 | 10th January 2008
No.244 |
About FreePintFreePint 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/>. |
|
| EditorialBy William Hann and Robin Neidorf  Welcome to 2008! Ring out the old; ring in the new.
With this first FreePint Newsletter of the new year, you'll no doubt notice some changes. After 10 years of publishing primarily in plain text, FreePint is going HTML. After long discussions, we decided that the benefits of HTML for the user outweighed the challenges of the switch.  You'll also notice additions to the content: In addition to tips and feature articles, My Favourite Tipples, the Bar summary, FreePint Events and Gold, we're now also featuring highlights from the other sites and resources published by Free Pint Limited. You'll find key resources from DocuTicker and ResourceShelf, snippets from product reviews in VIP, as well as Jinfo jobs for those who are looking for their next challenge.
 Scroll down to view the FUMSI section, where you'll find the latest additions to our growing collection of practical, expert-written articles. From our start 10 years ago, our focus has been helping people use the web for work, and this issue's articles continue in that grand tradition. First, you'll find Matt Ide's handy tips on conducting prospect research for charitable fundraising. His experience-driven approach to combining free sources, paid sources and ingenuity will be of interest to any prospect researcher -- or indeed anyone with a need to dig into background and asset reviews for high networth individuals.
Next is Barry Graubart's introduction to the wonderful world of widgets. If you're still getting a handle on what RSS is and how to use it, hold on to your hat because dissemination tools are only beginning to evolve. When you click the links to view the entire article, you'll have a chance to explore the new FUMSI site, as well as try out the features we've built in to the article database. From any article view, you can easily email the article to yourself or colleagues, create a clean version for printing, request the right to reuse the material in your own newsletter or website, or save the article to an online 'reading room' for later review. Like Matt and Barry, Free Pint Limited is committed to exploring the latest technologies and resources for helping you find, use, manage and share information at work. At the heart of our work, however, remain core values that don't change: practical information, reader contributions, freely accessible resources supported through sponsors, and active solicitation of feedback so that we can continue to enhance our offerings. What do you think of FUMSI? How do you like the new FreePint Newsletter format and content? What else could we publish that would help you with your information-related work? Please share your feedback at <http://www.freepint.com/
suggestionbox.htm> or via email to <support@freepint.com> . William Hann, Publisher
Robin Neidorf, General Manager
Free Pint Limited
FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2008 
|
|
| 
Everybody FUMSI! <http://www.fumsi.com/> Free Pint Limited's newest offering
However you Find, Use, Manage or Share Information, FUMSI can help: - Searchable article database of tips and features
- Access information by practice area
- Share, print or reuse articles easily with online interface
Explore it today: <http://www.fumsi.com/>
|
|
| 
The Big Three Reviewed in November's VIP <http://web.vivavip.com/go/vip/48> In-depth comparative review of news products from Factiva, LexisNexis and Thomson: Get VIP's View before you renew your contract! Find out which product(s) offer: - The most sources in different regions
- The most functional interface
- Best power-search options
- Ways to search, save, forward and track projects
Order your copy today (GBP 54), or start your subscription now: <http://www.vivavip.com/order/> |
|
| My Favourite Tipples By Sara Waddington
Sara Waddington joins Free Pint Limited as the new senior managing editor of FUMSI. What better way to get to know a new colleague than over a few tipples ... - <http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/main/
electronicresources/referenceworks/> This Warwick Library webpage includes links to a number of general reference tools, acronym and abbreviation lists, currency and conversion tools, encyclopaedias, grammar tools, maps, telephone directories, dictionaries, quotations and biographies among others.
- <http://www.traveline.org.uk> If you dont want to drive, this website offers information on planning a journey, by bus, coach or train.
- <http://www.zamzar.com> The free Zamzar online file conversion site supports conversion between a wide variety of different file formats.
- <http://www.mail2web.com> If you have an e-mail account with a small ISP, this third part site offers web-based POP3 access.
- <http://www.viamichelin.com> This website offers driving directions, maps and hotel information in Europe.
Sara Waddington is the senior managing editor for FUMSI <http://www.fumsi.com>. She can be reached at sara.waddington@freepint.com -- send her your suggestions, submissions and your own Favourite Tipples. Back to top ^ |
|
| | | 
New! FUMSI Report: Information Auditing Report and Tool Kit <http://web.fumsi.com/go/report/
manage/984> Sue Henczel provides in-depth, practical guidance -- plus a tool kit of hands-on activities -- for conducting information audits. Get the benefits: * Understand the audit process * Build a business case for auditing * Develop a custom methodology * Create recommendations and reports * Overcome the challenges Download a sample and order now: <http://web.fumsi.com/go/report/
manage/984> 50% discount for FUMSI subscribers |
|
| FreePint BarBy Monique Cuvelier <http://www.freepint.com/bar> The FreePint Bar is generously sponsored by Factiva, from Dow Jones.  Archivists, the Royals and the construction industry are under scrutiny at the Bar currently. These are a few lively discussions that are producing helpful advice, but there's more too. Check out the FreePint Bar to see what's brewing.
- Archivists, brace yourself. A FreePint Bar member is asking what the role of a "dusty archive" has in the digital economy. But before you launch into fisticuffs defending yourself, know that the question is behind a survey from MLA London and Sparknow that aims to define the importance and role of museums, libraries and archives to the modern business world. Declare your value <http://www.freepint.com/go/b218059 >.
- Archivists, you may be interested in this one too. A 'Pinter is looking for details on OCR (optical character recognition) scanners and software for converting hard copy to electronic. A few people have offered valuable recommendations and experiences at <http://www.freepint.com/go/b228323>.
- Some believe the Royal Prerogative - which is defined by a Bar member as 'a generic term for common law powers held by the Crown and exercised by the Government' - as ancient history. When a Bar visitor asked for some seriously researched articles and studies on the topic, however, it sparked some interesting discussion <http://www.freepint.com/go/b225253>.
- Two recent discussions are focused on the construction industry: one from a person looking for an industry archive <http://www.freepint.com/go/b232458>, and the other wondering what the present construction market size is, particularly for the education sector <http://www.freepint.com/go/b232764>. Both elicited some helpful resources.
- With all the mergers, acquisitions and divisions, one FreePinter asked a thoughtful question: how many new companies have been formed from old ones? Share your ideas <http://www.freepint.com/go/b233382>.
- The Bar is searchable -- go to http://web.freepint.com/forum/bar/list.php and type your term in the search box to see what's been said before. And now past tip articles are also more searchable in the new FUMSI article database <http://web.fumsi.com/pub/search/>. Try it out today; more articles added all the time.
Monique Cuvelier has been the editor of the FreePint Newsletter and now serves as the contributing editor for FUMSI's Share practice area. She has edited, launched and written for many magazines, newspapers and websites in the US and UK. Learn more about her at http://www.onopoly.com/support/team/.
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/>. Back to top ^ |
|
|  On the Ticker: Use DocuTicker for Full-Text Resources <http://www.docuticker.com/> Find free full-text reports put out by government agencies, NGOs, charities and other public interest organisations. Recent additions: - Poverty in Scotland
- Public Policy and the Challenge of Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases
New! DocuTicker has its *own* newsletter. Subscribe today: <http://www.docuticker.com/
?page_id=15530>
|
|
| | FUMSI FeaturesFUMSI publishes articles, tools, and a monthly magazine, to give you practical help with information skills. Visit http://www.fumsi.com/ However you Find, Use, Manage or Share Information, you'll find something in FUMSI to help. We add new articles to the FUMSI database in each practice area every month. Here are the most recent additions: "Prospect Research: Finally coming of age"
FUMSI: Find Charitable work relies on intelligent fundraising, which relies on prospect research. Expert Matt Ide offers hints and tips for prospect researchers no matter what their budget for gathering critical information on individual donors, companies and foundations. WHAT'S INSIDE: 'Unlike companies and grant-making organisations, individuals do not have to disclose their financial, personal and philanthropic activities to the public. So how do you get around this?' Read, print, save or forward this article now » "Widgets for Content Creation: A shift to the internet"
FUMSI: Share Call them widgets, gadgets or apps, but they're the same little bits of code that put your content directly in front of users in ways they can customise. Barry Graubart offers Widgets 101, with some handy insights into their importance for content publishing and information dissemination. WHAT'S INSIDE: 'Publishers in recent years have launched numerous RSS feeds of the most recent content by subject. Widgets give you the perfect mechanism to let users integrate those feeds.' Read, print, save or forward this article now » Share your expertise with information practitioners around the world. We're looking for tips, case studies and other practical guides to finding, using, managing and sharing information. Submit your suggestions to sara.waddington@freepint.com Back to top ^ |
|
| Jinfo - Jobs in Information The Jinfo service enables you to search and advertise information- related job vacancies.
The Jinfo Newsletter now features CV Makeovers, in which a job seeker's CV is critiqued and revised by specialists in the field as well as career tips for all experience levels. Read the latest edition and subscribe free at <http://www.jinfo.com/newsletter/>. Jinfo Jobs in the FreePint Newsletter are supported through our partnership with Quantum2, an innovative skills development programme offered by Thomson Scientific. Learn more at <http://www.thomsonscientific.com/quantum2/> Here is a selection of the latest featured entries in the Jinfo database: - Research / Information Manager
Research Manager with excellent research skills and training abilities required for Central London consultancy.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Country: United Kingdom
<http://www.jinfo.com/go/j8191>
- Business Insight Analyst
This is a key role for an analyst to get involved with a wide range of reporting.
Recruiter: Capital Consulting
Country: United Kingdom
<http://www.jinfo.com/go/j8229>
- Business Insight Consultant
We are now looking for a talented, professional Business Insight Consultant to own and manage data extraction and analysis tools.
Recruiter: Capital Consulting
Country: United Kingdom
<http://www.jinfo.com/go/j8230>
- Central Library Services Manager
To manage and develop the library and information services across the borough for six months.
Recruiter: TFPL
Country: United Kingdom
<http://www.jinfo.com/go/j8232>
- Product Development Manager
A fast growing, internet based financial information company are currently recruiting for a Product Development Manager.
Recruiter: Weekes Gray Recruitment
Country: United Kingdom
<http://www.jinfo.com/go/j8236>
- Records Manager
3 months role at leading museum, to maintain existing paper records management service while review takes place.
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited
Country: United Kingdom
<http://www.jinfo.com/go/j8240>
[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/>
Subscribe to the free Weekly update of the latest jobs, plus the monthly newsletter with career tips:
<http://www.jinfo.com/subs/>
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/> Back to top ^ |
|
| Develop Your Strengths with Quantum2  For a wide array of hands-on training and resource materials, turn to Quantum2, an innovative skills development programme provided *free* by Thomson Scientific. The programme helps information professionals: - Expand your services through strategic and business competencies
- Improve flow of information in your organisation
- Gain visibility and build value for your work
Discover best practices, *plus* the know-how to implement them.
Free monthly newsletter and further information at:
<http://www.thomsonscientific.com/
quantum2/> |
|
|
*** Adding staff this year? Recruit on Jinfo! *** http://www.jinfo.com/ A cost-effective listing on Jinfo reaches active and passive candidates with the skills you need. Include a FUMSI category, and your vacancy will also be included on the FUMSI website and FUMSI Magazine for even broader reach! Get started today: http://www.jinfo.com/recruit/
|
|
| Recently in VIP
 VIP publishes in-depth, unbiased reviews of business information products. Recent findings of interest:
The November 2007 issue of VIP features our annual comparative review of news products from Factiva, LexisNexis and Thomson. The three major services are extensively and independently compared in terms of number of sources, analysis by subjects, type of publication, language, geography (including a table comparing numbers of sources for hard-to-find countries); length of archive, number of full-text items, number of abstracts, number of translated items; and timeliness (how long before an item becomes available online), among other factors.  The same searches are carried out on all three services, and the results are analysed in terms of overlap, type of publication and more.
- Language: Factiva is the most multi-lingual of all three services (offering 22 languages) against 16 for LexisNexis and 11 for NewsRoom.
- UK and US coverage: Coverage of UK newspapers is evenly spread across the three services.
- Asia Pacific coverage: Most of the major Asia Pacific newspapers are available across all three services. For some titles, LexisNexis offers a slightly older archive than Factiva.
- Latin American coverage: Factiva has a slight edge over the other two.
- Middle Eastern newspaper coverage: Three out of four sources are not available on NewsRoom. A deeper archive is available on LexisNexis than on Factiva.
- Web content: Web content is available on all three but it is not possible to distinguish web content from other published content on NewsRoom
- Multimedia content: Factiva is the only one of the three to offer multimedia content as part of its prime service.
- Company, industry and market data: Investext reports are no longer being updated on LexisNexis and NewsRoom.
- Indexing and updating: All three services provide detailed indexing but only Factiva and LexisNexis extend their updating to foreign-language documents.
- Language interfaces: Factiva.com offers the same nine language interfaces. NewsRoom offers a greater choice of interface languages than the old TBI service. LexisNexis has extended its number of interface language options and has new customised country interfaces for UK, US and Australia.
The full review runs 43 pages and includes screen shots, detailed search results and editorial commentary throughout. Purchase the individual issue for GBP 54, or start a subscription (single site starts at GBP 280 per annum) and purchase the back-issue for only GBP 22.50. Back to top ^ |
|
| Highlights from ResourceShelf and DocuTicker Every week, the editors of ResourceShelf explore a Resource of the Week. Get them for free every week via email by subscribing to the ResourceShelf Newsletter at: <http://www.resourceshelf.com/newsletter/subscribe/>.
Recently published: New pages from the 50-State Agency Databases Registry
"State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States, a wiki-based project by the ALA Government Documents Roundtable (GODORT), was a Resource of the Week here last August. Daniel Cornwall, Head of Information Services at the Alaska State Library (and friend of ResourceShelf and DocuTicker), is one of the movers and shakers behind this project. He writes to let us know of several new history-oriented pages added to the wiki." Full posting with live links at: <http://digbig.com/4wesc>
DocuTicker publishes citations of full-text, free reports available on the web. Visit daily for new postings, or subscribe to the weekly DocuTicker Newsletter at: http://www.docuticker.com/?page_id=15530. Collection of Note: Careers
Considering a switch in 2008? Wondering what the career outlook is like for your industry? DocuTicker offers a collection of reports on all aspects of careers at: <http://www.docuticker.com/?cat=54>. Highlights: Back to top ^ |
|
| EventsIt is free to search and advertise information-related gatherings in FreePint Events <http://www.freepint.com/events/>. Premium listings These events are hosted by our partner organisations and/or advertisers: - "SIIA Information Industry Summit"
30 - 31 January 2008
Tom Glocer, CEO of Reuters; Gordon Crovitz, Publisher of The Wall Street Journal; and author Andrew Keen headline the digital information industry's 7th annual flagship conference. Register by Dec 14 to save $400 with early-bird registration and to join more than 400 business leaders representing publishers, aggregators, and content technology companies leading the transformation of the digital world. For complete details, visit <http://www.siia.net/iis>.
Organised by SIIA
Location: New York City
<http://www.freepint.com/go/e972>
- "INSOURCE 2008: Conference on Professional Information Resources for Business, Management, Marketing and Research"
5 - 6 February 2008
The first INSOURCE 2008 conference will focus on professional information resources in electronic form used in business, knowledge management, marketing, market research, competitive intelligence etc. Unlike many other events the INSOURCE will put stress on the information contents available via the Internet rather than information technologies.
The programme includes the following issues: * Marketing reports * Export and import of trade data * Sources for Competitive Intelligence * Company and financial information * Country, region and market risk reports * Monitoring of domestic and foreign media
Organised by Albertina icome Prague
<http://www.freepint.com/go/e932>
- Changing to survive: Breaking professional boundaries
26 February 2008
The Civil Service is going through a radical programme of change and this is having a major impact on the Government information management specialist sector. Change is focused on concentrating resources on those areas of the Government that deliver effective, high impact services to the public and ensuring that those involved in delivering the changes have the professional skills and training.
The key challenge for information management specialists within the public sector is to demonstrate how our skills and expertise can make a significant contribution to delivering and embedding change to our customers.
Organised by:NGLIS
Location:Church House Conference Centre, Deans Yard, Westminster, London SW1P 3NZ
CountryUnited Kingdom
http://www.freepint.com/go/e992
- "Search Engine Meeting"
28 - 29 April 2008
This annual meeting, now in its 13th year, provides a forum and point- of-reference for all those interested in the domain of Search and Retrieval. The Meeting draws together those with a professional interest in search engines - such as search engine designers and developers - and those interested in applying search engines in their own professional environments. Search is at the heart of information retrieval; and the Search Engine Meeting provides an annual point of reference as to what is happening in this fast-moving and exciting field.
Organised by infonortics
Location: Boston, MA, USA
<http://www.freepint.com/go/e989>
Free listings  United Kingdom:
 Czech Republic:
 United States:
*** Submit your event for free promotion ***
New upgrade option for enhanced listing coverage <http://www.freepint.com/events/>
Back to top ^ |
|
| Gold A look back at what FreePint covered at this time in previous years: Back to top ^ |
|
| ForthcomingFORTHCOMING ARTICLES
[Provisional] - Ethical Acquisitions
- Special Collections
- Corporate IT convergence
- Collaborative Search Strategies
- RSS on the Go
- Managing a Team of Researchers
- The Leaving Employee
- Taking Enterprise from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0
If you have a suggestion for an article topic, or would like to write, then please contact FreePint's Editor Sara Waddington at sara.waddington@freepint.com or read the notes for authors at <http://www.onopoly.com/author/> Back to top ^ |
|
| Contact InformationAddress: 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: Sara Waddington (Senior Managing Editor, FUMSI), Matt Ide, Barry Graubart, Monique Cuvelier (Contributing Editor: Share), Robin Neidorf (General Manager, FreePint), Shirl Kennedy (Senior Editor, ResourceShelf and DocuTicker), Pam Foster (Editor, VIP), William Hann (Managing Editor, FreePint), Penny Hann (Production Editor, FreePint), Douglas Brown (Proofreader). Advertisers/Sponsors: Factiva, Capital Consulting, Thomson Scientific, Weekes Gray Recruitment, Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited, Glen Recruitment, TFPL, VIP, DocuTicker, Jinfo.
(c) Free Pint Limited 1997-2008 <http://www.freepint.com/>
Technology by Willco <http://www.Willco.com/> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your subscriptions or password, visit <http://www.freepint.com/subs/> or email <support@freepint.com>. For details about contributing, advertising or to see past issues, please visit the Web site at <http://www.freepint.com/>. 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. This publication may be freely copied and/or distributed in its entirety. However, individual sections MAY NOT be copied and/or distributed without the prior written agreement of the publishers. Write to Robin Neidorf, Managing Editor, <robin.neidorf@freepint.com> for more details. Product names used in FreePint are for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners. FreePint disclaims any and all rights in those marks. All rights reserved. FreePint is published by Free Pint Limited, registered in England and Wales. Registered Number: 3754418. Registered Office: Delaport Coach House, Lamer Lane, Wheathampstead, Herts, AL4 8RQ Back to top ^ |
|
|
|
|
Print-friendly (PDF) version
