Ucla Is245 Sum07 Final

Some Thoughts on Science & Engineering Reference http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/IMAGES/SMALL/GPN-2000-000369.jpg By Sara Tompson USC Science & Engineering Library Team Leader For Professor Mary Niles Maack's IS-245 Information Access. Summer 2007 UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies

S&E Reference
Introduction
Reference
Reference Librarians
Scientists and Engineers
Science and Engineering Literature
Some S&E Key Databases

S&E Reference: Introductions - You
Any science or engineering backgrounds?
Any desirous of scitech librarianship?

S&E Reference: Introductions - Me
Physical sciences and/or engineering librarian for 20 years
Academic, corporate, research positions
Reference and/or research required in all
[http://isd.usc.edu/~sarat/]

S&E Reference: Introductions - Me
USC S&E Library: 1970 to date; combined two libraries [ www.usc.edu/libraries/science ]
One of 4 “center” libraries: Leavey (UG), Doheny (Grad), and VKC (Soc. Sci.)‏
Current model Team=Librarians, Center=Staff
Our team of 5 selectors – Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering
Charged with: collection development, instruction, outreach and reference
Librarians as faculty

Reference
New user needs
Winnowing, vetting
New niches for librarians & info professionals
Education, training
Similar skills and competencies required
Listening! Core of Reference Interview
Friendliness
Patience
Curiosity
Persistence

Reference: 21 st Century User Needs
Solving Info Overload
Trusted Sources – Identifying, maximizing searches
Avoiding plagiarism
Recent PAMNet discussion excerpt:
Me: “…I've often found that physics grad students are quite unfamiliar with searching citation databases, and appreciate demonstrations and tips.”
Original querent/new physics librarian* [post-analysis]: “The grad students who came to my class had never done a database search -- every paper they needed was handed to them by a professor… It threw me off a bit when they had never used Google Scholar and hadn't even heard of arXiv.org….”….”
* Used with permission

Reference/Instruction: Blend & Expand
Have always been complementary
Instruction portion of reference has grown, with ease of access on Net
A USC goal - integrate/embed both services physically and electronically at point(s) of need, discovery - Can you think of examples?
IL Standards as guides – ACRL, ASEE, etc.

Guides that Can Also Facilitate Reference

Reference Librarians Competencies*
Digital literacy
Commitment to life-long learning
Thoughtful, clear communicators to diverse populations
Agents for positive change
Learning space providers
* [Re-envisioning the Mission of the 21st Century Information Services Environment: Foundational Roles for Academic Libraries. Report from the University of Southern California Information Services Division Dean’s Task Force. November, 2005.]

Scientists & Engineers: Similar, not Same
“ Engineers use their colleagues as a resource more often than scientists”
“ Scientists use literature more than engineers”
Engineers use the literature differently from sciences and often need different types of literature....
For instance, engineers read more trade journals and internal reports than scientists do.”
[Tenopir, Carol and King, Donald W. Communication Patterns of Engineers . (New York: Wiley/IEEE, 2004), p. 25.]

S&E Literature
Introduction to a field -> Specialized Encyclopedias
Philosophy of a field:
Classic texts
Annual review series
Development of a field:
Annual review series
Literature review articles
[Ackerson, Linda G. Literature Search Strategies for Interdisciplinary Research: A Sourcebook for Scientists and Engineers (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2007), p. ix.]

S&E Literature
Guides and Bibliographies [and review articles] outline the organization of a field's literature, as well as seminal sources. For example:
Stern, David. Guide to Information Sources in the Physical Sciences . (Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2000)
Craighead. H.G. “Nanoelectromechanical Systems.: Review. Science 24 November 2000, Vol. 290. no. 5496, pp. 1532 -1535 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.290.5496.1532
LC “Science Tracer Bullets” *
ASEE-ELD Engineering Literature Guide Series *
[*Ackerson, Linda G. Literature Search Strategies ... p. ix.]

[http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/tracer-bullets/tbs.html]

[http://eld.lib.ucdavis.edu/publications.php]

S&E Primary Sources
“ Landmark” publications, per LC, e.g.
Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica , Charles Darwin's Origin of Species,
Current research – “First hand …observations and/or measurements taken in the lab or in the field.” Univ. Calgary: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~natsci/science311/311ComparisonTableW07.pdf
Conference Proceedings
Preprints
Journals
Raw data - even more primary? Note: Libraries are now storing more.

S&E Key Databases & Search Engines
Undergraduate vs. Graduate – some differences
UG (my take; others may disagree!)‏
Subscription: ProQuest
Subscription: OCLC First Search platform, if at your institution
Free: Google Scholar
Free: Google Patents
Free: Scirus (http://www.scirus.com)

S&E Key Databases
Graduate, Faculty, Researchers (my take)‏
Web of Knowledge (ISI) platform
Current Contents
Web of Science: Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index, Arts & Humanities Index
Journal Citation Report
Essential Science Indicators
Engineering Village 2 (Elsevier) platform
Compendex
Inspec, other available
American Chemical Society’s SciFinder Scholar
ChemAbstracts much faster online
Chem sources, patents, etc.
Very useful despite local file nuisance!

Bibliography of items not already cited within presentation
Assoc. of College & Research Libraries/ACRL “ Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education” : http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.cfm
ACRL “Information Literacy Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology”: http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/infolitscitech.cfm
USC Libraries “Re-envisioning the Mission of the 21st Century Information Services Environment: Foundational Roles For Academic Libraries”: http://isd.usc.edu/~sarat/TF21_Report.pdf
Tompson, Sara R. “Requisite Competencies for Recruitment and Retention.” Science & Technology Libraries , Special Issue Title: Science and Technology Librarians: Recruitment, Training, and Retention. 27:1/2, pp. 241-258.
Tompson, Sara R. “Scirus – for Scientific Information.” Electronic Resources Review. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship . http://www.istl.org/07-winter/electronic3.html
THANK YOU!! [email_address]

Ucla Is245 Sum07 Final

by Sara Tompson on Nov 29, 2007

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Ucla Is245 Sum07 Final — Presentation Transcript