LIS 522LE Information Sources and Services in the Sciences
Spring 2008
Linda C. Smith
lcsmith@uiuc.edu; 217/333-7742
112E LIS Building
Synchronous sessions: Tuesdays 6:45-8:45 pm
On-campus session: Friday February 29
Overview of the information needs and practices of researchers, practitioners, and the
general public. Detailed consideration of disciplinary literatures and print and electronic
reference materials. Advanced training in addressing reference questions and research
problems in the sciences.
Recommended Text: Hurt, C. D. Information Sources in Science and Technology. 3rd
ed. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1998. 346p.
Evaluation: course grade based on (1) periodic assignments and (2) term project.
Students enrolled for 4 hours will complete assignments 1-10. Students enrolled for 2
hours will complete assignments 1-3, 1 literature search, and assignments 6-8.
Assignments (point values for students taking the course for half/full credit and due dates
given in parentheses; * designates assignments to be completed only by those enrolled for
full credit):
1. Evaluating encyclopedias and dictionaries (10/5, February 5)
2. Evaluating indexing and abstracting services (10/5, February 19)
3. Tracing the scientific publication cycle (20/15, March 4)
4-5. Literature searches (20/10 each, week following introduction of subject area in class)
Select from eight areas: mathematics & computer science; astronomy & physics;
chemistry; engineering; earth sciences, environmental sciences & energy; biological
sciences; agriculture & veterinary medicine; medical sciences [*students enrolled for 4
hours complete 2 literature searches; students enrolled for 2 hours complete 1 literature
search]
6. Database review (10/5, April 29)
7. Evaluating scholarly society and sci-tech center Web sites (10/5, April 29)
8. Electronic journal club (20/10, May 6)
9. *Information needs in the sciences (10, as assigned)
10. *Term project Webliography (25, May 9)
Schedule
Note that all articles are available in full-text online through the Online Research
Resources (http://www.library.uiuc.edu/orr/?mode=J) unless otherwise indicated.
January 15
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Course overview; orientation to Online Research Resources;
Reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries)]
Reading assignment:
1) Information literacy standards for science and engineering/technology. College &
Research Libraries News 67(10):634-641, November 2006.
2) Gooden, Angela M. Breathe new life into your science reference collection. Issues
in Science & Technology Librarianship 50, Spring 2007. http://www.istl.org/07spring/viewpoints.html
3) Thompson, Sara R. Scirus—for scientific information. Issues in Science &
Technology Librarianship 49, Winter 2007. http://www.istl.org/07winter/electronic3.html.
4) Berinstein, Paula. Wikipedia and Britannica. Searcher 14(3):16-26, March 2006.
5) Gorman, G.E. A tale of information ethics and encyclopaedias; or is Wikipedia
just another Internet scam? Online Information Review 31(3):273-276, 2007.
6) Clifton, Margaret. Ask a science librarian. Issues in Science and Technology
Librarianship 43, Summer 2005. http://www.istl.org/05-summer/article3.html
Written assignment:
By January 22 post some brief notes to the Class Member Profiles forum to introduce
yourself to other members of the class. Notes may include such details as academic
background, work experience, and reasons why you are interested in learning more about
science reference. Notes on readings for this week may be posted to the forum set up for
Week 1. [In each subsequent week, there will be a separate forum set up for comments
and questions related to the topic(s) and readings for that week.]
January 22
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Scientific publication cycle; Scholarly communication]
Reading assignment:
1) Borgman, Christine L. The continuity of scholarly communication. In:
Scholarship in the Digital Age: Information, Infrastructure, and the Internet.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007, pp. 47-74. [on LIS 522LE electronic reserve]
2) ARL Agenda for Developing E-Science in Research Libraries. November 2007.
http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/ARL_EScience_final.pdf
3) Horrigan, John. The Internet as a Resource for News and Information about
Science. Pew Internet & American Life Project. 20 November 2006.
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/191/report_display.asp
January 29
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Tertiary sources (directories); Reference books (biographical
sources, handbooks, tables); Guest speaker on data curation: Melissa Cragin, Program
Coordinator, Data Curation Education Program, http://cirss.lis.uiuc.edu/dcep/;
http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/programs/ms/data_curation.html]
Reading assignment:
1) Gold, Anna. Cyberinfrastructure, Data, and Libraries, Part 1: A
Cyberinfrastructure Primer for Librarians. D-Lib Magazine, 13(9/10),
September/October 2007.
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september07/gold/09gold-pt1.html
2) Gold, Anna. Cyberinfrastructure, Data, and Libraries, Part 2: Libraries and the
Data Challenge: Roles and Actions for Libraries. D-Lib Magazine, 13(9/10),
September/October 2007.
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september07/gold/09gold-pt2.html
3) For scanning: ARL/NSF. To Stand the Test of Time: Long-term Stewardship of
Digital Data Sets in Science and Engineering. 2006.
http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/digdatarpt.pdf
4) Course text (C.D. Hurt, Information Sources in Science and Technology, 3rd ed.):
pp. 3-8, 13-28. Note: in this and subsequent reading assignments from Hurt, I
would like you to scan the text to become familiar with the range of titles listed.
In live sessions and on the bulletin boards I will be highlighting sources of
particular importance.
February 5
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Indexing and abstracting services; Primary sources
(periodicals, conference papers)]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) pp. 8-13, 19-20, 29.
2) Borgman, Christine L. The discontinuity in scholarly publishing. In: Scholarship
in the Digital Age: Information, Infrastructure, and the Internet. Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press, 2007, pp. 75-114. [on LIS 522LE electronic reserve]
3) Hunter, Karen. The end of print journals: (in) frequently asked questions. Journal
of Library Administration 46(2):119-132, 2007.
4) Lawlor, Bonnie. Abstracting and information services: Managing the flow of
scholarly communication—past, present, and future. Serials Review 29(3):200209, 2003.
5) Nicholas, David; Huntington, Paul; Jamali, Hamid R. The use, users, and role of
abstracts in the digital scholarly environment. Journal of Academic Librarianship
33(4):446-453, July 2007.
6) Barr, Dorothy. “Staying alert: the wild new world of current awareness services.”
College & Research Libraries News 67(1):14-17, January 2006.
Written assignment:
Assignment #1 Evaluating encyclopedias and dictionaries
February 12
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Special materials: theses, patents, government documents,
technical reports, standards; Guest speaker: Jezmynne Amergin, Science Librarian,
Claremont Colleges, http://libraries.claremont.edu/scilib/staff.asp]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) pp. 28-34.
2) Mathews, Brian S. Gray literature: resources for locating unpublished research.
College & Research Libraries News 65(3):125-128, March 2004.
3) Collecting grey literature: an annotated bibliography, with examples from the
sciences and technology. Science & Technology Libraries 25(3):35-70, 2005.
4) Hall, Susan. Electronic theses and dissertations: enhancing scholarly
communication and the graduate student experience. Science & Technology
Libraries 22(3/4):51-58, 2004.
5) MacMillan, Don. Patently obvious: the place for patents in information literacy in
the sciences. Research Strategies 20(3):149-161, 2005.
6) Creating NISO Standards. http://www.niso.org/creating/index.html
7) Vawter, Edward. Science.gov 3.0. Searcher 14(3):35-36, March 2006.
8) Morris-Knower, James. Phyllostachys aurea—didn’t he work with Socrates?
Reference work in science libraries by librarians who are not scientists. Reference
Librarian 72:155-169, 2001.
February 19
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Mathematics; computer science; Guest speaker: Brian
Quigley, Head, Mathematics/Statistics Library, University of California Berkeley,
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/math/help/contact_us.html]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) Chapters 10 and 19
2) Newby, Jill. An emerging picture of mathematicians’ use of electronic resources:
the effect of withdrawal of older print volumes. Science & Technology Libraries
25(4):65-85, 2005.
3) Knee, Michael. Internet reference sources for computing and computer science: a
selected guide. Journal of Library Administration 44(1/2): 453-473, 2006.
4) Schmidt, Larry; Tronstad, Bryan. ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)
Digital Library. Issues in Science & Technology Librarianship 50, Spring 2007.
http://www.istl.org/07-spring/electronic2.html
Written assignment:
Assignment #2 Evaluating indexing and abstracting services
Assignment #9 Information needs in mathematics; Information needs in computer
science
February 26
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Astronomy; physics; Guest speaker: Lee Robbins, Head,
Astronomy and Astrophysics Library, University of Toronto,
http://www.astro.utoronto.ca/AALibrary/]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) Chapters 5 and 9
2) Armstrong, William W. Communication in the sciences as seen through physics
and chemistry: a look at the complex relationship between author, publisher, and
distributor as they relate to the reader. College & Research Libraries 66(2):98114, March 2005.
3) Tenopir, Carol; King, Donald W.; Boyce, Peter; Grayson, Matt; Paulson, KeriLynn. Relying on electronic journals: reading patterns of astronomers. Journal of
the American Society for Information Science and Technology 56(8):786-802,
June 2005.
4) Kurtz, Michael J.; Eichhorn, Guenther; Accomazi, Alberto; Grant, Carolyn;
Demleitner, Markus; Murray, Stephen S. Worldwide use and impact of the NASA
Astrophysics Data System digital library. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science and Technology 56(1):36-45, 1 January 2005.
Written assignment:
Literature searches: mathematics and computer science topics
Assignment #9 Information needs in astronomy; Information needs in physics
February 29
On-campus session: 9 am - 4 pm [collection development; specialized services; library
tours]
Reading assignment:
Chrzastowski, Tina E.; Joseph, Lura. Surveying graduate and professional students’
perspectives on library services, facilities and collections at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign: does subject discipline continue to influence library use? Issues in
Science and Technology Librarianship 45, Winter 2006. http://www.istl.org/06winter/refereed3.html
March 4
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [optional live office hours]
Written assignment:
Assignment #3 Tracing the scientific publication cycle
March 11
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Chemistry; Guest speaker: Judith Currano, Head, Chemistry
Library, University of Pennsylvania,
http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/gradstudents/gradchem.html]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) Chapters 6 and 12
2) Flaxbert, David. The Chemical Abstracts Centennial: whither CAS? Issues in
Science & Technology Librarianship 49, Winter 2007. http://www.istl.org/07winter/viewpoints.html; letter in response: http://www.istl.org/07spring/letter.html
3) Garritano, Jeremy R. Current and future status of chemistry and chemical libraries
at ARL institutions. Issues in Science & Technology Librarianship 50, Spring
2007. http://www.istl.org/07-spring/refereed1.html
4) Levine-Clark, Michael; Kraus, Joseph. Finding chemical information using
Google Scholar: a comparison with Chemical Abstracts Service. Science &
Technology Libraries 27(4):3-17, 2007.
5) Lafferty, Meghan. CHEMnetBASE. Issues in Science & Technology
Librarianship 50, Spring 2007. http://www.istl.org/07-spring/electronic3.html
Written assignment:
Literature searches: astronomy and physics topics
Assignment #9 Information needs in chemistry
March 25
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Engineering; Guest speaker: Deborah Helman, Director,
Wendt Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison, http://wendt.library.wisc.edu/]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) Chapters 11, 13-18
2) American Society for Engineering Education. Engineering Libraries Division.
Punch List of Best Practices for Electronic Resources.
http://eld.lib.ucdavis.edu/punchlist/PunchlistRevision2005.pdf
3) Conkling, Thomas W. Web-based reference sources for engineering. Journal of
Library Administration 44(1/2):475-495, 2006.
4) Maness, Jack M. ENGnetBASE. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship
45, Winter 2006. http://www.istl.org/06-winter/databases1.html
Written assignment:
Literature searches: chemistry topics
Assignment #9 Information needs in engineering
April 1
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Earth sciences; Environmental sciences; Energy; Guest
speaker: Amy Schuler, Librarian, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies,
http://www.ecostudies.org/library.html]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) Chapters 7 and 8
2) Joseph, Lura E. Geology librarianship: current trends and challenges. Science &
Technology Libraries 21(1/2):65-85, 2001.
3) Riley, Ola C. Searching of our surroundings: Looking at the environment from the
Internet. Journal of Library Administration 44(1/2):349-371, 2006.
4) Parsons, Gary L. Alternative energy: resources from coal to wind. College &
Research Libraries News 66(1):18-22, January 2005.
Written assignment:
Literature searches: engineering topics
Assignment #9 Information needs in earth sciences; Information needs in environmental
sciences; Information needs in energy
April 8
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Biological sciences; Guest speaker: Linda Coates, Libraian,
San Diego Zoo, http://www.sandiegozoo.org]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) Chapters 2-4
2) Tennant, Michele R. Bioinformatics librarian: meeting the needs of genetics and
bioinformatics researchers. Reference Services Review 33(1):12-19, 2005.
3) Chiang, Katherine S. Biology databases for the new life sciences. Science &
Technology Libraries 25(1/2):139-170, 2004.
4) Geer, Renata C. Broad issues to consider for library involvement in
bioinformatics. Journal of the Medical Library Association 94(3):286-298, July
2006.
Written assignment:
Literature searches: earth sciences, environmental sciences, and energy topics
Assignment #9 Information needs in biological sciences
April 15
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Agriculture; Veterinary medicine; Guest speaker: Nan
Hyland, Digital Collections Librarian, Mann Library, Cornell University,
http://www.mannlib.cornell.edu/]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) Chapter 20
2) McBride, Matthew J. Harvesting the USDA’s agricultural information. Online
28(1):16-26, January/February 2004.
3) Fescemeyer, Kathy. Using the Internet to find information on agriculture’s hot
topics. Journal of Library Administration 44(1/2):373-394, 2006.
4) Kuruppu, Pali A.; Gruber, Anne Marie. Understanding the information needs of
academic scholars in agricultural and biological sciences. Journal of Academic
Librarianship 32(6):609-623, November 2006.
Written assignment:
Literature searches: biological sciences topics
Assignment #9: Information needs in agriculture; Information needs in veterinary
medicine
April 22
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Medical sciences; Guest speaker: Siobhan ChampBlackwell, Community Outreach, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Creighton
University Health Sciences Library, http://nnlm.gov/mcr/about/staff.html]
Reading assignment:
1) Course text (Hurt) Chapter 21
2) Burke, Cynthia; Greenberg, Stephen; Ahmed, Terry. Serving our colleagues:
reference and history of medicine services from the National Library of Medicine.
Medical Reference Services Quarterly 26(1):73-80, Spring 2007.
3) Gray, Caryl. Health and medical resources: information for the consumer. Journal
of Library Administration 44(1/2):395-428, 2006.
4) McMillan, Gary A. Medical reference sources on the Internet: an evolving
information forum and marketplace. Reference Librarian 91/92:197-209, 2005.
5) Lomax, Eleanor; Setterlund, Susan K. A virtual reference shelf for nursing
students and faculty: selected sources. Journal of Library Administration
44(1/2):429-451, 2006.
6) Watson, Erin. An introductory guide to drug reference sources. Medical
Reference Services Quarterly 25(1):37-48, 2006.
Written assignment:
Literature searches: agriculture and veterinary medicine topics
Assignment #9: Information needs in medical sciences
April 29
Live session: 6:45-8:45 pm [Culture of science, technology & medicine; Future of scitech librarianship; Guest speaker: Stephanie Bianchi, Librarian, National Science
Foundation, http://www.nsf.gov/about/]
Reading assignment:
1) On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research. 2nd ed., National Academy
Press, 1995. http://www.nap.edu/books/0309051967/html/index.html
2) Cosgrove, John; Norelli, Barbara; Putnam, Elizabeth. Setting the record straight: how
online database providers are handling plagiarism and fabrication issues. College &
Research Libraries 66(2):136-148, March 2005.
3) Scientific misconduct. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_misconduct
4) Bianchi, Stephanie. Sci-tech Library Newsletter. http://wwwsul.stanford.edu/depts/swain/nsflibnews/
Written assignment:
Literature searches: medical sciences topics
Assignment #6 Database review
Assignment #7 Evaluating scholarly society and sci-tech center Web sites
May 6 Assignment #8 Electronic journal club due
May 9 Assignment #10 Term project Webliography due
Resources: UIUC Sci-Tech Libraries and Librarians; Current Awareness
UIUC Sci-Tech Libraries and Librarians
ACES (Agriculture) (217/333-2416)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/agx
Robert (Pat) Allen (allen2@uiuc.edu); Laura Hansen (neugebau@uiuc.edu)
Applied Health Sciences, 146 Library (217/333-3615)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/alx
Mary Beth Allen (mballen@uiuc.edu)
Biology, 101 Burrill (217/333-3654)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/bix
Diane Schmidt (dcschmid@uiuc.edu); Melody Allison (mmalliso@uiuc.edu)
Biotechnology, 123A Burrill (217/265-5386)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/biotech
Katie Newman (florador@uiuc.edu), 123A Burrill (217/265-5386)
Chemistry, 170 Noyes Lab (217/333-3737)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/chx
Tina Chrzastowski (chrz@uiuc.edu)
Engineering, Grainger Engineering Library (217/333-3576)
http://search.grainger.uiuc.edu/top
William Mischo (w-mischo@uiuc.edu); Mary Schlembach (schlemba@uiuc.edu); Nikki
Wright (nwright2@uiuc.edu)
Geology, 223 Natural History (217/333-1266)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/gex
Lura Joseph (luraj@uiuc.edu)
Geological Survey, 469 Natural Resources (217/333-5110)
http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/library/index.html
Anne Huber (huber@isgs.uiuc.edu)
Health Sciences, 102 Medical Sciences (217/333-4893)
http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/lhsu
Mary Shultz (shultz@uic.edu); Ryan Rafferty (rraffer2@uiuc.edu)
Mathematics, 216 Altgeld (217/333-0258)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/mtx
Tim Cole (t-cole3@uiuc.edu)
Natural History Survey, 1027 I-Bldg., Research Park (217/333-6892)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/nhx
Beth Wohlgemuth (wohlgemu@uiuc.edu); Susan Braxton (braxton@uiuc.edu)
Physics/Astronomy, 204 Loomis Lab (217/333-2101)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/phx
Mary Schlembach (schlemba@uiuc.edu)
Veterinary Medicine, 1257 V.M.B.S.B. (217/333-2193)
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/vex
Greg Youngen (youngen@uiuc.edu)
Waste Management and Research Center, 1 E. Hazelwood Drive (217/333-8957)
http://www.wmrc.uiuc.edu/main_sections/info_services/library.cfm
Laura Barnes (l-barnes@uiuc.edu)
Water Survey, 208 Water Survey Research Center (217/333-4956)
http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/chief/library
Patricia Gobert (pgm@uiuc.edu)
Current Awareness – Science and Technology
The journals listed below include coverage of current topics in science and technology
that are of general interest. Many have book reviews useful to librarians. The full text of
the journals is available through the Library’s Online Research Resources unless
otherwise noted. The Web sites vary in their coverage of articles for the corresponding
print or online title, although they may also include special features not found in the print
journal.
American Scientist
http://www.americanscientist.org
Discover
http://discovermagazine.com
Issues in Science and Technology
http://www.issues.org
Nature
http://www.nature.com/nature
New Scientist
http://www.newscientist.com
Science
http://www.sciencemag.org
Science News
http://www.sciencenews.org
Scientific American
http://www.sciam.com
Smithsonian
http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com
Technology Review
http://www.techreview.com
Current Awareness – Science Information
The journals and web sites listed below are useful for keeping up with current
developments in science information and science librarianship.
Journals [available through Online Research Resources]
Health Information & Libraries Journal
Medical Reference Services Quarterly
Science & Technology Libraries
American Society for Information Science and Technology
Special Interest Group on Scientific and Technical Information Systems
http://www.asis.org/SIG/SIGSTI/sti.html
Association of College & Research Libraries/Science and Technology Section
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/aboutacrl/acrlsections/sciencetech/sts.cfm
Medical Library Association
http://www.mlanet.org
Journal of the Medical Library Association
http://www.mlanet.org/publications/jmla/index.html
MLA News
http://www.mlanet.org/publications/mlanews/index.html
Special Libraries Association
http://www.sla.org
Divisions: Biomedical & Life Sciences; Chemistry; Engineering; Environment &
Resource Management; Food, Agriculture & Nutrition; Petroleum and Energy Resources;
Pharmaceutical and Health Technology; Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics; ScienceTechnology; Transportation
American Chemical Society/Division of Chemical Information
http://www.acscinf.org
American Society for Engineering Education/Engineering Libraries Division
http://eld.lib.ucdavis.edu/
Geoscience Information Society
http://www.geoinfo.org/
International Association of Aquatic and Marine Sciences Libraries and Information
Centers
http://www.iamslic.org/
Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries
http://www.cbhl.net/
International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists
http://www.iaald.org
National libraries
Library of Congress, Science Reference Services
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/
National Agricultural Library
http://www.nal.usda.gov
National Library of Medicine
http://www.nlm.nih.gov
Electronic journals and listservs
Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship
http://www.istl.org
STS-L
http://lists.ala.org/wws/info/sts-l
MEDLIB-L
http://www.mlanet.org/discussion/medlibl.html
Blogs
Confessions of a science librarian
http://jdupuis.blogspot.com
Open Access News
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/fosblog.html
LIS 522LE Assignments
Assignment #1 Evaluating Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
In answering science-related reference questions, one may make use of some reference
tools which are general in scope, some which are limited to science, and/or some which
are further limited to a specific area of science. For example, if I am looking for a
definition of the term “hypertext,” I could look in Random House Webster’s Unabridged
Dictionary, the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, or The
Computer Glossary: The Complete Illustrated Dictionary. For this assignment you are to
compare the usefulness of a number of encyclopedias and dictionaries in providing
information related to the topic of your term project or a topic of personal interest.
Encyclopedias
If the topic you have selected divides readily into subtopics, you may wish to try to locate
information on 2 or 3 subtopics rather than the more general topic. For example,
“alternative energy sources” could be subdivided into such subtopics as “solar energy”
and “geothermal energy”. Compare the coverage of your topic (or subtopics) in:
1 general encyclopedia (e.g., Britannica, Americana, World Book)
Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org
1 general science encyclopedia (e.g., Gale Encyclopedia of Science, McGraw-Hill
Encyclopedia of Science and Technology or AccessScience (online), Van Nostrand’s
Scientific Encyclopedia)
at least 1 specialized encyclopedia (consult the sections on encyclopedias in chapters 221 of Hurt and/or browse the shelves in your library)
[The Library’s Online Research Resources (http://www.library.uiuc.edu/orr/?mode=R)
includes a number of specialized science encyclopedias which can also be consulted,
including: Adam Medical Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics,
Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Encyclopedia of Ecology and Environmental
Management, Encyclopedia of Energy, Encyclopedia of Genetics, Genomics, Proteomics,
and Bioinformatics, Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Encyclopedia
of Life Sciences, Health Encyclopedia] As background for your review of encyclopedias,
the following article provides a review of a general science encyclopedia in electronic
form: Peterson, Kate. AccessScience. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship
45, Winter 2006. http://www.istl.org/06-winter/databases3.html
Write up your assessment of the value of each encyclopedia examined as a source of
information on your topic. Your comments should include (but need not be limited to)
observations on the following points:
(1) ease with which information can be located;
(2) ease with which text can be understood;
(3) usefulness of any cross references and/or indexes;
(4) inclusion of bibliographies identifying other relevant sources of information;
(5) completeness of coverage of your topic;
(6) usefulness of any illustrations, graphs, tables, etc. which appear;
(7) authorship of relevant articles or other indications of authority.
Dictionaries
In looking through the various encyclopedias, you may identify certain terms related to
your topic which require further definition. Try to locate definitions for four of these
terms using:
1 unabridged dictionary (e.g., Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary,
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged,
Oxford English Dictionary (online))
1 abridged dictionary (Merriam-Webster Online http://www.m-w.com or any other online
or print title)
1 general sci-tech dictionary (e.g., McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical
Terms, Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology) (both available online)
at least 1 more specialized dictionary (consult the sections on dictionaries in Chapters 221 of Hurt and/or browse the shelves in your library)
[In addition to the Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology, McGraw-Hill
Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, Dictionary of Science, and Illustrated
Dictionary of Science, the Library’s Online Research Resources
(http://www.library.uiuc.edu/orr/?mode=R) includes a number of specialized science
dictionaries from Xreferplus and Oxford Reference Online which can be consulted,
including dictionaries of mathematics, statistics, computing, astronomy, physics,
chemistry, engineering, electronics, telecommunications, earth sciences, weather,
biology, developmental biology and embryology, ecology, bioinformatics and
computational biology, plant sciences, zoology, food and nutrition, toxicology, and
numerous medical dictionaries.]
Write up your assessment of the value of each dictionary examined as a source of
definitions for terms related to your topic. (Specifically identify the terms for which you
tried to locate definitions). Your comments should include (but need not be limited to)
observations on the following points:
(1) clarity of definitions;
(2) content of entries (definitions, etymology, pronunciation, etc.);
(3) usefulness of any illustrations.
Submit your assignment through Moodle.
Assignment #2 Evaluating Indexing and Abstracting Services
To locate recent publications on a topic or for doing a retrospective search, there are a
number of indexing and abstracting services available. Some are general in subject
scope; others cover only one or several related areas of science and technology. They
also differ in the types of materials covered—journals, books, reports, dissertations,
government documents, conference proceedings, patents, or some combination of these.
In addition, some resources include links to the full text of indexed articles. For this
assignment you are to compare the usefulness of a number of indexing and abstracting
serials in providing references related to the topic of your term project or a topic of
personal interest. You will also investigate the usefulness of Google Scholar.
As background for this assignment, you can consult the following articles available
through the Library’s Online Research Resources
(http://www.library.uiuc.edu/orr/?mode=J):
Burnham, Judy F. Scopus database: a review. Biomedical Digital Libraries 3(1), 2006.
http://www.bio-diglib.com/content/3/1/1
Fingerman, Susan. Web of Science and Scopus: current features and capabilities. Issues
in Science and Technology Librarianship 48, Fall 2006. http://www.istl.org/06fall/electronic2.html
Burright, Marian. Google Scholar. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship 45,
Winter 2006. http://www.istl.org/06-winter/databases2.html
Neuhaus, Chris; Neuhaus, Ellen; Asher, Alan; Wrede, Clint. The depth and breadth of
Google Scholar: an empirical study. Portal 6(2):127-141, 2006.
Bakkalbasi, Nisa; Bauer, Kathleen; Glover, Janis; Wang, Lei. Three options for citation
tracking: Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. Biomedical Digital Libraries
3(7), 2006. http://www.bio-diglib.com/content/3/1/7
Schroeder, Robert. Pointing users toward citation searching: using Google Scholar and
Web of Science. Portal 7(2):243-248, 2007.
If your topic divides readily into subtopics, you may wish to try to locate references on 2
or 3 subtopics rather than the more general topic. Compare the coverage of your topic (or
subtopics) in the sources listed below. Where there is a choice, select one of the
alternatives given. For comparability, you may wish to limit retrieval to a common
period (e.g., 2005-2006). They are linked from:
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/orr/?mode=A
1. Wilson Select Plus (FirstSearch) or Periodical Abstracts (FirstSearch) or Expanded
Academic ASAP (Gale) or Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)
2. Science Citation Index (Web of Science)
3. SCOPUS
4. GPO Monthly Catalog (FirstSearch) or National Technical Information Service
(NTIS) (Engineering Village)
5. Access World News or EbscoHost Newspaper Source
6. Current Contents (Ovid) or ArticleFirst (FirstSearch)
7. Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com
8. at least one more specialized indexing or abstracting serial or online database (consult
the sections on “abstracts and indexes” in Chapters 2-21 of Hurt or the Online
Research Resources Article Indexes and Abstracts
(http://www.library.uiuc.edu/orr/?mode=A) to identify specific titles relevant to your
topic)
Write up your assessment of the value of each database examined as a source of
references and/or full text articles on your topic. Your comments should include (but
need not be limited to) observations on the following points:
(1) subject headings or keywords used to locate information;
(2) search options in addition to subject searching;
(3) content of entries (citation, abstract, etc.);
(4) types of material covered (journal articles, books, etc.);
(5) currency of material on your topic;
(6) frequency of update (if you can determine this) of the database;
(7) amount of material related to your topic;
(8) completeness of coverage of your topic.
Submit your assignment through Moodle.
Assignment #3 Tracing the Scientific Publication Cycle
The published results of a research project may appear in many different forms:
dissertations, conference proceedings, technical reports, variant forms of journal articles,
scientific reviews, and books. These variant forms will appear at different time intervals
from the initiation of a research project. As background for this assignment, you should
read the following articles:
Ackerson, Linda G. “Basing reference service on scientific communication: toward a
more effective model for science graduate students.” RQ 36(2):248-260, Winter 1996.
Bates, Marcia J. “Locating elusive science information: some search techniques.”
Special Libraries 75:114-120, April 1984. (on LIS 522LE electronic reserve)
As Bates suggests (p. 114): “It is in the nature of the scientific enterprise that a given set
of results or ideas may be published in a number of slightly varied forms. Therefore, if
the information cannot be found in one form, it may be possible to find it in another.”
The purpose of this assignment will be to trace two scientific research projects through
the publication cycle. The procedures to follow in conducting your searches are outlined
below. In each case select as a starting point a publication on a topic of interest to you.
Choose the sources most likely to provide coverage of the topics searched.
A. Searching Forward
1. Begin with a dissertation, conference paper, or technical report published in 2002.
You may identify this publication using available indexes to dissertations (ProQuest
Digital Dissertations), conference papers (Conference Papers Index via CSA or
PapersFirst via FirstSearch), or technical reports (National Technical Information
Service via Engineering Village). Record the full bibliographic information for the
publication you select.
2. Using the author index portion of appropriate indexing and abstracting services,
determine whether the author(s) of the selected publication subsequently published
any journal articles covering this or a related topic. Record the full bibliographic
information for any journal article(s) identified. For this stage in the search, you may
choose to use Current Contents, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and discipline-oriented
services (e.g., GeoREF, MEDLINE) which include author indexes. Note all sources
searched and identify those (if any) which allowed you to locate articles by the
author(s) sought. Also check the Web using Google Scholar to determine if you can
find any publications not identified through the indexing and abstracting services that
you checked.
3. Using the Citation Index portion of Science Citation Index (or the cited reference
search option on Web of Science) determine whether any of the publications
identified in steps (1) and (2) have been cited and record the full bibliographic
information for all citing articles. If steps (1) and (2) identified many publications,
record the number of citing articles for each but provide full bibliographic
information for citing articles associated with only five of the publications. Your
Web search in step 2 may also have revealed some citing articles. Note these as well,
together with an indication that they were found via a Web search.
B. Searching Backward
1. Discussions of an individual scientist’s work are often presented in the general scitech journals cited in the syllabus under: Current Awareness – Science and
Technology. As a starting point, select an article appearing in a 2007or 2008 issue of
one of the following: Discover, New Scientist, Science News, or Scientific American.
The article selected should be devoted in whole or in part to the work of an individual
scientist who is currently an active researcher.
2. Using the author index portion of appropriate indexing and abstracting services,
identify any journal articles, conference papers, or technical reports authored or coauthored by this scientist in the period 2002-2007. In addition to checking the
appropriate discipline-oriented indexes and abstracts, Current Contents, Conference
Papers Index, and NTIS, you can do a Web search. Record full bibliographic
information for all publications identified together with the name of the indexing or
abstracting service or database which allowed you to locate each.
3. Locate and examine all of the publications (up to 20) identified in step 2 through
means available to you: materials included in the library collection you are using,
full-text journals available online through the Library’s Online Research Resources,
and publications freely available via the Web. Try to characterize the relationships
among these publications, in particular whether they represent various phases of one
or more research projects or essentially the same content. Note whether the
publications are linked through self-citations (the author citing his or her earlier
work). Also observe the structure of any journal articles found (i.e., the division of an
article into subsections). Do they seem to follow a common pattern?
4. Attempt to locate biographical information for the author of interest in this search.
Possible sources include those listed in the “Directories” section of chapters 2-21 of
Hurt, biographical links from UIUC’s electronic reference collection
(http://www.library.uiuc.edu/rex/erefs/biography.htm), and information on the Web,
such as the author’s personal Web site. In addition note whether any of the journal
articles examined in step 3 included biographical information for the author as part of
the article. Cite all sources examined and note which (if any) provided information.
As a final part of this assignment, comment on what you feel you have learned about the
scientific publication cycle from the two searches that you carried out.
Note: Although the scientific publication cycle described in the reading by Bates holds
true in many cases, it is not a universal pattern. Therefore you may find that your
searches fail to yield publications by the authors sought or citations to their publications.
In this case, record sources searched.
Submit your assignment through Moodle.
Assignments #4-5 Literature Searches
[Note: students enrolled for 4 hours will complete two literature searches; students
enrolled for 2 hours will complete one literature search]
In providing science reference service, one must frequently locate additional information
on a topic of current interest. For each literature search, you are to begin with a topic in
one of the eight subject groupings (mathematics & computer science; astronomy &
physics; chemistry; engineering; earth sciences, environmental sciences & energy;
biological sciences; agriculture & veterinary medicine; medical sciences). The source of
the topic may be a current journal or newspaper article or television broadcast, a question
from someone you know, or a personal interest. You are to do a literature search to
identify sources of information about the topic. The steps of the search process outlined
below are helpful as a description of the process that you will carry out (from: J. Benson
and R.K. Maloney, “Principles of Searching,” RQ 14:316-320, Summer 1975; a copy is
on LIS 522LE electronic reserve).
1. Clarify the question.
2. Establish search parameters (such things as amount of material desired, period of time
to be covered, any geographic limits, languages in which material found can be
written, type of publication, level of material, i.e., introductory vs. advanced).
3. Identify sources to be searched.
4. Translate the question into the language of each source.
5. Conduct the search.
6. Deliver the information.
As an example, take the following article from Science News:
Allen, Leslie. “Prairie revival: Researchers put restoration to the test.” Science News
172(24):376-377, 15 December 2007.
This article discusses approaches being used to preserve or restore prairie ecosystems. In
this case the patron might be interested in locating more detailed discussions of strategies
for prairie restorations. The article notes that, historically, bison grazing and fire were
the two natural filters that shaped and maintained the prairie. So the patron may instead
be interested in better understanding the role of bison and fires.
In writing up the results of your literature search, include the following points:
1. Citation of the article (if this was the starting point for your search).
2. A statement of the topic of the search.
3. Search parameters you have chosen (e.g., selected English language material at an
advanced level).
4. Sources searched (both those which you look at to better understand the topic and its
terminology and those which you recommend to the patron as sources of information.
Make note of all sources searched and the reason(s) for checking each, even if no
relevant information is found). Sources can include such things as:
(1) the online catalog, Books in Print (online), American Reference Books Annual
(online)
(2) bibliographies, guides to the literature
(3) reference books—handbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories
(4) indexing and abstracting services
(5) Internet search engines and resources lists
5. Access points used in searching each source (e.g., subject headings, author names)
6. A list of sources which you recommend to the patron. These can include:
(1) books, journals, government documents, research reports, conference proceedings
(2) subject headings and/or call numbers
(3) reference books (identify relevant sections where appropriate)
(4) bibliographies
(5) indexing and abstracting services (identify appropriate subject headings and cite a
representative article from each source which you found while searching)
(6) addresses of organizations concerned with the subject area
(7) nonprint materials
(8) databases
(9) Web sites
In addition to submitting the full report of your literature search through Moodle, you
should post a short summary to the Literature Search Summaries forum. Include a
statement of the topic and a summary of the strategy used to locate recommended
sources.
Assignment #6 Database Review
The UIUC Library Online Research Resources page provides access to many databases
and electronic versions of reference works, several devoted to areas in the physical or life
sciences and others that are multidisciplinary but with significant science content. It can
be difficult to determine which one(s) to search for a given request with the relatively
limited information provided as part of the Online Research Resources page. For this
assignment you will select one database and prepare a descriptive profile that can be
shared with the class.
I will create a forum where you can sign up for the database of your choice and
subsequently post your review. Databases that can be selected for this assignment
include (where appropriate, the vendor providing access to the database is noted):
Sci/tech/medical
AARP Ageline (Ovid)
ACM Digital Library
ADS (Astrophysics Data System)
Aerospace & High Technology Database (CSA)
Agricultural Online Access (AGRICOLA) (SilverPlatter)
AGRIS (SilverPlatter)
AIDSearch (Biblioline)
Alt-HealthWatch (EBSCO)
Aquatic Pollution & Environmental Quality (CSA)
Aquatic Sciences & Fisheries Abstracts 1. Biological Sciences & Living Resources
(CSA)
ARIBIB (Astronomisches Rechen-Institut Bibliographical Database for Astronomical
References)
Bacteriology Abstracts (CSA)
Biological Abstracts (BIOSIS) (Thomson-ISI)
BioOne Abstracts and Indexes (CSA)
CAB Abstracts (Agriculture, Biology, Veterinary Medicine) (Thomson-ISI)
Chemical Abstracts
Compendex (Engineering Village)
Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (EBSCO)
EBM Reviews (Evidence Based Medicine Reviews) (Ovid)
EBSCO Health Information [Health Source—Consumer Edition; Health Source—
Nursing/Academic Edition]
EMBASE
Energy Citations Database
Environmental Engineering Abstracts (CSA)
Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management (CSA)
Faculty of 1000
Fish & Fisheries Worldwide (Biblioline)
Food Science and Technology Abstracts (Thomson-ISI)
Garden, Landscape and Horticulture Index (EBSCO)
GEOBASE (Engineering Village)
GeoREF (CSA)
GeoScience World
Global Health (EBSCO)
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (Ovid)
Health and Safety Science Abstracts (CSA)
Human Population & Natural Resource Management (CSA)
IEEE Xplore
Industrial and Applied Microbiology Abstracts (CSA)
INSPEC (Engineering Village)
International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (Ovid)
Journals@Ovid (Ovid)
Materials Research Database with METADEX (CSA)
MathSciNet
MD Consult
MEDLINE (FirstSearch, Ovid, Thomson-ISI)
MEDLINEplus
MIT Cognet
National Library of Medicine Gateway
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) (Engineering Village)
Physical Education Index (CSA)
Pollution Abstracts (CSA)
PrimateLit
PubMed
Risk Abstracts (CSA)
SciELO: Scientific Electronic Library Online
Science.gov
Scirus
Scopus
SPORT Discus (Ovid)
Toxicology Abstracts (CSA)
Toxline (CSA)
TOXNET (NLM)
Turfgrass Information File
Water Resources Abstracts (CSA)
Web of Science/Science Citation Index (SCI) (Thomson-ISI)
Wildlife & Ecology Studies Worldwide (Biblioline)
Zoological Record (Thomson-ISI)
Multidisciplinary [in your review, focus on the sci/tech/medical content]
Government Periodicals Index (LexisNexis)
JSTOR
The database profile that you prepare should include:
1) Database name
2) Database producer
3) Time period covered online
4) Any print counterpart(s) and their time period coverage
5) Type of database: directory, index, full-text material or some combination
6) Types of materials covered (journals, conference proceedings, technical reports,
patents, etc.)
7) Subject strengths
8) Frequency of update (if that can be determined)
9) Geographic and language scope (regional vs. international; English vs. all languages)
10) Content of database records
11) Access points available for searching online (e.g., author, subject, keyword)
12) Sources for additional information (e.g., database producer Web site, instructional
materials developed by UIUC or other libraries, articles from the LIS literature or on
the Web)
Sources that you can use in compiling this profile may include:
1) Database entry in the Library’s Online Research Resources
2) Database producer Web site
3) Gale Directory of Databases
4) Dialog bluesheet (http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets) if the database is also online
from Dialog
5) Articles in the LIS literature
6) Web search to locate descriptive material at other sites, such as instructional materials
developed by other libraries
7) Exploration of the database through test searches
Post your database review to the forum set up for this purpose.
Assignment #7 Evaluating Scholarly Society and Science-Technology Center Web Sites
The Web has provided a new mechanism for many types of organizations—including
scholarly societies, government agencies, and museums—to disseminate scientific
information. For this assignment you will prepare Web site reviews for a scholarly
society Web site and a science-technology center Web site of your choice. The scholarly
society Web site will most likely focus primarily on information of interest to specialists,
while the science-technology center Web site will most likely focus on information for a
wider audience. Use the Scholarly Societies Project “Scholarly Societies by Subject”
(http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/society/subjects_soc.html) to identify a sci/tech/medical
society Web site to review and use the Association of Science-Technology Centers site
(http://www.astc.org/about/members.htm) to identify a science-technology center Web
site to review. In making your selections, you need not limit yourself to U.S.-based
organizations or English-language sites.
Reviews may be in narrative or outline form and should include notes on:
1) Name of the organization and URL for the site examined
2) Contents—what are the major types of information included on the site?
3) Audience—who would find this information useful?
4) Currency—does the site have clear and obvious pointers to new content and is it
updated on a regular basis?
5) Organization—is the information easy to get to and is the organization easily
grasped? Is there a site map?
6) Search engine—is there a search engine associated with the site and is it helpful in
locating specific information?
As background for the issue of quality control on the Web, you may find it interesting to
read: Arms, William Y. “Quality control in scholarly publishing on the Web.” Journal of
Electronic Publishing 8(1), August 2002. http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/0801/arms.html
Post your reviews to the two forums on Scholarly Society Web Sites and ScienceTechnology Center Web Sites.
Assignment #8 Electronic Journal Club
For this assignment, each student will read one of the following sets of articles and
discuss them with others in a small group. E-mail me (lcsmith@uiuc.edu) a ranked list of
your first three choices of sets of articles to read and I will assign you to one of the
groups, balancing group size. All articles can be found through the Online Research
Resources page (http://www.library.uiuc.edu/orr/?mode=J).
I.
New roles
Bailey, Charles W., Jr. The role of reference librarians in institutional repositories.
Reference Services Review 33(3):259-267, 2005.
Crumley, Ellen T. Exploring the roles of librarians and health care professionals
involved with complementary and alternative medicine. Journal of the Medical Library
Association 94(1):81-89, January 2006.
Guessferd, Mimi. The clinical librarian/informationist: past, present, future. Journal
of Hospital Librarianship 6(2):65-73, 2006.
Schmidt, Krista D.; Sennyey, Pongracz; Carstens, Timothy V. New roles for a
changing environment: implications of open access for libraries. College & Research
Libraries 66(5): 407-416, September 2005.
II.
Expanded services (A)
Elrod, Susan L.; Somerville, Mary M. Literature-based scientific learning: a
collaboration model. Journal of Academic Librarianship 33(6):684-691, December 2007.
Ouimette, Mylene. Innovative library liaison assessment activities: supporting the
scientist’s need to evaluate publication strategies. Issues in Science and Technology
Librarianship 46, Spring 2006. http://www.istl.org//06-spring/article1.html
Silbajoris, Christie; McDuffee, Diana; Olney, Cynthia. Creating the first MedlinePlus
“GoLocal” service: Lessons and recommendations from the evaluation of NC Health
Info. Medical Reference Services Quarterly 26(2):75-86, Summer 2007.
Twiss-Brooks, Andrea. A century of progress? Adaptation of the chemistry library at
the University of Chicago. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship 44, Fall 2005.
http://www.istl.org/05-fall/article1.html
III.
Expanded services (B)
Allegri, Francesca; Bedard, Martha. Lessons learned from single service point
implementations. Medical Reference Services Quarterly 25(2):31-47, Summer 2006.
Duke, J. Darcy; Hartman, Stephanie; Locknar, Angela. Reaching the engineering and
scientific communities: new technologies and approaches at MIT. Issues in Science and
Technology Librarianship 45, Winter 2006. http://www.istl.org/06-winter/article1.html
Kouame, Gail; Harris, Margo; Murray, Susan. Consumer health information from
both sides of the reference desk. Library Trends 53(3):464-479, Winter 2005.
Murphy, Joseph H. An astronomy library’s oral history initiative: what an
observatory librarian is doing to preserve a telescope’s history. Issues in Science &
Technology Librarianship 50, Spring 2007. http://www.istl.org/07-spring/refereed2.html
IV.
Electronic journals
Brady, Eileen E.; McCord, Sarah K.; Galbraith, Betty. Print vs. electronic journal use
in three sci/tech disciplines: the cultural shift in process. College & Research Libraries
67(4):354-363, July 2006.
Mischo, William H.; Norman, Michael A.; Shelburne, Wendy Allen; Schlembach,
Mary C. The growth of electronic journals in libraries: access and management issues and
solutions. Science & Technology Libraries 26(3/4):29-59, 2006.
Serotkin, Patricia B.; Fitzgerald, Patricia I.; Balough, Sandra A. If we build it, will
they come? Electronic journals acceptance and usage patterns. Portal 5(4):497-512,
2005.
Solomon, David J. The role of peer review for scholarly journals in the electronic
age. Journal of Electronic Publishing 10(1), Winter 2007.
V.
Issues in scientific publication
Albert, Karen M. Open access: implications for scholarly publishing and medical
libraries. Journal of the Medical Library Association 94(3):253-262, July 2006.
Cooksey, Elizabeth B. Too important to be left to chance—serendipity and the digital
library. Science & Technology Libraries 25(1/2):23-32, 2004.
Thomas, Sarah E. Publishing solutions for contemporary scholars: the library as
innovator and partner. Library HiTech 24(4):563-573, 2006.
Warlick, Stefanie E.; Vaughan, K.T.L. Factors influencing publication choice: why
faculty choose open access. Biomedical Digital Libraries, 4:1, 2007. http://www.biodiglib.com/content/4/1/1
VI.
Web sites and services
Ascher, Marie T.; Lougee-Heimer, Haldor; Cunningham, Diana J. Approaching
usability: a study of an academic health sciences library web site. Medical Reference
Services Quarterly 26(2):37-53, Summer 2007.
Ragon, Bart; Looney, Ryan P. Podcasting at the University of Virginia Claude Moore
Health Sciences Library. Medical Reference Services Quarterly 26(1):17-26, Spring
2007.
Saylor, John M.; Minton-Morris, Carol. The National Science Digital Library: an
update on systems, services, and collection development. Science & Technology
Libraries 26(3/4):61-78, 2006.
Swanson, Kari. Second Life: a science library presence in virtual reality. Science &
Technology Libraries 27(3):79-86, 2007.
VII. Evaluation of services
Marshall, Joanne Gard. Measuring the value and impact of health library and
information services: past reflections, future possibilities. Health Information and
Libraries Journal 24(S1):4-17, December 2007.
Paster, Amy; Fescemeyer, Kathy; Henry, Nancy; Hughes, Janet; Smith, Helen.
Assessing reference: using the Wisconsin-Ohio reference evaluation program in an
academic science library. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship 46, Spring
2006. http://www.istl.org//06-spring/article2.html
Spak, Judy M.; Glover, Janis G. The personal librarian program: an evaluation of a
Cushing/Whitney medical library outreach initiative. Medical Reference Services
Quarterly 26(4):15-25, Winter 2007.
Tennant, Michele R.; Cataldo, Tara Tobin; Sherwill-Navarro, Pamela; Jesano, Rae.
Evaluation of a liaison librarian program: client and liaison perspectives. Journal of the
Medical Library Association 94(4):402-409, October 2006.
As background for the assignment, you can read the following articles:
1) Hickman, Theodore; Allen, Lisa. A librarians journal club: a forum for sharing ideas
and experiences. College & Research Libraries News 66(9):642-644, October 2005.
2) Kraemer, Elizabeth W. Keeping up with the journals: a library journal club at Oakland
University. Journal of Academic Librarianship 33(1):136-137, January 2007.
3) Pearce-Smith, Nicola. A journal club is an effective tool for assisting librarians in the
practice of evidence-based librarianship: a case study. Health Information and Libraries
Journal 23(1):32-40, 2006.
You will be following discussion group guidelines (formerly called journal club
guidelines) adapted from those issued by the Medical Library Association (MLA)
Continuing Education Committee to provide a tool for working professionals interested
in keeping up with the literature (http://www.mlanet.org/education/discussiongroups).
The journal club encourages development of skills in evaluating scholarship and research
through interchange with others engaged in reading the same articles. Discussion can
make use of text chat and/or the forum set up for your group, depending on the
preference of the group. The group will agree on a sequence and schedule for reading
and discussing the four articles and each member will volunteer to be the discussion
leader for one of the four articles.
The discussion leader begins the electronic discussion with comments or questions
concerning the article to be discussed during a particular time period. If using the forum,
this initial post becomes the origin of a thread to which comments are added. All group
members are expected to contribute some comments and/or questions to the discussion of
each article. The discussion leader should consider preparing a summary at the end of the
discussion of an article.
When the group has finished discussing all four articles (no later than May 6), each
member will prepare a written response to questions that MLA includes on its journal
club evaluation form. You may share them with members of your group as well if you
wish. Please respond to the following:
Assessment of Journal Club Experience
Evaluate the content of the journal club series in terms of:
1. How has the series changed or enlarged your understanding of the theme?
2. How will you apply your learning to your work environment and your professional
growth?
On a scale of 1 (not satisfactory) to 10 (excellent), please rate:
1. The discussion group format of learning ___
Comment:
2. The content of this series ___
Comment:
3. The dynamics of the discussion group ___
Comment:
Submit your assessment through Moodle.
Assignment #9 Information Needs in the Sciences
This assignment is required for those taking the course for 4 hours. To complement our
discussion of reference tools in the various disciplines, it is helpful to investigate what is
known about information needs of those involved in research in each discipline. You
will work singly or in groups to complete this assignment, depending on how many sign
up for a particular discipline. Each student should sign up to investigate information
needs in one of the following disciplines: mathematics, computer science, astronomy,
physics, chemistry, engineering, earth sciences, environmental sciences, energy, biology,
agriculture, veterinary medicine, or health sciences. Due dates are listed on the course
schedule. The group will jointly prepare a Web page and post the URL so that all class
members will have access. The Web page should outline:
1. Types of information needed in this discipline
2. Major professional associations (and government agencies, if applicable) in this
discipline and their publishing programs (note the URL for any major Web sites that
they sponsor)
3. Major databases in this discipline (may include Internet resources as well as those
available through commercial vendors)
As sources for compiling this Web page, consult the following:
1. Librarians at UIUC:
Mathematics—Tim Cole
Physics & Astronomy—Mary Schlembach
Chemistry—Tina Chrzastowski
Computer Science & Engineering—William Mischo, Mary Schlembach, Nikki
Wright
Geosciences—Lura Joseph
Environmental Sciences—Laura Barnes
Biology—Diane Schmidt, Melody Allison, Katie Newman, Beth Wohlgemuth,
Susan Braxton
Agriculture—Pat Allen, Laura Hansen
Veterinary Medicine—Greg Youngen
Health Sciences—Mary Shultz, Ryan Rafferty
2. Sections on information needs and uses in guides to the literature of the discipline
3. Recent articles in the library and information science or disciplinary literature
discussing information needs and uses and/or databases in the discipline
4. Information on associations and government agencies in directories such as the
Encyclopedia of Associations or Associations Unlimited (online) (see
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/rex/erefs/societies.htm) and U.S. Government Manual (see
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html)
5. Database directories and guides to Internet resources
6. Faculty, graduate students, and practitioners in the discipline under study
Include a list identifying sources consulted in completing the assignment.
Post the link to the forum set up for this purpose.
Assignment #10 Term Project Webliography
Given the proliferation of material on the Web, it is very helpful to have topical guides to
lead individuals interested in a particular area to selected Web sites. Many libraries make
such guides available as part of the library’s Web site, but there are also opportunities to
publish these “Webliographies”. For example, Issues in Science & Technology
Librarianship publishes Webliographies on sci/tech/medical topics
(http://www.istl.org/webliographies.html) and College & Research Libraries News has a
regular Internet Resources column, many of which have treated sci/tech/medical topics
(http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/internetresourcestopic.cfm). Examples
published as journal articles include: Farrell, Ann. “Getting the picture: medical images
on the web.” Medical Reference Services Quarterly 25(4):47-54, Winter 2006; Ho,
Adrian K.; Bailey, Charles W., Jr. “Open access webliography.” Reference Services
Review 33(3):346-364, 2005. Looking at these examples should give you some ideas on
how you might approach organizing your own webliography.
The content and organization of a webliography will be determined at least in part by the
subject area chosen. The intent of the webliography is to provide the user with a guide to
Web-based information sources relevant to a particular topic. Information sources can
include Web sites and electronic publications. In addition to annotating recommended
sources, it may be helpful to include some discussion of the field itself: historical
development, key research areas, and types of information need which publications are
designed to satisfy. Organization of the essay can follow major divisions of the subject
or type of source cited. There are no specific requirements as to number of sources to
include: the introduction should include a clear statement of scope and selection criteria
used in the compilation of the webliography, as well as the intended audience (e.g., high
school students; specialists). If appropriate, you may develop a webliography for use by
your library.
Andrea Duda, editor of Issues in Science & Technology Librarianship, provided the
evaluation criteria that reviewers would use in considering a webliography for
publication in her journal:
1. Is the webliography unique?
2. Is it useful to sci/tech libraries/librarians?
3. Are the links accurate/current?
4. Does the author intend for the work to be comprehensive or selective?
5. Is the selection accurate?
6. Are there resources that should be added or deleted?
7. Are the annotations accurate?
You may find it helpful to keep these in mind as you select a topic and develop a
webliography. Also of possible interest are the Instructions for Authors of
Webliographies: http://www.istl.org/webformat.html
When the webliography is completed, post a note to the Webliography forum with the
URL so that other students in the class can have access