Driving Professional Development through Associations
20th May 2015

Andrew Clark, president of the Pharma Documentation Ring (P-D-R) and active member of SLA, explains how being an active member of a professional association can help to enhance your career and keep your professional development continuous in order to meet the changing requirements that affect the information industry today. He offers some useful guidance on how to choose the right association for you and the major benefits that can ensue.

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FreePint Report: Ebook Research 2015
19th May 2015

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Product Review of Infomart (Introduction; Value; Contact Details)
19th May 2015

Infomart is a media monitoring and analytics platform serving communications professionals, marketers and brand managers based in Canada and around the world. The product provides data, analysis and insights that allows companies to make business decisions based on media intelligence sourced from both traditional news outlets and social media. In the first part of her review, researcher Jan Knight looks at the value the product offers, and introduces the product and the company.

Note: Full review (PDF) at /go/sub/report/2499

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Big Data and GIS - a Case Study on Social Care Chartered Surveyors
18th May 2015

Small firms can leverage big data too. Chris Wall discusses how Carterwood, a small chartered surveying practice based in Bristol, combines a national care home database, data from the 2011 census and powerful mapping software (ArcGIS) to extract data that drives the insights in the reports they write for care home operators and developers.

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Mini Review of Lexis Advance HD
15th May 2015

John DiGilio reviews Lexis Advance HD, the mobile app version of LexisNexis' award-winning Lexis Advance platform. In the first in a new collection of mini reviews geared towards on-the-go applications for legal research, John puts the app through its paces and provides a breakdown of its functionality, high points, and shortcomings. Competitors include Westlaw, Bloomberg and Fastcase.

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A Whole New World of Information Overload
15th May 2015

How many times have you diligently checked your email over the weekend so you don't have to deal with the email overload on Monday, only to realise that information overload isn't just about email? For a while now information overload has actually meant more than email, it has meant managing the almost constant stream of messages from social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and others. Whilst tools such as Delve and Clutter are springing up to help manage and search emails, the question is how users can manage this flow of information whilst still ensuring they get the most out of what can be very useful tools.

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Ebook Research - Licensing Considerations in Enterprise Settings
14th May 2015

A recently completed FreePint survey on the use of ebooks in the enterprise shows that pricing for ebooks is an important factor, but not as important as other factors. The survey indicates that across all sectors, the selection of content relevant to the enterprise activity remains the most important factor. While cost per use is an important metric, flexible licensing that enables access to just the right content is even more critical. Helen Josephine examines the variety of licensing options on offer, and why an organisation might choose one over another.

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Product Review of Solcara
12th May 2015

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Ebook Research - Comparisons of Ebook Vendors
12th May 2015

Libby Trudell looks at the top 10 ebook platforms as identified in FreePint's recent research, and provides a comparative table which identifies main content and sources, key features, format & delivery, and highlights contract options. Vendors covered are: Amazon, Books 24x7, EBSCO, Elsevier (two products included), OverDrive, ProQuest, Safari, Springer and Wiley.

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Becoming More Productive with Office 365
12th May 2015

It probably won't comes as much of surprise to many people that we're not as productive as we could be. Emails, phone calls, questions from colleagues and meetings mean the time that we can actually spend working is becoming less and less. In light of this many vendors are looking at how they can facilitate better productivity by providing enhancement to existing tools. The latest company to do so is Microsoft, which has developed a number of enhancements of Office 365, which would seem to enrich the experience and help make users more productive.

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