All FreePint Articles | Article Categories |

Getting to essentials in FreePint publications
Tuesday, 31st July 2012

By Robin Neidorf

Abstract:

FreePint has changed the format of product reviews, starting with the current reviews of iSell from OneSource and Scopus from Elsevier. What's your opinion about these and other changes we've introduced as we continue to support your work in evaluating and licensing content products?

Article:

Since the first of July, we at FreePint have been rolling out a number of important changes in the format of our publications. Nowhere have these changes been more significant than in our coverage of information content -- the product reviews and news analysis formerly appearing in VIP.

This issue of the Information Content Newsletter highlights those changes with regard to product reviews: You'll find individual chapters from our full, in-depth reviews, published as stand-alone HTML articles. But the full PDF report is available too. When I've conducted customer feedback interviews over the years, I've heard this comment in many variations: "I don't want 6,000 words... until I want it." This innovation in format satisfies that contradictory request!

So check out Jan Knight's discussion on search functions in iSell from OneSource, and Yulia Aspinall's commentary on the sources included in Scopus from Elsevier. From each of those articles, you can jump to other chapters in the full report, or download the PDF review for further study.

We've also shifted away from publishing magazines on a monthly basis to publishing additional reports based on the type of work our customers do. Because information services management and content procurement are critical roles FreePint supports, you'll be seeing a report every month collecting the most recent articles for those jobs, the first of which has been published. If it looks familiar to readers of VIP Magazine, that's not an accident: The content of this report includes the executive summaries of the most recent reviews, news analysis of the industry, coverage of changes in sources, plus additional articles on project management and information strategy.

We're excited about these changes and the positive initial feedback we've gotten, but the real test comes from your reaction. Please take just 5 minutes to complete our survey on your FreePint Subscription usage preferences. All questions are multiple choice, and your responses are anonymous unless you choose to identify yourself. 

This is the editorial for the latest free, twice-monthly Information Content Newsletter from FreePint. Log in to your FreePint account to add this newsletter now. If you don't yet have an account, register now.

By Robin Neidorf

Robin has been working with FreePint since 2004, and, since joining full time in 2006, is responsible for strategic planning, product development, relationship management, research and communications. She currently heads the FreePint Research division.

Robin Neidorf ran a research and communications consulting business for 10 years, prior to joining Free Pint Limited. As a consultant, she focused on strategic planning, using information to make better decisions, and creating effective audience-focused communications across different media.

Robin has worked with a wide range of organisations in the for-profit and non-profit sector. She has developed online communities, publications and distance learning modules for a range of business purposes. She is the author of Teach Beyond Your Reach: An instructor's guide to developing and running successful distance learning classes, workshops, training sessions and more (second edition, Cyber Age, 2012) and the co-author of E-Merchant: Retail Strategies for e-Commerce (Addison-Wesley, 2001).

Robin can be reached at robin.neidorf@freepint.com

LinkedIn Profile »

More articles by Robin Neidorf »