Down the Rabbit Hole

By Melody Smith | June 8, 2015

As many readers know, the main U.S. standard for taxonomies, thesauri, and other controlled vocabularies is ANSI/NISO Z39.19, Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management of Monolingual Controlled Vocabularies. The material on vocabulary displays covers types of vocabulary displays that might be unfamiliar. I’m guessing that some of these displays emerged as the result of…

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True Taxonomies

By Melody Smith | June 8, 2015

Because there is no reliable way to choose strategies that are appropriate for implementing guidelines facing different barriers, a scoping systematic review was performed on MEDLINE and EMBASE covering the years from 2004 to 2013. From studies that evaluated the implementation of guidelines on arthritis, diabetes, colorectal cancer, and heart failure, the data was extracted and summarized. Interventions were…

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Those Voices in Your Head

By Melody Smith | June 4, 2015

This interesting taxonomy caught my eye partly because it was different and partly because I was relieved other people had voices in their head too. The British Psychological Society’s Research Digest brought some interesting information to us in their article, “A preliminary taxonomy of the voices inside your head.” I joke, of course. Well, mostly.…

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Back by Popular Demand

By Melody Smith | June 3, 2015

The National Federation of Advanced Information Services (NFAIS) is once again offering the webinar, “Webinar: Fast Times for Information: Re-Calibrating Roles and Responsibilities.” This event is scheduled for Thursday, June 4th at 11:00 a.m. –  12:30 p.m. EDT. Several important shifts in technology, user expectations, and evolving roles are having a profound impact on the information…

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Peek Preview

By Melody Smith | June 3, 2015

For users or potential new users of the Inspec tools, Dr. Charles Martinez, IET Inspec product manager, will review the dynamic features of the Inspec database virtually on Thursday, June 4th. He will showcase best practices and case studies on how to use the database specifically for: Retrieving multidisciplinary research; Prior art searching; and Making…

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The Value of Social Data

By Melody Smith | June 3, 2015

Social media is no longer just about entertainment or visiting with friends. Gone are the days (mostly) when employers blocked or discouraged social media activity, because they have seen where employee participation can increase the value of opinion and contribution. All employees, regardless of their title or role, become customer service agents. TechRepublic brought this interesting…

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Records Management on a Grand Scale

By Melody Smith | June 2, 2015

Records management is a challenging job for any organization, regardless of its size and business. However, just imagine the government’s monumental task of managing records in its many, many different departments. Secretary of State John Kerry is asking the State Department to review its records management process and look for ways to improve and streamline…

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Design with Vision

By Melody Smith | June 2, 2015

Information architecture once was the norm for dynamic websites. However, what with changes in technology and training, and the time factor, the new website developers aren’t as attached to information architecture as were the previous generations. This interesting topic came from the blog of Jordhy Ledesma in the post, “The Lost Art Of Information Architecture. Information…

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Smoke and Mirrors

By Melody Smith | June 2, 2015

John Weathington, President and CEO of Excellent Management Systems, looks fondly at the mystique of artificial intelligence. This interesting information came to us from DATAVERSITY in their article, “Crowdsourcing Artificial Intelligence.” He elaborated that leaders often take an egocentric view of the world, relying myopically on their internal capabilities for advanced analytics. However, he believes that…

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