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The National Library of China is now a member of the WorldCat Resource Sharing Service.  Since November of 2009, they have added over 2.4 million resources to WorldCat, many available for interlibrary lending.  The library materials are also part of Worldcat.org.

I just returned from the Medical Library Association Meeting in Washington, D.C. There were several very interesting sessions about issues related to electronic medical records (EMRs) /electronic health records (EHRs). These reside on secure Web sites and allow health care providers and patients to access the information. This is very useful in emergencies or when [...]

Is there anything on television that is worth watching?  David Bianculli, a former newspaper television critic, has asked that question online since 2007.    Each day TVWorthWatching.com  gives “Bianculli’s Best Bets”  for what is worth watching  – series, children’s programs, documetaries, movies, etc.  Bianculli is also the TV critic for NPR’s  Fresh Air and serves as a guest host.  The site [...]

Be sure to register for the Booklist Webinar, Power to the User: Interactive Online Reference Sources, coming up on June 1. Sue Polanka, Head of Reference and Instruction at Wright State University and Chair of the RBB Editorial Board, will be one of the panelists, and she’ll be joined by representatives from our Webinar sponsors, Britannica, [...]

For academic librarians the college year is over but now comes summer school.  Studentpulse.com , an online academic student journal, is a useful tool for any college student who writes papers.  Dustin Turin, a student a Northestern University in Boston, founded studentpulse last year.  He invites students to submit papers which are read by Turin and two [...]

On my way to work this morning, an article on the front page of a fellow Chicago Transit Authority rider’s Wall Street Journal caught my attention. The article is part of WSJ’s Future of the Book series, and explores how e-books will change bookselling. Of course, e-books are changing libraries too, and are also having [...]

Although polio is no longer a major problem thanks to the Salk and Sabin vaccines, some of us are old enough to remember when it was a very scary disease. PBS has produced a documentary about it that is part of the American Experience series. it includes personal accounts of polio survivors, information about the [...]

Last December Gale release an iPhone app for the public library market based on their AccessMyLibrary service.  They are now releasing this same iPhone app for the school library market called, AccessMyLibrary School Edition.   The new K-12 version allows students to find their local school library – (grade schools, middle schools and high schools) and [...]

Last week I participated in a webinar about the discovery of reference content.  We identified several of the challenges to locating reference content – print only, reference indexed in only one place (Reference Universe), changing research habits of students (only using search engines/Wikipedia), online reference content in multiple vendor interfaces, and content not available in [...]

Geni.com is one of the best genealogy websistes and has a free basic service.  David Sacks (also of PayPal fame) launched the site in 2007 with the mission of connecting and preserving the family.   Users enter names, addresses and biographical information about themselves and their ancestors and relatives.  From this information a family tree is created which may be viewed by other [...]

I just got my copy of Booklist’s May 15 issue which, in addition to being the annual Spotlight on Sci Fi/Fantasy, is the traditional home of the Reference Showcase. This is Reference Books Bulletin‘s chance to shine but honestly, for a self-confessed print reference fan, it gets harder every year to find something to celebrate. [...]

With the growth of e-materials, or digital-native materials, do you find the amount of printing rising?  I have seen more emphasis put on the purchasing and subscribing to electronic databases and ebooks that have similar materials also available (or potentially available) in print.  When I see the number of pages being printed from the electronic [...]

We all get questions about anatomy and have well-used copies of classic works like Gray’s, but there are new imaging techniques in use that provide a much better view. Go to www.nih.gov/science/imagingto learn about CT scans, MRIs, and other tools being developed for diagnosis and treatment of cancer, strokes, and heart attacks. The site has [...]

We’ve had some discussion here at Points of Reference about how changes in the way people engage with the library have caused librarians to rethink and resize their print reference collections. In some libraries, changes have involved much more than just moving reference books from here to there. A case in point is Georgia Tech Library, which [...]

Be sure to register for the Booklist Webinar, Power to the User: Interactive Online Reference Sources, coming up on June 1. Sue Polanka, Head of Reference and Instruction at Wright State University and Chair of the RBB Editorial Board, will be one of the panelists, and she’ll be joined by representatives from our webinar sponsors, Britannica, [...]

Slate.com is a daily magazine (web only) which began in 1996 and is now owned by The Washington Post.  Considered a liberal publication it includes short articles in politics, art, business and science.  It also is the online site for Doonesbury.   A recent article on a comparison of two cookbooks, The Pioneer Woman and Ad Hoc, was [...]

I just returned from New York, where I participated in a librarians’ focus group at Oxford University Press. Oxford is launching a new reference source, Oxford Bibliographies Online, which demonstrates the evolution of reference sources. We have all used print subject bibliographies. They used to be important sources. When is the last time that you reached [...]

Over the past few months we conducted a survey to find out, in this era of shrinking reference collections, what print reference titles libraries would hold on to. This survey grew out of David Tyckson’s presentation at our Twenty-First Reference Collections webinar back in January. After the webinar, someone asked David if there are any print reference titles [...]

Last week I wrote a post about disappearing languages. This post is about something different–the evolution of a new one. Being the dictionary person at Booklist, I’m often asked to review books on language. Recently, I reviewed Globish: How the English Language Became the World’s Language. The author, Robert McCrum (he also wrote The Story of English), [...]

When performing collection development, or teaching a lesson, or anything in-between, do you aim for the highest performing patron, the lowest performing patron, or somewhere in between?  For example, do you only purchase those items that suit the needs of the lowest reading level, forcing others to go ‘down’ or do you purchase only those [...]