The AcqWeblog Archives

Contents of News

	Weblog
	Weblog Archives
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	New Publishers

: a particularly useful site for Acquisitions and Collection Development

December 20, 1999

AcqWeb's International Directory of Email Addresses was updated today. It now has over 4600 entries. Many thanks go to its editor, David Marshall of Georgetown University, and assistant editor, Barbara Karpel of the Baltimore Bar Library.

AcqWeb Site: Email Address Directory

December 17, 1999

Livraria Cultura is Brazil's largest bookseller with a large Web site and database. It's accessed over 8000 times per day, according to PW Daily for Booksellers.

AcqWeb Site: Verification: In Print: Brazil

December 16, 1999

Studio B Buzz is actually another Weblog. Its focus is U.S. publishing from a commercial viewpoint. Almost every week there is some interesting tidbit in the "Publishing, Writing, & Bookselling News" section (near the bottom of the page).

Today, for example, there's a link that takes you to Glassbook Bookstore where you can download Glassbook Reader or Glassbook Reader Plus beta test software, which "enables you to use your existing personal computer as a sophisticated e-book reading device."

AcqWeb Site: Journals

December 15, 1999

Bibliofuture: Electronic Book Readers in Libraries, by Kyle Winward and Troy Johnson, has both links to e-book information for librarians and an email list. It shows the marks of being a thoughtful and thought-provoking discussion on a topic of increasing importance. See, for example, their notice to Law-Lib.

AcqWeb Site: Library Science:
Hot Topics: Electronic Publications

December 14, 1999

Web Savvy: Keeping Current with Web-based Resources, by Angela Elkordy, is a potpourri of Web current awareness services. For professionals who want to know what's happening on the Web, this is the place to start.

AcqWeb Site: Library Science:
Collection Development

December 10, 1999

GuruNet is free downloadable software for quick definitions when you're online. PC Magazine recently included it in its Best of 1999 lineup -- likening it to "having a reference librarian hovering over your shoulder all day long." That description, plus dubbing it a product of the year, was enough to convince us to give it a serious look. Our conclusion: the reference librarians hovering outside our offices are infinitely better.

Why do the technoscente gravitate to library comparisons we wonder? GuruNet certainly has its uses (probably best as a fast and convenient dictionary) and also has fabulous potential. You just ALT-click on any word in any Windows application and up it pops, with its guess as to what you're looking for. Give it a try if you're in the mood. It's certainly fun. Just don't expect fast answers to harder questions.

December 9, 1999

Racing to Convert Books to Bytes: Evolving Market for E-Titles. The lead story in today's New York Times Technology section on electronic books includes an interview with Dennis Dillon, the head of collections at the University of Texas.

While on the subject of e-books, there was an excellent overview this past August in Publish.com.

December 8, 1999

Search Engine Strategies 99: Special Report.
Librarians of the world take note: this just in from a conference on searching the Web.... "Opinion at the conference was unanimous: Human created directories are overtaking search engines in importance and popularity. Representatives of the major directories discuss what they look for and how they choose pages for their Web guides." It certainly sounds like selection and cataloging to our ears.

December 3, 1999

Writer's Digest: Your Online Guide to Getting Published is, of course, more for aspiring writers than buyers. However, this rich site has a number of useful resources. Their 101 Best Web Sites for Writers is particularly strong. We will be sifting through it in the next few days looking for other good reference links. The Hot List: The Coolest Places to Get Published sounds promising, but appears to be limited to U.S. magazines.

AcqWeb Site: Referral Resources

December 2, 1999

Real-World Reviews for E-Books.
For those interested in e-books, keep your eye on M.J. Rose of Wired. This article is on the rise of book reviews for e-books. At the at end of page, there are links to other Wired e-book articles. The most recent (Nov. 30) is on the future of the book: New Books, No Bindings?

December 1, 1999

AcqWeb's Directory of Publishers and Vendors has been updated. At last! We have been hampered by one unexpected delay after another. Thanks to all those who wrote in, both for the suggested links and for your patience. Our current crop includes 223(!) new links.

AcqWeb Site: Publishers

November 30, 1999

SearchEngineGuide.Com describes itself as "The Guide to Search Engines, Portals, and Directories." It includes a classification of more specialized search engines (with a top level of 16 categories), plus its own searcher. While its coverage of publishing and libraries is not particularly helpful thus far, for those needing search engines in other areas (e.g. software or investment), this site could be helpful.

While we're on the subject of search sites, Karnak is another new one. We haven't linked to it yet, because it requires registration, not to mention we find the Theben metaphor somewhat overwhelming. However, it's noteworthy (and we may link to it in time) because it's more selective and geared to research.

AcqWeb Site: Search Guide

November 23, 1999

Cambridge Dictionaries Online from Cambridge University Press includes four of their dictionaries to search: Cambridge Dictionary of American English, Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs and Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms.

AcqWeb Site: Reference: English Dictionaries

November 19, 1999

The Bookstore Chart: Really Big On-line Bookstore Comparison is a chart comparing 18 characteristics (e.g. new/used, annotations, use of cookies) of nine major Web booksellers in the U.S. It has tidbits like which site has the fastest response time and the least expensive shipping. It's part of an eclectic, homepageless site on book-buying from McOrphan, with other interesting digressions such as an Online Bookbuying FAQ and a list of Book Gossip sites.

November 15, 1999

Amazon.com has yet another new wrinkle. Now not only do they list Purchase Circles, i.e. specialized bestsellers, (see the AcqWeblog Archives for August 30), they are listing this information on individual book pages. Thus, if you search Akhil Reed Amar's The Bill of Rights, you discover it's popular with the Federal Judiciary. Similarly, a Divorce Guide for Washington is selling well in Redmond and Evolving Brains is a Cal Tech bestseller. We wonder about implications for collection development. Still it's entertaining to see the book alchemy Amazon.com performs with its software.

November 9, 1999

the pond: Are you in the mood for some striking Web visuals that are library-related? Drucilla Bergquist's pages are just the ticket. We don't want to give too much away, so just go wander and enjoy.

November 5, 1999

INCOLSA's Building Earth's Largest Library: Discussion Forum:
Steve Coffman, author of the widely-discussed Searcher article, Building Earth's Largest Library, is currently in a moderated dialog. Last seen there were 25 point/counter-points, including more great Coffman quotes such as: "The real joke is the horrendous amount of money we are paying now for our OPACs etc. and the miserable stuff we are getting in return for it."

November 2, 1999

Online! Citation Styles
Wow! Is this a great way to figure out how to do e-citations. Just click on the type of electronic information (Web site, email message, newsgroup message, etc.) in your style of choice (MLA, APA, Chicago), and voila -- a tidy answer with examples. It's part of Online!: A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources by Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger, published by Bedford/St. Martin's.

AcqWeb Site: Reference: Style and Citation Guides

Until next time, wishing you all a pleasant cyber-day,