This article by Clare Brown is based on a presentation given at the BIALL Online Annual Conference in June 2021. It takes the form of a case study that illustrates how library and information professionals can control the flow of information so as to avoid users being overwhelmed by news.

This article by Jill Henderson and Louise Young is based on their ‘Lightning Talk’ at the 2018 BIALL Conference and describes the recent current awareness project at Irwin Mitchell. It outlines each stage of the project from recognising there was a need to change and choosing the right product to enable that, through to gathering requirements, building searches and launching the new alerts. It goes through each stage in detail and outlines the lessons learnt to help others who may be considering a similar project.

The definition of mashing in the context of content is different depending on where you look. In this example from Fiona Fogden of Baker Tilly, mashing refers to the blending of content from a variety of sources into a single location. It is a process librarians have been undertaking for years in bulletins and abstracts, but new technology brings with it new terminology as well as new opportunities.

Amanda McKenzie presented this Parallel Session at the 38th Annual BIALL Study Conference in Sheffield in June 2007. She looks at the potential methods of identifying current awareness user groups and reviews traditional methods of current awareness delivery. She then discusses the use of third party aggregators, such as Lexis and PLC. She also looks at the potential for Web 2.0 and social networking methodologies, and evaluates alternative delivery methods, such as RDD feeds, in the context of offering comprehensive services to users.