Jean Crampon and Sara Tompson's lecture slides for 1/2/10 guest lecture for UCLA LIS Prof. Mary Maack's IS 245 class.

1. Some Thoughts on
Science & Engineering Reference
Sara Tompson
Associate Dean, Public Service and
Jean Crampon, Science & Engineering Librarian
USC Libraries
For Professor Mary Niles Maack's
IS-245 Information Access. January 2010
UCLA Graduatefor UCLA IS 245of Education and Information Studies
USC School Jan. 2010 1

2. S&E/Scitech Reference
• Introduction
• Our Users
• Science and Engineering Literature
• Print
• Databases (disciplines and LibGuides)
• Questions
• More on Scitech Reference
• Reference Modalities
• Professional Communication
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3. S&E Reference Introduction: Sara
• Physical sciences
and/or engineering
librarian for over 20
years…
• Until my July 08
promotion (still miss
the physicists, but
some are friends!)
• Academic, corporate,
research positions
• Reference and/or
research required in all
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4. S& E Reference Introduction: Jean
• Life sciences and/or
engineering librarian for
over 25 years
• First professional position
in a public library (needed
a job!)
• Next was an academic
medical librarian
• Came to USC to head the
Hancock Library
• Now in general science &
Engineering
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5. Our Users: Similarities & Differences
• “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.]
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6. Our Users: Changes and Trends
• Internet and ejournals encourage DIY approach
• Some DIY results:
• Users miss new/better resources
• Reference questions are more challenging
• Information overload - librarians as guides
• More teaching one on one to find and to obtain
what is found – it is not all in full text on line
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7. Our Users’ Organizations
• IEEE, AGU, AMA, ASIH, AFS, etc.
• ACS Div. of Chemical Information, ASEE’s
ELD, etc.
• Local and/or global connections
• Consider PUBLISHING in users’ fields.
Why?
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8. Scitech Resources: Literature
• Introduction to a field
• Philosophy of a field
Discovered via
Library Journal review
• 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.]
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9. Scitech Resources: Literature
Guides and and review articles outline the
organization of a field's literature, as well as
genesis 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
(More on bibliography)
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10. Scitech Resources: Online Guides to
Literature by Librarians
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11. Scitech Resources:
Primary Sources
• “Landmark” publications
• Current research – First hand observations
and/or measurements
• Raw data - even more primary?
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12. Scitech Resources: Databases
• Multidisciplinary/general vs. Discipline(s)-
specific
• Academic level, e.g. undergraduate vs.
graduate/faculty
• Subscription vs.
Free
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13. Scitech Resources: Databases
Graduate, Faculty, Researchers Level examples
(Note: Most on DIALOG; most academic libraries
subscribe directly, more specials use DIALOG)
• Multidisciplinary
• Web of Science
• Disciplines:
Inspec BIOSIS Previews
Compendex GeoRef
MEDLINE SciFinder
(see also handout)
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14. Scitech Resources: Databases
Undergraduate and free examples
• ProQuest Research Library
• Wilson OmniFile: ASTA
• BioOne
• PubMed
• Google Patents
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15. Scitech Resources: LibGuides*
• Portals
• Multi-
media-
friendly
• User-
friendly
* Springshare.com
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16. Scitech Resources: Databases
• Stumpers/questions re effective
databases for X………
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17. More on Scitech Librarianship:
Reference and Instruction
• 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?
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18. Reference Librarians Competencies
• Attentive, reflective
listeners (sponge)
• Able to coach
• Flexible:
• Know when to probe
• Digital and Face-to-
Face literate
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19. Reference Modalities
• Face to Face/Voice to Voice
• Desk
• Consultation
• Phone
• Virtual
• Email
• Chat
• YOUR virtual experiences?
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20. Librarians’ Professional
Organizations
• Communities of practice
• Purchasing consortia
• Broad
• Discipline-Focused
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21. Future of Reference
“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.
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22. Thank you!
crampon@usc.edu
sarat@usc.edu
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