How Does Google Rank Results?

This is the sole article from the first edition of the Google Librarian Newsletter. It's probably well worth a read, and I intend to get to it sometime soon.

Trial Databases

At the Reference Committee Meeting on November 28 we began the process of selecting database for the upcoming year. The first step is to select databases for consideration.
Here's the timeline:
January 19 - The Committee will finalize the trial database list.
February 1 - We need to have a list of databases to John Lassiter to give him time to set up trials during the Spring.
April 1 – The database list will be ready to submit to the library directors
July? 2006 – New databases will be made available

The committee will meet in January to finalize the list of databases for which we want trials.
The following is a list of databases suggested at our November meeting. Please, look over this list, make comments and add databases you would like the committee to consider at our January 19th meeting. Reminder: Last year the Committee decided to focus on a science database this year.

Suggested databases:

African American Experience (new Spring 2006) – Greenwood Press

Artstor.org – www.artstor.org digital art images, from the same folks who brought us JSTOR

Daily Life Through History – http://dailylife.greenwood.com We looked at this product last year, but the publisher changed the price after we decided we wanted to purchase.

Choice Reviews online - http://www.choicereviews.org/rev190choicescripts/

Classical Music Library (GUC purchased this database) http://www.alexanderstreet.com/products/clmu.htm

Europa Yearbook -http://www.europaworld.com/pub/

Historical Abstracts on the Web (ABC-Clio) - http://www.abc-clio.com/products/overview.aspx?productid=109712&viewid=0&fromhistorydb=1&from=academic

Library Literature & Information Science Full Text – (online version of Library Literature, a Wilson index) – http://www.hwwilson.com/databases/liblit.htm
requested by Dunwoody to supplement the new LIST program

Reference Suite – Facts on File - http://www.facts.com/facts-db-ref.htm
Includes: Issues and Controversies, Today’s Science and World Almanac

Scopus – http://www.scopus.com/scopus/home.url RACL (Regents Academic Committee on Libraries) is conducting a year long trial of this Elsevier product. John will investigate whether GPC can participate.

World Cultures Today – Greenwood Press - http://dailylife.greenwood.com

Journal: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica - Dec 15, 2005

Cnn.com points out an interesting article in the current edition of Nature on the accuracy of Wikipedia. The study found that there was not a great difference in the accuracy of science articles between the two sources.

As of today, the article is available free on the Nature website.

GALILEO Database Trials

Everybody has probably already seen this, but the folks at GALILEO have some database trials set up. There are a couple of interesting ones there now and looks like they will update the page when they add new trials. Apparently you have to request a user name and password to access the trials.

The trials page is available at:
http://www.usg.edu/galileo/help/library/trials.phtml

Holiday Party Location Change

The holiday party mentioned in the previous post will now be held in room 4190 of the JCLRC instead of on the third floor. If you come to the 3rd floor you will be lonely, hungry and gift-less!

Hope to see as many as possible on Monday!

Holiday Party Reminder

Don't forget, the holiday party is just around the corner! See your campus rep for tickets, which are on sale for $12.00. We'd love to see you all there.

Whether or not you can make it to the party, please still consider making a donation to this year's charity, the American Library Association Hurricane Katrina Library Relief Fund. Your campus rep can accept cash donations or checks made payable to "ALA" and marked for "ALA Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund". Funds collected will be applied to restoring and rebuilding devastated libraries in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. We all know how important libraries are to a community, and these communities need all the help they can get right now, so anything you can spare will be much appreciated. Thanks everybody!

Risky Gamble With Google

Another great Library Link of the Day: this time an article from the Chronicle about the controversial Google Library/ Book Search project by Siva Vaidhyanathan. The article mirrors a great talk I saw him give at Emory in October. He's a great champion of libraries and has an interesting take on the digitization project.