EndNote X3 now available

QUT Library now provides access to EndNote X3.0.1 (Version 13).

Locate QUT Library’s EndNote page at http://www.library.qut.edu.au/services/endnote/.

You may download EndNote X3 from this page or alternatively ask at the Library Help Desk to borrow the EndNote X3 CD for Windows or Mac (beware as they are heavily borrowed).

If you do decide to download from QUT Library’s website follow the instructions carefully to ensure the successful installation of the software on your computer.

For a list of the new EndNote X3 features go to http://www.endnote.com/enx3info.asp

Reminder that QUT Library provides a training session entitled EndNote Essentials to assist you in gaining a basic understanding of EndNote. PLEASE NOTE THIS TRAINING IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS AND STAFF, THOUGH PLENTY OF SELF HELP IS AVAILABLE AT QUT LIBRARY’S ENDNOTE SITE.

To register for this session go to http://library.qut.edu.au/services/endnote/training.jsp

Use iTunes to keep up to date – podcasting!

iPods are the most pervasive portable music/audio/viewing device on the market, so it makes sense that all sorts of entertainment and even education providers want a piece of the pie.

Many are understanding the benefits of making their content freely available as podcasts via iTunes – free not only in terms of access, but also in terms of money. Content ranges broadly from comedy, religion, science, medicine, government and politics, to stuff for kids and even language courses.

Happily, design is widely represented, receiving its own category in iTunes under “Arts”! Download content on design, sustainability and eco-issues straight to your iPod, for those moments when you’re bored of the 15,000 songs stored there already. Try subscribing to some of the following:

• By Design (ABC Radio national)
• YDN Design Guide (supplement of YDN magazine)
• Design Tools Weekly
• InDesign Conference podcasts

Download iTunes for free from from the Apple website at http://www.apple.com/itunes/. However I can’t guarantee that downloading iTunes to a work PC forms part of the Standard Operating Environment. That’s my disclaimer so please check with the relevant person.

SCImago Journal & Country Rank: a new competitor in citation analysis

A recent news item in Nature News alerted the library staff to a new electronic resource that enables ranking of journals and countries.

As stated in the article Free journal-ranking tool enters citation market, the SCImago Journal & Country Rank database ranks journals and countries using such citation metrics as the Hirsch (H) Index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirsch_number

It also includes a new metric: the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR).

SCImago’s underlying data come from Scopus, a subscription abstracts database created by Elsevier in 2004. As you may know, Thomson has enjoyed a monopoly on citation metrics for years with products such as the Web of Science, the Journal Citation Report and Essential Science Indicators, all of which QUT Library subscribe to. Now Elsevier is trying to move in on Thomson’s territory with the introduction of SCImago – a legitimate competitor to these 3 products.

To access SCImago go to http://www.scimagojr.com/index.php

This is a product to keep an eye on and is therefore worthy of your attention. The design and social science disciplines are better represented in Scopus, so you may find it more useful than the current Thomson products.

Alternatively you might wish to download the software program Publish or Perish (available at http://www.harzing.com/resources.htm#/pop.htm) developed by Anne-Wil Harzing from the University of Melbourne that enables determination of citation metrics based on raw citations from Google Scholar.

Heard about Google Sketchup?

Google SketchUp is Google’s free software solution to creating, modifying and sharing 3D models. Potential users include architects, interior, industrial and urban designers and landscape architects.

Importantly, SketchUp is so easy even I can use it!  Extensive Help is available and includes video tutes and live training classes. 

Download Google SketchUp free from http://www.sketchup.com/   

Zotero: The next-generation research tool

Zotero is a free, open source extension for Firefox that enables users to collect, manage and cite research from all types of sources from the Firefox browser.  Zotero is available at http://www.zotero.org/ 

On websites that show search results such as those from library catalogues or electronic databases, Zotero, with the click of a mouse, finds and saves the full reference information for each citation to a local file.  If the source is an online article or web page, Zotero can optionally store a full text local copy of the source.  Users can also add notes, tags, and their own metadata through the in-browser interface.  Selections of the local reference library data can later be exported as formatted bibliographies.

Zotero is produced by the Centre for History and New Media of George Mason University and is currently available in public beta.