Information Today articles from September 2005

Information Today archives from September 2005

PATRIOT summer: extending the USA PATRIOT Act.(Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001)
September 1, 2005... Writer George Orwell was under surveillance by Scotland Yard's Special Branch from 1936 to 1948, according to recently released records. Ironically, 1948 was also the year he published his classic novel, 1984, the futuristic and frightening...

Ethical hackers: testing the security waters.
September 1, 2005... Several companies are employing ethical hacking--an oxymoron at first glance--to help ensure that their networks and customer databases are protected from unwanted intrusions. These firms hire computer specialists who, with a customer's...

Information privacy forum.(data security)
September 1, 2005... With Gen. Colin Powell, Bill Clinton, and Tom Peters headlining the event, who wouldn't jump at the chance to attend the 5th Annual Information Privacy Forum? Sponsored by OneSource Information Services and The Donnelley Group of info-USA, the...

Google Print delays digitization project.
September 1, 2005... Responding to publisher protests over the Google Print for Libraries project, Google has placed a 3-month moratorium on digitizing books still in copyright. In the interim, it expects publishers to decide either to join the Google Print for...

Questel*Orbit acquires DigiPat.(Questel-Orbit Inc. acquires Digipat.com)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Questel*Orbit, a company specializing in worldwide IP portfolio management, recently acquired DigiPat, a firm that delivers and archives U.S. and international patent and trademark documents. The integration enables customers to order related...

Synapse joins Factiva.(Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive L.L.C.)(Synapse Computer Services Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Factiva acquired taxonomy consultants Synapse. Through the deal, Factiva obtained the rights to Synaptica, a software suite that builds and manages taxonomies, thesauri, and ontologies. The acquisition also included the Taxonomy Warehouse Web...

Library trends switches to JHU press.(Johns Hopkins University Press)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Press signed an agreement with the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign to publish Library Trends, a journal for the professional library community....

Value perceived is value achieved.(Up Front)
September 1, 2005... For many years, the traditional information industry--from the venerable publishing end to the semi-Net Newbie to enterprise-oriented services--has defended its pricing policies on the basis of the value it adds. In a Web world where pampered...

Multimedia, mapping, and 'made to order' products top the news.(News Break Update)
September 1, 2005... While news within the information industry seemed to take a short summer breather (the pace of announcements definitely slowed), there seemed to be no lack of big news elsewhere. Suicide bombings once again distressed our world. Horrific...

BPL ABC receives award.(Brooklyn Public Library)(Access Brooklyn Card )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Center for Digital Government and Government Technology magazine co-awarded the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) the Best of New York award for Best Application Serving the Public. The award recognizes BPL's Access Brooklyn Card (ABC) and its...

WNYC broadcasts join iTunes podcast directory.(WNYC Communications Group)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Four WNYC New York Public Radio podcasts are now available free of charge via the iTunes Podcast Directory. In addition to On the Media, which was the first National Public Radio show to be podcast, iTunes users can now download The Leonard...

Siperian ready to integrate with SAP NetWeaver.(Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing)(Siperian Inc)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Siperian's Siperian Hub XR is now certified and ready to integrate with the SAP NetWeaver open integration and application program. Siperian Hub is used by businesses to consolidate customer data. Source: Siperian, Inc., San Mateo, CA,...

MCATs go high-tech.(Medical College Admission Test)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Thomson Prometric is launching a computer-based version of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). According to the 7-year agreement, Thomson Prometric and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) will collaborate on the...

Mixed tech news from the Supreme Court.(copyright infringement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Supreme Court handed down decisions on two technology cases: FCC v. Brand X and Grokster v. MGM. The ruling on the Brand X case states that cable companies can no longer be forced to share networks with competitors and can set their own...

Researchers open to OA.(Open Access )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... An international, cross-disciplinary study for the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in the U.K. found that 80 percent of academic researchers surveyed said they would comply with a law requiring them to deposit copies of their...

Sirsi and Dynix announce merger.(News Bytes)
September 1, 2005... Sirsi Corp. and Dynix Corp. announced that the two companies are merging to create SirsiDynix. Integration and strategic planning for the new company are scheduled to be completed in 4Q 2005. Source: Sirsi Corp., Huntsville, AL, (800)...

GPO director honored with Library award.(Government Printing Office )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The American Library Association's Government Documents Round Table presented Gil Baldwin, director of National Bibliography Planning at the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), with the annual James Bennett Childs Award. The award was...

The waiting game.(LETTER FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
September 1, 2005... OK, I'm the first to admit it. I like shoes. I like them even better when I can get designer shoes at a good price. That's what brought me into a local DSW store with my credit card last spring. Then, at the beginning of the summer, I...

After the sunset.(Editorial)
September 1, 2005... It did not begin with 9/11. It did not even begin with the jihadist terrorists. It can at least be traced back to the 1960s, when a hijacker would stand up during a flight and say, "Take this plane to Cuba." (And let's not forget the bomb that...

RCUK: free for all.(Research Councils UK )(Editorial)
September 1, 2005... The Research Councils UK (RCUK), "a strategic partnership through which the UK's eight Research Councils work together," released its long-awaited draft statement in July regarding the dissemination of and access to U.K.-research outputs of...

The future of P2P.(peer-to-peer)
September 1, 2005... For some law teachers, the highlight of the summer season is the end of the U.S. Supreme Court term in late June. This year was particularly entertaining with the speculation about retirements. But the decisions released by the court at the end...

Consider your source.(Internet Waves)(Editorial)
September 1, 2005... Wikipedia has a tagline on its main page: "the free-content encyclopedia that anyone can edit." That's an intriguing revelation. What are the selling points of Wikipedia? It's free (free is good, whether you mean no-cost or freely accessible)....

Joel Mokyr: knowledge, technology, and the economy.(Editorial)
September 1, 2005... As the Internet becomes more ubiquitous, the amount of open source software and OA publications increase. Government and foundation research funding are also increasingly requiring researchers to publish OA sources and/or to make methods and...

Two libraries choose WebFeat.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... LOUIS: The Louisana Library Network selected WebFeat to provide its academic libraries with a federated search solution. WebFeat will enable each member library implementing a WebFeat system to search any or all of their electronic resources...

Asigra bumps up storage capacity.(Asigra Televaulting software )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Asigra's Televaulting software now manages 3 petabytes of data. This agent-less distributed backup and recovery software is used by computing networks. Source: Asigra, Toronto, (416) 736-8111; http://www.asigra.com.

OCLC PICA acquires Sisis Informationssysteme.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... OCLC PICA announced that it has acquired Sisis Informationssysteme GmbH. Sisis Iuformationssyteme supplies German, Swiss, and Dutch libraries with library management software. Source: OCLC, Dublin, OH, (614) 761-5136; http://www.oclc.org.

The future of Internet governance remains unresolved.(Working Group on Internet Governance)(Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals )(Editorial)
September 1, 2005... The Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), an independent group charged with deciding how the Internet should be run and governed in the future, has been meeting since November 2004. On July 14, it released its report...

Searching with Watson.(Intellext introduced Watson, a desktop search tool)(Editorial)
September 1, 2005... Think about how many times you've searched for your car keys, rummaging in pockets and drawers and under papers. Then imagine what it would be like to have your keys come to you just as you're heading out the door. That's basically what...

The new view at the top.(Interview)
September 1, 2005... Y.S. Chi is confident, assertive, and even a little intense. Whenever I looked up from my note-taking, he was looking at me eye-to-eye--focused, aggressive, sure. Maybe his intensity comes from his father, the ambassador. Maybe he picked...

The busy conference season has arrived.(Conference Circuit)
September 1, 2005... Fall and spring are especially busy times for conferences, particularly in the information industry. This year is no exception--there are almost 50 of them happening this month alone. Here are some top picks. Association Meetings Two...

SIA 2005 technology management conference and exhibit.(REPORT FROM THE FIELD)
September 1, 2005... Vendors of products and services for the securities industry staked out their booths on the three floors at the Hilton New York for one of the largest exhibits of its kind. Although longtime attendees said the Securities Industry Association...

AusWeb05 channels innovation through round-table forum.(Australasian World Wide Web)
September 1, 2005... The 11th Australasian World Wide Web Conference (AusWeb05) was the star attraction on Australia's Gold Coast in early July. AusWeb is the second-longest-running international conference to be endorsed by the International World Wide Web...

Emerging intelligence tools.(Infonortics Ltd.)
September 1, 2005... Infonortics, Ltd., the firm that organizes the Search Engine Meeting and the International Chemical Information Conference & Exhibition, launched a new conference about deriving intelligence from data. Titled Intelligence Tools, Data Mining,...

The ALA Annual Conference: a post-show, paper-based log.(American Library Association)
September 1, 2005... This year's ALA Annual Conference (aka Chicag05) was a veritable world's fair for librarians. Stretching for miles from the grand and historic Loop hotels in Chicago along the park to the remotely located McCormick Place exhibition center, this...

Conference calendar.(Calendar)
September 1, 2005... September 11-13: Napa, Calif. (Silverado Resort). ASIDIC will host its Fall 2005 Meeting, the theme of which is The Changing Value of Content. According to the announcement, the meeting will look at how publishers are continually pressured...

Internet librarian 2005.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... We are pleased to present the ninth annual Internet Librarian conference and exhibition--the ONLY conference designed for information professionals who are using, developing, and embracing Net and Web-based strategies in their roles as...

Conference overview.
September 1, 2005... Exhibition The Internet Librarian 2005 exhibition features leading edge companies, offering visitors a choice of products covering all aspects of Internet technologies, including content providers, online services, software, document and...

Preliminary exhibitor list.(Calendar)
September 1, 2005... Access Innovations/Data Harmony Basch Subscriptions/ The Reference Shelf BurrellesLuce CSA ebrary EBSCO Information Services Elsevier Endeavor Information Systems EOS International Faulkner Information...

Conference at a glance.(Calendar)
September 1, 2005... Conference At A Glance SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23 5:00 p.m. - IL Demo Derby: Show Off Your Library 6:00 p.m. The first annual "Show Off Your Library" event at Internet Librarian will quickly become a...

ZoomInfo makes ego-browsing easier: ZoomInfo provides profiles of more than 26.6 million people. One of them might be you.(Link-Up@Home: Your Personal Guide to the Web)
September 1, 2005... Have you ever gone ego-browsing? That's what some people call searching the Web for your own name. According to many sites, it's one of the most popular types of online research. A search engine launched last March promises to make...

Archives don't lie: CyberSports.(Link-Up@Home: Your Personal Guide to the Web)
September 1, 2005... One of the more famous quotes that a president made about another president fell out of the mouth of Lyndon B. Johnson one day in the 1960s. When asked about then-Rep. Gerald Ford of Michigan, the crusty LBJ observed that Ford had played...

Blogging and the law.(Link-Up@Home: Your Personal Guide to the Web)
September 1, 2005... One of the more recent (and curious) items to appear on the Internet is the biog. These public online diaries have received attention lately for letting ordinary people air their views about personal--and sometimes very private--matters. ...

Blog on.(News Makers)
September 1, 2005... A total of 66 percent of surveyed professionals have used blogs as a source of business information with "some frequency," while 40 percent consider them an "extremely important" source, just behind magazines (41 percent) and newspapers (39...

OCLC.(Online Computer Library Center)(appointment of Robert S. Martin )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... OCLC announced that Robert S. Martin has joined the company as special advisor to the president for cultural heritage institutions. In this position, Martin will consult for OCLC on special assignments. He recently completed a 4-year term as...

TFPL.(appointment of Luisa Jefford )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... TFPL announced that it has appointed Luisa Jefford as director of interim and contract recruitment. Jefford joined TFPL's recruitment team in 1993. In 1998, she assumed management for the contract recruitment team. After that, she led the...

Thomson Corp.(appointment of Scott Kinney )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Thomson Corp. announced that Scott Kinney is now the vice president and general manager for Thomson FindLaw. Since joining Thomson FindLaw in 2004, Kinney has served as vice president of strategic marketing. Before that, he was...

Innovative Interfaces, Inc.(People Line)
September 1, 2005... Innovative Interfaces, Inc. announced the promotions of Mary Chevreau and Doug Randall. Chevreau is the new vice president of North American customer sales. She holds an M.L.I.S. from the University of Western Ontario. Randall is now...

Yahoo!, Inc.(appointment of Prabhakar Raghavan )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Yahoo!, Inc. announced that Prabhakar Raghavan is the new head of Yahoo! Research. He will lead research in such areas as search and information navigation, social media, community, personalization, and mobility. Currently, Raghavan is...

Copyright Clearance Center (CCC).(appointment of Edward W. Colleran and Bill Burger )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) announced that its director of publisher relations, Edward W. Colleran, has been elected to the Society for Scholarly Publishing's board of directors. Since 2000, he has served on SSP's Education Committee....

Allen Powell, vice president and general manager, EBSCO Information Services.(Executive Profile)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... As Allen Powell settles into his new role as vice president and general manager of EBSCO Information Services, he's aware of the challenges facing information service providers in the 21st century. "As we've seen within the past few years," he...

BroadSoft chosen to provide Russia's first hosted VoIP service.(Product News & Reviews)(BroadWorks VoIP application software)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Comstar United Telesystems, a Russian digital telecommunications company, selected BroadSoft's BroadWorks VoIP application software to support Russia's first corporate voice network system. "BroadSoft's hosted voice services appeal to our...

ROSPATENT launches database in English.(Russian Agency for Patents and Trademarks )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Russian Agency for Patents and Trademarks (ROSPATENT) is now offering RUSSIAPAT, its online patent database, in English through STN International's patent rights database. In addition to titles, abstracts, and patent drawings, RUSSIAPAT...

Where content is king.(Product News & Reviews)(David Meerman Scott published Cashing In with Content)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... EContent columnist and online marketer David Meerman Scott published Cashing In with Content: How Innovative Marketers Use Digital Information to Turn Browsers into Buyers. The 280-page book offers insight into content strategies and provides...

Wikipedia: encyclopedia or not?(Database Review)(is a collaborative encyclopedia where anyone can write and edit articles.)
September 1, 2005... Q: Why is Wikipedia like a landfill? A: Everybody dumps on it, and it keeps getting bigger. Yes, the library and reference book establishments love to attack Wikipedia, the collaborative encyclopedia (http://www.wikipedia.org) as a...

Xreferplus links to Reference Universe.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Xreferplus Ready-Reference service is now fully integrated with Paratext's bibliographic database, Reference Universe. "We are very pleased that Reference Universe users will now be able to link to Xreferplus' online ready reference...

Project MUSE announces enhancements, developments.(Project Muse compliant with Athens authentication)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Project MUSE is now compliant with Athens authentication. As a result, users affiliated with U.K. institutions that subscribe to both Project MUSE and Athens can now access the full text of journals that MUSE hosts from a variety of locations....

Zycko to distribute Asigra Software.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Asigra announced that Zycko will distribute Asigra's Televaulting network backup and recovery software to markets in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. According to David Galton-Fenzi, group sales director of Zycko, "This...

Jordanian Universities choose Corinthian 8.0.(SirsiDynix Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... SirsiDynix announced that a consortium of eight universities in Jordan has selected the Corinthian 8.0 suite of integrated library management software for its libraries. The libraries are expected to go live on the new academic library system...

EBSCO announces partnership, adds publishers.(EBSCO Information Services partnered with Online Computer Library Center.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... OCLC has partnered with EBSCO for a pilot project. During the pilot, OCLC will add and maintain electronic holdings information from participating libraries' EBSCO A-to-Z lists to WorldCat. EBSCO will provide monthly updates to OCLC on behalf...

Nstein, PHAC announce platform expansion.(Nstein Technologies Inc. provide Public Health Agency of Canada)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Nstein Technologies, Inc., a provider of advanced linguistic-based business intelligence solutions, announced that it will provide the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) with new modules designed to enhance its Global Public Health...

Thomson AutEx is Instinet-compatible.(Thomson Corp. Thomson Financial.)(Instinet Group Inc.)(Algorithmic Trading Strategies)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Thomson Financial announced that Instinet's Algorithmic Trading Strategies are now accessible through the Thomson AutEx Order Routing global network. According to Steve Brain, Instinet's senior vice president of global systematic trading, "Our...

Elsevier releases ScienceDirect College Edition.(Elsevier Science Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Elsevier announced the release of ScienceDirect College Edition. This database offers students and teachers access to full-text journals and books in a variety of disciplines. Source: Elsevier Science, New York, (212) 989-5800;...

Newstex adds Recognia Content, provides feeds to Relegence.(Recognia, Inc.)(Newstex announced that Content On Demand service)(Relegence Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Newstex announced that Content On Demand, a news service that compiles and delivers personalized newsfeeds and commentary from various media sources, now includes Technical Event Commentary content from Recognia, Inc. In other news, the...

SirsiDynix launches next-generation library user interface.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... SirsiDynix Corp. announced the availability of its next-generation library user interface, the Sirsi Enterprise Portal Solution. The interface features Sirsi Rooms 2.0, which allows libraries to present information to users in subject-based...

NDP unveils enhancements, offers free access.(Normative Data Project for Libraries)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Normative Data Project (NDP) for Libraries announced that its new online interface is now available to the library community. Libraries that contributed data to the project have free access to NDP; others can subscribe through the project's...

SourceForge.net goes vertical with TechForge.com.(Open Source Technology Group. launched TechForge channels )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Open Source Technology Group (OSTG) launched TechForge on SourceForge .net. The TechForge channels will provide resources and info about specific vertical technologies. The first channel, Eclipse.TechForge.com...

H.W. Wilson unveils WilsonWeb 2.5.(online reference database)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... H.W. Wilson announced the debut of WilsonWeb 2.5, the latest upgrade for its online reference database. Users can now: * format citations automatically * export records to bibliographic management software * access an enhanced Open...

EBSCO expands language offerings, adds new topics.(EBSCO Industries Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... EBSCO A-to-Z has translated its services into five additional languages: French, German, Italian, Polish, and Spanish. International administrators can choose which language the user text will appear in from the A-to-Z administrative home page....

CSA unveils MultiSearch.(Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. introduces search engine)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) released MultiSearch, its new federated search engine that provides users access to more than 2,000 electronic resources. MultiSearch was developed in conjunction with MuseGlobal and runs with CSA Illumina....

SOLINET offers MyiLibrary Collection.(Southeastern Library Network Inc. offering MyiLibrary Intergovernmental Organizations )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... SOLINET is offering the MyiLibrary Intergovernmental Organizations (IGO) Starter Collection to its member libraries through Sept. 30. MyiLibrary brings together the electronic documents, books, journals, and reports from the Intergovernmental...

ALJC adds scholarly content.(ALPSP Learned Journals Collection.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The ALPSP Learned Journals Collection (ALJC), a joint publishing venture between Swets Information Services and the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, is expanding its collection to 558 journals. The collection now...

Scopus and RefWorks team up.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... RefWorks and Scopus agreed to integrate services. RefWorks: Scopus Edition allows users to find and manage information from the two services within the same program. Source: RefWorks, San Diego, (775) 327-4105; http://www.refworks.com.

Dialog welcomes TRADEMARKSCAN-Mexico.(Product News & Reviews)(Dialog Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... TRADEMARKSCAN-Mexico, a database containing Mexican trademark registrations from 1976 to the present, is now a part of Dialog's intellectual property records reference base. The database can be searched in either Spanish or English. Dialog now...

New Education Index hits shelves.(H.W. Wilson Co.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... H.W. Wilson launched Education Index Retrospective: 1929 1983. This online database, which is part of the Wilson Retrospective Collection, contains comprehensive records from the print editions. It covers such subjects as adult education, arts,...

Digital reference librarians speak out.(Product News & Reviews)(Creating the Virtual Reference Service)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Reference librarians at large libraries, including The Pennsylvania State University, Syracuse University, and the Internet Public Library, have contributed their experiences to a new report by Research and Markets, Ltd. titled "Creating the...

Nature's archive goes live to 1970.(Nature Publishing Group.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Nature Publishing Group announced that a decade of scientific information has been added to Nature's online archive at http://www.nature.com/nature/archive, enabling users to search back to January 1970. The added content includes approximately...

Intellitactics and Covelight Systems introduce insider security.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Intellitactics and Covelight Systems are combining security technologies to protect sensitive data from inside hacks. This integrated offering will merge Intellitactics' Security Manager software with Covelight's Percept Privacy Protection and...

HP debuts identity management solutions.(Product News & Reviews)
September 1, 2005... Hewlett-Packard (HP) has updated its identity management software, giving it advanced automation, federation, compliance, and reporting capabilities. The new version of HP OpenView Identity Management is fully integrated with other HP software...

Web of Science takes hold in U.K.(Product News & Reviews)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Eight U.K. universities have extended their scientific information holdings to 1900 with the Web of Science Century of Science initiative. Web of Science provides online access to articles, bibliographic data, author abstracts, and cited...

Studies come to life at Harvard Business School.
September 1, 2005... Faculty and students at the Harvard Business School (HBS) can literally watch their studies come to life, thanks to the school's Online Video Library (OVL). HBS faculty members post classroom lectures, interviews, documentaries, and...

The LLN commons rolls off the e-presses.(Library Leadership Network )
September 1, 2005... The first issue of The LLN Commons is hot off the virtual presses. The new e-publication from the Library Leadership Network (LLN) is specifically designed to cater to the business needs of today's library managers. "This is a true...

Designing the (almost) perfect library.(Cover Notes)(Book Review)
September 1, 2005... Building Libraries for the 21st Century: The Shape of Information edited by T. D. Webb Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., reprinted 2004 (originally published 2000) ISBN: 0-7864-2034-0 270 pages $49.95 softcover Building a new library is...

Theory of relativity.(In Other Words)(Column)
September 1, 2005... Everything's relative--relatively speaking. Yet, my version of reality may be different than yours. While humans have a practically identical basic OS and many shared components, we are certainly wired differently. Like snowflakes, probably no...

Cashing In With Content: How Innovative Marketers Use Digital Information to Turn Browsers into Buyers.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
September 1, 2005... Cashing In With Content: How Innovative Marketers Use Digital Information to Turn Browsers into Buyers By David Meerman Scott; Foreword by Michelle Manafy Gimmicky websites are out. Content is in. In Cashing In With Content, award-winning...