Free Resource for Libraries Provides Authoritative Reviews of Serials Titles

New format with focus on Open Access and niche titles available online at ProQuest.com

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Oct 02, 2014, 09:55 ET

SEATTLE, Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Librarians frequently utilize reviews of books, serials and other research materials to determine what to include in their collections. Essential to research at all levels, new open access and niche serials titles are often missed by librarians because these types of titles are not included in trusted sources. Magazines for Libraries™ Update closes this gap with online in-depth reviews by Cheryl LaGuardia, a research librarian at Harvard University. These timely and informative serials reviews appealing to all library types are available for free from ProQuest.

Visit Magazines for Libraries Update for authoritative serials reviews http://bit.ly/1CEOGvI

As editor and primary reviewer for Update, LaGuardia is a well-known advocate for librarians as stewards and curators of information that furthers knowledge and research. Recognizing there is an increasing number of open access titles that do merit the attention of librarians and the researchers they serve, LaGuardia will focus on these titles. Additionally, to increase awareness of resources that are not typically on the "core" list of recommended resources for a library, but superbly address key issues and challenges in a particular subject area, "niche" titles will be another area of focus.

"Reviews of emerging open access titles that can enhance the research field at no cost to either the librarians or researchers not only brings forward resources frequently overlooked, it provides a solution for libraries experiencing budget pressure," said Cheryl LaGuardia, research librarian, Widener Library, Harvard University. "This format for Update takes the service to a new level by providing more timely reviews of a broader mixture of materials that we hope will provide positive impact to collection assessment decisions."

Magazines for Libraries Update helps librarians discover and evaluate resources for their library collections and leverages the insight of LaGuardia, who is passionate about sharing the latest developments in serials publishing. Her expertise is also demonstrated in her analysis of reference materials for Library Journal's eReviews and she shares her perspective of library issues on the blog Not Dead Yet.

"Cheryl's established reputation for vetting resources and managing a community of librarian contributors ensures the resources selected for Update are worth considering," said Yvette Diven, product manager lead, data and content services publisher, ProQuest. "Making the Update available as a blog enables us to be more responsive in creating awareness of new titles among a much broader audience of librarians and visitors to the site."

Extending the popularity of Magazines for Libraries™, the comprehensive print publication of serials reviews published annually, Magazines for Libraries Update launched in 2011 as a free online resource of reviews published quarterly. Update will continue to evolve and respond to the changing needs of libraries, with plans to include reviews conducted by other librarians with subject area expertise, as well as building a community for librarians to exchange perspectives through a comments posting feature.

The 23^rd edition of Magazines for Libraries™ will be published in November and contains reviews of more than 5,300 serials titles. This essential go-to resource helps libraries identify core titles in a wide variety of subjects and disciplines. Reviews and analyses of notable journals, magazines and databases help academic, public, special, and K-12 library professionals and staff make collection decisions in support of their students and researchers. Published annually in print format, these authoritative recommendations by more than 160 librarians with subject area expertise are also available to subscribers of Ulrichsweb™ and Intota™ Assessment, and are key selection criteria for titles in ProQuest Discovery™.

About ProQuest (http://www.proquest.com)
ProQuest connects people with vetted, reliable information. Key to serious research, the company's products are a gateway to the world's knowledge including dissertations, governmental and cultural archives, news, historical collections and ebooks. ProQuest technologies serve users across the critical points in research, helping them discover, access, share, create and manage information.

The company's cloud-based technologies offer flexible solutions for librarians, students and researchers through the ProQuest^®, Bowker^®, Dialog^®, EBL^® and ebrary^® businesses – and notable research tools such as the Summon^® discovery service, Flow™, Pivot™ and the Intota™ library services platform. The company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with offices around the world.