Creating a current awareness system for your own organisation
A current awareness service is a service or publication designed to alert scholars, researchers, readers, customers, or employees to recently published literature in their specialist field(s). Current awareness systems are usually available in special libraries serving companies, organizations, and institutions in which access to current information is essential. Such services can be tailored to fit the interest profile of a specific individual or group. Some online catalogues and bibliographic databases include a "preferred searches" option that allows the library user to archive search statements and re-execute them as needed. Current awareness services are sometimes referred to as selective dissemination of information (SDI).
Internal current awareness systems have traditionally involved the physical circulation of print materials to clients. These have now been replaced by electronic versions. This includes identification of relevant materials which match the client's information profile. The materials might include internal documents in electronic or print format.
You should be able to identify relevant print or non-print materials from journals, reports etc. Where such are available only in print format, you should give a reference and a brief description. You should be able to operate a system for e-mailing information to clients within the organisation at agreed intervals and set up web-sourced current awareness services for internal clients.
You can find lots of links relating to current awareness services for librarians at the following sites:
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/library/aware/
Although these are university library sites, much of the content is applicable to public libraries.
You can find a long list of available current awareness and alerting services at the following location:
http://www.tru.ca/library/guides/current_awareness/current_awareness_a-z.html
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Draw up information profiles for one or two of your colleagues and set up current awareness services for them by using some of the resources mentioned in the sites listed above. |
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