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This column aims to explore the potential of personal information management (PIM) and reference management. It focuses on combining the use of PIM and reference management software with mind maps to stimulate the creative and innovative use of information collected

Following a brief review of the literature on the topic per se, awareness is raised of appropriate software and the potential of mind maps. The column is written against the background of research from information behaviour, PIM, mind maps, creativity, innovation and the reflective and evidence‐focused librarian.

There is growing emphasis on more than information literacy skills and the responsible use of information. Creative and innovative use of information is stressed. More intensive use and exploitation of information is necessary to justify the time and effort spent in using PIM and reference management software. Mind maps and collaboration might support creative and innovative use of information, and need to be further exploited. Although software is strong in supporting collaboration, there is very limited built‐in support for the combination of features for information and reference management with features for mind maps.

Although much has been published on developments in PIM and reference management, there is limited coverage of combining PIM and reference management with the use of mind maps and creativity, reflection and noting evidence.

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 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.

This column aims to explore the potential of personal information management (PIM) and reference management. It seeks to focus on how librarians can stay alert on new developments regarding PIM and related issues such as plagiarism, reference techniques, information literacy and information behaviour. It also tries to stimulate interest in looking for hidden gems that can be of value in their careers as well as those of library users by considering the innovative and creative use of PIM, e.g. by also monitoring the potential of mind maps and concept maps.

The column is written against the background of research from information behaviour, PIM, information curation, alerts on software development and related issues, and also social bookmarking.

There are many ways in which librarians can stay abreast of what is happening with PIM, reference management and related issues. There are also many things to note such as improvement of the software, uses of PIM and reference management, teaching skills in PIM and reference management, ways of sharing information, linking to innovation and creativity, and linking to information literacy and information behaviour.

Although much has been published on developments in PIM and reference management, the author is not aware of other attempts to link alerting services on PIM and reference management to go beyond developments in software.

This column seeks to explore the potential of personal information management (PIM) and reference management to offer more than easy citation of information sources and the creation of bibliographies. The emphasis is on the role librarians and information professionals (hereafter referred to only as librarians) can play in raising awareness of the potential of PIM and reference management and issues to be considered. The end goal is increasing quality, productivity, collaboration and creativity in the use of information. Over the next few issues, the column will share impressions from personal research in the field of information behaviour and PIM, analysis from the subject literature, exploration of the software as such, and trends noted through various means.

The column will be written against the background of research from information behaviour, information organisation, PIM and information curation, as well as alerts on software development in this regard and social bookmarking.

There are many issues where librarians can help end‐users to consider the implications of PIM and reference management and to contextualise their job and task, as well as other information needs such as studies and teaching, against what technology can offer.

Although much has been published on the individual issues addressed here, there is no knowledge of other attempts to take a holistic view to the responsibility of librarians to support people from all spectrums to benefit from PIM and reference management.

This paper aims to present recently published resources on information literacy and library instruction through an extensive annotated bibliography of publications covering all library types.

This paper annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2017 in over 200 journals, magazines, books and other sources.

The paper provides a brief description for all 590 sources.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

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.

As the number of citation management tools including Refworks and EndNote increased in recent years, academic libraries struggle to remain on top of new developments and support all of the tools used by their users. This paper seeks to address these issues.

A librarian at the University of Illinois surveyed graduate students and faculty about which tools they use, reasons for tool adoption, features that influence adoption, and support they expect from their library.

The results highlight that many users still use older tools including EndNote and RefWorks, but do have interests for and reasons to use new tools including Zotero and Mendeley and may not need as much library support as librarians believe.

This is the first research paper on citation management use and can influence what products libraries use and the support they offer.

The purpose of this paper is to explore a general set of criteria that can be used by librarians and information professionals for the evaluation of citation management tools.

Collection development practices found in the library world are combined with software selection criteria from the corporate sector and applied to the citation management environment. A discussion of these practices identifies general criteria, or best practices, that can be used in the evaluation of various types of citation management tools.

Eight criteria are discussed. Key questions are raised that can assist librarians and information professionals in the evaluation process. Additional resources that may assist with evaluation efforts are highlighted, where applicable.

Existing attempts to evaluate citation management tools have employed an approach centering on the features and functionality of a limited set of tools. While effective, these studies neglect new developments in the citation management environment, run the risk of missing other criteria that may be important to both users and libraries, and have short life‐cycles due to the mutable nature of software updates. This study explores the larger environment in which these tools operate, and develops a macro‐assessment of the field, not tied to update schedules or specific software options.

Following earlier comparative evaluations of software for the management of references and citations by Maggie Shapland, reported in LIBS 89/90, February 2000, in which EndNote 3.1.0 was included, there has been a release of EndNote 4 by ISI ResearchSoft. The new version is described as an online research tool, a reference database and a bibliography maker. This new evaluation refers to the earlier evaluation comments and adopts similar categories for evaluation to facilitate comparison. These are, with new categories shown in italics: