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This paper explores the possibility of adding user‐oriented class associations to hierarchical library classification schemes. Some highly associated classes not grouped in the same subject hierarchies, yet relevant to users’ knowledge, are automatically obtained by analyzing a two‐year log of book circulation records from a university library in Taiwan. The library uses the Chinese Decimal Classification scheme, which has similar structure and notation to the Dewey Decimal Classification. Methods, from both collaborative filtering and information retrieval research, were employed and their performance compared based on similarity estimation of classes. The results show that classification schemes can, therefore, be made more adaptable to changes of users and the uses of different library collections by analyzing the circulation patterns of similar users. Limitations of the methods and implications for applications are also discussed.

The aims of this paper are to: investigate the citation‐patterns of monograph books in taxonomic botany (looking mainly at publications and publishers, and the age of current literature); and make recommendations for collections management and reference services in libraries that hold botany materials.

In total, 454 citations were collected at random from 47 botanical monographs published in 2009; a Bradford distribution of cited journals was produced; age‐distributions of citations were devised; and other bibliographical characteristics were tabulated.

A small Bradfordian core of highly‐cited journals and important publishers of monograph books were identified; monographs are cited more often than journal articles; older materials are more important than in other sciences; monographs are used by botanists for current awareness purposes; coverage of botanical journals by citation indexes is poor.

The small size of the sample means that results were indicative. Further studies could: take larger samples; look at citations in journal articles, theses, conference proceeding; look at citations made over several years.

Librarians should: note the core botanical journals identified here; continue to acquire botanical monographs and to retain older materials; display new botanical monographs prominently and include them in current awareness services.

The bibliometrics of taxonomic botany have previously been little studied; likewise citations from monographs. This paper fills some of the gaps. Some of the bibliometric methods of J. M. Cullars were applied to botanical literature.

As the Dutch East India Company expanded its presence in Asia during the seventeenth century, discovery of new products and medical materials was central to its continued success and survival. This new product innovation was difficult to manage directly however because the routine-driven, efficiency-focused organization was ill-suited to research and discovery required for bioprospecting and innovation. Instead, the Company tacitly allowed its employees in Asia to conduct this research on their own. Scientists became free riders, exploiting their administrative authority and corporate resources to further their private research projects. This symbiotic public–private partnership enabled employees to use Company resources to undertake large-scale economic and scientific surveys of its Asian domains. These decentralized, entrepreneurial projects cut across the boundaries of caste, language, religion, and theoretical orientation to assemble new, systematic views of Asian knowledge. While not centrally planned (nor always officially condoned), these surveying efforts had all of the hallmarks of a systematic colonial project to map out the sources of value in foreign colonies.

SOME popular journals have, for some time now, been publishing a short list of books which are selling successfully. Books and Bookmen has a feature of the best‐selling titles from two or three bookshops in town and the provinces; Time and Tide publishes a list compiled with the assistance of the National Book League: Time in its “Time Listings” enumerates the top twenty best sellers (of America) and similar lists no doubt appear in other journals. The outstanding characteristic of these lists is the remarkably high quality of the books mentioned. Rare indeed is a title which would not deserve a place on the shelves on any public library. Most of the titles are, of course, new, although it is interesting to note how really outstanding titles retain a place on the lists for many weeks. Thus in the last “Time Listing”, Dr. Zhivago, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Aku Aku among others, have all been published for some months.

The present paper aims to examine the concept of “plant blindness” in the context of current sustainability debates. “Plant blindness” was the term introduced in 1999 by the botanists and educators James H Wandersee and Elisabeth E Schussler to describe what they saw as a pervasive insensitivity to the green environment and a general neglect of plants on the part of biology education.

The fundamental importance of plants for life on Earth and the socio-educational challenges of redacted awareness of this importance are considered. Also, the diverse physiological, psychological, philosophical, cultural and geopolitical origins and consequences of indifference to plants in relation to aspects of sustainability agendas are examined with special reference to education.

An examination of the outcomes of a range of research and practical initiatives reveals how multidisciplinary approaches to education and public engagement have the potential to address the challenge of “plant blindness”. The need for these opportunities to be reflected in curriculums is not widely appreciated, and the socio-economic forces of resistance to confronting plant neglect continue to be formidable.

Plant blindness is a relatively new field of research, and the full breadth of its implications are only gradually becoming apparent. If the present paper contributes to positioning plants as an essential element in sustainability education and practice, it will have met its objective.

The use of herbal medicines for various ailments has become commonplace. The Internet provides a valuable reference tool for finding information about herbal medicines, the herbal products industry, and research efforts in identifying useful natural products. However, sites that sell herbal products far outnumber sites that are strictly informational. This bibliography is a guide to noncommercial sites on the Internet that provide useful information.

My object in compiling this bibliography has been to list reference materials that will be useful to pharmacy students, faculty, and reference librarians working with them. While the bibliography is not intended to be comprehensive, I have covered the essential reference sources as well as some additional titles which are certainly desirable. Some of the books have been around for many years and are now in new editions; others are just appearing on the scene. I included periodicals only when they served a special purpose such as to offer a source of statistical or marketing information. Several of the references could have appeared in more than one place and, in the interest of brevity, I arbitrarily chose the category that seems most appropriate to me.

The implementation of the UNICORN Collection Management System from Sirsi Ltd is described, showing its adaptation to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's particular needs, for books, art, archives and other materials; and the inter‐relationship of management and system factors.

This paper aims to determine the influence of genotype and environment on tannins, phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors and haemagglutinin content of African yam bean (AYB). The presence of antinutritional factors (ANFs) alongside hardness-to-cook have been identified as reasons for the neglected and under-utilized status of AYB, a protein-rich legume. Various researchers have focused on ways to reduce these ANFs. However, breeding varieties of AYB with low levels of these ANFs offers a more satisfactory long-term solution to this problem.

Fifteen genotypes of AYB were grown in three different locations – Abakaliki (6° 19′ N 8° 6′ E), Enugu (6° 52′ N 7° 37′ E) and Ibadan (7° 26′ N 3° 53′ E). The locations are representative of the major areas where AYB are produced in Nigeria. Seeds were collected and analysed for the presence of haemagglutinin, phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors and tannin.

Genotype effects were strongest in controlling haemagglutinin content, while environment was the major source of variation for phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors and tannin content. Therefore, variability in the levels of these ANFs in AYB depends largely on the environment where they are grown. Genotype × environment was significant for all the ANFs.

The implication of this is that an AYB genotype grown and safely consumed in an environment could have antinutritional effects when grown and consumed in another environment.

While research has been carried out on genotypic variations in ANFs of AYB, limited work has been done on the effect of genotype × environment interactions on these ANFs.