Staying in the Know: Tools you can use to keep up with your Subject Area

Guzman, Laura
Fall, 2016

Wray, C. C. (2016). Staying in the know: Tools you can use to keep up with your subject area. Collection Management, 41(3), 182-186.

Summary:

In this article, Wray (2016) outlines some methods that information professionals can use to keep up with their subject area for collection management.  She recommends using research management, mind mapping, and RSS readers and organizational suites. 

New reference managers are more complex and helpful than they used to be.  Managers like Mendeley, ReadCube, and My Library in Google Scholar help users stay organized, suggest additional articles and sources, and even connect with researchers in the field.  These research management tools allow a librarian to keep current on a specific area in a paperless way. 

Another helpful source of information organization is mind-mapping.  New applications like Connected Mind and Text 2 Mind Map help users organize information in order to see the big picture for a specific discipline. 

Information professionals can use RSS readers and social media sites in order to keep current about the library field and collection management.  The author recommends using Feedly, FlowReader, and any e-mail client as possible readers for new information. 

Finally, Wray (2016) suggests organizing thoughts and ideas with suites like Google Drive, OneNote, and Evernote.  The author concludes by saying that each user has to find the tools that work the best for each situation.  

Evaluation:

It can be very overwhelming trying to stay updated with librarian news and especially dealing with collection development and new library resources.  I have found that an RSS reader works the best for me at this point.  I currently use Feedly in an attempt to stay up-to-date with library news.  After reading this article, I would also like to try one of the mind-mapping applications as well.