Within 5 years, most medical journals will be open-access

Doing some desk research for the first time in a few years. Tons of top quality academic material on the Web (Cochrane full text in the UK, HTA, AHRQ. Pity Clinical Evidence isn't freely available across the UK). Web searching provides opportunities for new types of search that PubMed and closed world products don't allow. One technique that has worked really well is finding expertise clusters and onward chain-searching using names. Haven't used Biomedexperts.com yet, but I will.

Haven't found the need to visit a physical library yet. Hoping that the NLH improves its routing to full text, and even more that this prediction comes true.

It's made me think more about the ways librarians should be working - in the flow, with the Web. This will make Google financially richer, but it also serves users better than competing. And on balance it serves users better to do things that will as a result make Google richer, rather than prop up the finances of Library 1.0 companies such as Wiley and Elsevier. I shall be crepusculating around Online 2008 to see how far the old world has come to terms with the need to change.

Related Post:

Widget by [ Iptek-4u ]