Friday 7 October 2011

Thing 14b - Mendeley

I had a bit of a problem getting either of these set up - kiosk software strikes again. I managed to download Mendeley to my home computer but as a lot of the research I'm doing is  work-based I haven't been able to use it as much as I want. I think it is going to be a big help to me when it comes to organising my evidence, appendices & bibliography for my Chartership portfolio & also for future projects.

One of the things I like most about it is the "one-stop-shop" aspect - if I find an article or something online I can make notes on it straight away (& be able to access them later from a different computer WITHOUT cluttering up my email or trying not to lose fiddly little usb sticks), I can download the article itself, plus find the correct citation & other information without have to dig around even more.
I'm hoping that this tool will help me to create a more professional portfolio & to be able to illustrate the breadth of my professional knowledge on a wider scale. I'm also hoping that as I become more involved in specific research projects at work or as part of my studies it will help me to remain organised & better manage my time so that I can work more effectively & share my findings with my colleagues & the wider LIS audience.
In terms of actually directly supporting our library users however, I will be limited by the fact that it cannot be accessed on any of our work computers because of the Kiosk software settings. I can, however, use it as an illustrative example for students/academics who may need help in organising their research, referencing their work or sharing findings. I can also point them in the direction of other similar online tools & research management software. Our users tend to be split between the very academic & obscure research projects (Masters/PhD research/Professors/etc) & the general public working on specific research tasks, usually family history related - for many of the latter this can often be their first real 'research' project & the former may have experience of researching their very specific field but will need help in finding their way around the more general research options & tools available. I think that Mendeley would be a great way of signposting the research path for both groups.

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