NCompass Live: In Search of the Obscure - Using Library & Online Sources to Find Resources that are Out of the Ordinary
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NCompass Live - June 7, 2023 http://nlc.nebraska.gov/NCompassLive/ As more of the world has moved on-line, researchers are discovering items that they didn’t know were out there. We will share with you resources and tactics for finding unusual materials. For example, international libraries are open to sharing their collections but have unique challenges. Individual and regional libraries are creating online digital collections that can be accessed for free. We’ll also share some sites that you’ll want to avoid because they specialize in pirated information. Presenters: Michael Straatmann, Associate Director for Collection Management; Joyce Melvin, ILL Manager; Amy Heberling, Borrowing/Resource Sharing Associate, University Libraries, University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
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NCompass Live: In Search of the Obscure - Using Library & Online Sources to Find Resources that are Out of the Ordinary
- 1. In Search of the Obscure The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment. Using library and on-line sources to find resources that are out of the ordinary
- 2. Introductions Amy Heberling ILL Borrowing Associate Joyce Melvin Resource Sharing Manager Michael Straatmann Assoc. Dir for Collection Management
- 3. Introductions Tell us a bit about yourselves!
- 4. Introductions • What is it? • Where is it? • Can you get it? • Should you get it? • Who can help?
- 5. What is it? Identifying material type • Book • Journal • Media • Data • Thesis Image from http://clipart-library.com/clipart/612108.htm
- 6. What is it? Basic Tools for Discovery
- 7. What is it? Problem Citations https://id.loc.gov/ https://www.abbreviations.com/jas.php
- 8. What is it? Image from: http://clipart-library.com/clipart/1314522.htm Foreign Languages
- 9. Where is it? Hard-to-Find vs Hard-to-Get http://clipart-library.com/clipart/887750.htm
- 11. Where is it? Higher Education Resources On-Line Catalogs Digital Repositories Archives Chat
- 12. Where is it? International Resources
- 13. Where is it? Alternate Sources
- 14. Where is it? Reference Interview
- 15. Where is it? Hidden Factors ○Age makes a difference ○Impact of market trends ○Print vs Audio vs E-content ○Newspapers vs Microfilm/Databases
- 16. Can you get it? What does the customer need? • Does your user really need that difficult to obtain item? • Is the item format usable for your customer? • Copyright Law and patron expectations • Online resources • Time vs. Cost
- 17. Can you get it? Ethics
- 18. Can you get it? • Context
- 19. Who can help? Local Resources • Museums • Local Historical Societies • Local Genealogy Societies
- 21. Can you get it? Who can help?
Editor's Notes
- We’re now going to talk a bit more about finding items and getting access. For me, This is one of the more interesting dichotomies in resource sharing. People have realized that there are advantages to showing off their unique holdings. For years now, libraries and publishers have been indexing and digitizing their print archives, making their collections more discoverable than they ever have been. However, that doesn’t mean that every item a patron is looking for is easy to find or easy to get. For example, Data can be changed or entered incorrectly when it is indexed. Some publishers change the citation information on digitized articles to reflect the current title of the journal – not the one it was published under – and the year will be changed to when it was put online – not when it appeared in print. Often being able to find something means you’ve identified a potential source to get that thing. We’ve already talked about a number of really good sources – WorldCat, Internet Archive, GoogleBooks, GoogleScholar, etc. But there is even more out there.
- There are a wide variety of librarians and content providers who are committed to making information accessible on a variety of different levels. Open Access resources make either citations or a version of the work itself available to the public. These databases can range from being very broad to extremely specific – focusing on a narrow topic like water rights in the Rocky Mountains. On the other end of the spectrum, groups compile lists of the smaller open access resources into lists of databases or aggregating the content into multi-disciplinary databases. In state, we’re lucky to have the Nebraska Library Commission who has curated a number of on-line sources on a wide variety of topics. These can be accessed by you or your patrons. Directory of Open Access Journals and Directory of Open Access Books are two of the largest sites for open-access content, but there are many sites out there. I also want to add here a caution about open-access full-text resources. Not everything that is available full-text is the finished published version. It may have select chapters or images embargoed for copyright reasons or be a preprint version before publication in a journal. For really hard to get items, this might be the only option, but it will depend on what your customer needs. Amy will be talking more about that later.
- Academic libraries are also a great source. Many of them have been leading the way in making there collections as open to the public as possible through indexing in their on-line catalogs to digitizing content. Many have formed or joined digital depositories for hosting e-content produced by their local faculty and students. Archives are making more and more of their finding guides and collections available for digitization. Sometimes this is separate from the library’s interlibrary loan service and often carries fees. Also, many large libraries now offer Chat services. If you’re pretty sure, what you’re looking for is at UC Berkeley, but you can’t find it in their catalog, ask their staff in Chat, via email or give them a call. They may be able to get you the material or give you a lead.
- Don’t forget that much of what libraries in the US have done to make materials more discoverable, is also happening all over the world. Libraries and governments are indexing materials in the topics most important to them, and local and national archives are digitizing content. If your source isn’t english based or was published outside the US, these may be your best bet. Many of the larger libraries will have translation options on their websites to facilitate researchers
- Don’t just limit yourself to the public and academic libraries. Historical societies are wealth of newspaper collections and local resources. Professional organizations are making more and more of their content available on-line being conference proceedings or newsletters. If they don’t have material, maybe they can tell where it is archived or link you to author.
- Probably the most valuable source when you are looking for the hard to find materials is your patron. If you’ve already had trouble looking for their item, any new details can be the key to finding it. This could be where they found out about the item or any additional information they have about its publication or production
- However, once you find an item doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy to get. Lots of other factors are going to impact this. Age makes a difference. Sometimes the oldest stuff can be easiest to access because it’s in the public domain and been digitized. Or maybe it’s too new, and no one has purchased it yet. This will vary on a case by case basis. Market trends can have more of an impact than you’d think. Specialty resources like geneology or certain sciences may only be available from a small number of libraries. As libraries move to more electronic sources away from print there may be restrictions on who can access material or what’s included. Print is easiest to share, unless you’re talking about newspapers. Databases are easier to use than microfilm, but may not include all content like ads or independent authors.