ASSOCIATES (vol. 10, no. 3, March 2004) - associates.ucr.edu

*Informed Librarian Online*

by

Michael D. Brooks
Saint Joseph's University
Francis A. Drexel Library
Philadelphia, PA
brooks@sju.edu

The Informed Librarian Online (http://www.informedlibrarian.com/) is dedicated to keeping Library and Information Professionals informed of current information and trends within the Library/Information field. It provides a list of nearly 300 print and online journal titles. The title list is accessible alphabetically or by subject. Membership is free. Signing up entitles you to full access to all of the information the site has to offer. Membership also includes a monthly newsletter.

To sign up click "Subscribe" and fill out the subscription form. Almost immediately, you will get a welcome email containing your password and explaining the type of access and services at your disposal. The email will come from Arlene L. Eis, a professional librarian and editor for Infosources Publishing. In fact, all email notices and the newsletter, which shares the Websites name, Informed Librarian Online, will come from Arlene.

The welcome notice will be followed by the current issue of the newsletter. After that, all future issues of the newsletter will arrive at the end of the month (or at the beginning depending on your mail server). And you don’t have to be concerned about forgetting your password to Informed Librarian Online. It is sent to you with each issue of the newsletter. You can also have your password remembered by the site so you don’t have to type it every time you logon.

There is one important feature the site lacks. There is no way to logoff. If you share a computer with others, the site can be accessed simply by clicking the back button on the open browser. If you are concerned with others having access, just close the browser. This will delete your password and prevent access.

Each issue of the newsletter highlights the main features of the Website. The journal titles are all hyperlinked. Selecting a link will take you to that journal’s table of contents page. Naturally, each publication will have its own method of access. Some will permit access to full-text articles. Others will permit limited access, while others will restrict access to members only. What you decided to access will, of course, depend upon your interests at the time. Only the most current issue of each journal is featured at the time of the newsletter’s publication. The November 2003 issue of ASSOCIATES is listed in the December 2003 issue of the newsletter.

Aside from the featured journals, the newsletter also contains Archives to all back issues of the newsletter dating back to January 2003. In the Picks of the Month section, there is a Featured Book, a Guest Forum, and a Featured Article. To get the best out of the newsletter, sign up to receive the HTML format. They even recommend doing so. If you don’t choose a format when signing up, you’ll receive it in HTML format. The Text format is not quite as user friendly.