Free online training sessions by Thomson Reuters

Register now for free online training sessions in August offered by Thomson Reuters at India friendly timings. Their training experts will be able to provide you with value added information with respect to global perspective and also address your queries specific to the Indian context.  Sessions range from 30 minutes to one hour and include a presentation / live product demonstration followed by questions and answers.  

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY

Reseacher ID - A unique tool for research professionalsTuesday, August 14, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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Web of Science - Are you looking for high-impact articles
& discovering emerging trends?Tuesday, August 21, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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The Impact FactorTuesday, August 28, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)Register

LIFE SCIENCES

Getting started with Newport
Thursday, August 02, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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Newport Search and Alert Features
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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Getting started with Thomson Reuters Pharma
Thursday, August 09, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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Getting started with Thomson Reuters Integrity
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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Getting started with Thomson Reuters Cortellis
for Competitive Intelligence
Thursday, August 16, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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Getting started with IDRAC
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
02:00 p.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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FEATURED SESSION: Using the Target Company
Search in NewportTuesday, August 07, 2012
6:30 p.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SOLUTIONS

Thomson Innovation - New Frontiers in
Intellectual Property research
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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Patent Analytics on Thomson Innovation (for new users)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
11:00 a.m. IST (Mumbai, GMT+05:30)
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To find more training sessions and recorded sessions please visit
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Role of libraries in academics

Stressing on the role that libraries and library-sources can play in fostering academic and research excellence in the Indian universities, a seminar was organised by the Information & Library Network Centre (INFLIBNET), an Inter-University Centre(IUC) under the University Grants Commission, India. "Traditionally, libraries and library sources have been important but have been invisible globally. The role of libraries in a technology-driven world has changed. Technology has brought about a revolution in terms of sharing resources and we must make use of it for the benefit of students and faculty," says Jagdish Arora, director, Information and Library Network Centre, an autonomous inter-university centre of UGC.
In India, universities, which have funds, update their libraries through e-books, online journals, etc. What about universities which do not have funds? "The UGC INFONET digital library consortium provides access to 7,500 journals in about 200 universities, which are funded by UGC. The universities that run all kinds of programmes, get access to all journals. We follow a model that allows us to get access to quality material that can be given out to the member colleges. We have opened another gate for universities, not part of the forum. They can get their own subscriptions at the rate the other 200 universities pay and access quality material for five years. We are giving them access to the market, which they cannot afford," says Arora.

Talking about the challenges that are faced by Indian universities, Arora says that infrastructure is the biggest hurdle. "We can give universities cables but how they use it, is up to them. Connectivity is something we have to work on harder."

Paula Kaufman, dean of libraries and university librarian, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign says that there is a need to look at a sustainable model for the growth of a library that will be beneficial to users.

"The value of a library is different from one institution to the other. It is a challenge to get funds to upgrade the library and the resources within but unless we do that, we cannot measure the impact the library resources are creating for the users."

"The model that we follow, measures things such as growth of e-books, cost per-use, etc. This allows us to keep track of what resources are being used and what resources are needed and what aren’t. Use of resources in our university is not just restricted to students coming to the library physically and reading. With technology, students access material from outside the campus through the internet. This is a positive development because it has changed the way we offer library services," she says.

Source | Times of India | 16 July 2012

A book that had been issued from Navan library in the Republic of Ireland has been returned 80 years late!

< http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Republic-of-Ireland >

A book that had been issued from Navan library in the Republic of Ireland, has been returned 80 years late.  
A mystery borrower slipped the book discreetly through the letterbox at the county library at the weekend. It was checked out in 1932. County librarian Ciaran Mangan estimates that the book has chalked up a fine of 4,160 euros, based on the original 1930s fine of one penny per week. But they are just delighted to see it back.
"It was an item that had been out on loan effectively since it was published and put into stock and the system in 1932," the BBC quoted him as saying. The librarian calculated the fine incurred by the book, but they would like to make a bargain for the penalty. 
"As good Christians, we decided we would waive that fine if the person appears in person and confesses to having returned the book," the librarian said. There are no details on the original borrower because the library's computerised records only date back to 1994. 
However, someone may have had their conscience pricked because the overdue book is a pictorial record of the 31st International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932. The 50th International Eucharistic Congress takes place in Dublin next month. The book has generated a lot of interest. 
"We believe it was well cared for and was probably shelved with the family's collection, getting lost among their own books. "We have it on display as it is attracting a lot of attraction," Mangan said.
Reference:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/Book-returned-to-library-after-80-years/articleshow/13809839.cms

Evidence of library value for teaching and research staff

Providing evidence of value remains an elusive goal for academic libraries, according to a new report, available for free from http://libraryvalue.wordpress.com/report.

The findings are the results of a six-month research project commissioned by SAGE, which sets out recommendations for academic libraries to enhance their working relationship with academic teaching and research staff. ‘Working together: evolving value for academic libraries’ was undertaken by LISU, a national research and information centre based in the Research School of Informatics and the Department of Information Science at Loughborough University (UK).

Findings from three geographic areas, the United States, United Kingdom and Scandinavia, indicated that there is no systematic evidence of the value of academic libraries for teaching and research staff. Despite this, librarians noted that they receive positive feedback about the support the library provides, but there is a perception that academic staff do not really know how to use all that the library can offer.
Outlined in the report are three key issues identified by librarians as being central to working together with faculty. These are: value measurement and perception; working together with researchers and teachers; and raising awareness about library products and services. The report sets out examples of best practice and makes a series of recommendations for libraries and university management to improve the perceived value of academic libraries with teaching and research staff.

Click here to download this report
Thank you
SAGE and the LISU research team

Librarian reads and reviews

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Khaled Hosseini

Bloomsbury

ISBN978-0-7475-8297-7

The sufferings of a land with a great tradition, the pathos of the women in a land of continuous clashes and fighting… the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” depict a lot more than that. Afghanistan has been the cradle and playground for war lords, sometimes from the neighboring countries, otherwise from the interiors. In these chaotic perils there were the women who lived within the wall, behind the screens and within the clutches of religious coverings, holding the misfortunes of a birth. No need to say about the status of women in a male dominated society. In the name of god and in the name of religion the segregated lot suffered.

“A Thousand Splendid Suns” portrays the story of two women – Mariam and Laila.. Mariam by birth itself was a ‘harami’ because of none of her mistakes. She was only fifteen when she was married to Rasheed, who was thirty years elder than her. After some twenty years, the other girl Laila was smacked with tragedy. She had to join Mariam as another wife of Rasheed. Even though they finds it difficult to be together in the beginnings, they find consolation each other, then a relationship grows just like that between two sisters or that between a mother and her daughter.

Along with the story the political changes in the country and the death and destruction happening in the country are ornately drawn by Hosseini. The enthusiasm of the author in the description of details gradually recedes when we gradually reach the end of the novel. The author gives the impression of himself in a haste to wind up.

However it is an unforgettable picture of a country which is subjected to a lot of destruction even in the 20^th century. It also portrays the women’s endurance being tested beyond their worst imaginations. Yes, we have to read this novel to know what Afghanistan was… to an extent what it is now.

Goa University Library now mouse clicks away!

The Library of Goa University is now online with its website and the database made available to the academics of the global village. You can access the website under http://library.unigoa.ac.in and the database under http://libcat.unigoa.ac.in . We are now available on Facebook, Twitter and similar other social networking facilities too.

The online facilities were inaugurated by the Hon Chief Minister of Goa Sri Manohar Parrikar in an august function held at the University on 30.5.2012