Category: Publications News

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Prof. R. David Lankes receives the 2009 Emerald Outstanding Paper Award

Emerald Group Publishing of the United Kingdom has selected Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool) Associate Professor R. David Lankes’ paper, “Credibility on the Internet: Shifting from Authority to Reliability,” as a 2009 Outstanding Paper Award Winner.

Emerald is the world’s leading scholarly publisher in business and management, publishing more than 190 journals as well as serials and books, and had more than 20 million articles downloaded in 2008 alone. Emerald invites each of its journal’s editorial teams to nominate what they believe to be the most outstanding paper and three highly commended papers each year.

The editorial team of the Journal of Documentation, which published Lankes’ paper, selected his article for the award, dubbing it “one of the most impressive pieces of work the team has seen throughout 2008,” according to the announcement.

Emerald bases its decision on a list of criteria, including the contribution of new knowledge, structure and quality of the writing, rigor of analysis or argument, relevance, and timeliness or connected to the latest developments in the field.

His paper addresses how Internet users determine the credibility of information on web sites from a conceptual level and how that affects new online tools and services. He describes how and why people are dependent on the Internet for information, and also describes the progression of users shifting from analyzing the credibility of an online source to determining the reliability of sources.

Lankes will be recognized at the 2009 Literati Network Awards for Excellence ceremony.

Lankes is director of the Information Institute of Syracuse and a fellow of the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy. Lankes’ research focuses on education information and digital reference services. He has authored, co-authored or edited eight books, and written numerous book chapters and journal articles on the Internet and digital reference. He holds a bachelor of fine arts in multimedia design, a M.S. in telecommunications and network management, and a Ph.D. in information transfer from Syracuse University.

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Reference Renaissance: CALL FOR PRINT PROCEEDINGS

CALL FOR PRINT PROCEEDINGS

?Creating a Reference Renaissance: Current & Future Trends (title tentative)?

Edited by Marie L. Radford & R. David Lankes
To be published in 2009 by: Neal-Schuman Publishers

?This book will include the best research papers and reports from the field which have originated in presentations from the Reference Renaissance: Current & Future Trends conference, held August 4-5, 2008 in Denver, CO (http://www.bcr.org/referencerenaissance/).

All conference presenters are invited to submit research papers and reports from the field which will be peer reviewed for selection by the book’s two editors (Radford and Lankes) with the help of a selection committee recruited from members of the conference program planning committee.

Contributed papers of two types are sought.

  1. Current Research in Reference. The first section of the print proceedings will be composed of chapters on recent research in reference. These will be drawn from the best of the submissions from the conference research papers and will be peer reviewed. Submissions for these chapters should be approximately 20-25 pages in length (12 pt type, double spaced) and should include the following:

    Abstract (250 words)
    Title
    Research Problem
    Significance of Problem
    Literature Review
    Method of Data Collection
    Method of Analysis
    Results
    Discussion of Results
    Implications for Practice
    Bibliography of Cited References
    Biographical sketches for each author (Approximately 300 words each)

  2. Current Reference Initiatives – Reports from the Field. The second section of the print proceedings will feature “Reports from the Field” that describe innovative approaches to traditional as well as virtual reference initiatives. Submissions for these chapters should be approximately 10-15 pages in length (12 pt type, double spaced) and should include the following:

    Title
    Abstract (250 words)
    Description of library context (e.g., type of library, users, any relevant history, etc.)
    Detailed description of reference initiative. Sufficient detail so that others can replicate the initiative at their institution if desired.
    Assessment of initiative (or planned assessment)
    Bibliography of Cited References, Websites & Publications that discuss similar initiatives.
    Biographical sketches for each author (Approximately 300 words each)

Paper Submission Instructions

All contributed papers for both types of chapters should include author(s) name, job title, institution, address, phone, fax, and e-mail address. Contributions should be in Word doc or docx format. Please indicate whether you are submitting a type 1 (Research Paper) or type 2 (Report from the Field) contribution. E-mail all submissions to: Marie L. Radford (mradford@scils.rutgers.edu).

?Deadlines

?Completed Papers Due: November 7, 2008?Notification of Acceptance (with suggested revisions): February 1, 2009
Final Revisions Due Back to Editors: March 15, 2009?Book to be published in 2009???

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Two new articles on Conversants

Social Presence: a theoretical construct for evaluation of the participatory catalog
by Jack M. Maness

This paper suggests the literature of “Social Presence” could provide a theoretical paradigm for the evaluation of social software and related technologies in libraries’ online public access catalogs (OPACs). Social Presence is a well-researched term in communication and education, and it has been demonstrated that a high degree of Social Presence facilitates online communication and learning. A review of the relevant literature, a potential model for understanding the OPAC as a “participatory catalog,” and suggestions for future research are given.

and

Extending the Conversations at the Department of Justice
by R. David Lankes

The following report is based on a series visit to the Department of Justice February 13-15th. During this visit several conversations took place between the researcher, librarians, and library clients within different sections of the Department of Justice and in several DOJ libraries. An initial draft of this report was then provided to the Department for feedback. This revised report briefly outlines the observations in each of these conversations. It attempts to highlight opportunities and provide an outsider’s reaction to these conversations given a very narrow window of engagement. The emphasis in all of this is on the ability/role of DOJ librarians to facilitate these conversations.

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First Issue of Conversants Now Available

The first issue of Conversants is now available at http://conversants.syr.edu

While articles will be added as they are accepted, the first release has the following:

Editorial
Making library schools smarter
– Andrea Mercado

Artiles
When the conversation goes “meta”: Organizing knowledge in collaborative online environments
– David M Pimentel

A New Approach to Understanding the Digital Divide : Why two levels are not enough
– Todd Marshall

Essays
The Knowledge Base for a Participatory Library (Google Video)
– Keisuke Inoue

And a report on a meeting about Web 2.0 in the LIS Curriculum:
Colleagues converse about technology change, curricula

Please come and read, comment and participate.