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Using Information: The New Frontier
Library consultant for the Lincoln Trail Libraries System in Champaign, Illinois. Column for May 2003 The other day I happened to land on the home page of the Cleveland Public Library and discovered that not only could a CPL patron ask a nurse any health question online, but could also, if a local student, get online homework assistance from a librarian or a tutor. More and more products are being developed that merge the old categories of formal education and library services, and they are being used by libraries. Two new library products blur the boundary between another two information-service categories: discovery and use. Net Snippets is a personal organizer introduced in the spring of 2001 by 4Developers of Sunnyvale, California. Integrated into Internet Explorer in a Windows environment, it allows students and researchers to organize all kinds of resources, from either the Web or from Microsoft desktop applications, into a user-organized file structure by a simple drag-and-drop method. Files created by non-Microsoft applications can be imported into the Net Snippets environment by copying and pasting via a Net Snippets interface to the Windows Clipboard. The company has sold site licenses to Brandeis University and Bentley College, both of Waltham, Massachusetts, and has inked an agreement with Ex Libris to develop a link between Ex Libris software and Net Snippets that would enable a user of SFX and MetaLib to instantly add any retrieved resource into the Net Snippets organizing environment. Currently users’ Net Snippets files all reside on their PCs, but in its next major release, due out in the fourth quarter of 2003, the company will offer a server-based product with remote access. This will enable researchers to access their files from any Internet-connected PC as well as allow them to share access to their documents with other researchers if they so desire. Individuals can purchase the product for a one-time cost of $80. Packages for volume pricing and site licenses are also available at substantial discounts. All site licenses include use from home as well as from the library. For more information, see www.netsnippets.com. Knovel, a company formed in 1999, specializes in making engineering and scientific data easier to find and to use. Knovel offers data from over 450 scientific, technical, and medical (STM) books that have been “Knovelized” into databases that can be searched not only by keywords and subjects but by actual data values as well. Once the information is found, software tools with such names as Equation Plotter, Graph Plotter, and Graph Digitizer provide proprietary analysis tools to assist in understanding and using the data. In late February, the company announced that it was making four chemical and chemical-engineering databases available to academic libraries without charge. The resources are:
Libraries can register for free access at www.knovel.com/freechem/. The company is also working with OCLC to put all of the titles Knovel offers into WorldCat. The Charleston Advisor, which evaluates Web resources for librarians, gave Knovel a rating of 4.25 (out of a possible 5) and selected it as the best new product of 2002. Among libraries subscribing to some of its STM databases are the California State University System and the University of Wisconsin. Databases can be leased singly or in groups. Prices vary. For more information, see www.knovel.com. In the Syndetic PipelineAlong with colorful book covers, tables of contents, reviews, profiles, notes, etc., Syndetic Solutions customers will soon be offered streaming video clips as well. Video Pipeline, a company supplying music, video, and electronic-gaming promotion tools since 1986, contracted with Syndetic Solutions to provide streaming previews of video releases to Syndetic’s library customers in the United States. Working with Syndetic, Video Pipeline is creating a system enabling libraries to link to video previews using either XML or HTML transport protocols carrying industry standard video identification numbers: ASIN (Amazon.com Standard Item Number), ISBN (International Standard Book Number), UPC (Universal Product Code), and VPID (Video Pipeline ID number). Libraries will have the option of allowing patrons to view clips while in the library or at home, or just from home if the library is concerned about tying up public access workstations. The service is currently in beta testing. General availability and pricing will be announced by June. For more information, contact Jeff Calcagno at jeff@syndetics.com or 877-737-9722. Are You a Freak?An e-mail from Daryl Rayner, marketing director of Xreferplus, telling me about the company’s new program allowing library customers to select 100 reference titles on a title-by-title basis from a larger selection of online reference works, prompted me to visit the Xrefer Web site. There I discovered Peter Scott’s Library Blog, with all manner of interesting notes and links, including a link to SpinsterLibrarian.net, which in turn enticed me to take the “Are You a Freak” test. I am embarrassed to say I scored 82%. Contracts and Agreements
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By David Dorman