RefStart — Virtual reference simplified

"RefStart is a web-based reference application giving librarians customizable one-click access to reference tools, search, web 2.0 sites and popular social networks. As a standard feature of Text a Librarian, RefStart enables librarians to make the most efficient use of time while receiving and responding to patron inquiries"

ENTITLE - Europe's New libraries Together In Transversal Learning Environments

"ENTITLE is a multilateral project under LLP KA4 Dissemination and Exploitation of Results, designed to support and extend the progress made to date by Europe's public libraries in supporting learning for all age groups and sections of society, by disseminating, consolidating and enhancing the work of key existing networks, projects and initiatives in this area. It will focus on the contribution to be made through informal learning settings in libraries to lifelong learning, combating digital illiteracy and social exclusion, paying special attention to gains achieved through the applications of ICT"

Google Book Downloader

Google Book Downloader is a small utility which allows you to save a book as PDF from Google to your local file system. The application is available for Windows and requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

Library 2.0 Gang 09/09: eBooks & eReaders

Library 2.0 Gang 09/09: eBooks & eReaders - "The Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader are spreading their influence across libraries, especially in North America. Our guest this month is Orion Pozo from North Carolina State University where he has helped rollout a couple of Sony Readers and a few dozen Kindles of various versions, for students to loan. The interest of the Gang this month (Marshall Breeding, Carl Grant, Frances Haugen) soon moved on from the student experience and current practicalities at NCSU, to the wider potential and impact of eBooks on the world of libraries"

Ontario Library Assocation - Super Conference 2010

Ontario Library Assocation - Super Conference 2010 will take place February 24-27, 2010 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Canada

Murder in Cardiff, Tragedy at Llanelly: Launch of the Welsh Ballads Project

The Welsh Ballads Digitisation Project, funded as part of the Enriching Digital Resources Programme will be holding a one-day Open Seminar, for academics, students and members of the public. The seminar will be featuring a range of speakers on issues relating to ballads and digitisation. he seminar is taking place on Monday 14 September, from 10am to 4pm at Cardiff University, Arts and Social Studies Library

Science Librarians in an e-Science World

Science Librarians in an e-Science World: Science librarians are proactively engaging with their constituents and supporting new models of research and scholarly output. Hear from librarians and researchers who are involved in the following areas: e-science, data curation, creating topical information clearinghouses, and embedding themselves in their communities in new ways - October 9, 2009 - Southbridge, MA, USA

25th anniversary of the DNA fingerprint

"Today, the DNA fingerprint is 25 years old. Wellcome Images holds a photo of the original autoradiograph, discovered by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys in his lab at Leicester University, where he still works today. This image, acquired in 2005, represents a greatly important discovery for the field of forensic science. Thanks to later technological improvements, a microscopic sample of DNA can now be analysed to produce a DNA profile sufficient to convict a criminal"

Biotechnology News Today - free access

"Until September 13, EIN News is giving visitors access to one of its 80+ industry publications: Biotechnology News Today. To access the site for free, go to http://biotech.einnews.com/login.php and enter the following login information:

Login: free@einnews.com
Password: access

Biotechnology News Today brings you the latest news from around the world on stem cell research, genetic research, cloning, gene therapy, genome mapping, genetically modified food and much, much more from the world's most-trusted news sources and research institutions"

September 2009 Early Reviewer Books at LibraryThing

The September 2009 batch of Early Reviewer books is now available at LibraryThing. There are 1310 copies of 59 books available this month

AIP UniPHY - scientific social networking

"AIP UniPHY, from the American Institute of Physics, is the world's first literature-based professional social networking site for physical science researchers. The site allows physicists, engineers, and other scientists to directly connect with and explore their professional contacts and to identify researchers with the expertise needed for future collaborations. AIP UniPHY, powered by Collexis High Definition Search, enables fast, accurate and extraordinary knowledge retrieval and discovery, and empowers individuals to search for and identify documents, researchers, trends, and new discoveries more quickly, precisely - and thoroughly - than ever before. AIP UniPHY provides intuitive interfaces through which researchers can network and share data - all with the goal of advancing physics research worldwide"

Directory of Open Access Journals - recently added titles

Animation Studies

Studia Universitatis "Petru Maior" : Historia

Biolinguistics

Advances in Software Engineering

Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance

Gateways : International Journal of Community Research & Engagement

Transforming Cultures

Llengua, Societat i Comunicació : Revista de Sociolingüística de la Universitat de Barcelona

Hoaxing the Royal Navy, throwing butter at lunch and leaving a Cézanne in a hedge - The Bloomsbury Group in action

The British Library has released a new collection in its popular series of literary spoken word CDs, featuring rare and previously unreleased historic recordings by and about members of the Bloomsbury Group, including Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Vanessa and Clive Bell, John Maynard Keynes, John Lehmann, Desmond MacCarthy and Vita Sackville-West.

C&RL News - September 2009

C&RL News Volume 70, No. 8, September 2009 is now available from ACRL

FreePint News and Digest - September 2009

FreePint News and Digest - September 2009 is now available

Pan Macmillan celebrates 30 years of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"On 12 October 1979 the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor (and Earth) was made available to humanity - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Pan Macmillan is celebrating thirty years of planet-hopping comic genius with the publication of special editions of Douglas Adams' iconic books. With new forewords from Russell T Davies, Terry Jones, Simon Brett, Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs, these editions are a must-have for Hitchhiker readers. Turn to the back of each book to find exclusive material from the Pan Macmillan archives, such as original synopses, press releases, photographs and letters from Douglas to his publisher. Whether you're a seasoned Hitchhiker fan or experiencing Arthur Dent's intergalactic adventures for the first time you'll love the fun new design, including The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's 'DON’T PANIC' DIY sticker cover"

High Volume Digitisation: Issues, Trends & Innovative Robot Tech (UK)

This free workshop focuses on high-volume digitisation of bound materials e.g. books, manuscripts, newspapers, magazines, registers and ephemera. This is a growing area of interest for technical and project managers, practitioners and researchers, and useful for anyone interested in what is also known as 'mass' or Large Scale Digitisation Initiatives (LSDIs). Bringing together experts, UK and European case studies, the latest technical developments and good practices, the day is intended to provide an outline awareness of what is involved in planning LSDIs for digital preservation or digital access. This includes LSDI feasibility, logistics, scaling, outsourcing, costing, risks, quality, metadata, OCR and FAQs. The day will include real-time demos of robotic-arm scanners with opportunities for two way dialogue and open questions. Location: The New Technology Institute, Birmingham, UK. 23 September 2009

Booklist launches free webinar series

"Booklist is launching a free webinar series on September 22, building on previous popular Booklist Online webinars. The first in the new series, 'The Scoop on Series Nonfiction: Best Uses, Best Practices, and Best New Titles for Fall,' will be useful to anyone involved in engaging reluctant readers, promoting reading success and keeping the library relevant in this era of accountability. Booklist youth editors will moderate as four top series nonfiction publishers - Lerner Publications, ABDO Publishing Company, Norwood House Press and Cherry Lake Publishing - share their expertise and introduce a selection of their fall titles. Webinar participants will also get a sneak peek at Booklist's October 1 Series Nonfiction Spotlight, including a focus on a new trend: series nonfiction for early primary children"

New Zealand Electronic Text Centre

The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre has four aims:

* To create a digital library providing open access to significant New Zealand and Pacific Island texts and materials. This encompasses both digitised heritage material and born-digital resources
* To effectively partner with other organisations, as a collaborator and service provider, on a variety of digitisation and digital content projects
* To build a wider community skilled in the use and creation of digital materials through teaching and training activities and by publishing and presenting the results of research
* To work at the intersection of computing tools with textual material and investigate how these tools may be used to make new knowledge from our cultural inheritance

Elsevier to add nearly 250 health sciences eBook titles on ScienceDirect

"Elsevier has announced that nearly 250 health sciences titles published and/or publishing in 2009 and 2010 will be launched in October. These new eBook collections cover clinical content in clinical medicine, veterinary medicine, and health professions, furthering Elsevier's commitment to making health sciences content available electronically through ScienceDirect, its online scientific research platform. These new eBook collections follow the May release of titles published from 2000 to 2008, bringing the total Health Sciences eBooks on ScienceDirect to greater than 870 titles. Elsevier's Health Sciences books are published under the imprints W.B. Saunders, Mosby, Churchill Livingstone, and Hanley & Belfus, publishers with a rich medical and health science publishing heritage dating back to 1688. The inclusion of these books on ScienceDirect allows even more researchers across the world to access these valuable content resources."