Emojis: Communication without Words

Each year since 2000, the Global Language Monitor has selected the Top Words of the Year, which they derive through statistical analysis of word usage. Some may have thought the organization had gone insane this year when they announced the selections for 2014 because, at the very top of the list was not a word at all, but the heart emoji. It’s true; a tiny cartoon heart got used so often last year that it supplanted all other actual words.

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Data Analysis in a Standards-Challenged World

We deal pretty heavily around here in words, what they mean, and how they’re used. It should go without saying, but it’s a fundamental part of what we do and is what makes us so concerned with standards, in both taxonomies and the written word. The two go hand in hand; it’s a whole lot…

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Making Connections

The 11th annual Data Harmony Users Group (DHUG) meeting just wrapped up, and as we reflect on the week-long event, making connections is the unofficial theme that emerged. This makes perfect sense, because the benefit that our attendees mention most often is the networking opportunity – the connections we make with colleagues – during the…

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Hands-on Learning

The Data Harmony Users Group Meeting continued today with a presentation by Paul G. Kotula of the Materials Characterization department at Sandia National Laboratories. In the presentation, “Six Months of Work in the Lab will Save You Half a Day in the Library or 30 Minutes Online”, Kotula shared his experience as both a consumer and a producer of peer-reviewed, published scientific literature.

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The TaxoBook Reviewed

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) Knowledge Management Division recently reviewed the book, The Taxobook, written by our own Marjorie M.K. Hlava. Their observations and acknowledgements on the content, quality, and focus were in line with what the author intended, “I hope these books will contribute to a better understanding of the different ways taxonomies can be implemented and why information management professionals should embrace them,” said Hlava in the book’s release.

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On the Cusp of DHUG

Next week will be the 11th Annual Data Harmony Users Group (DHUG) meeting here in Albuquerque. By far, the biggest week of the year for Access Innovations as our clients come from all over the nation to meet and learn from the people who built the software and use it on a daily basis.

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A Newbie’s Guide to DHUG, Part 2

It’s hard to believe that the Data Harmony Users Group Meeting starts a week from today. If I thought things were buzzing in the office a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t know what was in store for me. And since there’s so much to do, it’s definitely at the front of my mind.

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Groundhog Day: Names and Recursions

I’m sure you’re all just like me and waiting anxiously to hear the results from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, whence this very day we will find out from Punxsy Phil whether spring will come early this year or we have to wait six more weeks (pro tip: it’s always going to fall on March 20th, or occasionally, the 21st). As ridiculous as the holiday might seem to me, though, there are things about groundhogs and Groundhog Day that are pretty interesting.

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