Search results

The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online information and documentation work. They fall into the following categories:

The purpose of this study is to have a closer look at the awareness of referencing utilities among the library professionals in India. In a research environment, referencing and bibliography play an important role in the dissemination of research findings through scholarly writings. Citing references while writing scholarly articles has become more eloquent mainly due to the availability of a range of bibliography management utilities. Currently, there are various types of Bibliography Management Software (BMS) available for the management of the citation, referencing and compiling bibliographies. Librarians have a crucial role to play in helping the faculty, students and research scholars in the process of writing their scholarly articles and theses, especially in the area of referencing.

The study was conducted through an online survey with an aim to assess the perception, awareness and use of BMS by the Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals in India.

In the academic environment, published results of research findings are crucial for the advancement of knowledge. The published research findings are often supported and disputed using the citation of previous studies. There are a number of supporting technologies that are intended to help in procuring needed citations and streamlining them for better research output. The role of the librarian in this endeavor is undisputed. This study shows that there is a need for strengthening the awareness of BMS at the institutional level and also hands-on experience is needed for library professionals to help in the process of research writing and advocate for adopting correct referencing style (citation style) while writing scholarly articles.

The increased use of information and communication technology in the process of scholarly writing, especially in the search and retrieval of relevant articles and the availability of electronic journals and books, have resulted in an increased number of research articles being written by research scholars. The downside to this overflow of scholarly and creative writing is the incorrect way of using referencing style in the dissemination of research and the possibilities of malpractice and plagiarism. This study will help in creating awareness of the utility of citation and BMS in content writing, especially among library and information professionals, as they play an important role in facilitating research.

This study will be beneficial for the LIS professionals in understanding the effectiveness of their services when complemented by the use of technology-powered tools. Creating awareness of the use of BMS in content development in scholarly communication promises to create a flawless scholarly output as library professionals will help researchers in guiding research writings with correct referencing and citation.

Use of BMS helps in the development of content in an organized, methodical and scientific way. The role of library and information professionals working with different researchers and scholars in advocating and practicing the use of BMS will go a long way in creating more streamlined content.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate course instructor perceptions into personal and classroom use of computer‐generated bibliographic citations. The paper aims to provide guidance as librarians promote and teach automated citation services to the academic communities.

Course instructors at one university completed a quantitative survey about computer‐generated bibliographic citations. Questions focused on instructor use of automated citation services, if they generally reduce grades for bibliographic errors, if they would reduce grades for specific computer‐generated citation (CGC) errors, and would they advise students to use automated citation services at various course levels.

The results show a majority of course instructors do not use CGCs for their own research or promote the citation services in the classroom. A majority of respondents generally reduce student grades for bibliographic errors and would continue to do so for CGC errors. The data show specific types of automatically generated citation errors are more detrimental to student grades than others. Furthermore, results indicate course level impacts instructor promotion of CGCs.

The results provide librarians with helpful data, from the course instructor perspective, as they promote and teach computer‐generated bibliographic citations.

Literature on computer‐generated bibliographic citations tends to focus on technical and comparative aspects of citation services, or users' product opinions. This paper explores course instructor use, course promotion, and bibliographic grading of automatically generated citations to enhance advocacy and instruction of these services.

A gap in the linking of information literacy skills and bibliographic software usage was identified in the postgraduate researcher cohort. While the provision was available, many researchers were not integrating the finding of research information and the management of that information using bibliographic software tools. This article describes the linking of these two areas in two courses presented to postgraduate researchers and analyses the feedback from those who attended. Overall, an overwhelmingly positive response was found. Most positively received was the software training, perceived as a “new” skill, while information literacy skills were less well received, due mainly to the perception of those skills as already acquired.

On many occasions when academics have an online search conducted through their libraries they take their printed list of references, for which they have waited patiently for perhaps a week, back to their offices or homes whereupon they will type them all into their microcomputers for local storage using appropriate database management or word‐processing software for the purpose.

The next Cranfield International Conference on Mechanised Information Transfer will be held next year, on 22–25 July 1986, at the Cranfield Institute of Technology, near Bedford, England. This will be the tenth Cranfield Conference and it is planned to mark the milestone appropriately.

Interest in the sharing of machine‐readable bibliographic records, and of access to them, has grown considerably in recent years. This interest has been fed variously by the increasing use of library automation, the growing volume of records available for use in computer‐based systems, the pressure on libraries of all types to economise and share resources, and developments in microcomputing and telecommunications which have made it cheaper and easier for libraries to access and download records from remote systems and networks.

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the familiarity and use of reference management software (RMS) by library and information science (LIS) faculties in Iran, and aims to identify the possible factors that lead to the application and choice of this software.

This is a descriptive survey. Data collected by a Web-based questionnaire include both open-ended and multiple-choice questions. The questionnaires were distributed among LIS discussion groups and were sent to the e-mails of LIS faculties.

Results reveal that over half of the respondents had a good familiarity with the various citation software packages and knew how to use them; 35 per cent of respondents have learned how to use these packages through formal education. “Endnote” is the most popular software among respondents. Respondents confirm the need to offer some educational programs on how to use these software packages to bachelor students, and nominated the “Academic Writing” course as the proper place for teaching this topic.

If due attention is given to the importance of referencing in academic writing and to establishing criteria for the acceptance of papers for publication, teaching students how to carry out referencing and how to use RMS packages for this purpose will aid the promotion of scientific products. To determine whether LIS educators are able to teach the use of RMS packages, it is necessary to examine the extent to which they are familiar with these programs.

Imagine a meeting among up to eighty people, all participating from different places in the world at a time convenient to them. Everything any participant of the meeting says is stored in computer memory, numbered and indexed so that people joining the meeting later can scan, skip or study the proceedings according to their particular interests. Comments on any issue are typed into a computer, and can be changed if the ‘speaker’ changes his or her mind or makes a mistake, then entered into the meeting record. For the duration of the conference, a computer keeps track of all the details such as who has read what, which discussion a user is making a comment on and so forth.

HA responds to White House report. The Information Industry Association (HA) Board of Directors issued a statement of support for the Final Report on the White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services. Both agree that a change in US policy is needed and needed fast.