InfoTech-Briefs
RSSMichael Rogers -- Library Journal, 02/27/2009
- Credo Adding M.E. Sharpe encyclopedias
- ProQuest products Shibboleth compliant
- Innovative Interfaces new foreign contracts
- WebJunction releases Library Management Competencies
Credo Reference has cut a deal to incorporate five of M.E. Sharpe’s multivolume encyclopedias into its Credo General Reference collection: Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World (2007, 3 vols.); Encyclopedia of Intelligence & Counterintelligence (2005, 2 vols.); Encyclopedia of World Trade from Ancient Times to the Present (2005, 4 vols.); Financial History of the United States (2002, 3 vols.); and The Underground Railroad: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations (2008, 2 vols.).
Wiley-Blackwell, the STM and scholarly publishing arm of John Wiley & Sons, has been tapped by the American Psychological Society (APS) to publish Physiology Online, an “evolving compendium of current knowledge of all aspects of physiology. When launching online in January 2010, Physiology Online will start with 30,000 pages of published content from the APS “Handbook of Physiology” series. The material will be enhanced through the publication of quarterly issues containing new and updated contributions from research leaders in the physiological field.
ProQuest’s full line of products hosted on the ProQuest platform (from ABI/INFORM, Research Library and ProQuest Central to historical and current newspapers, ProQuest Medical Library, and Entrepreneurship) are now Shibboleth compliant. The Shibboleth System is an increasingly popular standards-based, open source software package for web single sign-on, allowing library sites to make informed authorization decisions for individual access of protected online resources. ProQuest’s Shibboleth release provides support for the following federations: the United States (InCommon), Canada (The Canadian Access Federation), UK (The UK Access Management Federation for Education and Research), and Germany (DFN-AAI). Other federations will be supported at a later date.
Innovative Interfaces has widened its net of overseas libraries employing its Encore discovery services platform with recent installations at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (Canada), University of Hong Kong, and University of Wollongong (Australia).
WebJunction, the online learning community for librarians and staff, has released Library Management Competencies, which it describes as “a guide to courses and resources to help current and aspiring library managers to be more successful in their work.” Library Management Competencies, available on WebJunction.org, includes links to related courses and resources that will help users build knowledge and skills and increase on-the-job effectiveness. By identifying key aspects of managing a library and defining the associated knowledge, skills, and behaviors, library managers will be better able to tailor their personal learning plans to address any gaps in their skills sets.
