The Spring 2009 edition of the Hill Library Connections newsletter is available online: http://www.jjhill.org/about_us/hilllibrarynewsletter_spring2009b.pdf. Read about the library's recent projects, partnerships, and events.
2008 Salary Survey & Workplace Study
This annual report looks at average salary levels for special librarians around the world. While available in full only to paying customers, the announcement provides some highlights.
Special Libraries Association
November 2008
Searching with Tags: Do Tags Help Users Find Things?
One task made possible by many Web 2.0 sites is the ability for users to “tag” content with whatever keywords they think best describes it. But, one might ask, what’s the point? This study looks at how user-generated tags help people find things.
E-Prints in Library and Information Science
Margaret Kipp
November 1, 2008
Librarians Want to Out-Google Google With a Better Search Engine
Google’s search function, while a company secret, is probably based on a computer algorithm. To compete, OCLC wants to bring the input of skilled information professionals into the equation. And so begins a project called Reference Extract.
ResourceShelf
November 10, 2008
Group Think: The Turn to Online Research is Narrowing the Range of Modern Scholarship
A new study finds that recently-published academic papers tend to reference newer, online scholarly studies over older, more obscure work. Does the Internet actually narrow the amount of information scholars take into account?
Boston Globe
Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow
November 23, 2008
SCORE Releases New Guide on 10 Simple Steps to Finding Customers… and Delivering the Goods
A new guide – only available in print at SCORE offices – provides advice for small businesses on targeting customers, building brand identity, marketing, creating an online outreach strategy, and successfully fulfilling orders.
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) Press Release
November 3, 2008
Bullish eMarketer Chops Online Ad Forecast… Still Too Bullish
Optimistic online advertising forecasts are being cut in the face of uncertain economic conditions. eMarketer here announces a reduction of 10% in their forecast for 2009 spending on online ads, bringing that forecast down to $25.7 billion.
Silicon Alley Insider
Henry Blodget
November 25, 2008
Online Networks a Magnet for Job-Seekers
Since the beginning of the year, the number of LinkedIn memberships has grown from 18 million to 31 million. This increase in professional social networking is attributed to an increase in the number of people who have lost their jobs or are nervous about losing their jobs.
Reuters
November 26, 2008
Internet Coming to White Space Near You
The Federal Communications Commission adopted a new set of rules this month that will allow high-speed Internet transmission through television signals. One official describes the potential for this service as “WiFi on steroids.”
Government Computer News
William Jackson
November 5, 2008
Time Spent Online Important for Teen Development
The time teens spend online prepares them – both socially and technically – for life in the digital age, according to a study funded by the MacArthur Foundation. This detailed report looks at attitudes toward, usage of, and benefits of teen technology use.
MacArthur Foundation Press Release
November 20, 2008
Google Changes Search and Raises Questions
This post looks at one of Google’s “most drastic changes to search since they first started out” – the ability to fiddle with search results. If you’re signed into your Google account and run a search, you can rearrange search results and leave publicly-viewable comments on those results.
Phil Bradley’s weblog
November 22, 2008
Historically, we’ve put out a monthly newsletter highlighting stories in the library, business, and technology fields that are likely to have significant impact on those fields in the near future. The Hill Library Trends Newsletter, we called it. Over the next couple of months, though, we’re going to fiddle with the format of that newsletter a little. We’ll still keep track of important stories, studies, and news, and we’ll still only report the best to you on a monthly basis, but a couple small things will change. So this first version of that mad experiment comes to you in three separate parts, with highlighted stories included right here on the blog, rather than in a separate pdf file. Hope you enjoy them – and thanks as always for reading!
It’s been a busy month. If you’ve fallen a little behind in your professional reading and want to catch up on the big stories, consider the Hill Library Trends Newsletter. Our monthly digest of what’s new in libraries, business, and technology is free – and the October 2008 issue is now available.
In this month’s report: The SBA outlines top issues for small businesses, an initiative moves toward Internet access through light bulbs, Google Book Search is reborn following a relatively small lawsuit settlement, and a study shows that email fosters lies.
In the September 2008 issue of the Hill Library Trends Newsletter, you’ll find a potential revolution for your library catalog, a disagreement over how employees use social media at work, and the collective small business response to the failed economic bailout.
The Trends Newsletter looks at what’s new in libraries, business, and technology by highlighting relevant reports, articles, and blog entries. It saves you time by bringing to light issues affecting these industries today and issues that may affect them tomorrow.
