Ucla is245 july_2011_final-livelinks

USC for UCLA IS 245 June 2010 1

SomeThoughtsonScience&EngineeringReference

Sara TompsonHead of Instruction & Orientation Services

USC Libraries andResearch Consultant, Institute of Tribology & Coatings

ForProfessorMaryNilesMaack'sIS‐245InformationAccess.July2011

UCLAGraduateSchoolofEducationandInformationStudies

USC for UCLA IS 245 July 2011 2

S&E/ScitechReference• Introductions• Our Users• Science and Engineering Literature

• Print• Databases (disciplines and LibGuides)• Questions

• More on Scitech Reference• Reference Modalities• Professional Communication


Introductions1) You? 2) Me:

• Physical sciences and/or engineering librarian for over 20 years• Finished admin gig at USC, now USC Libraries Head of Instruction & Orientation

• Since 2007, have done research, document delivery, editing for an engineering company founded by former colleagues

• Academic, corporate, research positions ‐Reference and/or research required in all

• Instrument rated pilot

My best flying buddy and me at EDW AFB 10/10 – I was one of the Genl Aviation Fly-In Winners

• “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.”

Carol Tenopir and Donald W. King. Communication Patterns of Engineers. (Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, Inc., 2004).

Available in part on Google Books: http://bit.ly/qCkMT0 and also a Wiley (subscription) ebook: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/0471683132 4

OurUsers:Similarities&Differences


OurUsers:ChangesandTrends• Internet and ejournals encourage DIY approach

• Some DIY* results:• Users miss new/better resources• Reference questions are more challenging

• Information overload ‐ librarians not Gatekeepers but Guides or “Information Sherpas”: http://www.fmyi.com/blog/single/we_are_information_sherpas/

• More teaching one on one to find and to obtain what is found –it is not all in full text on line

* Do‐It‐Yourself


• Can you name some?!: IEEE, AGU, ASIH, AFS, ACS Div. of Chemical Information, ASEE’s ELD, etc.

• Local and/or global connections

• Consider PUBLISHING in users’ fields

OurUsers’Organizations

From Cyberquill Blog


ScitechResources:Literature• Introduction to a field

• Philosophy of a field

• Development of a field

[From the excellent: Ackerson, Linda G. Literature Search Strategies for Interdisciplinary Research: A Sourcebook for Scientists and Engineers (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2007), p. ix.]

Discovered viaLibrary Journal review


ScitechResources:LiteratureGuides and and review articles outline the organizationof a field, as well as genesis. Diane Schmidt’s guides, e.g.:

• Craighead. H.G. “Nanoelectromechanical Systems: Review. Science. 290:5496 (24 November 2000): 1532 ‐1535. Review article. 10.1126/science.290.5496.1532 ??


ScitechResources:OnlineGuidestoLiteraturebyLibrarians

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/tracer-bullets/aerodynamicstb.html

http://www.guidetoreference.org


ScitechResources:PrimarySources• “Landmark” publications – Examples that occur to you?

• Current research – First hand observations and/or measurements

• Raw data – perhaps even more primary. Libraries?• http://www.ithacalibrary.

com/sp/subjects/primary

• Multidisciplinary/General vs. Discipline(s)‐specific

• Academic level, e.g. undergraduate vs. graduate/faculty

• Subscription vs. Free

• Free: oaister. worldcat.org, scirus.com


ScitechResources:Databases

My review: http://www.istl.org/07-winter/electronic3.html


ScitechResources:DatabasesGraduate, Faculty, Researchers Level examples

• Multidisciplinary (and Citation Tracing)* Web of Science * Scopus (not at UCLA)

• Disciplines:* Inspec * BIOSIS Previews* Compendex * GeoRef* MEDLINE * SciFinder

Most have overview info free at sites.


ScitechResources:DatabasesUndergraduate and free examples

• ProQuest Research Library• Wilson OmniFile: ASTA (not at UCLA)• BioOne

• PubMed• Google Patents


ScitechResources:LibGuides*

• Portals• Multi‐media‐friendly

• User‐friendly

* Springshare.com


ScitechResources:Tutorials• Olivia Bautista Sparks: “Five Minute Screencasts ‐‐ The Super Tool for Science and Engineering Librarians”: http://www.istl.org/10‐winter/tips.html

• Michael Fosmire’shttp://www.lib.purdue.edu/ phys/inst/scipaper.html

• Tools: Captivate, Camtastia, Jing, FlipVideos and YouTube and more!


MoreonScitechLibrarianship:ReferenceandInstruction

• Have always been complementary• Instruction portion of reference has grown, with ease of access on Net

• Time elements with and to both• Your thoughts on relationships between these two core aspects of library public service?


• Attentive, reflective listeners (sponge)

• Able to coach• Flexible: Know when to probe – see also next slide

• Digital and Face‐to‐Face literate

• http://www.sla.org/PDFs/Competencies2003_revised.pdf

ReferenceLibrariansCompetencies


• Flexible can = Agile – Be “Future Ready”!• Current SLA President Cindy Romaine’s theme, and SLA’s Future Ready 365 blog http://futureready365. sla.org/

• (I’m proud to say I was elected to the SLA Board for 3 yrs, 2011‐2013, as a Director‐at‐Large)

ReferenceLibrariansCompetencies


ReferenceModalities• Face to Face/Voice to Voice

• Desk• Consultation• Phone

• Virtual (e.g. OCLC QuestionPoint)• Email• Chat• YOUR virtual experiences?


ReferenceModalities:MoreonVirtual…• Library H3lp (for Chat) allows users to text from phone/PDA

• QuestionPoint has added SMS text capability• Facebook, MySpace* –libraries (& thousands of librarians!) present – reference done?

• Second Life – public libraries reference, others?

• * More public; all less so


• Communities of practice

• Purchasing consortia

• Broad

• Discipline‐Focused

Librarians’ProfessionalOrganizations


FutureofReference

“The ‘reference interview’ will not disappear, but the ‘high touch’ ways we communicate with users and help them communicate with each other to create new knowledge will broaden.”

‐‐‐ USC Libraries Task Force 21 on the Future of Academic Libraries, 2005.


FutureofReference

Sue Mecklem, Reference Law Librarian on Future Ready 365 blog: “What Future Ready is about is looking forward while keeping your eye on the here and now, and doing what we all do best –being ready to connect people with information, in whatever format they need at that particular moment.”

http://futureready365.sla.org/?s=reference&x=0&y=0&=Go


[email protected]

http://www.linkedin.com/in/saratompson