OpenURL is an amazing technology that has succeeded in weaving together large numbers of databases into a functional whole. Key to OpenURL is passing clean data from one database to the SFX database that knows what a library owns. Actually, there is no real difference in my OpenURL results between Google Scholar and Citation Finder, although in the latter case, I would have had to navigate lots of journals with the word nature if I hadn't cut and pasted in the ISSN into Citation Finder. I know from experience that the ISSN will help make SFX much smarter; maybe another user wouldn't think to to that. If you remove metadata elements, like vol, year, issue, then your click into the database will not be very productive. You'll get to the right journal, but have to navigate (drill down) to the correct vol, issue, and article.
The hardest part of this Thing was to find something fun or humorous in Google Scholar. My article on joking relationships is actually an example of how to strip all humor out of what should be fun! Sorry about that...
Fine, G A. "Joking cultures: Humor themes as social regulation in group life." Humor 18.1 (2005):1.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
PBworks??? What gives?
What do I like about wikis? I like the sense of ownership that a group, not just an individual, can have toward a wiki. I like how a wiki can grow organically with a project. I like that you can roll back changes. I like the quirky things you can find on Wikipedia and nowhere else.
What don't I like about wikis? I don't like how their organization can get complicated if one part takes off and other parts are undeveloped. I don't like the learning curve there is with understanding the formatting of say MediaWiki. I don't like how wikis can sit around unused but basically never die and go away.
What really surprised me about doing this Thing was that pbwiki became PBworks. What's up with that? Works? Wasn't that some scaled down MicroSoft software for people who couldn't handle or afford Office? I understand that PBworks has document management and other things you don't usually get with a wiki, but it made me wonder? Is the wiki moving on into the sunset?
What don't I like about wikis? I don't like how their organization can get complicated if one part takes off and other parts are undeveloped. I don't like the learning curve there is with understanding the formatting of say MediaWiki. I don't like how wikis can sit around unused but basically never die and go away.
What really surprised me about doing this Thing was that pbwiki became PBworks. What's up with that? Works? Wasn't that some scaled down MicroSoft software for people who couldn't handle or afford Office? I understand that PBworks has document management and other things you don't usually get with a wiki, but it made me wonder? Is the wiki moving on into the sunset?
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