Comments on: The JSTOR Kerfuffle

By: jrochkind

jrochkind — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:26:26 +0000

“Is that the promise that has made them the go-to database for lazy scholars? Absolutely not. They’re the primary database for lazy scholars because everything is full-text, even if the coverage is more limited and less timely than some other databases. ”

Funny because it’s true. Shooting themselves in the foot.

By: the annoying librarian

the annoying librarian — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:14 +0000

Asking libraries and librarians not to have a conniption is pretty much like asking not to breathe. What’s going on with this column is an ember of hope to those of us who believe that librarians need to learn to chill out and laugh at themselves a little. Perhaps, in my lifetime…

By: another f-ing librarian

another f-ing librarian — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:44:05 +0000

i thought that was called a ‘discovery tool’. do the little dears have the same number of heart attacks over google scholar? ’cause it seems to me that google scholar does the same kind of thing, right? not everything in the search results is available for no extra charge? what’s next? hiding the bibliographic citations within articles, if those journal issues are not represented in the library’s electronic holdings?

and if it’s so important to make students think that the library has everything in their world — why? so they won’t transfer to a school that has a better library? — couldn’t libraries just politely request that jstor consider adding that functionality at the library’s administration level, rather than having a giant conniption?

By: needs a 'nym

needs a 'nym — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:24:56 +0000

Bruce, that might depend on the school. On my STEM campus, I run into several students a year who say they’ve paid for articles or given up on things that didn’t look free. Sadly, many students only break down and ask for help (or ask their advisers for help and get pointed to the library) when they’re looking for something we can’t get for them, like a $300 ANSI standard that’s held by nobody in WorldCat, thus confirming their (largely inaccurate) suspicion that there’s nothing the library can do for them.

By: Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:03:44 +0000

I’m going to try and slip the term “link resolvers” into conversation. Good post, AL.

I’d venture to guess that a student would bug a librarian before they entered their credit card info into a computer for a school-related article.

By: grumbly librarian

grumbly librarian — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:45:06 +0000

Non-profit does not mean all for good (see: OCLC). Also, rumor is, from librarians working at small presses, that JSTOR was telling them that their new interface was going to mean increased revenues for publishers.

Also, when should I tell students to check the box in JSTOR? When I see all 20,000 of them on campus the first week of classes?

By: Real Librarian

Real Librarian — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:33:18 +0000

Slow day in academia?