Frederick J. Friend

Google Scholar: Potentially Good for Users of Academic Information

Use of the Google search engine is commonplace amongst all sectors of the academic community. The development of the specialist Google Scholar search service will benefit the academic community in bringing to their attention content more relevant to their needs. The vast number of Web sites containing potentially relevant information requires a search engine ranging over many millions of Web sites but with the ability to target very specific types of information. The Google Scholar service has the potential to grow if it develops close contacts with both providers and users of academic information. Use of Google Scholar will benefit the authors and managers of open access content, but there are opportunities for all types of academic content providers in the way Google Scholar is set up. Google Scholar will face competition and have to keep pace with user expectations and technological developments.

Big deal: good deal? Or is there a better deal?

The purchase ‘en bloc’ by library consortia of all journals published by one publisher – the so‐called ‘Big Deal’ – is bad for small publishers and for large libraries even if – in the short term – good for large publishers and for small libraries. The publishing and library communities need to find alternative purchasing models that provide better deals for those disadvantaged by the prevalence of the ‘Big Deal’ while retaining the benefit of scale in negotiation and supply.

Brief communication: UK theses online?

Most UK university theses are only available in paper format but could be more accessible if electronic submission were commonplace. The University Theses Online Group has been working to secure academic support for electronic submission, conducting a survey of authors’ and supervisors’ attitudes and organising a seminar. Potential problems such as plagiarism must be addressed but there are also many benefits for universities, authors and users of theses in electronic submission and availability. The UK group is in touch with similar developments in other countries.

Alternatives to Commercial Publishing for Scholarly Communication

Major changes are beginning to occur in scholarly communication. The availability of print journals in an electronic format is only the beginning of a revolution in the communication of research. A parallel revolution may be beginning in the organisation of the publication of scholarly communication. The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) led by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in Washington aims to provide opportunities for new publishing ventures which will be in the control of the academic community and promote academic values of access to information.The text of this article is also available at http://elfikom.physik.uni-oldenburg.de/IuK

How can there be open access to journal articles

The possibility of open access to journal literature has generated considerable discussion in the academic, publishing and library communities. This has largely centred not on the desirability of open access in principle but upon its practicability and its effect upon the traditional journal publication system. This article will examine points made in the public discussion of the two major routes to open access outlined in the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), author self-archiving in academic repositories and the publication of journals using new toll-free economic models. Issues both for and against open access have been raised by authors, by publishers and by librarians, and a realistic approach to the feasibility of open access is important. The conclusion reached will be that open access to journal literature is feasible through either BOAI strategy but that more investigation is needed of both the positive and the negative messages received from stakeholders with as much experimentation of different models as possible.

Electronic document delivery through library co-operation. A trial using superJANET and future possibilities

The SuperJANET document delivery pilot project was conducted between five major research libraries in order to investigate the feasibility of a library‐to‐library service using the RLG Ariel system. Although the project was small scale, no insuperable technical problems were revealed, but the pilot demonstrated the need for improvements in co‐operative structures if such a service were to be established on a regular basis. The principal defect to be remedied is information about the holdings of other libraries. It is anticipated that such a library‐to‐library service would be most cost‐effective as a value‐added urgent action service.

Improving access: is there any hope?

World‐wide calls for improvements in access to journal literature are being answered by a plethora of projects and services. Consortial purchasing, national licences and “big deals” dominate changes in collection development. Moves to set up affordable easy‐to‐use electronic document delivery services offer an alternative model based on single‐article purchase. More radical barrier‐free access models are moving the economic emphasis away from purchasing to input‐payments. Are all these projects and services making a difference or will access to journal literature be no better in years to come than it is now? It is arguable that only those initiatives which are developing new models through collaboration between the stakeholders will succeed in making a major breakthrough in access.

LAMDA : questions and some answers

Considerable interest is being expressed in a new UK document delivery project known as LAMDA. Answers some of the questions that have been asked about LAMDA (London and Manchester Document Access). It is hoped that a fuller account will appear in Interlending & Document Supply next year, when some of the longer‐term questions about the future of the LAMDA service can be answered.

Keeping Your Head in a Revolution

Some dramatic changes in human society are all too obvious when they happen, as they are accompanied by violence or by social upheaval. Other changes may have effects that are just as revolutionary, but only with time do we realise quite how big a revolution has taken place. If we are to use such changes in a positive way, to benefit our personal development as well as the development of human society, it is essential that we understand what is happening around us. The theme of this article is that most of us in the information world have not as yet been able to benefit from the revolution that is happening around us. In fact there is a danger that we shall lose our heads in the sense of the French Revolution -killed off as obsolete members of society -and our response needs to be to keep our heads in the sense of Kiplings poem, giving urgent but careful consideration to the situation we face.

Changing the Financial Model for Libraries

The case for increased funding continues to be made, but much new funding is directed towards specific non-recurrent projects. Many difficulties exist with the financial model libraries work to. Neither centralised nor devolved budget models enable the most effective use of resources. The availability of networked information resources provides the opportunity for a new financial model to develop. The positive benefit from all the changes in the financial model is that a wider range of publications should be made available to users for the same expenditure.