual worlds and includes links to...

HowStuffWorks introduces Twitter feed.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HowStuffWorks.com is jumping on the Twitter bandwagon. The site is using the tool to distribute In the News: How Today Works, which adds background information to breaking news stories. Throughout the day,...

Safari Bookbag: a digital library for iPhones and iPods.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Safari Books Online is branching out into the digital market again, this time offering its entire digital library to iPhone and iPod touch users. "This is our first foray into mobile device platforms," says Dennis Kilian, vice president at...

Thomson Innovation: search made easy.(Product News & Reviews)
January 1, 2009... Within its first year out of the gate, Thomson Innovation has taken the lead as the "next generation intellectual property research and analysis tool." So far, it has gathered a stable of clients and two industry awards, according to David...

Digital collection framework welcomes community input.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The National Information Standards Organization released the online community version of A Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections. The framework now supports ongoing contributions, comments, and updates from librarians,...

Nirvanix joins forces with Arkeia for combined security solution.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nirvanix and Arkeia Software are working together to provide backup protection of data on the Nirvanix Storage Delivery Network. The companies' combined solution pairs Arkeia Network Backup with the Nirvanix CloudNAS...

Quintura Site Search gets upgraded Search Cloud, analytics.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Quintura, Inc. unveiled several new features for Quintura Site Search, including a Flash version of the Search Cloud, which contains related search terms that help refine a query, and featuring Search Cloud customization and improved analytics....

SemantiFind plug-in integrates With Yahoo!, Microsoft Live Search.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Semanti Corp. introduced a new version of its SemantiFind browser plug-in that works with Yahoo!, Microsoft Live Search, and Google. The free plug-in uses a semantic approach to help users focus on what they want out of a particular search; it...

Library Corp. introduces ILS platform with LS2 PAC module.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The Library Corp. (TLC) released the first module of its new ILS platform, which will include web, client, and mobile interfaces. Titled LS2 PAC, the module offers several Web 2.0 features, including tagging, list sharing, user reviews, RSS...

Ocean County Library adds four databases.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ocean County Library (N.J.) patrons can now access 88 resource databases, including four new ones: Thompson Gale Legal Forms, Tell Me More, TumbleBooks, and Small Engine Repair Reference Center. Library card holders...

Nature Publishing Group adds enhancements to platform.(Product News & Reviews)
January 1, 2009... The Nature Publishing Group (NPG) and BioCentury Publications, Inc. launched a full-text HTML version of SciBX called SciBX: Science-Business eXchange. The new format, which complements existing distribution via PDF, lets institutional...

Demand Media reveals Pluck on Demand.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Demand Media unveiled its free self-service product called Pluck On Demand. The widget-based application automatically reads content on a page and provides links to related articles and videos from the Pluck On Demand library that are viewed...

Asigra: providing the key to correctness.(Product News & Reviews)
January 1, 2009... Asigra wants to take the guesswork out of disk-based storage for customers. Its Storage I/O and Data Validation Tool is the latest solution for helping customers get their disk-based storage infrastructure right the first time. According...

New WorldCat policy rolls out in February.(Product News & Reviews )(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OCLC's new Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records will take effect in February. The policy modernizes record use and transfer practices on the web; encourages libraries, museums, and archives to use content...

Ex Libris offers Digital Preservation System.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... After a period of beta testing at the National Library of New Zealand, the Ex Libris Group's Ex Libris Digital Preservation System is now live. The system, which is based on the Open Archival Information System model and conforms to trusted...

Open Text Corp. introduces Web Solutions Suite.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Open Text Corp. just released its Web Solutions suite that lets enterprises quickly deploy intranets, extranets, and Enterprise 2.0 solutions. The suite consists of a set of Web 2.0 tools that gives users the ability...

Collexis: a matchmaker for grants and reviewers.(Product News & Reviews)
January 1, 2009... Collexis Holdings, Inc. is busy doing some matchmaking these days. Long known for its semantic search and knowledge discovery software, Collexis has broadened its reach with its latest Reviewer Finder product to serve the $30 billion health...

OECD debuts mapping tool.(Product News & Reviews)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OECD's latest mapping tool lets users of the OECD Regional Statistics database analyze stats from OECD countries at regional levels. Using a mapping function, users can pan across and zoom into map data, selecting...

Greenwood Publishing Group databases coming to MyiLibrary.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The Ingram Digital Group and the Greenwood Publishing Group agreed to allow Ingram to resell Greenwood's nine online databases through MyiLibrary, which will also integrate metadata that links directly to the databases. The databases, each...

ASUS B50 notebooks add Computrace support.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... ASUS B50 business notebooks include embedded support for Computrace, Absolute Software Corp.'s mobile computer antitheft and management solution. With Computrace, ASUS B50 users can track and manage computers on a LAN or in the field, remotely...

Kicking the virtual tires: car research on the web.(Link-Up@Home: Your Personal Guide to the Web)
January 1, 2009... It's a buyer's market. Vehicle sales are down due to a struggling economy and the uncertain future of American car manufacturers. So if you're planning to get a car soon, you might actually have an advantage during the negotiation process for...

Out of India (and onto a baseball field).(CyberSports)
January 1, 2009... Here in the States, we choose our American Idols, Top Designers, and Adults Smarter Than Fifth-Graders through TV reality shows. In India, they are choosing their top pitching prospects. It's actually quite a process, considering that...