Newsletter No. 118
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Free Pint
"Helping 51,000 people use the Web for their work"
http://www.freepint.com/
ISSN 1460-7239 8th August 2002 No.118
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IN THIS ISSUE
EDITORIAL
MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
From Paul Pedley
FREE PINT BAR
In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
JOBS
Assistant Librarian
Research Manager
Legal Librarian Assistant
Advertising Agency Researcher
Information Associate
Information Executive
TIPS ARTICLE
"The Economies of the Balkan"
By Sam Vaknin
BOOKSHELF
"Super Searchers Make It On Their Own"
Reviewed by Marylaine Block
FEATURE ARTICLE
"Answering Quick Reference Enquiries Using Google"
By Terry Kendrick
EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
CONTACT INFORMATION
ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/080802.htm>
ADOBE ACROBAT VERSION WITH NEWSLETTER FORMATTING
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Targeted Science and Engineering Information
Nerac delivers hard-to-find information from worldwide resources
within the next business day. Our search experts locate information on
published literature, patents, trademarks and advancements in science
and technology. Our resources provide targeted results that save you
time and money. To learn more, visit our Web site at www.nerac.com,
call 860-872-7000 (U.S.), from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET to speak
directly with a Nerac representative or e-mail us at info@nerac.com.
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>>> ABOUT FREE PINT <<<
Free Pint is an online community of information researchers. Members
receive this free newsletter every two weeks packed with tips on
finding quality and reliable business information on the Internet.
Joining is free at <http://www.freepint.com/> and provides access to
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EDITORIAL
Everyone knows that the Free Pint Bar is the place for tricky
research questions, but lately it has felt more like a matchmaking
agency. Which I think is great.
It seems that people in many different parts of the information
industry are increasingly looking to network and seek support
through formal or informal groups.
For instance, at the Bar we've recently welcomed a new breed,
'Resource Specialists', who seem mainly to talk about their
collective title <http://www.freepint.com/go/b19089>. There is also
widespread interest for an Intranet support group
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b18758>. Even IT professionals are
looking to their peers for help, especially after redundancy
<http://www.freepint.com/go/b19067>.
We all need support and encouragement, but I'm surprised by how
little of it there seems to be around. I don't have a solution, but
at least people are starting to air their desire to get together
with like-minded professionals. Wherever it takes place, be it at
the Bar or elsewhere, it has got to be a good thing.
A big thank you then to everyone who contributes, and of course to
Factiva for their sponsorship of the Bar. It seems to be benefiting
not only those with research questions but also those seeking
professional association <http://www.freepint.com/bar>.
Elsewhere at Free Pint, our Summer Sale has just been greatly enhanced
with the addition of 'buy one get one free' on UK company reports. I'm
delighted that we've managed to negotiate this great deal for Free
Pinters, whereby every report purchased in August 2002 entitles you to
another report of the same value or less, completely free.
So, we've now got sale offers on company reports, newsletter and
banner advertising, and half price job listings. Only until the end
of the month though <http://www.freepint.com/shop>.
In today's Free Pint we're as cosmopolitan as ever, with a look at
Web resources for the Balkans and for answering reference enquiries.
All this, with the usual mix of tips and reviews, should give you
lots of things to think about and sites to visit.
Best regards
William
William Hann BSc(Hons) MCLIP, Founder and Managing Editor
Email: <william@freepint.com> Tel: +44 (0)1784 420044
Free Pint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2002
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--- GLEN RECRUITMENT ---
Glen Recruitment is a leading independent Employment Consultancy
dealing in the recruitment of Information Specialists, Knowledge
Professionals, Business Analysts, Researchers and Librarians.
We provide both permanent and temporary staff at all levels from
Senior Managers to recent Graduates. Our client list could not be
more exceptional and includes prestigious organisations of all sizes.
For more details call 020 7745 7245 email info@glenrecruitment.co.uk
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>>> FREE PINT DATA PROTECTION EXCHANGE <<<
Thursday 26th September 2002, West London, UK
<http://www.freepint.com/exchange/dp260902.htm>
This workshop will look at setting up data protection and privacy
statements, tracking users, securing and processing client data.
"Paul Pedley is an excellent speaker. Very knowledgeable. Would
definitely come to another event. Price was reasonable as well."
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MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
From Paul Pedley
* <http://www.tucows.com> - Tucows is an excellent source for
downloading freeware and shareware.
* <http://www.managinginformation.com> - Provides a daily news service
covering the information industry. Has been particularly useful on
copyright matters recently.
* <http://www.northernlight.com/news.html> - The NorthernLight current
news search covers two weeks worth of news which is available free
of charge, after which time it becomes part of the chargeable
special collection.
* <http://investor.ft.com> - Useful site for monitoring companies and
markets, including share price data, company announcements, and
currencies.
* <http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/> - Greg Notess' site monitors
search engines, including their sizes relative to one another.
Paul Pedley is Head of Research at the Economist Intelligence Unit,
and is running two Free Pint Exchanges in the Autumn on Data
Protection and Electronic Copyright <http://www.freepint.com/exchange>.
Email your top five favourite Web sites to <penny@freepint.com> or
see the guidelines at <http://www.freepint.com/author.htm>.
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MANY MORE SESSIONS ADDED TO FACTIVA'S LEARNING SCHEDULE
Factiva Learning Programs has organised many more Factiva.com
introductory and advanced learning sessions both online via the
Web and as face-to-face seminars. To learn how to search our
unmatched collection of sources more effectively register today at
http://www.factiva.com/learningschedule
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>>> FREE PINT COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE EXCHANGE <<<
Arthur Weiss looks at ways of finding information on competitors,
what to look for and how to communicate it to decision makers.
Thursday 19th September 2002, West London, UK
<http://www.freepint.com/exchange/ci190902.htm>
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In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
If you have a tricky research question or can help other Free Pinters
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>>> FREE PINT SUMMER SALE <<<
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FREE PINT JOBS
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SUMMER SALE: All job listings placed before the end of August are
half price. Find out more at <http://www.freepint.com/shop/>.
As well as the selected listings below, check out the weekly Bar
postings which list the latest additions to Free Pint Jobs.
This week's can be found at <http://www.freepint.com/go/b19092>
and last week's at <http://www.freepint.com/go/b19004>.
Here are some of the latest featured jobs:
Assistant Librarian <http://www.freepint.com/go/j1925>
Top law firm has chance for newly qualified info prof to join team,
22k pounds for newly qual, negotiable for law library experience.
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment
Research Manager <http://www.freepint.com/go/j1952>
Research Manager to manage staff, negotiate with suppliers, train
end-users and provide in-depth research. To 38,000 pounds + Bonus.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Legal Librarian Assistant <http://www.freepint.com/go/j1958>
6 month contract in City law firm to support current team on all
aspects of the library. Experience and enthusiasm essential.
Recruiter: Recruit Media
Information Associate <http://www.freepint.com/go/j1956>
9 month contract, info research & library work, large commercial
firm, small lively team, central Herts location (need car).
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment
Advertising Agency Researcher <http://www.freepint.com/go/j1957>
Advertising Agency Researcher (qual.) with bubbly personality and
good online database experience. To 22,000 pounds.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Information Executive <http://www.freepint.com/go/j1959>
Recent graduate in information management required for 3 month+
contract with blue chip client. Would suit pre-library professional.
Recruiter: Recruit Media
[The above jobs are paid listings]
Free Pint Jobs is a great place for finding and advertising
information-related vacancies.
Job seekers can search the database for free, and set up a profile to
be notified weekly of relevant new vacancies.
Recruiters will receive significant publicity for listed vacancies,
and jobs will be matched against the 600+ stored job seeker profiles.
Find out more today at <http://www.freepint.com/jobs>
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>>> FREE PINT ELECTRONIC COPYRIGHT EXCHANGE <<<
Copyright issues in the electronic environment and their implications
for Web sites and intranets will be examined in this workshop. Topics
include licences, deep linking, copyright law and new directives.
Thursday 17th October 2002, West London, UK
<http://www.freepint.com/exchange/ec171002.htm>
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TIPS ARTICLE
"The Economies of the Balkan"
By Sam Vaknin
The Balkan (Southeastern Europe or SEE, put more politely), like the
Middle East and Central Asia, gains exposure only in times of strife
and worse. Even it's boundaries are undecided. Scholars include in it
Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia - but all three reject vehemently the
title "Balkanian" which they regard as pejorative. The Balkan is
polarized among the very rich (Slovenia), the rich (Hungary, Croatia),
the poor (Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria), and the impoverished (Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Albania).
Political and geopolitical background about the region can be gleaned
from the full-text reports of the International Crisis Group
<http://www.intl-crisis-group.org/projects/program.cfm?typeid=3> and
the articles authored by local journalists and outside experts on the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting Web site
<http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?balkans_index.html>. Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty has two excellent and free reports, delivered by
e-mail to subscribers: the Balkan report
<http://www.rferl.org/balkan-report/> and the South Slavic report
<http://www.rferl.org/southslavic/>. The online version of the
Southeast European Politics Journal, published by Central European
University, provides in-depth political and geopolitical analyses
<http://www.seep.ceu.hu/>.
The Balkan Academic New list is unparalleled in its depth and width
of coverage <http://www.seep.ceu.hu/balkans/>. For a survey of the
terrain from the local point of view, visit Serbianna
<http://www.serbianna.com/> or the vitriolic and thought-provoking
"Emperor's New Clothes" <http://www.emperors-clothes.com/>. Another
recommended resource is the East West Institute
<http://www.iews.org/>. Other good sources of news coverage,
including economic and financial news, are the Southeast Europe
Regional News <http://www.seeurope.net/>.
The European Internet network maintains a Balkan portal which covers
the politics and economies of the region
<http://www.europeaninternet.com/balkans/>. Another source of
scholarly information is the Center for Southeast European Studies
<http://www.csees.net/>. The Vienna based SEEMO <http://www.seemo.at/>
is a network and advocacy group of journalists, editors, and media
outlets throughout the region. The intelligence Network maintains a
Balkan Topic Center <http://www.intellnet.org/topics/balkans>.
For alternative - and multilingual - views about the republics of
former Yugoslavia and Albania, visit AIM, Alternative Information
Network in former Yugoslavia <http://www.aimpress.org/index.htm>. A
solid directory of Balkan links can be found in Balkan Peace
<http://www.uottawa.ca/associations/balkanpeace/links.html>. Geoscopie
provides French perspectives and rare links
<http://www.geoscopie.com/>.
Following the Kosovo war, the region benefits from a host of US and
European Union driven reconstruction plans. The European Commission
and the World Bank maintain an excellent Web site about the various
credits, grants, technical assistance, and regional cooperation
programs <http://www.seerecon.org/>. The biggest of these initiatives,
the Stability Pact, maintains a separate and well worth visiting Web
site <http://www.stabilitypact.org/>.
The next stop is somewhat surprising. The US European Command (EUCOM)
maintain an excellent Web site called "Balkan Times" (formerly the
Balkan Exchange). It has a constantly updated section about the
economy <http://www.balkantimes.com/html2/english/arcEcon.htm>.
Visitors to the Balkan Regional Center for Trade Promotion
<http://www.balcantrade.org/> can find information about the economies
of countries in the region, various cross-border initiatives, and
useful addresses. Southeast Europe Online
<http://www.southeasteurope.org/> lists reconstruction and development
projects and NGO's operating in the area. Both Central Europe Review
<http://www.ce-review.org/> and Transitions Online
<http://www.tol.cz/> (they are about to merge), carry numerous
articles about Balkan economies. CER's archive is free, TOL's requires
a paid subscription.
Kasna <http://www.kasna.com/> provide analyses of economic sectors
throughout the region as well as B2C and B2B services. If you care to
learn about taxation this is the Web site for you: TaxUp Central and
Eastern Europe <http://www.taxup.com/eastern_europe>. Good luck!
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Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism
Revisited" and "After the Rain - How the West Lost the East". He is a
columnist for Central Europe Review and eBookWeb, a United Press
International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of
mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory
and Suite101. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the
Government of Macedonia. Visit Sam's Web site at
<http://samvak.tripod.com>.
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Related Free Pint links:
* Country and regional resources in the Free Pint Portal
<http://www.freepint.com/portal/>
* Post a message to the author, Sam Vaknin, or suggest further
resources at the Free Pint Bar <http://www.freepint.com/bar>
* Read this article online, with activated hyperlinks
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/080802.htm#feature>
* Access the entire archive of Free Pint content
<http://www.freepint.com/portal/content/>
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>> GET A FREE REPORT FOR ALL UK COMPANY REPORT PURCHASES <<
That's right, any report you purchase in August 2002 entitles
you to another (of the same value or less) completely free.
This is our best deal ever on company reports,
but it's only for one month ...
<http://www.freepint.com/icc>
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FREE PINT BOOKSHELF
<http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf>
"Super Searchers Make It On Their Own"
Written by Suzanne Sabrowski, Reva Basch (Editor)
Reviewed by Marylaine Block
This follows the standard format of the invaluable Super Searcher
series: a knowledgeable interviewer asks top researchers how they do
their job. What are their tricks of the trade, their favorite tools
and strategies? In this case, though, the focus is not on the search
but on the business. In an era when information is abundant, and most
of it is believed to be free, how do you convince people that they
need to buy it, and from you? How do you make the decision to go
private? How do you build a clientele? Price your services?
The answers vary widely because the information entrepreneurs include
generalists, experts in aviation, intellectual property, public
records, search engines, telecommunications, and Canadian business,
and an information expert who provides contract library services to
corporations.
But there are commonalities, too. This work is not for the faint of
heart. Information entrepreneurs need to be willing to take risks and
trust their abilities. They need opening-day credibility, the ability
to answer the question, "why should I hire YOU?" with a "Because ..."
derived from years of acknowledged excellent performance in
information retrieval. They need to have a clear sense of who their
prospective clients are and how to market to them.
For many information entrepreneurs, the solution is added value. The
fact is that raw information is valueless. Professional researchers
have to have the background knowledge to ask the right questions, find
the most useful data for the purpose, and recognize when key
information is missing; furthermore, they need to be able to summarize
the data and provide the analysis, the "so what?".
That's why many researchers specialize in highly specific subject
areas. Some of the people interviewed here were never librarians, but
were knowledgeable experts in a subject area who became expert in
manipulating the information structure of the field. Martin Goffman,
for instance, was a specialist in intellectual property and patents,
was a chemist, inventor, and an owner of patents before he got into
the business of patent searching. Crystal Sharp, who specializes
in Canadian business information, got her degree in economics and was
a contract researcher for the Harvard Institute for International
Development before she decided to offer specialized business
information for a living.
Word of mouth and networking are the primary marketing methods these
researchers use; as public records specialist Lynn Peterson says
"every client I've ever had has led to two or three more". Many of
them publish newsletters to stay in touch with existing clients and
let them know about new services and tools; they encourage their
clients to forward the newsletters on to anyone who might be
interested (and become a future client). Many of them publish articles
in the trade literature and work the conference circuit; by sharing
some of what they know, they pick up both new clients and new
referrers in the information community. They all maintain web sites,
not so much as a way to attract new clients, but as a quick way to
acquaint prospective clients with the kind of work they do, show them
sample projects and/or lists of satisfied customers, and present their
pricing structure.
Their search habits are living proof that it's NOT all on the web for
free. They all use the internet for some purposes, but for their meat
and potatoes they rely on the various databases they subscribe to.
Sometimes they'll get on the phone to experts in the field, and
they'll even go to libraries and archives as needed (or subcontract
this work to others).
All of them must deal with the issue of continuous learning and
retraining. Most of them are part of professional listservs and
discussion forums, both within their subject specialties and within
the information community -- the book is kind of like a love-letter to
the Association of Independent Information Professionals.
All of these information entrepreneurs enjoy the flexibility of
setting your own hours. Many of them went private so that they could
work and still have the time they wanted with their young children.
They like the control that comes from running your own business, the
freedom to choose or refuse assignments, and to do them in the way
they see fit. And they like the respect that comes from a job well
done, respect that is measured in the willingness to pay large amounts
of money for their expertise.
As for the down side -- well, actually, there doesn't seem to be one.
Not if you know your stuff, and people know you know your stuff. If
you're ready to take the plunge yourself, but would like to have a
lifeguard standing by, this book offers plenty of tips, things to
think about, and suggested reading.
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Marylaine Block, who is also known for building the well-known web
site, Best Information on the Net (BIOTN), is now a full-time writer,
internet trainer, and publisher of two e-zines for librarians,
ExLibris and Neat New Stuff I Found This Week. She's written numerous
articles for library publications and has edited a book of the wit and
wisdom of Barbara Quint, The Quintessential Searcher, recently
published by Information Today and reviewed by Free Pint at
<http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf/quint.htm>.
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Related Free Pint links:
* Find out more about this book online at the Free Pint Bookshelf
<http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf/own.htm>
* Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0910965595/freepint0c>
or Amazon.com
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0910965595/freepint00>
* "Super Searchers Make It On Their Own: Top Independent
Information Professionals Share Their Secrets for Starting and
Running a Research Business" ISBN 0910965595 published by Cyberage
Books written by Suzanne Sabroski, Reva Basch (Editor)
* Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the Free Pint
Bookshelf at <http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf>
* Read about other Internet Searching books on the Free Pint Bookshelf
<http://www.freepint.com/bookshelf/searching.htm>
To propose an information-related book for review, send details
to <bookshelf@freepint.com>.
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>>> RECRUIT INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS FOR 50% LESS <<<
Until the end of August, listings in Free Pint Jobs
are half their usual price. This is therefore a great
time to advertise your vacancy to the largest community
of information professionals anywhere.
<http://www.freepint.com/shop>
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FEATURE ARTICLE
<http://www.freepint.com/issues/080802.htm#feature>
"Answering Quick Reference Enquiries Using Google"
By Terry Kendrick
When confronted with a queue of six people at the enquiry desk and an
internet search result of 250,000 hits you may well reflect that using
the internet to answer that quick reference enquiry was not such a
good idea after all.
Ironically, access to vast storehouses of information has complicated
our jobs as much as it has simplified them. Pressing a few keyboard
keys does not necessarily deliver. Here are two practical tips that my
library and information students find work remarkably well and will
potentially revolutionise your searching for quick reference type
enquiries. It is not the only way of searching but it is certainly an
effective way to dramatically reduce the number of hits without losing
relevance.
Thinking like a librarian (structures, keywords, Boolean algebra) is
very useful when dealing with a traditional online host that has its
information nicely indexed in searchable fields. However, the internet
is still essentially a string of text (although there are some
librarian-friendly controlled parts) where we are missing a trick if
we simply use keywords and, in the case of Boolean, allow the
ambiguities inherent in language to reduce some potential precision in
our quick reference enquiries. Detailed research topics respond well
to keywords, quick reference topics not so well.
The key orientation for effective quick reference internet searching
is to think like a journalist rather than as a librarian.
What does this mean in practice? Well, consider the following request:
"I want to know how to wire a plug".
It's very tempting to start the search by identifying keywords. On
such an approach you might consider plug wiring or wiring plug, both
of which, in Google for instance, will bring you back a significant
number of hits. You'll get there eventually. Is the customer getting
impatient yet?
Unfortunately the early hits are very technical and not the kind of
information helpful to anyone who simply wants to know which wires go
where in his or her domestic three pin plug. So how can we make it
more specific and relevant to the type of use to which the information
will be put?
The first thing to recognise is that keywords do not carry enough
information to make them specific. Words can be ambiguous in meaning
or context.
So this gives us a first clue to more precise internet searching -
think in sentences or phrases, not simply keywords. Librarians tend
to think in hierarchy and keywords, journalists tend to think in text
strings or phrases/sentences.
Why is this a clue to more effective internet searching? Well,
consider the "wiring a plug" search. What the reader really wanted to
know was how to wire a plug, not wiring and plugs. Why make it more
complicated by assigning keywords? The following phrase (it's really
just a string of text) put into Google's search box will deliver
excellent, precise returns in its first page of results.
"How to wire a plug" ("wiring a plug" is good too) (remember to use
quote marks so it will be treated as one text string).
At the phrase level this carries more than the meaning of the
individual words - the context matters for greater precision. The
search results are consistently practical and relevant because of the
use of the words "how to" (As a general point here "how to" is an
excellent start to any search for a practical subject. Why? Because
practical articles are quite often written with titles which include
the words "how to". For confirmation of how well this works try this
form of words for items on "how to eat with chopsticks").
However there is even more sophistication in this sentence/phrase-
rather-than-keyword approach. My second clue to effective quick
reference searching is to use only part sentences (grammar is one of
the most effective search filters we have).
On first reading, that probably doesn't make a lot of sense. It makes
more sense to do it than to think about it. Try the following:
"Opened the National Exhibition Centre" (will deliver the answer to
"Who opened the National Exhibition Centre?"), "Miro was born on"
(will deliver the answer to "When was Miro born?"), "is the smallest
church in England" (will deliver the answer to "What is the smallest
church in England?), "was the first Emperor of Japan"( will deliver
the answer the question "Who was the first Emperor of Japan?").
My students are usually very impressed when they use this approach to
searching. Have we got the dream ticket to answering quick reference
enquiries here? In front of your eyes you will see:
* The answer. You don't even have to click on to the websites from
the Google results page because the part sentence you used is
highlighted and forms part of each Google search hit display
* A number of similar hits to confirm general agreement, or otherwise
amongst sources - an aid to quality control (sometimes this can be
very useful too when there are potentially competing claims to part
sentences such as "is the fattest man in the world")
* Not much, if any, "noise". The results are very specific (in effect
the sentence grammar has been very useful here)
* Hey this was quick! And manageable on a busy enquiry desk!
By all means use Boolean algebra and keywords to search, but if you
are looking to find a quick way to get the results up on the page in
front of you without having to click on to websites to scan their
pages then give the part sentence method a try. It's worth it,
especially when one of the biggest barriers to using the internet on
the enquiry desk is the time that searching and subsequent scanning
takes.
Internet searching is as much a creative activity as it is a science.
For effective quick reference enquiry searching remember the two tips:
think first in sentences and phrases, not keywords and Boolean; part
sentences will naturally deliver your answer when the sentence begins
or ends with your answer.
And of course, if this doesn't work try keywords and Boolean!
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Terry Kendrick is Director of Information Now Ltd
<http://www.terrykendrick.co.uk>. He originally trained as a librarian
in the late 1970s but since the mid 1980s has been freelance initially
as an information broker and, since 1990 as a marketing planning
consultant. He has worked on assignments for over 50 large
organisations in 17 different countries. He still maintains close
contact with the library and information world and regularly presents
workshops for the Chartered Institute of Library and Information
Professionals (CILIP) as well as doing occasional strategic planning
related consultancy for library and information services.
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- Publication Date: 7th August 2002
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