Google Scholar augments subject-specific finding aids

http://scholar.google.co.uk/

Yes, we've got appropriate music and drama online resources.  And of course, there's Zetoc. But for a small institution, unable to subscribe to all the resources and indices that big university libraries can offer, then sometimes you need to be more - well, resourceful.

Whittaker has blogged about Wikipedia before.  Don't rule it out, but be aware of bias and potential inaccuracies.

So - everyone uses Google.

Here's another idea: Google Scholar.  Find it here http://scholar.google.co.uk/ (or Google it!).  A useful tip, if you're looking for material by or about a particular person, is to put your search term in inverted commas.  For example, "Winston Churchill".  It brings up more scholarly material than a bog-standard Google search.

Give it a go!

Wikipedia (English language) Blackout Wednesday 18th January

Wikipedia Blackout
You need to know this.  Tomorrow (Wednesday), you won't be able to access Wikipedia in English, because they're protesting about proposed anti-piracy legislation in the United States.

Read more about the politics on Wikipedia (before or after the blackout!).  It's about the freedom of information, and who owns it.  Make your own mind up what you think.

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout

From the Wikimedia Foundation

 

To: English Wikipedia Readers and Community From: Sue Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Date: January 16, 2012

Today, the Wikipedia community announced its decision to black out the English-language Wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide, beginning at 05:00 UTC on Wednesday, January 18 (you can read the statement from the Wikimedia Foundation here). The blackout is a protest against proposed legislation in the United States—the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate—that, if passed, would seriously damage the free and open Internet, including Wikipedia.
This will be the first time the English Wikipedia has ever staged a public protest of this nature, and it’s a decision that wasn’t lightly made