Licence Negotiation : Tips on Negotiating Licences for Electronic Products [ResourceShelf]  4:05:26 PM   [Feedback ]  

Reference Services : Google : Whos better Google or CU librarians Search me. geckomlis spotted This One From Ithaca on a recent study done by Cornell University's Instruction, Research, and Information Services (IRIS) that pitted Cornell librarians against freelance researchers at Google Answers -- a fee-based system, where more than 800 freelancers answer questions for a minimum of $2.50. The company claims to be able to provide answers within 24 hours. In the study, 24 questions --ranging from the population of Afghanistan (about 26 million) to where Geoffrey Chaucer died (London) -- were given to library research staff and to Google Answers. Responses were scored by university librarians on a blind basis. The librarians looked at the accuracy and clarity of the answers given, and the validity of sources cited in answers. Cornell's researchers scored just slightly better than Google's in the study. [LISNews.com]  10:36:55 AM   [Feedback ]  

ejournals : Libraries cut off access to the scientific literature. Bob Cox points us to Scientific American and word that access to journals is rapidly changing as public research libraries squeezed between state budget cuts and a decade of rampant inflation in journal prices drop printed journals in droves The online versions that remain are often beyond the reach of unaffiliated visitors [LISNews.com]  10:34:19 AM   [Feedback ]