Dear Colleagues,
This week's update contains:
·Details of our new FAST interface and a request for feedback
·A link to Jim Michalko's new hangingtogether blog post about staffing
challenges
·Notice that the recording, slides and chat transcript of our
ArchiveGrid webinar are now available
·A reminder to register to attend our VIAF Show and Tell webinar on 12
December at 9:00 am PST/12:00 Noon EST (UTC 17:00)
Best regards,
Melissa
Melissa Renspie
Senior Communications Officer
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
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*Check Out the New FAST Interface and Let Us Know What You Think*
FAST subject headings
<http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/fast/default.htm> were
developed by adapting the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
with a simplified syntax, retaining the very rich vocabulary of LCSH
while making the schema easier to understand, control, apply, and use.
The OCLC Research FAST interface allows you to investigate FAST
authorities directly, or by using the Library of Congress Authorities
from which they were derived.
We just released a new FAST user interface we're calling searchFAST
<http://fast.oclc.org/searchfast/> that simplifies the process of
heading selection in a one-page design. This new interface design
combines search box, brief results list, and full view of a selected
record on a single page. Several indexes and the ability to restrict the
result to a desired FAST facet increase searching accuracy. The default
result ranking is by usage, giving the most likely candidate heading
near the top of the result, although alphabetic and facet order options
are easily available. An autosuggest makes the selection process even
easier.
We are particularly interested in users' experiences with the new
interface, so we encourage you to try it
<http://fast.oclc.org/searchfast/> and send us your comments and
suggestions <http://www.oclc.org/research/feedback/form.asp?project=FAST>.
·Learn more about the FAST project
<http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/fast/default.htm>
·Read the new searchFAST interface news announcement
<http://www.oclc.org/research/news/2011-11-18a.htm>
·Try the new searchFAST interface <http://fast.oclc.org/searchfast/>
·Send us your feedback
<http://www.oclc.org/research/feedback/form.asp?project=FAST>
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*The Staffing Challenge---it's Not Just New Skill Sets *
If you haven't read Jim Michalko's latest hangingtogether blog post
<http://hangingtogether.org/?p=1424> we encourage you to do so. In it,
he summarizes a discussion that took place among Transforming Research
Libraries Committee members at the recent ARL Membership Meeting about
the staffing challenges research libraries face while trying to navigate
the increasingly urgent imperatives to transform their operations and
renovate their portfolio of services. Jim also points to a related piece
of research done by a group of ARL Research Library Leadership Fellows a
few years ago that spoke directly to this problem.
Read Jim's staffing challenge blog post and join the conversation! Leave
a reply <http://hangingtogether.org/?p=1424> on hangingtogether.org or
contact Jim <http://www.oclc.org/research/people/michalko.htm> with
comments.
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*ArchiveGrid Webinar Recording Now Available*
If you missed our recent ArchiveGrid webinar or want to see it again,
check out the webinar recording online
<http://www.oclc.org/research/events/taichi.htm#archivegrid> or in
iTunes
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284764834>.
The webinar slides
<http://www.oclc.org/research/events/20111103archivegrid.pptx> [pptx]
and chat transcript
<http://www.oclc.org/research/events/20111103chat.pdf> [pdf] are also
available.
ArchiveGrid, an OCLC discovery service that provides access to detailed
archival collection descriptions, is transitioning into a free service.
Its interface has a new look and will make finding primary source
materials held in archival collections worldwide even easier for
researchers.
In this short and lively webinar, consulting software engineer Bruce
Washburn and research assistant Ellen Ast provided an overview of
ArchiveGrid's history along with a demonstration of its new beta
discovery system in development in OCLC Research. They also reviewed the
processes behind the growth of the new ArchiveGrid system and the goals
to promote it both as a sought-after information resource and as a model
for archival discovery practices. Webinar attendees also participated in
an engaging question and answer exchange.
This was the eleventh webinar in the OCLC Research Technical Advances
for Innovation in Cultural Heritage Institutions (TAI CHI) Webinar
Series <http://www.oclc.org/research/events/taichi.htm> developed to
highlight specific innovative applications, often locally developed,
that libraries, museums and archives may find effective in their own
environments, as well as to teach technical staff new technologies and
skills.
·Watch the 61 minute webinar recording online as a wmv
<http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/research/webinars/20111103archivegrid.wmv>
(97.4 MB) or an mp4
<http://www5.oclc.org/downloads/research/webinars/20111103archivegrid.mp4>
(57.3 MB).
·Get the webinar recording in iTunes
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284764834>.
·View the webinar slides
<http://www.oclc.org/research/events/20111103archivegrid.pptx> (pptx:
1.42MB/26 slides)
·Read the webinar chat transcript
<http://www.oclc.org/research/events/20111103chat.pdf> (pdf: 45K/8 pp.)
·Learn more about ArchiveGrid
<http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/archivegrid/default.htm>
·Try the ArchiveGrid discovery interface
<http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/>
·Contact consulting software engineer Bruce Washburn
<http://www.oclc.org/research/people/washburn.htm> with questions or
comments about the webinar.
*
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*
*REMINDER: Register to Attend Our VIAF Show and Tell Webinar,*
*Monday, 12 December 2011 at 9:00 AM PST/12:00 PM EST (UTC 17:00)*
/For OCLC Research Library Partners Only /
Follow or tweet this webinar with *#viaf*.
The Virtual International Authority File <http://viaf.org/> (VIAF) now
comprises almost 20 million records from 24 different sources. In the
last two months VIAF had over 70,000 visits from 147
countries/territories, with two-thirds "returning visitors." In
addition, VIAF sees 6 million hits per month from automated systems such
as Web harvesters or other programs retrieving VIAF information.
But how do people use VIAF? Join this 90-minute interactive WebEx
session, when five OCLC Research Library Partner staff will "show and
tell" their uses of VIAF:
·Using VIAF as the primary reference for LC/NACO authority work to
differentiate names---/Spencer Anspach, Indiana University/
·Using VIAF to create a record in Fihrist <http://www.fihrist.org.uk/>,
a multi-institutional Islamic manuscript catalog, incorporating the URI
to an author's VIAF page---/Alasdair Watson, Bodleian Library,
University of Oxford/
·How VIAF helps researchers---/Magda El-Sherbini, Ohio State University/
·Using VIAF to identify provenance of rare books and adding VIAF links
to images of bookplates, inscriptions and other marks of ownership in
Flickr---/Regan Kladstrup, University of Pennsylvania/
·Using VIAF to identify issues in the VIAF matching process and how to
respond and report them---/Stephen Hearn, University of Minnesota/
Program Officer Karen Smith-Yoshimura
<http://www.oclc.org/research/people/smith-yoshimura.htm> will introduce
and facilitate the session. Chief Scientist Thom Hickey
<http://www.oclc.org/research/people/hickeyt.htm> will be available to
field questions about VIAF. Ample time will be provided for you to ask
the "show and tellers" questions.
This free webinar is open to OCLC Research Library Partners only.
Advanced registration is required.
·*Register here
<https://oclc.webex.com/oclc/j.php?ED=166115807&RG=1&UID=1270847327&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D>**to
attend this webinar on 12 December 2011 at 9:00 am PST/ 12:00 Noon EST
(UTC 17:00).
·Try out the Virtual International Authority File <http://viaf.org/> for
yourself.
A recording of this webinar will be made available on our website
<http://www.oclc.org/research/events/webinars.htm#viaf> and in iTunes
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284764834>.
*After you register to attend online, you will receive an e-mail message
that contains instructions for logging on to WebEx, where you will view
the VIAF demonstrations online through your Web browser (please note
that WebEx recommends using Internet Explorer or Firefox, as Chrome and
Safari are not supported). When you log in to the webinar, you may chose
to either listen to the presentation audio through your computer
speakers or headset, or dial in and listen by telephone.
If you have questions or need assistance, please call WebEx technical
support directly by phone at US/Canada Toll-Free: +1 866 229-3239 or
International Toll: +1 408 435-7088.
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See what we're talking about in our blog, hangingtogether
<http://hangingtogether.org/>
Check out our podcasts and webinars in iTunes
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284764834>
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<http://www.oclc.org/research/publications/newsletters/abovethefold/default.htm>/
Get in touch <mailto:[email protected]>
<mailto:[email protected]>
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<mailto:[email protected]>
