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Newsletter No. 219


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FreePint7th December 2006
No.219
 Contents


 About FreePint

FreePint is a global network of people who find, use, manage and share work-related information. Members receive this free twice-monthly newsletter, packed with tips, features and resources.

Joining FreePint is free at <http://www.freepint.com/> and connects information practitioners around the world with resources, events and answers to their tricky research and information questions at the FreePint Bar, our free online forum: <http://www.freepint.com/bar/>.

Please share FreePint with others by forwarding this message. The FreePint Newsletter is available online in several formats and can be read, saved and forwarded at <http://www.freepint.com/issues/>.

 Editorial

By Monique Cuvelier, Editor, FreePint

Monique CuvelierEvery summer, an old friend of mine travels to Wisconsin for a big family reunion. She spends a week wandering around her grandparents' lake house, embracing the aunts, uncles and cousins she hasn't seen since the previous year. She loves it, as do the others in her family, because it provides a chance to catch up face-to-face with the people important to her.

My own family is too small and scattered for such an event, but I imagine the experience is very much like attending the Online Information conference every year. It gives attendees three days to greet old friends and colleagues, learn about new developments and gossip about the state of the industry. This was my first time at Online, but I felt like I was amongst family.

FreePint AwardOne bit of news we were keen to share with our friends during the International Information Industry Awards was the recipient of the Online Information/FreePint Award for Best Customer Service: international subscription agency Prenax.

Customers feel strongly about Prenax, in fact so strongly that nearly half the nominations we received were for this company. The company's dedication to its customers was made evident when managing director Robbie Frazer said to me, "If there's one award we would have wanted to win, it would be for customer service".

Keep your eyes on this space for a future article about working with a subscription agent and treating customers well.

Meanwhile, it was wonderful meeting you in London, and I look forward to seeing you again next year.

Sincerely,

Monique Cuvelier
Editor, FreePint
e: monique.cuvelier@freepint.com
w: <http://www.onopoly.com/support/team/>

FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2006

Down

ISI

Two-thirds of the globe is covered by water
 The rest is covered by ISI Emerging Markets

<http://www.securities.com>

Comprehensive coverage in Latin America, Eastern Europe and even more Asian markets. Request a free trial of our award-winning online resources at < http://www.securities.com>


VIP

Opinions and perspectives in VIP

Experts in the field review top issues from 2006 and forecast 2007 in the first of VIP's annual Industry Overviews. See what the likes of Janice Lachance, Leigh Watson Healy, Jonathan Gordon-Till, Leigh Dodds, Gary Price and Pam Foster are predicting for the sector: < http://www.vivaVIP.com/>


 My Favourite Tipples

By Theresa Welch

Theresa WelchMy favourite resources are those I can access for free. That's why I've chosen to share a few of my favourite links to free tools on the web that I have found useful.


Theresa Welch has a background in education and training. She is an E-Learning Specialist and Manager of the Flexible Learning Development Centre at Aston University.

Submit your top five favourite Web sites. See the guidelines at <http://www.freepint.com/author/>.

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SLA

*** Connecting Pros with Info Skills ***

Training opportunities with SLA <http://www.sla.org/>

Information is always changing. Hone your skills and build your advantage with SLA training courses. CI, taxonomy, marketing, wiki-collaboration and more - positioning you for the future of the profession.

Learn more <http://www.sla.org/content/learn>


VIP

What VIPs Need to Know in Information

Analysis of industry news, plus in-depth product reviews

In December's issue: Latest at the Big Three: Enhancements introduced in Thomson, LexisNexis and Factiva offerings in 2006.

Coming Soon: Reviews of FactSet and Capital IQ

Read more, request a sample issue and purchase: < http://www.vivaVip.com/>

 FreePint Bar

In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company

By Monique Cuvelier

<http://www.freepint.com/bar>

Many information professionals have been busy with conferences and award ceremonies these last couple weeks, but the FreePint Bar is still bustling. Read below for summaries, and then drop by for discussion <http://www.freepint.com/bar/>.

If you're looking for natural energy publications, as one FreePinter is, you may try Ulrich's Periodicals Directory or Benn's Media. Both are references containing detailed information on publishers from many industries. The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Library Service could be another stop for resources. Know of others? <http://www.freepint.com/go/b80270>.

A student looking to complete the Integrated Assignment of the MRS Advanced certificate in Market and Social Research could use a little handholding. Lend some words of advice <http://www.freepint.com/go/s16009> if you've completed the course and have ideas of how to muddle through.

Is it possible to have reasonable anti-virus protection on a pint- sized budget? Some say yes, and give examples of companies offering free or low-cost software packages. Find out what they are and add your own recommendations <http://www.freepint.com/go/b81457>.

Borat and/or ice cream aficionados are requested at the Bar. Borat drives an American ice cream truck in his new film, but what kind of truck is it? One member is tasked with finding out how much it would cost to insure such a truck. If you know what make, we'd all be interested <http://www.freepint.com/go/b81459>.

Microsoft products can suck the memory out of a computer, and one Bar participant is wondering how to improve Outlook's performance. If you have ideas on streamlining, lend them here <http://www.freepint.com/go/b81478>.


The FreePint Bar is where you can get free help with your tricky research questions <http://www.freepint.com/bar>

Help with study for information-related courses is available at the FreePint Student Bar <http://www.freepint.com/student>.

Subscribe to the twice-weekly email digests at <http://www.freepint.com/subs/>.

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Factiva

Searching, but not finding, costs your organisation time and money

Download a copy of IDC's newest white paper, "The Hidden Costs of Information Searching" and learn how Factiva can help you improve your efficiency and make a real difference to the bottom line.

Download your copy at <http://www.factiva.com/
ad/2006/free
>



Jinfo

Now Weekly -- The Jinfo Update with Info Jobs

The latest jobs in information now come to you weekly, with the Jinfo Update, while the monthly Jinfo Newsletter provides tips and a CV makeover to help you put your best foot forward.

Subscribe to the *free* Update and Newsletter. Or search the online database at any time for great jobs at all levels of experience:

<http://www.Jinfo.com>

 Jinfo - Jobs in Information

<http://www.jinfo.com/>

JinfoThe Jinfo service enables you to search and advertise information- related job vacancies.

The newly redesigned Jinfo Newsletter now features a CV makeover, in which a job seeker's CV is critiqued and revised by specialists in the field. Read the latest edition and learn how to submit your CV for review.

Subscribe free at <http://www.jinfo.com/newsletter/>.

Here is a selection of the latest featured entries in the Jinfo database:

United KingdomUnited Kingdom

  • KM Resources Officer
    Legal research skills required. Recruiter: Instant Library Recruitment (Tribal Group Plc) Country: United Kingdom <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j6072>

    Evening Legal Conflicts Asst. (2-10 or 5.30- 9.30)
    Evening Legal Research / Database Assistant to work from 2 -10 or 1 - 9 or 5.30 - 9.30 in one year contract. GBP 27,000 p.a. Recruiter: Glen Recruitment Country: United Kingdom <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j6155>

    Learning Centre Manager
    An academic library requires a Learning Centre Manager to commence immediately for a 2-3 month contract. Recruiter: TFPL Ltd. Country: United Kingdom <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j6175>

    Information Services Co-ordinator
    Dynamic, team-orientated person who will be responsible for managing the Young Scot InfoLine telephone information service. Recruiter: Young Scot Country: United Kingdom <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j6180>

    Learning Resources Manager
    3 months role to put your college or school library experience to use running an FE Learning Resources Centre. Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited Country: United Kingdom <http://www.jinfo.com/go/j6185>

[The above jobs are paid listings]

NB: These are just a selection of information-related jobs in the Jinfo database <http://www.jinfo.com/>. Receive the latest job listings weekly with the free Jinfo Update. Free to subscribe at <http://www.jinfo.com/>


Jinfo -- the best place for information-related job vacancies.

  • JOB SEARCHING?
    -- Free search and sign up to the Jinfo Newsletter

  • RECRUITING?
    -- Complete the form and advertise a vacancy for just GBP195 <http://www.jinfo.com/recruit/> -- 10% discount for agencies -- 50% discount for registered charities

Find out more today at <http://www.jinfo.com/>

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BvD


Try a fresh approach to company information with: MINT UK

A leading business information tool from Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing Click here to register for a free trial:


<http://www.bvd.co.uk/mintuk>






ResourceShelf

Resource of the Week: NBII Digital Image Library

http://digbig.com/4qdgg

Get a weekly recommendation for quality, full-text, free web-based resources to add to your online reference collection. Ranging from economics to religion to job seeking to regulations, Resource of the Week always delivers something of value.

Visit http://www.resourceshelf.com/ to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter, capture the RSS feeds and search the database.

http://www.resourceshelf.com.

 Tips Article

Plain text | PDF | Contents

"Wikipedia: To Use or Not To Use"

By Caryn Wesner-Early

Caryn Wesner-EarlyIn July 2006, the American comedian Stephen Colbert defined 'wikiality' (a combination of the words 'Wikipedia' and 'reality') as 'truth by consensus'. Colbert asserted that if enough people believe something, it must be true, and he cited the success of Wikipedia as a case in point. He called on viewers of his television programme 'The Colbert Report' to prove his point by editing Wikipedia themselves. He suggested they insert into the article on elephants <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephants> the 'fact' that the African elephant population had tripled in the previous six months. An un-truth that, of course, spurred a rash of joke edits.

Although Wikipedia's volunteer editors responded almost instantly, correcting the article and locking it against further change except by editors with an established Wikipedia track record, the stunt succeeded in demonstrating to the world the central weakness of Wikipedia.

Controversy magnet

Throughout its five-year history, Wikipedia, the online, user-edited encyclopaedia, has repeatedly been the subject of controversy. Pranksters, those with axes to grind and, most often, well-intentioned people armed with inaccurate information have combined to leave its entries riddled with errors. These problems have rendered Wikipedia irrelevant, if not dangerous, in the eyes of many information professionals. But despite its obvious flaws and some well-publicised incidents, if used correctly Wikipedia can be a useful resource for students and professional researchers.

The problem is that Wikipedia allows editing with very little accountability. If an 'edit war' breaks out, with competing versions of an article following each other in quick succession -- as with the elephant debacle -- the article may be temporarily locked against further change. But it is possible to add to an article inaccurate, biased or frivolous information, which may stay there for months before being corrected, especially if it's on a low-profile topic.

Moreover, US law protects such 'service providers' as Wikipedia from liability for anything published on their site. According to a CNET article, 'Thanks to section 230 of the Federal Communications Decency Act (CDA), which became law in 1996, Wikipedia is most likely safe from legal liability for libel' (<http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5984880.html>, accessed 12 November 2006).

Cautionary tale

But this protection against liability lawsuits can be damaging. A particularly egregious example of Wikipedia inaccuracy concerned John Seigenthaler Sr., a former editorial page editor for USA Today. In late 2005, Seigenthaler discovered a biography of himself on Wikipedia. It contained many errors, including the following:

'John Seigenthaler Sr., was the assistant to Attorney General Robert Kennedy in the early 1960s. For a brief time, he was thought to have been directly involved in the Kennedy assassinations of both John, and his brother, Bobby. Nothing was ever proven'.

Utterly untrue, of course, but by the time Seigenthaler discovered the entry, it had appeared on Wikipedia for 132 days. What's worse, the false information had spread to other Internet sources, including Answers.com and Reference.com, whose computers, according to Seigenthaler's subsequent research, are 'programmed to copy data verbatim from Wikipedia, never checking' the accuracy of the copied information.

This was especially painful to Seigenthaler, a friend and colleague of Robert Kennedy who had served as one of the pallbearers at the politician's funeral. He corrected the entry, but as it had already been copied to other Web sites it may still appear in countless places. In an editorial in USA Today on 29 November 2005, Seigenthaler wrote, 'we live in a universe of new media with phenomenal opportunities for worldwide communications and research -- but populated by volunteer vandals with poison-pen intellects. Congress has enabled them and protects them' (<http://digbig.com/4qcyf>, accessed 12 November 2006).

Besides the variable reliability of Wikipedia articles, the information found there often reflects political, religious or ideological biases of writers and editors. Wikipedia strives to provide unbiased information, but since one person's bias is another's obvious truth, if the topic is at all controversial there will always be room for disagreement with the current version of practically any entry. Also, since pages can change without notice, one can never be sure whether information cited from Wikipedia will still be there when the citation is checked.

Does this mean we should shun Wikipedia and never turn to it for any reason? Of course not, but we should be careful with how we use the information.

As Wikipedia itself points out, 'Caution: It is always a bad idea to cite an encyclopedia in academic research papers' (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Academic_use>, accessed 12 November 2006). No matter who writes or edits an encyclopaedia, it is never intended as the end of the research process, but as the beginning. And as the beginning of the process, Wikipedia has a number of strengths.

Jumping-off point

For one, Wikipedia is an excellent source for a quick outline of an unfamiliar topic. In almost all cases, the Wikipedia article gives as good an overview of a topic as most other sources, usually in approachable language. Even more valuable is its use as a pointer to indicate other, more reliable information sources. At the end of most articles is a list of related links to source material such as books and journals, organisations concerned with the topic at hand and other jumping-off points for the serious researcher.

Wikipedia articles can be very current, often covering topics not yet available in more traditional sources. Less than a week after the election which established it, there was an article on the makeup of the 110th United States Congress (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/110th_United_States_Congress>, accessed 12 November 2006). Although it is true that articles may be changed between the time they are cited and the time the citation is checked, an update history is provided for every article, and each separate iteration may be viewed even after it has changed. If a citation to a Wikipedia article includes the date it was accessed, that date's version can be retrieved later. The following is the update history of Wikipedia's article on itself: (<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia&action=history> accessed 12 November 2006).

If the information you are looking for is about popular culture, such as information on a celebrity, television programme, movie or the like, Wikipedia is often one of the best sources. For instance, The Simpsons Movie is not scheduled for release until July 2007, but you can read about it in Wikipedia, complete with information on the cast, producers, plot and other details (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpsons_movie>, accessed 13 November 2006).

Additionally, Wikipedia is handy for discovering synonyms and older or related terms, as well as regionalisms. For example, the article on the word 'agenda' starts out:

'Originally agenda was a plural word, a Latin term for "actions to be taken". What is now known as an agenda is a list of individual items, each of which was originally referred to as an agendum. In modern English, however, it is equally acceptable, and more common, to refer to the list as a whole as the agenda for the meeting. This modern English word is singular, and has a plural of agendas' (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_%28meeting%29>, accessed 12 November 2006).

If a term has several meanings, a disambiguation page is offered which is sometimes helpful in itself to differentiate among the different usages.

Although one of the founding principles of Wikipedia is a kind of anti-expert-ism, many of its articles are actually contributed by recognised experts in their fields. However, it is not always possible to tell which articles these are, because articles are signed with user names, which may or may not be the same as the contributor's actual name. Wikipedia has no mechanism for tracing user names to real people.

Popularity contest

Whether or not the 'wiki' form is to be accepted as reliable, it is becoming very popular, although not all wikis are meant for public consumption. It is a useful form for groups of people working together over geographic distances, because it is easy to track additions and changes using wiki software. IBM, together with over 50 patent policy experts from around the world, recently released a document stating its new policy on patent applications. The document was written by the whole community of stakeholders as a wiki, and then polished into finished form and closed to comment. It is now posted at (<http://www.ibm.com/gio/ip/> accessed 12 November 2006).

The new, communal world of the Internet is making it more important than ever for individuals to exercise judgment when relying on information from any source. As our information environment gets richer, users must become ever more alert to bias, disinformation, malice and ignorance on the part of the providers. Serious researchers should include community-based sources like Wikipedia in their 'online toolbox' for uncovering valuable sources of information. But just be wary of using the actual information found in such sources. Ask yourself if it's reasonable for an endangered elephant population to triple in six months (hint: an elephant's gestation period is around two years).


Caryn Wesner-Early is a librarian contracted to ASRC and works at the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a database and Internet searcher.


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FreePint

Tell Us About It - FreePint Testimonials

 Supply your words to help us grow

FreePinters provide us with testimonials that help us grow. If you enjoy FreePint, please consider supplying a testimonial at: <http://www.freepint.com/
testimonial.htm
>.

Your words are the best communication of the value of FreePint -- whether we're talking to new subscribers or potential and current advertisers. Thank you!

Researcha

Researcha :: Immediate pay-as-you-go company data 

Access hard-to-find data on UK company directors, original company filing images and company data for Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

Researcha is free to search and view basic details, with immediate online report delivery. Try it now:

<http://www.Researcha.com/>

 Review

Plain text | PDF | Contents

"Digital Preservation Management: Implementing Short-term Strategies for Long-term Problems"

Jill Hurst-Wahl

Jill Hurst-WahlHumans have always had a knack for creating information, and in recent decades the amount has skyrocketed. The answer to making sure our data doesn't disappear is to preserve it digitally. The Cornell University Library defines digital preservation as 'a broad range of activities designed to extend the usable life of machine-readable computer files and protect them from media failure, physical loss and obsolescence'.

Although we have been creating digital materials for several decades, our experience with digital preservation is relatively recent and many institutions are not familiar with the concepts. That's why the Cornell University Library has created the award-winning 'Digital Preservation Management: Implementing Short-term Strategies for Long- term Problems' <http://www.library.cornell.edu/iris/tutorial/dpm/eng_index.html>, which strives to introduce people to the key components needed to establish a viable digital-preservation program.

Available in French and English, this tutorial was originally created in 2003 to complement a workshop offered by Cornell, but stands well on its own. It can be used as a true online tutorial or downloaded as a PDF book. The 123-page PDF book, as acknowledged by Cornell, may not be as complete or interactive as the online version.

I spent time with the online and PDF versions, which were both updated in 2005. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. The advantages of the online version are the interactive portions of the tutorial (e.g., the quizzes, timeline and the Chamber of Horrors), as well as the ability to follow all of the embedded links. However, the portability of the PDF file is also beneficial. One can read it off-line and carry it as a reference.

The tutorial does an excellent job of introducing and explaining the key concepts used when discussing digital preservation. In fact, Section Two is dedicated to reviewing the 'Terms & Concepts' that one needs to know. That section sets the stage for the remaining four sections.

Section Four -- 'Foundations' -- is the heart of the tutorial. It introduces and examines two foundation documents, including 'Trusted Digital Repositories: Attributes and Responsibilities' and 'Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS)', as well as Preservation Metadata. These foundations are used worldwide by digital-preservation programs and are seen as ensuring a programme's sustainability, reliability and repeatability.

Overall, the material presented in the tutorial is excellent. It provides the basic concepts and terminology that anyone will need to know when thinking about launching a digital-preservation project. The embedded links and extensive resource list provide access to additional information and examples that support the concepts presented. The exercises throughout reinforce the presented information, while the graphics and sidebars help to hold the reader's interest.

I recommend this tutorial to anyone who is beginning to think about digital preservation, either in-house or through a trusted repository. Since the concepts that surround digital preservation are not well- known, it is especially useful to review before attending a workshop. This will give attendees base knowledge on which to build during an in-person session.

Information will continue to proliferate, and as it does, digital preservation will be there to archive it. This top-notch tutorial is ideal for keeping up with the trends.


Jill Hurst-Wahl of Hurst Associates, Ltd. <http://www.HurstAssociates.com/> is a consultant who provides digitisation workshops, develops digitisation plans, and works with organisations to implement digitisation programmes including evaluating software, hardware and vendors for specific digitisation efforts. Since 1989, she has worked on corporate digitisation programmes as well as projects for Consortia. In addition to her consulting work, Jill is a frequent speaker and author. Her blog, Digitization 101 <http://www.Digitization101.com/>, is widely read by those interested in creating, managing, marketing and preserving digital assets.


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DocuTicker

On the Ticker: Use DocuTicker for Full-Text Resources

<http://www.docuticker.com>

There's a wealth of full-text reports put out by government agencies, NGOs, charities and other public interest organisations. DocuTicker's editors find and post them, putting them at your fingertips.Latest additions:

  • 'Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District'

  • 'The Smallest Plant May Pack the Biggest Punch: Survey Finds Most People Unaware of Health Potential of Herbs and Spices'

    Subscribe to the weekly ResourceShelf newsletter for highlights, capture the DocuTicker RSS feed, or visit daily to learn about the latest full-text resources <http://www.docuticker.com/>.


DigBig


Use DigBig to shorten long Web addresses 


"I'm grateful for the ease and availability of your timesaving service. Shorter links do make for less headaches, and your process for shortening them was effortless!" Group moderator, Seattle.

<http://www.digbig.com/>




 Feature Article

Plain text | PDF | Contents

"Social Revolution: Bloggers Dominate Online"

By Monique Cuvelier

Monique CuvelierBloggers may not rule the world (yet) but they do wield surprising power. They can turn elections, expose scandal, and shift public thought. Blogging, and the social media it's part of, is growing ever more prevalent, and, therefore, powerful. When blogging pundit Robert Scoble, now at PodTech, spoke at Online Information 2006 in London, he said he thought they're becoming as powerful as the BBC.

Bloggers were certainly better represented than the BBC at this year's Online held 28-30 November, which is why there's no better source to turn to for analysis and reports of the event. While speakers and exhibitors were murmuring about the social media revolution, teams of people -- including those paraphrased and quoted below -- were there jotting notes and thoughts about what they saw and heard.

Two in one

These are the people who gave rise to the conference's theme 'Preparing for Information 2.0', which was also reflected in the melding of the standard information conference with Information Management Solutions (IMS) 2006. As Chris Armstrong, owner and managing director of Information Automation Limited (IAL) in Aberystwyth, Wales, says, 'From the conference floor, this year, the talk was of "Search" and wikis and social software; open access and social networking. On the exhibition floor it was all networking too!'

Bobby Pickering, a blogger for Information World Review, noticed how huge the sprawling space was with all of the exhibitors <http://blog.iwr.co.uk/2006/11/online_informat_1.html>.

'The first thing that strikes you about this year's Online Information Show at Olympia is just how big the brand new IMS Show is', he says. 'Taking up over a quarter of the floor space in the main hall, this "sister" show has put down a solid marker and looks destined to grow rapidly in future years'.

Don Hawkins, a columnist at Information Today, reflected on the two conferences under one roof in his entry in the Information Today blog <http://www.infotodayblog.com/2006/11/blog-preview.shtml>. He wondered if it marked a trend and if the split was a new way of thinking for conference organiser VNU.

'I think the answer to the first question is probably, "Yes"', he says. 'ITI did it with their Info-X conference last year in New York, which had five co-located conferences, and it has long co-located the Internet Librarian and Internet@Schools conferences'.

Opening remarks

Kicking off the conference was Thomas Stewart, editor-in-chief of the prominent management journal the Harvard Business Review. [If you missed Stewart's opening keynote speech, you can read about his work in the previous issue of the FreePint Newsletter <http://www.freepint.com/issues/231106.htm#feature>].

Michelle Manafy, editor of EContent magazine was there and documented the speech in her entry in the Information Today blog <http://digbig.com/4qcyh>:

'Stewart ... sees three types of "knowledge": instilled (yielding smarter products), distilled (knowledge turned into a product), and black box knowledge services (we know a lot about what we do and can help you do it too). I'd extend it to content: knowledge collected as a by-product of your employees' work or better, as a by-product of how your customers use your product, services or even content can help you work better and offer them more'.

Stewart was joined in his expertise in knowledge management by keynoter Dave Pollard, founder and principal of Meeting of Minds and Canada's first CKO. His Social Networking speech reflected many of the major presentations and break-out sessions. It was an examination of how to use social networking to open up knowledge-sharing in organisations. He goes much deeper into his innovative thoughts on his personal blog How To Save the World <http://digbig.com/4qcyj>.

'I thought it might be worthwhile ... to blog about some of my personal emerging thoughts on the subject of social networking', he writes. His series of posts on the subject reflect much of current thought on social networking, in addition to introducing new applications.

Digging deeper

Much of the thought on the exhibition floor and smaller theatres reflected what was going on in the upstairs conference rooms. Bobby Pickering from the IWR Blog wrote about some of the exhibitors, but especially notable launches <http://blog.iwr.co.uk/2006/11/some_standout_h.html>, including 'The Institution of Engineering & Technology, [which] has launched an online archive of Digitised Journal Backfiles, with back issues of some journals dating back to 1872'. And Proquest: 'To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Literature Online, its academic full-text and reference resource for English language literature, Proquest has hooked up with Oxford University Press to include search results from reference titles in its ORO (Oxford Reference Online) collections'.

The blog at Managing Information magazine also highlights some of the important launches and announcements <http://digbig.com/4qcyk>, such as 'Global business information publisher, Euromonitor International will be launching two new products at the show', and 'DocZone.com will be demonstrating the newest release of its integrated "Software as a Service" platform'.

Many speakers have mirrored their presentations at their blogs, which is particularly useful for people who attended some of the standing- room-only events. Marydee Ojala, editor of ONLINE magazine, explains <http://digbig.com/4qcym>: 'Down on the exhibit floor experts are sharing their knowledge with attendees who haven't paid to attend the actual OI conference. Since there are many more people who pay nothing to attend the exhibition than who pay the premium price for the conference, some of these sessions on the exhibit floor are vastly over-full. For Jill Fenton's on financial services information sources, I ended up sitting on the floor'.

Journalist David Tebbutt gave a presentation about OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language), which is more thoroughly explained in his blog entry "OPML explained: 6 minute screencast" <http://digbig.com/4qcyn>.

Some exhibitors have been blogging about their own announcements or curious marketing decisions. VYRE, for instance, ostensibly there to promote their Unify 4.3 software at its stand, talk about their Viking -- the guy with the bad wig and plastic helmet who paced the corridors<http://digbig.com/4qcyp>.

Some big exhibitors were notably absent from Online [See the chart on the number of exhibitors at Online over the last five years], but are still active talking about developments on their blogs. Daniela Barbosa from Factiva talks about that company's new Factiva Search 2.0 <http://digbig.com/4qcyq>, and Reuters, also not at the show, covers trends at its blog <http://blogs.reuters.com/>.

A continued shift

Many attendees commented on the shrinking size of the exhibition floor at the event and continued discussions about the difference between a librarian and an information professional. Some consider this a dialogue that started -- and should have ended -- years ago, but is still a vivid topic.

James Robertson's blog entry "The Real Role of Librarians" in his Column Two: News and Opinion on All Things KM & CM <http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/archives/002285.html#002285> talks about the theme.

'Now, I'm not a librarian,' says the managing director of Step Two Designs knowledge-management consultancy in Sydney, Australia, 'but I don't have to be to spot some of the issues that come up again and again.

'Every statistic shows that the amount of information is growing at a disturbing rate, and the problem of the age is finding and managing the information that we need. This is where librarians should be playing a role, by going back to their original definition, that of the information professional who helps people find what they need'.

The truth is that that's exactly what information professionals do every day. Increasingly, it's what other people are doing as well: finding, producing and parcelling information. Jim Ashling, a columnist for Information Today, listed this as one of the 'fears' he frequently heard voiced at the event.

'Fear: Blogs, wikis et al simply create more noise and overload.

'Response: They're not going away'.

Bloggers may not be a replacement for the venerable Beeb yet, but they have grown to such an extent that no future Online Information may be the same.


Number of Exhibitors at Online Information 2002-2006

2006: 272
2005: 250
2004: 248
2003: 224
2002: 261


Monique Cuvelier is Editor of the FreePint Newsletter. Read her interview with Thomas Stewart, the main keynote speaker at Online Information 2006, in the previous issue of FreePint <http://www.freepint.com/issues/231106.htm#feature>.


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 Events

United StatesUnited Kingdom:

AustraliaAustralia and Territories:

HungaryHungary:

SwedenSweden:

NB: These are just a selection of information-related event listings in the FreePint Events database <http://www.freepint.com/events/>.


*** Submit your event for free promotion ***
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<http://www.freepint.com/events/>


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 Gold

A look back at what FreePint covered at this time in previous years:

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 Forthcoming

FREEPINT FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
[Provisional]

  • Finding People in the Digital Age

  • IT-IS Mergers

  • Matapihi, National Digital Forum

  • What's Changed in Information Architecture Since 2001

  • Linking Real-World Local Communities With Online Communities

  • Myth of the Paperless Office

  • RAST Web V & D software

  • Selecting and Working with Subscription Agent

  • Digital Music * Value Networks

If you have a suggestion for an article topic, or would like to write for FreePint, then please contact FreePint's Editor Monique Cuvelier, <monique.cuvelier@freepint.com> or read the notes for authors at <http://www.onopoly.com/author/>

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 Contact Information

Address:

Free Pint Limited 4-6 Station Approach Ashford, Middlesex TW15 2QN, United Kingdom

Telephone:

UK: 0870 141 7474 Int: +44 870 141 7474

Directions and maps: <http://www.freepint.com/contact.htm>

Contributors to this issue:

Monique Cuvelier (Editor, FreePint), Theresa Welch, Caryn Wesner- Early, Jill Hurst-Wahl, Robin Neidorf (General Manager, FreePint), Pam Foster (Editor, VIP), Shirl Kennedy (Senior Editor, ResourceShelf and DocuTicker), William Hann (Managing Editor, FreePint), Penny Hann (Production Editor, FreePint), Plain Text < http://www.plain-text.co.uk/> (proofreading).

Advertisers/Sponsors:

ISI Emerging Markets, BvD, SLA, Young Scot, TFPL, Instant Library Recruitment, Glen Recruitment, Sue Hill Recruitment, City Professionals, Factiva, VIP, ResourceShelf, Researcha, DocuTicker, DigBig, Jinfo.


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Please note: FreePint (ISSN 1460-7239) is a registered trademark of, and published by, Free Pint Limited. The publishers will NEVER make the subscriber list available to any other company or organisation.

The opinions, advice, products and services offered herein are the sole responsibility of the contributors. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the publication, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions.

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