w w w. x r e f e r. c o m IFEG seminar May 12 th, 2005 Becky Fishman, Xrefer Ltd Online Reference: a key part of any e-library

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Founded in 1999 Software and Publishing Offices in London & Boston, MA Aggregation & Integration Xrefer company background

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Xreferplus: facts, facts and more facts 40+ publishing partners 180 books 20 subjects covered 2+ million entries 70 million internal links between entries Over 70,000 images BUT Figures are very boring and meaningless..

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Too many books to carry

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m a few of the publishers we work with: w w w. x r e f e r. c o m

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Some of the major reference publishers: Technology: Butterworth Heineman, Wiley Life Sciences: Academic Press, Elesevier Social Sciences: Blackwells, Sage Art: Thames and Hudson, Bridgeman Biography: Routledge, A&C Black The Reference Book Market

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m In Print Libraries Kept together Never taken out Often near the librarian Near other books Only available during library opening hours Why is this? Too big Too valuable Too frequently consulted Used with other resources How Reference Books are Different

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Biggest difference is in how they’re used: Readers usually aren’t looking for a specific entry or piece of reference information in the way that they look for a specific paper. They want a ‘quick fix’ of information (raiding the fridge) A reference library has to provide the broadest possible array of resources, from an array of publishers, and let the reader choose how to use it

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Range of results Great diversity = large range of results

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Maps and Geographic Features

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Images and diagrams

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Xreferences: making connections across titles, topics and publishers Results from a number of different resources

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Clusters Entry headers A Concept Map expresses this diversity visually

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Key word Linking from other e-resources in the library Cystic Fibrosis

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Linking seamlessly through to more information in Xreferplus

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m ‘Agile’ Online Reference is a Key E-library Resource: It can work in conjunction with other resources Publishers can co-exist on a platform Boundaries are crossed AND The reader can go anywhere, and is no longer bound to one book, one publisher or one subject Summary

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Ready Reference –100 or 150 titles –Unlimited (“all you can eat”) –Remains flexible Specialist Reference –For ‘niche’ areas –Titles available as individual purchase –Can be integrated with your ready reference collection Subscription Options

slide title w w w. x r e f e r. c o m Thank You