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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report research findings from interviews with chemistry researchers about the use and linkage of source and output repositories and the expectations of the chemistry research community about their use. Design/methodology/approach- A total of 17 face-to-face interviews were conducted with members of academic staff and postgraduate research students (PGRs), in chemistry departments at a number of UK universities. Findings - As part of the StORe project (http://jiscstore.jot.com/WikiHome), which sought to develop new ways of linking academic publications with repositories of research data, 38 members of academic and research staff from institutions across the UK provided valuable feedback regarding the nature of their research, the type of data that they produce, the sharing and availability of research data and the use and expectations of source and output repositories. Research limitations/implications - Interpretation of the results must recognise that the majority of the interviewees worked in the area of theoretical/computational chemistry and therefore their views may not be representative of other chemistry research fields. Originality/value - Studies about the workflows and the norms in the use of source and output repositories are limited in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper aims to present findings from a survey that aimed to identify the issues around the use and linkage of source and output repositories and the chemistry researchers' expectations about their use. Design/methodology/approach - This survey was performed by means of an online questionnaire and structured interviews with academic and research staff in the field of chemistry. A total of 38 people took part in the online questionnaire survey and 17 participated in face-to-face interviews, accounting for 55 responses in total. Findings - Members of academic and research staff in chemistry from institutions in the UK were, in general, favourably disposed towards the idea of linking research data and published research outputs, believing that this facility would be either a significant advantage or useful for the research conducted in the domain. Further information about the nature of the research that they conduct, the type of data that they produce, the sharing and availability of research data and the use and expectations of source and output repositories is also discussed. Research limitations/implications - Interpretation of the results must recognise that the majority of the interviewees worked in the area of theoretical/computational chemistry and therefore their views may not be representative of other chemistry research fields. Originality/value - Such data was essential for the business analysis that described the functional requirements for the development of the key deliverable of the source-to-output repositories (StORe) project, the pilot middleware, which aimed to facilitate and demonstrate the bi-directional links between source and output repositories. It also enabled the identification of workflows in research practice and contributed to the prime aspiration of the StORe project which was to invest new value to the intellectual products of academic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The Environmental Data Registry (EDR) is a cornerstone of the US Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to manage and integrate environmental information for the purposes of safeguarding human health and protecting the environment. This paper seeks to present findings on the use of the EDR/SoR metadata registry system based on data from web logs transactions. It aims to broaden our understanding of how metadata registries are used, particularly as indicated by their own users. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents an analysis of web log transactions of a six-year period (1998-2004). The focus of this paper is in three areas: use presented on a daily, monthly and yearly basis; trends in use (increasing/decreasing) over a period of more than six years; and users of the metadata registry system as shown through the domain and directory reports. Findings - The paper presents the daily, monthly and yearly use of the EDR/SoR. It shows trends in its use for a period of over six years and identifies some of the metadata registry's users and the information they seek (as shown in the directory reports). Research limitations/implications - Transactional web logs, in general, record the internet protocol address of the computer that accessed the web site/service. That is not necessarily linked to any one specific user. Therefore, results are presented as actual access numbers rather than human beings. Originality/value - This paper is among the first of its kind to examine web log transactions in assessing metadata registry usage. This research is intended to enhance the understanding of the user and application of the EDR/SoR and therefore provide a baseline for metadata registry systems' evaluation in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — MetaForm is a database that hosts metadata element sets, descriptions and guidelines for their use. It is the focal point of the Metadata Server at SUB Göttingen for anyone who is using metadata to describe networked resources or would like to familiarise themselves with metadata element sets, in particular Dublin Core, and their application. This paper proposes to present findings on the use of the MetaForm metadata registry system based on data from web logs transactions. It aims to broaden understanding of how metadata registries are used, particularly as indicated by their own users. Design/methodology/approach — The paper analyses web log transactions of more than six years (1 July 1998 to 10 November 2004). The focus of this paper is in three areas: use presented on a daily, monthly and yearly basis; (trends in use (increasing/decreasing) over a period of more than six years; and users of the metadata registry system as shown through the domain and directory reports. Findings — Presents the daily, monthly and yearly use of MetaForm. Shows trends in its use for a period of over six years and identifies some of the metadata registry's users and the information they seek (as shown in the directory reports). Research limitations/implications — Owing to the file format of the web log transactions, results are presented as average values rather than actual access numbers. Originality/value — This paper is a first assessment of its kind of the use of an active metadata registry system, as recorded through web log transactions. The aim of this research is to enhance the understanding of the use and application of MetaForm and therefore metadata registry systems in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information regarding the 17th International Conference on Electronic Publishing (ELPUB) held in Karlskrona, Sweden from June 12-14, 2013, is presented. Topics that were discussed include data mining, intelligent computing, and social computing. The symposium featured several speakers which include James MacGregor, Karen Meijer-Kline, and Stephan Shakespeare.

Reference librarians have the opportunity to interact with patrons and colleagues of many different backgrounds, languages, and cultures as a result of our increasingly interconnected and peripatetic world. In order to provide the best possible service to these varied communities, reference librarians should understand some of the culture differences that exist across countries, and in particular, the differences in the way that reference services are conceived and delivered in different countries. This study explores some of these differences in reference services by surveying current practitioners in thirteen countries to find out which competencies they believe are most important for academic reference librarians right now, and in the near future. The results of this study highlight some important commonalities and differences, and could help reference librarians to manage and meet the expectations of their international patrons, and perhaps help them to prepare for an international job experience of their own. Academic reference librarians may be interested to see the extent to which their counterparts in other countries face similar challenges and expectations with regard to delivering reference services. Teaching faculty in library science programs will be interested to understand reference competencies and expectations in other countries, especially as they teach greater numbers of international students or consider collaborating with international colleagues. In addition, an international understanding is important in developing students who can compete in a global job market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SOAP (Study of Open Access Publishing) project has analyzed the current supply and demand situation in the open access journal landscape. Starting from the Directory of Open Access Journals, several sources of data were considered, including journal websites and direct inquiries within the publishing industry to comprehensively map the present supply of online peer-reviewed OA journals. The demand for open access publishing is summarised, as assessed through a large-scale survey of researchers' opinions and attitudes. Some forty thousand answers were collected across disciplines and around the world, reflecting major support for the idea of open access, while highlighting drivers of and barriers to open access publishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines statistically the public's use and attitudes towards interactive and personal health services via an online questionnaire survey and enhances these data with an expert assessment of a number of consumer health sites and their services. Over a period of three weeks more than 1,300 people responded to an online questionnaire produced by The British Life and Internet Project. Of the respondents, 81 per cent were British The likely potential uptake figure for support group participation among Internet health users is about 20 per cent while around 11 to 13 per cent will go online to describe a medical condition. Those in poor heath were approximately ten to 13 times more likely to have participated in an online support group. Those aged over 65 were four times as likely to e-mail their doctor. More positive health outcomes were associated with those respondents that participated in online support groups and the least number of health outcomes were associated with those people that maintained e-mail contact with a doctor or surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]