Sunday, October 27, 2013

Integrated Library Systems (ILS) - A reading list

Integrated Library Systems: Planning, Selecting, and Implementing              
Desiree Webber and Andrew Peters (2010)
Reviews:
It provides solid instruction in guiding a librarian through this process, including systematic and detailed step-by-step instructions on the practical aspects of choosing an ILS; working with the vendor; budgeting and time-line planning; and implementation and training.  Booklist"… this book tackles the whole process and cites additional resources that can be used. Recommended for librarians seeking to automate for the first time." Library Journal

Friday, October 25, 2013

What are Primary and Secondary Sources -- A Select Sample

Library guides (LibGuides Community Site) provide resources to understand the question of what is primary (original work) and what is secondary (review, criticism, etc.). A sample is given here to help a beginner and anyone who needs a lead:
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES   Source: http://selu.libguides.com
Primary Source
Secondary Sources
Novel, poem
Literary criticism
Diary, autobiography
Biography
Letters, historical documents, oral testimony
Historical Commentary
Newspaper report
Editorial
Raw data from questionnaires
Observation/experiment
Scientific article
Television show/film
Review
Interview
Case study
"A primary source is any work that offers ORIGINAL intellectual content: artistic works, diaries, newpaper reports witnessed by a participant from the time of the event, memoirs, speeches, government reports & statistics, artifacts.

Primary sources generally serve as foundation material for a particular subject area. They are the result of someone doing primary research, which involves collecting raw data. Primary sources allow researchers to analyze the data or object for themselves in order to come up with alternate theories and opinions.
Secondary sources interpret and analyze primary sources. In other words, when a writer looks at a primary document, and produces a work that tries to make sense of what he or she finds, the result is a secondary study or secondary source." Adapted from:
Kirszner, Laurie G. The Holt Handbook. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, 2002.

Samples from Library Guides:

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Culture and Technology - A select annotated list

PS. This is a continuously updated list, last updated Oct 10, 2013.
On the same shelf: