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In the World Book Capital, New Delhi, India, February 2004

This year, UNESCO declared Delhi as the World Book Capital in recognition of its expanding role in the field of publishing. The New Delhi World Book Fair is the largest book event in the Afro-Asian region and in February around seven million people flocked to the exhibition center housing more than a thousand exhibitors, including Elsevier. We were delighted that librarians from across the country as well as customers from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia visited our booth. Elsevier India hosted two dinners during the event, one for customers and subscription agents and one for a Malaysian librarian delegation. During the fair, a seminar was also organized for medical librarians — Account Manager Ajay Singh gave librarians the latest updates on products like ScienceDirect.

A Library Connect(ed), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, April 2004

In the presence of Vietnamese government officials, the Consul-General of the Netherlands, representatives of press and media, and many guests from the library field, Leo Voogt opened the Internet Room at Ho Chi Minh City’s General Sciences Library (GSL).

“When the grant proposal from GSL to support the improvement of Internet Room was received and discussed by the Elsevier Foundation Board last year, it was the first strong proposal from Asia. All the directors gave it their full support,“ explained Leo (formerly Director of Library Relations of Elsevier and Director of the Elsevier Foundation). “I’m deeply impressed by the speed and quality of the work done within the library. Using high-speed connectivity, the Center is already fully operational and has attracted a growing user base from colleges and universities in the city. It’s a really impressive example of a Library Connect(ed).”

In his speech Leo also highlighted Elsevier's involvement in projects providing access to its materials in the developing world — the Health Internetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI) and Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA). “Through the Elsevier Foundation a bridge can now effectively be built between contents and connectivity,” he said. "GSL is completing the procedures to become a partner of HINARI and AGORA. If approval is forthcoming, the library will be entitled to use the resources of the two projects."

Learning About eLearning, Chicago, Illinois, USA, April 2004

Almost 1,000 librarians from around the world met in Chicago for the 2004 Endeavor User Group Meeting. Keynote speaker Neil McLean, Director, IMS Global Learning Consortium, Australia, illustrated the opportunities for interoperability between libraries and campus learning management initiatives. He challenged librarians to think creatively about becoming active in eLearning activities on campus to keep the library relevant as institutions move to more electronic learning methodologies. Endeavor users presented over 90 sessions at the meeting, covering topics ranging from traditional library automation tips and tricks to pioneering projects with Endeavor’s digital library systems and OpenURL-enabled linking technologies.

Talking with Librarians in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Hong Kong, May 2004

Over 30 librarians attended the 2004 Library Connect Seminar, co-organized with the University of Hong Kong.

David Groenewegen, Digital Resources Librarian, Monash University, Australia, shared his experience in electronic resources with the audience in his talk, “Many Paths: Helping Users Locate Online Information.” Hong Kong University Librarian, Dr Anthony Ferguson, raised librarians' concerns over the cost and volume of journal information in today's environment in “Journal Information: What is the problem?”

Account Development Manager Siaw Pae Kee was happy to hear from librarians who attended that they enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and open discussion, and appreciated the opportunity to learn from each other and hear how other libraries are operating.

Martin O'Malley, Elsevier Managing Director of Asia Pacific Science and Technology, commented, "Elsevier values these direct interactions with our customers enormously. Open dialogue is imperative if we are to continuously improve the service provided to our researchers and readers - a shared objective of librarians and publishers."

Taiwan, May 2004

More than 50 participants attended the 2004 Taiwan Library Connect Seminar at National Taiwan Normal University. At this seminar we were joined again by David Groenewegen and further speakers including Kit Li, Serials Librarian, Run Run Shaw Library, City University of Hong Kong, who shared her experience in electronic resources. Chen Li-Ping, Professor at the Library Information Research Institute, National Chung Hsing University and President of the Chinese Association of Library and Information Science Education (CALISE), gave an academic perspective on the dilemma faced by librarians in today's library environment.

We were particularly honoured to have Dr Harry Liang H. C., Director, University Library, National Taiwan Normal University, give an opening speech in which he highlighted the importance of establishing a new relationship among publishers, librarians and readers. Dr Liang commented, “Library Connect paves the way for building up excellent relationships among these three groups.”

 

Taking Library Connect Seminars to Turkey, Turkey, May 2004

Last month Library Connect held seminars in four large Turkish cities: Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Erzurum. In total, 344 participants from 35 institutions participated. All these institutions are part of the Anatolia University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS) which to date counts 61 members in Turkey. Topics discussed during the seminars included the future development of ScienceDirect, usage statistics and ways of promoting electronic resources. From 2002 to 2003 there has been a 150% increase in the usage of electronic resources at Turkish universities and since 2001 the number of articles published in Turkey has increased by 30%. Bulent Karasozen, Ankos Chairman, commented, “These seminars were attended by many librarians and faculty members and they met everyone’s expectations. The content was meaningful to the participants’ goals and all questions were answered clearly and completely. We found the information presented during the demo session especially useful.”

 

Meeting Medical Librarians at the MLA, Washington DC, May 2004

More than 160 librarians attended the Elsevier Medical Librarian Luncheon to hear Richard Horton, Editor of The Lancet, speak on “Electronic Cultures and Clinics: Reasons to be hysterical (and hopeful).” A transcript of Richard’s excellent speech is available from libraryconnect@elsevier.com.

At MD Consult’s Sunrise Seminar nearly 70 librarians received updates on the latest developments to our health science products, including MD Consult, FIRST Consult and POCKET Consult. The breakfast session featured first-hand feedback from customers Holly Harden, MLIS, Liaison Librarian, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Laura Abate, MSLS, Electronic Resources and Instructional Librarian, Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library, George Washington University Medical Center. MD Consult staff members took questions in a lively discussion session. Issues of importance raised by librarians present were PDF availability, missing images and tables in online articles, notification regarding removal of content, portable sernames/passwords, evidence-based medicine resources and OpenURL-compliancy. MD Consult publisher, Jeanne Thoma, reassured the audience that these issues are being addressed. Librarians present were pleased to hear about the new MD Consult/FIRST Consult Resource Center www.mdconsultannex.com/resources recently launched to update customers on developments with regard to issues such as those raised, as well as to provide information on new content, features and resource materials.