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The 2011 SLA Conference Was A Hit!

Posted in Conferences on June 24th, 2011 by Matthew

We had a great time at the conference this year. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to meet some our clients, talk to new folks about our service, and of course, eat! Philadelphia truly does have a wide selection of cheese steak sandwiches. At this point, out of a few different places, Jim’s on South Street is our favorite. We decided to go with whiz. We were told to try Tony Luke’s next time to truly taste the best. Do you have any suggestions?

We usually bring a bunch of giveaways along with us, and this year was no exception. Many buttons, pens and letter openers have found new homes since, and one lucky winner walked away with a new Nook Color. That person was Tony Medina of Honeywell. Congratulations Tony!

We’ll be back in Philly next month for the AALL conference, so make sure to stop by and say hi if you’ll be there!

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What is a “change agent”?

Posted in Of Interest on May 10th, 2011 by Matthew

Recently, Research Solutions took part in the annual meeting of the Northern California chapter of the AALL. We value these opportunities as a chance to meet our clients and to discuss our service with folks who are looking for an outstanding document delivery service. Another benefit, however, is the opportunity to sit in on the discussions concerning the many issues affecting the information industry. One issue that came up regularly is the importance for librarians to make their contributions clear to the organizations they work for in today’s challenging economy. This idea was encapsulated time and again in the phrase “change agent”.

It’s no secret that the world around us is constantly changing. While the 24-hour news cycle keeps us up-to-date on what’s happening outside, we’re experiencing the effects of those stories in our daily lives. For many of us, we’ve watched the companies we work for undergo massive transformations to prevent collapse and failure. Resources are often cut, firms merge with one another, and consultants are brought in with hopes of improving company-wide efficiency. It may be easy to assume that these changes signal an inevitable end that leaves you without a job, but a “change agent” embraces these turbulent times as an opportunity to make a difference. They view change as a chance to create responsibility for themselves and their career; to do the work that matters and separates them as an important piece of the puzzle. Although there are as many paths as there are professions that lead to career advancement and fulfillment, here are a few suggestions from that annual meeting and from “Becoming a Change Agent” (AALL Spectrum, Nov 2010, full article here):

Get Mad & Get Over It: Change can cause anger, fear and a general feeling of being upset. While these emotions are normal reactions, they shouldn’t be allowed to aid in making decisions. It’s hard to think that any changes aren’t personal and that it’s “only business”, but they probably are. So, when faced with upheaval, let yourself get mad, and then get over it just as quickly. Things won’t seem as bad after a bit of time.

Communicating Your Value: You know that your job is critical to the success of your organization. However, do the people who make the cuts know how critical your position is? How they perceive your value depends on how you present your value to them. Create a clear channel of communication with those members of your organization and utilize it!

Be Positive: Looking for the bright side of a situation can often be difficult, but a positive outlook is infective and can turn around a difficult situation for yourself and those around you.

What does the phrase “change agent” mean to you? How have you adopted to change in past situations? Do you have any tips for dealing with change?

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It’s National Library Week!

Posted in Of Interest on April 11th, 2011 by Matthew

Back in the 1950′s, the National Book Committee was created out of concern that Americans were spending less time and money on books than they were on radios, TVs and music instruments.  They had many goals, but encouraging people to read in their free time ranked as most important. With that in mind, in 1957 the committee started developing the idea for National Library Week, and in 1958, under the theme “Wake Up and Read!”, it was first observed. The idea was that once people were motivated to read, they’d use and support their libraries. Today, many years later, it is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians.

We at Research Solutions are big supporters of libraries of all types, and urge you to visit your local library and thank your librarians. Let them know how much you appreciate their contribution in keeping information available to all Americans.

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Why Should You Use A Document Delivery Service?

Posted in Documents, Research Solutions on January 26th, 2011 by Matthew

The vast amount of resources found on the internet makes the search for information easy and accessible to anyone with the ability to connect. School children can accomplish the majority of research for school papers without leaving their home. Barroom quibbles can quickly be put to an end by verifying information on one’s phone. Researchers, librarians and other information professionals, however, may need to dig much deeper than these basic internet resources allow, and thus have databases and library collections to fulfill this need.

When an info pro is unable to obtain the document they need, whether due to time constraints, an overload of requests or the simple inability to locate it, a document delivery service may be called upon to aid in the search. Research Solutions is such a service. The following points will present some benefits of using our document delivery service.

More timely than interlibrary loan:

When a book or journal is held at a library other than the one that you frequently use, the desired publication may be lent to your library through what’s known as interlibrary loan, or ILL. While ILL is useful for increasing access for a library’s patrons, oftentimes a week will pass before the publication is received. While this time frame may be acceptable for some, others may need the information they require much sooner. In this instance, Research Solutions’ service could be called upon to retrieve the documents within 24- or 48-hours. In addition to a much faster turnaround, the documents will be delivered to the email address provided to Research Solutions, bypassing the need to pick up your requested publication at the library.

Not limited to a single subject:

It’s safe to say that a large percentage of the document requests Research Solutions receives are for scientific, technical or medical journal articles. The far-reaching network of library collections that we access allows us to fill more than ninety percent of those requests. However, this network also allows us to retrieve documents that other services may have trouble locating, including conference proceedings, newspaper and magazine articles, Physician’s Desk Reference and dictionary terms, and many others.

Pay-per-use:

Since there is no subscription associated with Research Solutions’ service, you can use us as often and only when you need us. Some of our clients request hundreds of documents per month, while others just a few per year. Orders can be placed through our online order form or can be sent to orders@researchsolutions.com, allowing you to choose the method that works best for you. You’ll never see an invoice for a document that we’re unable to deliver to you.

We’ll do the legwork:

All we require to retrieve a document is a citation. It doesn’t have to be complete. Send us as much of the citation information that you have, and we’ll fill in the blanks. We do not add any fees for submitting an incomplete or faulty citation. There’s  no need to do any preliminary searching for the document. We’ll look through our vast network of library collections to find out where the publication is held, and send our on-site retriever to copy the document you need.

Clean copies:

We clean all documents after we receive the copy from our on-site retriever. Our trained delivery team ensures that the text and images are completely readable and ready for the client. Once deemed suitable, the document is converted to a PDF and delivered.

Copyright compliant:

You can rest assured that each document you receive from Research Solutions will be compliant with current copyright law. We make sure that everything we deliver has been cleared through the Copyright Clearance Center, and simply add this fee to our service change with no markup.

As you can see, Research Solutions offers a comprehensive document delivery service capable of handling a wide variety of needs. Whether you’re short on time, overloaded with requests or just need help, Research Solutions your best bet. Please contact us to learn more about how we can help you.

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It’s 2011, and we’re ready to take care of your document delivery needs!

Posted in Research Solutions on January 10th, 2011 by Matthew

This doesn't happen very often!

In case you didn’t hear, the Earth recently finished yet another orbit around the large, glowing orb in the sky. We hope you  spent this miraculous event, and the preceding holiday season, in good spirits with friends and family.

We’re based in Northern California, and just to confirm that this winter has been abnormally cold, we actually saw a bit of snow in the very early morning of New Year’s Day. Although it didn’t leave more than a thin layer of white dust that quickly melted away, for those of us celebrating the night away, it was a magical moment.

We’re looking forward to another great year for 2011, and hope you are as well. Call Research Solutions for all your document delivery needs throughout the year!

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Happy Holidays from Research Solutions!

Posted in Company News on December 22nd, 2010 by Matthew

In traditional holiday spirit, Research Solutions celebrated the end of another year by throwing a party. This year, we held it at a local favorite, the Gooney Bird Bar & Grill in Chico. As in years past, the festive evening included a bit of competition, some interesting conversation, and of course, a gift exchange.

Zach picks a winner while Chris looks on.

Since we tend to keep pretty busy throughout the work day, it’s always nice to have a chance to relax and get to know the people you spend your days with a little better.

Good food & good times!

To our clients, thank you for another wonderful year of serving your document retrieval needs!

Cheers!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted in Company News on November 24th, 2010 by Matthew

During this season of thanks, we like to reflect on the past year and remember all of the wonderful people and positive interactions that have made it memorable. Our loyal clients are everything, and we’d like to offer a heartfelt thank you from all of us at Research Solutions.

In celebration of the holiday, we’ll be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 25th and 26th.

Have a safe and happy holiday with your family and friends!

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Happy Halloween!

Posted in Company News, Of Interest, Research Solutions on October 29th, 2010 by Matthew

Have a fun & safe Halloween this weekend! We’ll be back in the office first thing Monday morning!

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Do You Need A Cost Estimate?

Posted in Research Solutions on October 28th, 2010 by Matthew

We know that most of our clients work within a firm budget, and the fact that copyright fees vary so widely is an uneasy issue that’s hard to tackle. Depending on the copyright fee associated with a book or journal, the price can range anywhere from $10 to hundreds of dollars. As you most likely know, we ask our clients to set a copyright fee cap. That is, we ask them to set a maximum amount they’re willing to spend before we contact them for approval. While this works well most of the time, there are instances when a proper estimate is needed. Whatever the reason is, simply let us know that you’d like an estimate on the group of documents when you send in the requests, and we’ll send you one with the total cost. From there, you let us know when you’re ready to proceed with the order. We can also create an estimate for your custom projects, including those dealing with dictionary terms, microfilm/microfiche, citation/author searches and date stamps. If you’re wondering whether or not we can retrieve the type of document you’re looking for, just give us a call and ask!

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The Vending Machine Library

Posted in Of Interest on October 28th, 2010 by Matthew

It’s clear that convenience is a factor in how people use their local library. Some libraries are taking a cue from the movie industry, installing their own vending-machine-style dispensers in convenient locations. Like the Redbox movie machines they’re modeled after, these dispensers house bestsellers, DVDs and mostly popular items. However, instead of grocery stores, you’ll find them in high-traffic areas, such as airports, subway stations and the like. To access the machines, patrons use their library card and select what they want. When they’re done, they can either return it back to the machine or any library building. It’s a creative way to bring the library’s collection to the masses, and since many of the machines store more than a hundred items, there should be no trouble serving the masses.

Read more at the Chicago Sun-Times.

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