NEWS AND NOTES / NOUVELLES ET NOTES

Compiled by Gillian Griffith

<table><tr><td>Alouette Canada to digitize millions of books</td><td>87</td></tr><tr><td>Open-access journal hits rocky times</td><td>87</td></tr><tr><td>PubMed news</td><td>88</td></tr><tr><td>Scholarly publishing: science journals artfully try to boost their rankings</td><td>88</td></tr><tr><td>NetSpeed 2006</td><td>89</td></tr><tr><td>Substance Abuse Librarians &amp; Information Specialists (SALIS) Annual Meeting</td><td>89</td></tr><tr><td>World Congress on Internet in Medicine</td><td>89</td></tr><tr><td>World Library and Information Congress (WLIC): 72nd International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) General Conference and Council</td><td>89</td></tr><tr><td>The Health Science Information Consortium of Toronto – Discover the leader in you: developing and realizing your leadership potential</td><td>90</td></tr><tr><td>Special Libraries Association (SLA) Click U Live! – Smart Search Update</td><td>90</td></tr><tr><td>Special Libraries Association (SLA) Click U Live! – Writing for Publication</td><td>91</td></tr><tr><td>SirsiDynix Institute – Networking and Politics: Influencing Action to Get the Right Things Done</td><td>91</td></tr></table>
NEWS AND NOTES / NOUVELLES ET NOTES

**Alouette Canada to digitize millions of books**

Canadian libraries, archive services, and museums are developing standards that will allow users to more easily search and access their digitized content through a single portal. The project, which is expected to create an online resource connecting to millions of digitized books and images, is being led by a consortium called Alouette Canada. Participants include several libraries of many post-secondary institutions, the Canadian Council of Archives, and the Canadian Museum Association. Discussions have been underway since late last year and the group hopes to have the portal launched by January of 2007.

**Open-access journal hits rocky times**

D. Butler. *Nature*. 2006 June 22;441(7096):914.

Available at http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7096/full/441914a.html.

The Public Library of Science (PLoS), the flagship publisher for the open-access publishing movement, faces a looming financial crisis. An analysis of the company's accounts, obtained by *Nature*, shows that the company falls far short of its stated goal of quickly breaking even. In an attempt to redress its finances, PLoS will next month hike the charge for publishing in its journals from US$1500 per article to as much as US$2500.
# PubMed news

## New instructional resource on MeSH

The Basics of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is designed to help you understand more about the Medical Subject Headings. Learn about

(i) The structure of the MeSH hierarchy

(ii) How indexers select terms when indexing articles for MEDLINE

(iii) How to use MeSH to search PubMed

(iv) The treatment of chemical and drug terms

The Basics of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is accessible from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) PubMed On-line Training page and the Distance Education page.

## Try new features in PubMed

The National Center for Biotechnology Information and other NLM Divisions are working to make the wealth of information in the Entrez databases more accessible to PubMed users. In upcoming months, searchers may encounter options designed to lead them to additional Entrez resources. Currently, searchers can find a link on the Abstract display that will take them to a new version of that format.

## New version of the NLM Gateway includes two new resources

On 1 May 2006, NLM released a new version of the Gateway that includes access to two additional NLM resources. Users are now able to search the Household Products Database and the Bookshelf, a growing collection of full-text biomedical books.

# Scholarly publishing: science journals artfully try to boost their rankings

S. Begley. *The Wall Street Journal*. 2006 June 5; Page B1. Available at http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114946859930671119-eBOLDmcp4Rk_20070604.html?mod=rss_free.

Scientists and editors say scientific journals increasingly are manipulating rankings — called “impact factors” — that are based on how often papers they publish are cited by other researchers. Now there is mounting concern that attempts to manipulate impact factors are harming scientific research. Researchers and editors say manipulating the score is more common among smaller, newer journals, which struggle for visibility against more established rivals.
# Meetings, conferences and workshops

## NetSpeed 2006

Scheduled to take place 18–20 October 2006, in Edmonton, Alberta, NetSpeed 2006 is a conference organized by The Alberta Library for librarians, technical staff, and trustees to explore new technologies in a highly connected world. See the Web site for further information: http://www.thealbertalibrary.ab.ca/.

## Substance Abuse Librarians & Information Specialists (SALIS) Annual Meeting

The SALIS annual meeting will take place 26–30 September 2006, in Boston, Massachusetts. For details, visit http://www.salis.org/conference/2006conferences.html.

## World Congress on Internet in Medicine

For the first time in North America, the conference will be held in Toronto, 13–20 October 2006. MEDNET is a scientific conference organized under the auspices of the Society for the Internet in Medicine (SIM). The large trade exhibition will feature e-health technologies and Web applications for health professionals and consumers, an e-health business track, and high-profile keynote speakers. For more information, visit http://www.mednetcongress.org.

## World Library and Information Congress (WLIC): 72nd International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) General Conference and Council

Libraries: Dynamic Engines for the Knowledge and Information Society will take place 20–24 August 2006, in Seoul, Korea. The Health and Biosciences Libraries Section invites librarians, health informaticians, knowledge managers, educators, researchers, clinical staff, and others to submit proposals for papers, to be given in a 2 hour session as part of the program of the WLIC, which provide insight and experience of the role of new technologies in supporting access and delivery of health and health information. The theme is What’s new in technology for health information?
# Professional development

## The Health Science Information Consortium of Toronto – Discover the leader in you: developing and realizing your leadership potential

Open to nonmembers

31 October 2006, 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

$20.00 (members), $50.00 (nonmembers)

University of Toronto's Gerstein Science Information Centre, Alice Moulton Room

Instructors: Laurie Scott, Executive Director, Health Science Information Consortium of Toronto; Daniel Phelan, Manager, Collection Services Team, Ryerson University; Wayne Glover, President, AssociationsFirst

Most of us know people we consider to be great leaders. We may have encountered these people through our work, our professional activities, or our personal lives. We often recognize great leadership instinctually, without giving much thought to what qualities and skills make a great leader. This Canadian Health Libraries Association / Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada accredited workshop will explore a number of issues related to leadership such as what traits leaders have, why being a good leader is a very different thing than being a good manager, how you can determine your own leadership potential, how you can take on a leadership role in your job and your professional associations, and whether a leadership institute might be right for you. For more information, visit http://www.library.utoronto.ca/hsict/continuing-education.htm#Discover.

## Special Libraries Association (SLA) Click U Live! – Smart Search Update

5 October 2006, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET

$99 (SLA members)

Live seminar

Instructor: Rita Vine, Co-Founder, Workingfaster.com

Here's a great way to catch up on the latest and most important Web search news without leaving your desk! Web search expert Rita Vine will cover the most important Web search news and developments for librarians and experienced searchers. In her session, Rita will cover a grab bag of new resources (all free), specialized search tools, and important news about Web search, designed to give you a quick update on the most important changes that affect Web searching. For more information, visit http://www.sla.org/content/learn/learnmore/distance/2006cul/100506cul/index.cfm.
Special Libraries Association (SLA) Click U Live! – Writing for Publication

7 November 2006, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET

$99 (SLA members)

Live seminar

Instructor: Rachel Singer Gordon, Consulting Editor, Information Today, Inc.

Writing for Publication covers the main steps involved in writing and preparing your work for publication, including finding an idea, actually doing the work, and submitting work and getting it published. Along the way, find tips on building self-confidence as a writer, handling rejection, figuring out where to start, and integrating writing with a career and other professional development activities. For details, visit https://www.sla.org/content/learn/learnmore/distance/2006cul/110706cul/index.cfm.

SirsiDynix Institute – Networking and Politics: Influencing Action to Get the Right Things Done

27 September 2006, 1:00 p.m.

Free Web seminar

Instructor: Donna Scheeder, Director, Law Library Services, Library of Congress

Gaining and using influence to achieve organizational goals is a critical leadership skill. Networking is an important tool for relationship building that inspires trust. Learn network building strategies as well as gain knowledge on how to understand and influence the decision-making process. Included is a discussion of a baker's dozen of practical tips on how to practice positive politics in the workplace to get the right things done. For more information, visit http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com.

If you would like an upcoming course, conference, or meeting included in an upcoming issue, please send an e-mail to assistant-editor@chla-absc.ca.