Information Services and Use

This paper provides an overview of the highlights of the 2014 NFAIS Annual Conference, Giving Voice to Content: Re-Envisioning the Business of Information, that was held in Philadelphia, PA, on February 23–25, 2014. The goal of the conference was to take a look at the opportunities offered by current Big Data technologies (metrics, analytics, data mining, visualization, linking, etc.) and challenge content providers and librarians to attempt to free themselves from the constraints and biases of the past and re-envision what their products, services, and business models would look like if these technologies were fully utilized. Audience response devices were used throughout the meeting to gauge the opinions and perceptions of the attendees and these are also discussed where relevant.

The ICT revolution of the last decade impacts scientific publishing and changes the format in which articles are delivered and how results of scientific research are communicated. With researchers increasingly generating and referencing 3D data in their articles, the ability to accurately visualize that data in online publications has become extremely important. To address growing demands in online 3D visualization across various scientific domains and journals, Elsevier and Kitware launched a project to develop a 3D visualization infrastructure supporting different data formats, visualization techniques, and interaction styles for online scientific publishing. In this paper, we describe the expandable Hybrid Visualization Platform and five domain-specific 3D visualization viewers and present results of an author feedback survey. The presence of interactive 3D viewers embeddable in online articles is a key example of how the digital article format adds value to scientific communication and how it helps readers to better understand research findings and re-use the associated 3D data.

Gathering from her perspective on over 2000 information projects and products completed over the last forty years, Marjorie Hlava offers a fascinating view of database creation and search using developing technologies, and information technology standards. As an early implementer of most of the technologies we use and products we all sell today, and having worked behind the scenes at one time or another for most of the organizations in NFAIS, she has seen a wide variety of data and applications. She has thrilling tales from her adventures in the field, along with a unique perspective to share. This development in the trenches under a continuing onslaught of new options has honed her knowledge on what has worked well, and what will work in the future. In this talk she will draw from her varied background, bring in statistics from our broad marketplace, and share what she sees on our horizons.

Re-envisioning the business of information does not stop with new product development, new production infrastructures, and new financial business models. It requires an alignment of business policies with the changing needs and expectations of the information users. Publishers and librarians must develop the policies, practices, and procedures that will facilitate – not inhibit – the use of their information and maximize its value to the user. This requires that both communities move beyond the comfort zone of their current practices, policies, biases and business mindsets. This interactive panel discussion was organized to take a look at some of the issues that concern content providers and librarians as the new information mindset takes hold, such as the re-use, replication and sharing of data, privacy, content ownership, attribution and others.

Social media has become almost a necessity in today's news environment. Science journalists use social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to keep abreast of news, find story ideas, share their stories, cultivate authority and engage with readers.

This is a short paper on the “Trivia Challenge” which is a social media initiative to combine science and fun to raise awareness of the Science.gov information portal. Science.gov operated under the Science.gov Alliance and is sponsored by the federal interagency group CENDI.

ORCID is an organization that provides a registry of unique and persistent identifiers for researchers. In the publishing community, ORCID identifiers are used for authors and reviewers and enable persistent and trusted digital connections between researchers and their work. This article provides an overview of the uptake of ORCID identifiers and how they are being used to clarify author attribution and improve provenance.

The Data Citation Index forms part of the Thomson Reuters Web of Science research platform. Thomson Reuters makes partnerships with data repositories to create indexed data object metadata records integrated within the larger platform. The core features of the Data Citation Index strengthen and standardize citation and re-use of data across scientific disciplines.

This short paper provides an update on Mendeley's approach to scientific collaboration. Mendeley is Desktop software for organizing and collaborating. It provides a website for discovery of research and expertise, and it is a programmatic interface that provides data and functionality for many other services. Based on its collection of data on readings by its members it provides a way to understand scientific impact that compliments citation analysis and impact factors.

Citation metrics and the journal impact factor have been the traditional forms for decades of assessing scholarly impact. These metrics are being challenged in today's digital content environment as no longer being the best methods for research assessment due to issues such as currency and granularity. New alternative metrics – altmetrics – have sprung up, but they are not without their own issues, in particular lack of standardization. The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) launched a project in 2013 to explore, identify, and advance standards and best practices for alternative metrics. A draft white paper summarizing recommendations of the first phase has been issued and will be followed by the second phase of developing one or more of the proposed standards and recommended practices.

The AIDS Community Information Outreach Program (ACIOP) was created in 1994 to assist the affected community in utilizing electronic HIV/AIDS information resources. Nearly 300 competitive awards have been made to mostly community-based organizations. A formal evaluation was undertaken to determine the performance and impact of the ACIOP. A mixed methods design combined quantitative abstractions and summarization of 47 awardee final reports from 44 organizations, and qualitative telephone interviews with 17 individuals representing 20 projects. Findings revealed that project objectives were mostly met; high-risk populations were reached; low resource organizations were funded; community partnerships were significant; projects built on existing efforts; information resources and training were tailored to local needs; and most projects overcame barriers experienced. Needed modifications centered on: (1) enhancing evaluation capacity at the individual project level and (2) revising project reporting requirements to increase the amount of information available to assess the ACIOP; both have been implemented.

From 2010 to 2013, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) continued to build its programs and services on the foundation laid in its starting years, 2008–2010. Prior to 2008, NLM had a long history of providing health information, training, and tools in response to disasters. Aware of this legacy, the NLM long range plan (Charting a Course for the 21st Century: NLM's Long Range Plan 2006–2016) called for creation of a center to show “a strong commitment to disaster remediation and to provide a platform for demonstrating how libraries and librarians can be part of the solution to this national problem”. NLM is continuing efforts to ensure that medical libraries have plans for the continuity of their operations, librarians are trained to understand their roles in preparedness and response, online disaster health information resources are available for many audiences and in multiple formats, and research is conducted on tools to enhance the exchange of critical information during and following disasters. This paper describes the 2010–2013 goals and activities of DIMRC and its future plans.