Category Archives: Issues

Deceptive publishing: Be aware

Posted on by
Reply

The University of Toronto Libraries recently released an informative checklist to help researchers identify deceptive publishers, also known as ‘predatory journals’.  These publishers are for-profit entities that “purport to publish high quality academic research, but who do not follow accepted scholarly publishing best practices. Their ultimate goal is to make money, not publish quality research. Being associated with a deceptive publisher can lead to financial loss as a result of inappropriate fees, or be harmful to your reputation and that of your institution, even impeding the promotion and tenure process.”

For more information and to access the checklist see:  https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/deceptivepublishing

 

Who cares about iThenticate? You should!

Posted on by
Reply

Did you know that more and more journal manuscripts are being screened with plagiarism detection software prior to publication? With large teams working on article manuscripts, it can be difficult for all authors to keep track of everything, including potential citation errors that might result in inadvertent plagiarism. Such software allows authors to find potential problems and fix them before the manuscript is submitted, saving time and potential embarrassment (or worse) later on.

To help SMH Scientists and Associate Scientists appointed to the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science or the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute spot potential problems early, St. Mike’s currently subscribes to iThenitcate software. iThenticate scans and compares manuscripts against items on the internet and content in specific publisher databases. It then allows you to see the items that portions of your manuscript bear a resemblance to, provides a “similarity score” to let you know how similar they are, and pinpoints the similar sections for your review.

Contact Dina Coronios (coroniosd@smh.ca) to register for an iThenticate account, and plan to attend the library’s ithenticate lunch and learn on Friday January 22nd to see it in action.

Public Health England publishes “Knowledge strategy: Harnessing the power of information to improve the public’s health”

Posted on by
Reply

Public Health England (PHE) is a government agency that began operating on April 1, 2013. Their main goal is “to ensure that decisions we all make about our personal health, and the health of the population more widely, are based on the best information available and deliver the best possible outcomes”. On June 17, 2014, PHE published its strategy to meet the following commitments:

  1. Support openness and innovation
  2. Understand and meet public health requirements for knowledge
  3. Provide the tools to let public health professionals do their jobs
  4. Develop cross-system networks, tools and services to share intelligence, expertise and experience
  5. Work with others efficiently
  6. Ensure everything we do has a positive impact and provides value for money

You can access the document here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/320506/PHE_Knowledge_Strategy.pdf

See page 36 of the knowledge strategy for a description the role of librarians. Some potential areas for librarian involvement include:

–       Evidence synthesis

–       Mediated literature searching and filtering

–       Current awareness services

–       Information skills training

It is very encouraging to see the work of health librarians recognized in a “big picture” strategic plan like this one.

 

Submitted by: Teruko Kishibe, Archivist/Information Specialist

The Library needs your input – share your opinions and win prizes

Posted on by
Reply

The St. Michael’s library is bright and shiny and new … but how well does it serve our community?  The Health Sciences Library is embarking on a visioning and planning exercise to try and imagine the library of the future.

An important component of this process is engaging the community to find out what they think. To that end, the library has recently launched a community survey and a corresponding blog.

Complete the quick online survey, and be entered in a draw to win prizes including a Kobo e-Reader, and share your opinions in the Idea Factory.

What the new Copyright Act means to you

Posted on by
Reply

On November 7th, 2012 a series of amendments to copyright law came into force to allow educators, students and libraries to make greater use of copyrighted digital materials and better address the challenges and opportunities of the internet (1)

Here are a series of FAQ—frequently asked questions—that outline some of the changes.

1)      Can I forward an article to classmates or colleagues from a journal found at SMH?

You can forward articles to persons affiliated with SMH. The library and by extension the hospital is bound by a licensing agreement with publishers that forbid us to share materials with people not employed by, or studying at St Michael’s Hospital.

2)      If I request an article from another library, can that article be sent to me electronically?

Yes, but for your use only.  Copyright law demands that you print the article and delete it within 5 days. You may not forward this electronic copy, or save it on a computer.

3)      Can I print more than one copy of an article and distribute it to a class?

Fair Dealing allows recognized educational institutions to distribute paper copies of copyrighted material. Neither instructors nor students are allowed to forward electronic copies of published articles unless they are clearly marked as open access.

4)      I want to use a photograph which I got off the internet for a handout or pamphlet, is this allowed

Photographs are the property of the photographer and you will have to ask for his/her permission. Photographs are protected for 50 years after the death of the photographer, plus the remainder of the calendar year in which the photographer died. See (S 59(3) and [s6]) of the Copyright Act.

5)      Can I reproduce a graph or a photograph from an article for a presentation to a class or a conference?

As long as the presentation is for educational or research purposes, it is not an infringement of copyright to reproduce a graph or photograph from a published article.

(1)    Copyright Jean Dryden 2012

Written by Marina Simms, Library Technician