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13th May 2010
No.301
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Contents
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Editorial
My Favourite Tipples
FreePint Bar
FUMSI Features
- Next generation catalogues, discovery interfaces and their role in helping meet changing user needs
- An InfoRant on the State of Information Management Today
VIP Features
- Introducing SourceWire
- Recent postings to the LiveWire
- Recent postings to the Wire
Jinfo - Jobs and Events
Jobs in Information:
- UK Research Lead - Maternity Cover
- Head of Subject Support Project
- Intranet Administrator
Events in Information:
- EPublishing Innovation Forum
- Risks and Opportunities: Managing information in difficult times
- SLA's Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO 2010
Highlights from DocuTicker
- Use of Combination Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella Vaccine: Recommendations...
- Financial Literacy and Subprime Mortgage Delinquency: Evidence from a Survey...
Highlights from ResourceShelf
Gold
Contact Information
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About FreePint
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FreePint publishes newsletters, websites, magazines and resources for the information industry. The FreePint Family of publications publishes practical tips, product reviews, expert tips, research collections and hands-on tools to support information work of all kinds.
This twice-monthly free FreePint Newsletter serves as a guide to the latest content, including discussion at the Bar, tips articles, vacancies, professional development events, product reviews, editorial commentary and more. Subscribing is free and connects you with the information community around the world. Subscribe today.
The FreePint Bar provides the latest announcements, including publication contents. Subscribe to an RSS feed for the FreePint Bar for the fastest updates.
Please share FreePint with others by forwarding this newsletter.
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Editorial
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By Robin Neidorf
 Should your desk have a sign reading, 'Warning: Contents under pressure'? If so, you're not alone - most information practitioners today are under a lot of competing pressures:
- Do more with less (budget, staff, resources)
- Deliver value-added results
- Extract all the juice out of paid-for resources
- Find and maximise use of non-paid resources
- Stay on top of ever-changing requirements.
It's enough to make any pressure-cooker blow.
 Stress is sometimes more manageable, though, when you have context. Recent and upcoming FreePint Research reports can help you put your own experiences into the broader context of what other professionals are experiencing and open up possibilities for resolving the challenges.
Streamlining processes can help you do more with less. Products that fit into your workflow can make a big difference in your efficiency and productivity. Participate in the current FreePint Survey on Workflow -- the resulting report will be published later this month.
In other recent research (such as the VIP Report: News Needs and Preferences and the VIP Report: Economic Impact Research), respondents have told us about their shift towards non-paid resources and pay-per-use products. They are opting for 'just in time' rather than 'just in case' purchasing. We're exploring this trend in greater detail with a new project on buying patterns. The FreePint Survey on Buying Patterns, supported through the sponsorship of Alacra, Elsevier, Hoover's and Leadership Directories, investigates how researchers manage their own knowledge about sources in this changing environment. Participate in the FreePint Survey on Buying Patterns; the results of this one will be published in early June.
Don't forget to register your interest in learning about future research projects.
Many exhibitors preparing for SLA's annual conference in New Orleans have already asked about getting a preview of the buying patterns research results, to help them understand what it's like inside that pressure-cooker. If you work for an exhibitor and want a preview, contact me (robin.neidorf@freepint.com). In the meantime, the FreePint team itself is busily preparing for our exhibit at SLA. If you plan to attend, register your interest and we'll let you know when you can meet our staff and editors. If you can't get there this year, you can still stay informed from afar.
Be sure to stop at Table No. 7 to flip through printed versions of our publications - I guarantee the hard copies will give you a new perspective on what you get through the FreePint Family.
Short of a trip to the Big Easy, a browse through the FreePint Shop could also give you a new perspective. Find VIP Reports on Products for resources you subscribe to or those you're considering. Select FUMSI Reports to guide information-related projects.
You might even find the resource that will relieve the pressures on your desk today.
Robin Neidorf
General Manager
FreePint
P.S. Our special offers of three-month trial subscriptions to VIP and FUMSI (from FreePint No. 300) remain valid through May.
FreePint is a Registered Trademark of Free Pint Limited (R) 1997-2010
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My Favourite Tipples
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Submit your list of up to five favourite tipples to support@freepint.com for publication with your byline and photo in the FreePint Newsletter. Have a single tip to share? Post it to the FUMSI Forum.
By William Patterson
- Extreme Presentation Method
http://www.extremepresentation.com/index.php
If you want to
develop an effective presentation, this is a best-class model for doing it. Dr.
Andrew Abela (Catholic University of America) bases his model on over 200
research studies from a variety of fields. He welcomes open collaboration from
his students and other interested parties to help refine and improve the
technique. One company, Juice Analytics, adopted Dr. Abela's chart choosing
method and created a on-line tool at http://chartchooser.juiceanalytics.com/. I highly recommend this approach and follow it
religiously when I develop presentations. Check out his blog too - http://extremepresentation.typepad.com/blog/.
- The Wall Street
Journal Guide to Information Graphics
http://digbig.com/5bbnsd
This one is a must
have if you live in a presentation world. Dona Wong, a former student of Edward
Tufte, has put together an excellent guide to designing good charts that will
help you effectively tell your story. She dives into how to communicate with
decision makers when you have just a couple of minutes, as well as effective
use of chart types and color. I refer to Wong's book every time I am looking to
build presentations with data, it is a great companion to the Extreme
Presentation Method mentioned above.
- Bloomberg Businessweek
http://www.businessweek.com/
I have always been a fan of Businessweek and with it's recent hand off to Bloomberg I am doubly
impressed with it's quality and value. I am especially enamored of the visually
powerful way they present data. This is the one publication that I allow myself
the luxury of receiving in hard copy....
- McKinsey Quarterly
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/home.aspx
As Tess McGill says in "Working Girl" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096463/) you never know where the big ideas are going
to come from. If you are working in the business realm and you are looking for
big ideas, you simply must read McKinsey on a regular basis. In my office we
often use McKinsey articles for our journal discussion meetings.
- OneBag
http://www.onebag.com/
This might seem like
a strange one, but I am fanatic about travelling light, especially for
business. The site has some great tips on the science of one bag travel (as
well as other travel tips) and why it will benefit you. A frequent traveller
myself, I take pride in following many of the principles espoused on the site.
If you are in the market for the perfect bag to help you travel lightly, OneBag
has some great suggestions.
William Patterson is the Director of Research & Analytics for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He served as the guest editor for the April 2010 issue of VIP, and his opening editorial can be found on the VIP LiveWire.
You can receive Tipples via Twitter at: <http://www.twitter.com/myfavtipples>.
Would you like to add your Favourite Tipples suggestions for the FreePint Newsletter or write an article for FUMSI (Find, Use, Manage or Share Information?).
If so, please submit them to support@freepint.com.
View the guidelines at: <http://web.freepint.com/go/family/contribute>.
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- access to industry-leading content, data, and analytics from sources you trust
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FreePint Bar
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The FreePint Bar is where we publish information about the latest content from across the FreePint Family of resources.
The FreePint Bar is sponsored by:
Latest posts at the FreePint Bar:
- [FUMSI] Latest popular articles
The following are the most popular FUMSI articles over the last 30 days:
* Presentation Tools: Beyond Powerpoint
* Enterprise Content Management: Another Role for Info Pros
* Knowledge in the Round: Information Management in a 3-D World
* Automatic Classification: A Panel Discussion
* Second Life for Business: Ten Techniques
Free uses of FUMSI articles are supported by our sponsors.
Read posting online »
- [RS] Resource of the Week: Batchgeo
Someone showed me this free batch geocoding tool recently. Very impressive; it's simple to use and can be a ginormous time saver.
Have you ever found yourself with a list of addresses that you had to map? Doing them one by one, with Google Maps, isn't really that difficult, but it can be tedious as heck. And the more addresses you have, the more tedious it gets, right? Next time, give BatchGeo a try.
Read posting online »
- [VIP] Latest popular LiveWire posts
There's a lot of valuable comment at the VIP LiveWire. The following are the most popular posts from our contributing editors over the last 30 days:
* Free online access this week
* A chink in the FT's paywall
* Leverage your research for intelligence
* Burson Marsteller 2010 Social Media report
* Hart to head up InfoGroup?
Subscribe to the free VIP Wires Weekly to stay informed. Your comments on any posting are always welcome.
Read posting online »
- [RS] Resource of the Week: Politicsresources.Net
Resource of the Week - Politicsresources.Net - British General Election, 2010
A British General Election will take place on May 6th. For a gateway to many of the key sources of information, the General Election page of Politicsresources.net is very hard to beat. The site also includes some original content, as in this page about the party leaders' TV debates (the first ever in Britain).
Read posting online »
- [FreePint] Celebrating with Special Offers
A lot has changed within the FreePint Family since Issue No. 1, published 6 November 1997. And yet much remains the same. That first issue featured two articles: 'Back to Searching Basics,' and 'Major Sources of Business Information on the Internet'. Neither topic would be out of place in Issue No. 301. For more blasts from the past, check out the FreePint Newsletter archive.
It's also gratifying to see that a number of the early advertisers remain important partners: Dow Jones, Financial Times and TFPL were among the advertisers in that first issue, and you'll see their support across our sites and resources today.
Changes abound, however, and several Issue 300 Special Offers can help you learn more about them...
Read posting online »
Visit the FreePint Bar »
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FUMSI Features
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 FUMSI publishes articles, tools, and a monthly magazine, to give you practical help with information skills. Visit http://www.fumsi.com/
However you Find, Use, Manage or Share Information, you'll find something in FUMSI to help.
Become a fan of FUMSI on Facebook »
Follow FUMSI on Twitter »
We add new articles to the FUMSI database in each practice area every month, which are free to read, browse, email, print or save. Here are the most recent additions:
Next generation catalogues, discovery interfaces and their role in helping meet changing user needs
 By Fiona Bradley
FUMSI: Use
Discovery interfaces are bringing a new search experience for library users including tagging, book reviews and faceted browsing, but more is needed because of the growing expectation that information will be available via mobile devices. They are also opening up the privacy debate with features such as reading histories and recommended related items.
WHAT'S INSIDE: 'Many academic and public libraries are investing in enhancements to their ILS to provide a better search experience for users. The traditional catalogue, unfriendly to users and unforgiving of both user error and changing user needs, was long overdue for an update. Discovery layer software seeks to provide a search experience that is simpler to use, but at the same time gives users more options to refine their searches and browse library resources.'
Read, print, save or forward this article now »
An InfoRant on the State of Information Management Today
 By Mark Field
FUMSI: Manage
At a time when there is more information than ever before, and production has outstripped storage, Mark Field questions the emergence of different belief systems around information management and the lack of interest is assigning keywords, and concludes that information is the wild frontier where explorers blunder about studiously ignoring each other's expeditions.
WHAT'S INSIDE: 'In the context of the 21st century, in which there is more information than ever before and production has outstripped storage by 600 exabytes, almost separate belief systems have emerged around information management: the existing separation of information as technology and information as meaningful content, which is magnified by the appearance of new information professional tribes. Information is the wild frontier, the shopping mall and the industrial revolution, in which those tribes of explorers blunder about, studiously ignoring each other's expeditions.'
Read, print, save or forward this article now »
FUMSI Forum
The latest recommendations and tips from our editors, contributors and community:
Visit the FUMSI Forum »
FUMSI - Forthcoming Topics
- Repurposing work product
- Semantic library catalogues
- iPhone apps for researchers
- SharePoint for information and knowledge management
- Social media expertise, revisited
If you have a suggestion for an article topic, or would like to write, then please contact <support@freepint.com> or read the notes for authors at
<http://web.freepint.com/go/family/contribute/>.
Browse all FUMSI articles »
Subscribe to the free FUMSI Focus to receive a weekly update of the latest FUMSI Forum discussion.
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How do you want your business news?
Which Industries? What Frequency? Integrated... How?
Get a FREE Assessment from Moreover Technologies »
Fully NLA Licensed. 800+ searchable industry categories, 100+ countries and 50 languages.
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VIP Features
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VIP publishes in-depth, unbiased reviews of business information products. If you purchase or use premium information resources, make VIP part of your professional reading every month »
 The movement of sources into and out of aggregated platforms is difficult to track, and yet essential for information managers to keep a handle on. The investment many organisations make in subscribing to aggregators is predicated on the assumption that the sources they need will be available. When availability changes, information managers may need to scramble to come up with alternatives.
SourceWire, a new column in VIP Magazine, made its debut in the April issue (No. 77). Featuring the results of VIP's subscriber survey on which sources are essential and the role of aggregators in managing an information portfolio, the debut column lays the groundwork for future coverage of the movement of sources. Our editorial team will be updating SourceWire every month, and the results will only be published in VIP Magazine.
The LiveWire blog also covers sources on an ad hoc basis. Recent postings relating to sources include:
If the availability of sources in aggregators matters to your work, consider a VIP subscription to get SourceWire each month, along with VIP's in-depth product reviews and analysis of what's happening in the industry.
Purchase VIP No. 77, with the debut of SourceWire »
Request a three-month trial subscription to VIP (part of the FreePint Issue 300 special offer) »
VIP LiveWire
VIP contributing editors comment daily on what's happening in the industry.
Visit the LiveWire for their insights, and subscribe to the free VIP Wires Weekly for regular alerts.
VIP Wires Weekly is generously sponsored by Moreover Technologies.
Most Read Postings on the LiveWire Recently...
- What's best for the business news reader?
With scarcely a murmur, the Financial Times has shut down Newssift, the semantic based global business news aggregator it launched almost exactly a year ago. It's just the latest turn of the screw in the malaise facing business news generally...
Read posting online »
- Meltwater and Nexis lose Times content
News International seems to be continuing in its mission to prevent other news organisations from crawling the web for its content. In January, we reported that aggregator NewsNow had been blocked from linking to content from The Times...
Read posting online »
- Tweeting while we work in London
Tweeting for business was a topic for discussion on both sides of the pond last week. While Nancy Davis Kho attended the SIIA lunch in New York and listened to speakers talking about using Twitter for business, I was a member of the audience at SLA Europe's informative event in London entitled 'Tweeting while we work'.
Read posting online »
- Sixty million executives can't be wrong
It sometimes seems as if LinkedIn can do no wrong. But it's just received a small setback that, once again, raises questions about how best to harness the power of social networking for business...
Read posting online »
Always feel free to comment on any item on the LiveWire, and if you do not yet have a free subscription to the VIP Wires Weekly, you can sign up now »
Purchase VIP Magazine No. 77 from the FreePint Shop, or start your subscription now »
VIP LiveWire »
VIP Wire
Information-related product and news announcements. Post your releases and subscribe to the free VIP Wires Weekly for regular alerts.
Recent VIP Wire announcements...
- Axiell & BridgeIT's new libraries' smartphone
Library patrons can now visit their library via their iPhone or Android device; Axiell and BridgeIT's new application is now live and enabling users to gain direct access to their library 24/7. Known as Axiell - My Library, the software is available to customers of all libraries using the Axiell Arena 24-hour virtual library portal from Axiell, the technology and business solutions specialist for public libraries and archives.
Read Press Release online »
- Syntax and Semantics Book Series
Emerald appoints new Editor for leading linguistics book series, Syntax and Semantics
United Kingdom, May 2010 - Emerald Group Publishing Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Jeff Runner (University of Rochester, New York, USA) as Series Editor for the Syntax and Semantics book series. Professor Runner will be taking on the role immediately, working on the series' next volume expected for publication in 2011.
Read Press Release online »
- ISI Emerging Markets Releases EMIS2GO iPhone Application
London / New York --(May 3, 2010) - ISI Emerging MarketsTM (ISI), the leader in hard-to-get information on more than 80 emerging markets, today announced the release of an application for the iPhone, called EMIS2GO. The application will allow users to easily view and explore Emerging Market Information Service (EMIS).
Read Press Release online »
VIP Wire »
VIP - Subscribe and Back Issues
Start a trial subscription today for only £80 for three months. Visit http://web.freepint.com/go/shop/vip/volume/trial/ to start your trial. You can also purchase back-issues of VIP from the FreePint Shop.
VIP Archive »
VIP publishes in-depth, unbiased reviews of business information products. If you purchase or use premium information resources, make VIP part of your professional reading every month »
VIP - Forthcoming Topics
- LinkedIn, Jigsaw and ZoomInfo (comparative review)
- BioMed Experts
- Westlaw UK and Lexis Library (comparative review)
If you have a suggestion for an article topic, or would like to write, then please contact <support@freepint.com> or read the notes for authors at
<http://web.freepint.com/go/family/contribute/>.
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Attending SLA 2010? Or wish you could?
Register your interest, and we'll keep you informed about when and how you can meet our editors and staff.
- Share your ideas for product reviews and features
- Review sample FreePint Family publications -- in hard copy!
You can also request your copy of the the FreePint SLA 2010 Special Report, to be published early July. You'll hear directly from attendees on sessions, speakers, trends networking and more.
Register now »
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Have questions on how to FUMSI?
Visit the FUMSI Forum »
- Share a tip
- Ask a question
- Comment on articles
- Connect with others who Find, Use, Manage and Share Information
It's free »
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Jinfo - Jobs and Events in Information
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 Jinfo is the central location for supporting your information career. The Jinfo Jobs database lists vacancies, and the Jinfo Events database lists workshops, conferences, training, webinars and other professional development opportunities.
Start a free subscription to receive the weekly Jinfo Update, with a complete list of the latest vacancies and events, or search the databases at any time (free).
Jinfo Jobs in the FreePint Newsletter are supported through our partnership with Quantum2, an innovative skills development programme offered by Dialog. Learn more at <http://quantum.dialog.com/>.
Jinfo Jobs:
Here is a selection of the latest featured vacancies in the Jinfo database:
- UK Research Lead - Maternity Cover
A leading professional services firm require a UK Research lead for a fixed term contract to cover...
Recruiter: TFPL Intelligent Resources
Country: United Kingdom
- Head of Subject Support Project
Prestigious university has 2 year contract to manage projects and change, building strong relationships with other institutes and developing policy. GBP 47-50,000...
Recruiter: Sue Hill Recruitment and Services Limited
Country: United Kingdom
- Intranet Administrator
To work in a small team and assist with supporting internal and external information content for the firm's intranet.
Recruiter: Glen Recruitment
Country: United Kingdom
Browse all Jinfo Jobs »
Jinfo Events:
Here is a selection of the latest featured events in the Jinfo database:
Browse all Jinfo Events »
Jinfo - the best place for information-related job vacancies and professional development opportunities.
- RECRUITING?
- Advertise a vacancy for just £195
- 10% discount for agencies
- 50% discount for registered charities
- RUNNING AN EVENT?
List it on Jinfo to reach a targeted audience seeking professional development opportunities
- Get started at <http://web.jinfo.com/events/load/>
- Partner events listed for free; enquire at <support@jinfo.com>.
Find out more today at <http://www.jinfo.com/>
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Highlights from DocuTicker
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DocuTicker publishes citations of full-text, free reports available on the web. Visit daily for new postings, or subscribe to the weekly DocuTicker Newsletter.
Recent postings:
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Highlights from ResourceShelf
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 Every week, the editors of ResourceShelf explore a Resource of the Week. Get them for free every week via email by subscribing to the ResourceShelf Newsletter.
Become a fan of ResourceShelf and DocuTicker on Facebook.
Recently published:
Resource of the Week - BatchGeo
Someone showed me this free batch geocoding tool recently. Very impressive; it's simple to use and can be a ginormous time saver.
Have you ever found yourself with a list of addresses that you had to map? Doing them one by one, with Google Maps, isn't really that difficult, but it can be tedious as heck. And the more addresses you have, the more tedious it gets, right? Next time, give BatchGeo a try.
Say you're looking for a house or an apartment, and you've got a list of places you want to see. Enter the list of addresses into a spreadsheet; you can use a standard application like Excel, Numbers, Google Docs, Open Office Calc, or you can use BatchGeo's downloadable template (though you may not need all the info included there). The more precise your addresses - i.e., including the zip codes - the better your results will be. When you're done, highlight all the spreadsheet data and copy it. Head over to BatchGeo.com, click in the source data field, then paste your spreadsheet data...
View entire posting, including live links »
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Gold
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A look back at what the FreePint Newsletter covered at this time in previous years:
- FreePint No. 277, 14th May 2009 "EBooks and Traditional Texts: Complementary or Mutually Exclusive?" and "Folksonomies: Business Use"
- FreePint No. 252, 8th May 2008 "Identity Theft: The Fastest Growing Crime Wave and Our Role" and "Managing Successful Vendor Contracts: Part 2"
- FreePint No. 229, 3rd May 2007 "Plastic Cash: A History of Money and the Credit Card in America" and "Special Report: Information Architecture Summit 2007"
- FreePint No. 205, 5th May 2006 "Gleaning consumer intelligence from blogs and podcasts" and "Trends in business information, provision and use"
- FreePint No. 182, 12th May 2005 "Ready, Steady, Go! Finding the right time for job hunting" and "Analysing corporate websites for competitive intelligence"
- FreePint No. 159, 6th May 2004 "Working in Older Age" and "Marketing for the Info-Entrepreneur"
- FreePint No. 137, 15th May 2003 "Net the Ancestors: the Internet and Family History" and "Business Continuity and Recovery - An Asian Perspective"
- FreePint No. 112, 16th May 2002 "Video Games Industry Research" and "Weblogs and Blogging - Part 2"
- FreePint No. 87, 10th May 2001 "2001 - The Internet Election?" and "Information Provision for the Information Providers"
- FreePint No. 62, 11th May 2000 "Idiots' guide to UK employment law sites on the Internet" and "Gimme a G for Global, a G for Geography"
- FreePint No. 38, 13th May 1999 "Patent information on the Internet - can you afford to ignore it?" and "Lurking on Lists"
- FreePint No. 14, 14th May 1998 "Six Opinions on Internet World UK" and "Deafblind access to the Web"
FreePint Newsletter Archive »
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Contact Information
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