Now That I’ve Found It … How Do I Get It?

“Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping.” -- Bo Derek (American Actress, b.1956)

 

 

Searching for useful articles is one thing.  Shopping for them is another.

 

To put it another way, just because you can FIND an article on the Web doesn’t mean you can read it.  Most of the time you have to pay for that privilege.

 

If you are a solo act, this is not much of a problem.  You just enter your credit card number and download the article.

 

If, however, you operate within a corporate structure, the process becomes more complicated.  In this post, we offer some shopping tips for your situation.  But first, here is a concrete example of what you no doubt have encountered.

 

A Google® Scholar search for biodesulfurization produces the following four results, among others:

 

///////

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, March 2013, Volume 97, Issue 5, pp 2193-2200

Kinetic analysis of biodesulfurization of model oil containing multiple alkyl dibenzothiophenes

 

Shi-Han Zhang, Han Chen, Wei Li

Institute of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, 310058, China

source: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00253-012-4048-6#

Purchase on Springer.com: $39.95

///////

Advanced Materials Research, 825, 508 (2013), Pages 508-511, DOI 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.825.508

Influences of pH Buffers on the Growth of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans and Biodesulfurization Efficiency

 

Xiao Rong Liu, Chang Su, Sheng Cai Jiang, Yan Jun Liu, Hui Li

source: http://www.scientific.net/AMR.825.508

Purchase on www.scientific.net: $28.00

///////

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, Volume 86, Part C, January 2014, Pages 343–348

Taguchi optimization of dibenzothiophene biodesulfurization by Rhodococcus erythropolis R1 immobilized cells in a biphasic system

 

P. Derikvand (a), Z. Etemadifar (a), D. Biria (b)

a Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Hezarjarib St., 81746-73441 Isfahan, Iran

b Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technology, University of Isfahan, Hezarjarib St., 81746-73441 Isfahan, Iran

source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964830513003612

Purchase on ScienceDirect: $35.95

///////

Petroleum Science and Technology, Volume 31, Issue 21, 2013, pages 2250-2257

A Two-stage Immobilized Cell Bioreactor With Bacillus subtilis and Rhodococcus erythropolis for the Simultaneous Production of Biosurfactant and Biodesulfurization of Model Oil

 

A. Amin (a), S. A. Bazaid (b) & M. Abd El-Halim (c)

a Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science , Taif University , Taif , Saudi Arabia

b Department of Biology, Faculty of Science , Taif University , Taif , Saudi Arabia

c Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Taif University , Taif , Saudi Arabia

source: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10916466.2011.565292

Purchase on Taylor & Francis: $46.00

 

///////

 

Here we have four articles from four different vendors requiring four different transactions.  Again, if you are working solo, this is not such a problem.  But if you are working in a corporate environment, you have to contend with two conflicting imperatives.  They are:

 

• Cost control
• Efficient delivery

 

Here is a structure which works well in many corporations …

 

To ensure cost control, designate two individuals within your corporate unit to act as gatekeepers for document acquisition. One of the two individuals can serve as the primary approver.  The other can serve as an alternate in case the primary is not available for some reason.  A researcher who needs an article can contact one or the other of these two individuals to request purchase of an article.  The request can be approved or denied. If approved, the approver forwards the request for purchase.

 

To ensure efficient delivery, two individuals should be designated as authorized users of one (or two) corporate credit cards.  One of the two individuals can serve as the primary purchaser. The other can serve as an alternate in case the primary is not available for some reason.

 

And here’s another tip: As time goes on, it may become apparent that one or more vendors receive the bulk of article purchase requests.  At this point, it would be worthwhile to consider a subscription that would (a) reduce the time involved in multiple individual purchases, and (b) reduce the cost per item purchased.

 

 

Fetch! How To Get The Articles You Need

“A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.” -- Groucho Marx (American Comedian, Actor and Singer, 1890-1977)
Organizations of all types, including yours, seek ways to automate the process of fetching the information your people need to do their work.

Vendors are responding to the demand with a fetching array of fetching solutions.  Now you are left with another problem ... how to select the vendor solution that is best for your organization.

Let's say, for example, that one of your researchers needs the full text of the following article ...

///////
Direct JP-8 Conversion Using a Liquid Tin Anode Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (LTA-SOFC) for Military ApplicationsJ. Fuel Cell Sci. Technol.  -- August 2011 --  Volume 8,  Issue 4, 041007 (5 pages)
W. A. G. McPhee, L. Bateman, M. Koslowske, M. Slaney, Z. Uzep, J. Bentley, and T. Tao
CellTech Power LCC, 131 Flanders Road, Westborough, MA 01581
A liquid tin anode solid oxide fuel cell (LTA-SOFC) is actively being developed for direct utilization of JP-8 logistic fuel. Since its invention in 1998, the LTA-SOFC has demonstrated the ability to operate on various carbonaceous fuels including hydrocarbons, alcohols, carbon, biomass, and coal without fuel reforming or reprocessing to remove known impurities such as sulfur. Natural gas fueled 1  kW stand alone prototypes for distributed power generation and have previously demonstrated over 2000  h of continuous operation. The aim is to develop simple and reliable portable power that operates directly off JP-8 and other carbonaceous fuels. The current program focuses on improvement of power density and cell manufacturability. Cell geometry was modified from the previous design to optimize power density while minimizing cell weight and volume. The cell construction is a liquid tin anode housed in a porous separator, an 8  mol  % yttria stabilized electrolyte, and a strontium doped lanthanum magnate cathode. Experimentation was conducted on single cells at 1000°C. The JP-8 fuel used for experimentation contained a sulfur content of 1400  ppm. The direct JP-8 conversion in a LTA-SOFC demonstrated up to 41% efficiency. The LTA-SOFC was also capable of maintaining greater than 30% efficiency at 70% of maximum power output at a JP-8 flow rate of 10  µl  min-1. Continuous operation with direct conversion of JP-8 was sustained for over 100  h with efficiencies of 41–17%. A maximum power density of 120  mW  cm-2 was sustainable on a JP-8 flow rate of 50  µl  min-1. The current Gen 3.1 cell design can sustain a maximum power of 120  mW  cm-2 by direct conversion of JP-8 without fuel processing, reforming, or sulfur removal. Efficiencies of up to 41% were sustained for a minimum of 1  h, with continuous operation on JP-8 for over 100  h. Further performance improvements are anticipated, thereby facilitating LTA-SOFCs use for military and civilian applications that demand flexible fuel.
source: http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JFCSAU000008000004041007000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes&ref=no ///////

Another researcher needs the following article ...

///////
Fuel, Article in Press, Corrected Proof - Note to users
Desulfurization behavior of zinc oxide based sorbent modified by the combination of Al2O3 and K2CO3 Ju Shangguan (a), Yousheng Zhao (a), Huiling Fan (a), Litong Liang (a), Fang Shen (a) and Maoqian Miao (a)
a Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology, Taiyuan University of Technology, Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi, China
Received 19 October 2010;  revised 10 April 2011;  accepted 14 April 2011.  Available online 24 April 2011.
shanggj62@163.com
Abstract
In order to reduce the unfavorable effect of carbon oxide on desulfurization efficiency for zinc oxide based sorbent and decrease the concentration of carbonyl sulfide in effluent gas during desulfurization process, the modification of zinc oxide based sorbent is necessary in the preparation of zinc oxide based desulfurization sorbent. In this paper, the modified ZnO based desulfurization sorbents were obtained by mixing of active zinc oxide with different additives, which include graphite, Al2O3 and K2CO3, then shaping at ambient temperature, drying at 120 °C and calcinating at 550 °C. The desulfurization performances for the prepared ZnO based desulfurization sorbents were tested in a quartz upflow fixed-bed reactor under the condition of 300 °C, 2000 h-1 and simulated coal-derived gas. The phases of sorbents before and after desulfurization were characterized by X-ray diffractometer, and their pore structures were measured by N2 adsorption–desorption method. The experimental results show that COS was present in effluent gas for ZnO based sorbent while removing H2S from simulated coal-derived gas at experimental condition. ZnO based desulfurization sorbent modified by the combination of K2CO3 and Al2O3 achieves obvious improvements in the desulfurization performance, and H2S and COS concentrations in exit gas are below 0.1 mgS/m3 before breakthrough point as well as the accumulated breakthrough sulfur capacity reaches 14 wt.%. Adding Al2O3 can improve the pore structure of ZnO based desulfurization sorbent, which benefits H2S to diffuse in the pore of sorbent and improves desulfurization performance. Loading K2CO3 can increase the basicity of ZnO based desulfurization sorbent, which raises the COS catalytic hydrolysis rate on sorbent and decreases concentration of COS present in exit gas.
source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016236111002183 ///////

And two other researchers need two other articles from two other sources.  So how can you make it possible for each of your people to get the full text of the articles they need to do their work?

(1) Do you give all your researchers company cards and trust them to make good purchasing decisions?
(2) Do you hire someone to make those purchases for them?
(3) Or do you find a vendor who can automate the purchase of articles no matter what the source?

Most organizations are gravitating toward the third option.  Which brings us to the problem of choosing the right vendor.

Here's a tip ... read "Document Delivery - Best Practices and Vendor Scorecard", produced by Outsell Inc. (www.outsellinc.com).  Joanne Lustig (jlustig@outsellinc.com), Outsell Vice President & Lead Analyst, presents charts, tables, and analysis that will provide the framework you need to evaluate the plethora of vendor solutions.

The Outsell briefing provides background on the things professional information managers look for in a vendor, as well as tables listing typical vendors, their services, fees, and copyright policies.

It also ranks the vendors, based on the results of a survey of professional information managers.Visit the Outsell Web to learn how to get a copy of the briefing.

///////

Here's another tip ... place a feed of the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) on your Intranet.  It will provide a continuing series of tips to help your people optimize their online research techniques, no matter what technology they are researching.

///////

Organization Alert: Linda Hall Library

“County library? Reference desk, please. Hello? Yes, I need a word definition. Well, that's the problem. I don't know how to spell it and I'm not allowed to say it. Could you just rattle off all the swear words you know and I'll stop you when...Hello?” -- Calvin & Hobbes (Fictional characters from the comic series created by Bill Watterson.)

When you consider using an information consultant ... consider using Linda Hall Library's (http://www.lindahall.org) reference services.

During my career as corporate librarian for NASA, Brown & Root (now known as KBR), and Aramco, I used Linda Hall Library services frequently.

Linda Hall also offers document delivery and a database known as Difficult to Find Engineering Papers. According to the Linda Hall Web …

“This database includes a selection of engineering papers that have proven to be difficult to find. They are difficult to find because, in some cases, indexing sources have not included paper numbers or because some papers were not indexed at all by the major indexing services. Though some of the papers included in the database were published as early as 1952, most of the papers were published between 1991 and 2001, most by ASME and ASCE. The database was developed as a finding aid for these papers and no attempt has been made to make the database comprehensive. Additional titles may be added as time allows.

“Please contact the Linda Hall Library Reference Department for help using this database. All of these papers are available from the Linda Hall Library Document Services or may be used in the Library.”
source: http://www.lindahall.org/services/reference/resources/search.php///////

The Linda Hall Web is worth visiting when you need outside reference assistance. It also is useful to use as a base line should you consider using an independent information professional. For example, here is an excerpt from the “reference fees” page …

Linda Hall Library Fees for Searches
In addition to hourly fees, subject searches may include database fees. Rush searches are provided, dependent on staff availability.
•Regular: $50 per hour
•Rush: $75 per hour
Verification of date of receipt
•Regular: $50 per hour
•Rush: $75 per hour
///////

Note that an independent information professional might quote higher hourly rates. They may well be justified. But using the Linda Hall Library fees as a baseline, you can reasonably expect a justification for higher fees from other organizations.

I invite you to invite me … to join your LinkedIn network. Visit my LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/jeansteinhardtresearch

Search tip: British Library Direct

“When I give a lecture, I accept that people look at their watches, but what I do not tolerate is when they look at it and raise it to their ear to find out if it stopped.” -- Marcel Achard
The British Library is the national library of the UK. Its collection of books and journals is vast in scope. British Library Direct (http://direct.bl.uk/bld/SearchResults.do) gives you access to this rich repository. If you have a credit card, you can obtain just about any English language article that has ever been published. Articles in other languages are also usually available.

Searching is free. Try it out. Go to the British Library Direct site (http://direct.bl.uk/bld/SearchResults.do) and type in a search string … For example: dibenzothiophene 2009

Browse the results. If you find one you want to read, get out your credit card and order it online. Isn’t the Web amazing?

Do your friends a favor … let them know about the Desulfurization Blog. It’s not just about desulfurization. It’s about making you a more effective online searcher.