Measuring the effectiveness of library instruction poses many challenges, yet is essential to validating the time and energy dedicated to it. Over two years, how subject specific library instruction addressed the needs of the students, the instructor and the librarians was studied. Students were surveyed; librarians analyzed their research paper...
One goal of the Oregon Library Association's Vision 2010 is to promote a strong and diverse workforce throughout all of the state's libraries. The forecasted shortage of librarians in the next decade prompted the OLA Board to request a demographic study of Oregon's libraries. A simple survey was adminstered at...
At Oregon State University, we are exploring the differences between collections formed by digitizing existing materials on our shelves and those created by identifying and acquiring digital objects beyond our library. One example is the proposed Tsunami Digital Library (TDL) that would support a growing research program with users needing...
With more and more cartographic data being created and released only as GIS datasets, map catalogers will eventually find themselves moving away from Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) as their primary bibliographic description schema and moving towards the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). This move will be necessitated in large part...
'Library groupware' - a set of networked tools supporting information management for individuals and for distributed groups - is a new class of service we may choose to provide in our libraries. In its simplest form, library groupware would help people manage information as they move through the diversity of...
Technology resource fees provide a possible source of funding for library technology. Integrating these student funds into libraries’ budgets requires strategic planning, good communication, and student involvement. Through a review of peer institutions and a broad student survey, this study explores how libraries may tap into these funds.
At Oregon State University (OSU), the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and the OSU Libraries are working together on a project to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of digital information created and collected by academic libraries. This project focuses on making digital resources more accessible through an...
OCLC recently announced a plan to implement MARC 21 Format for Holdings Data (MFHD) and invited holdings experts Frieda Rosenberg and Diane Hillmann to serve as advisors and to aid in the implementation process. In December 2004, Jian Wang interviewed Rosenberg and Hillmann. They discuss their longtime involvement with the...
Bonnie Parks interviewed Steve Shadle, serials cataloger for University of Washington Libraries, in August 2002. In this interview Shadle provides a cataloger's perspective on the challenges he and other serials catalogers face in the organization and management of electronic and print serial titles. Serials Review 2002; 28:321–326.
GIS is a buzzword these days at marine labs, field stations, university campuses and government agencies. The design and implementation of a GIS involves the use and organziation of data in ways that are familiar to library and information center staffs. Librarians should know what they are and how they...
This study examined the juvenile marine science collections of ten public libraries on the Oregon coast to assess if they adequately provided children with good science books about their backyards. While most of the libraries demonstrate a strong commitment to children's services, none has evaluated their juvenile collections beyond monitoring...
We initiated an evaluation of the scholarly communication and publishing process in marine and aquatic sciences. This involves three components: describing the core journals for the discipline; examining the mechanics of publishing; and learning the mindset of authors and editors. We identified a core list of 19 journal titles and...
Assessing the fisheries and wildlife collection at Oregon State University proved to be a useful venture. Using the WLN Conspectus framework, the librarian generated data on the collection that was used to describe its strengths and weaknesses. This glimpse at the process and some of the issues may be useful...
In its quest to promote the wise utilization and conservation of the United States' ocean and coastal resources, the National Sea Grant Program sponsors a vast array of research and educational ventures. Much of this is published, either in print or electronically. Locating this information can be an adventure even...
All educational institutions granting higher degrees have the responsibility to archive copies of their dissertations and theses. While some people prefer the peer-reviewed articles that should emerge from the work, others find value in the originals. This debate aside, dissertations and theses present an intriguing opportunity for electronic archiving and...
In July 2005, Bonnie Parks spoke with Terry Reese, digital production unit head at Oregon State University’s Valley Library. In this interview, Reese shares his views on topics ranging from electronic journal management, the role of the catalog, to the impact Google scholar might have on the way libraries provide...
The Oregon State University Libraries began working on implementation of an institutional repository through a five month planning process. The Task Force responsible for the planning identified campus needs for such a service, examined persistent issues and challenges, and made recommendations for a pilot project. These steps are summarized and...
Parks and Wang discussed the issues and challenges of cataloging integrating resources. They emphasized cataloging electronic resources such as Websites and databases. Using specific examples and citing cataloging rules and standards, the presenters looked at some of the problematic aspects of integrating resources, and suggested ways in which catalogers can...
ACA solicits submissions of short articles based on presentations accepted for annual conferences. The relevant presentation will be given in Montreal, 2006.
Ongoing discussion between the Oregon State University libraries' instruction program and the English composition program focuses on improving collaboration between our programs and more effectively integrating the research process into the English composition curriculum. The authors, formerly the library instruction coordinator and the Assistant Composition Coordinator, briefly describe a qualitative...
Discusses the development and evolution of the Bibliotherapy Evaluation Tool to help graduate counseling students use literature in therapy ethically and appropriately. A survey of bibliotherapeutic practice in the helping professions is provided. Graduate students showed greater knowledge of and comfort with bibliotherapy after exposure to a teaching module and...
This narrative details the evolution of a collaborative teaching project into an educational Website about Bibliotherapy, which is the process of facilitating personal development or problem resolution through books. Working with a Counselor Education colleague, the Education librarian at Oregon State University helped develop a tool to evaluate books for...
This article is a follow up to an earlier publication that developed the rationale for using conversation as a metaphor to teach research writing. We presented this proposed teaching approach at several conferences, including WILU in May 2005 at Guelph, Canada. The discussions with participants in these presentations validated the...
In the Spring of 2001, the Oregon State University Libraries began planning for a collaboration with the university’s Freshman Composition Program. In implementing this project, with no additional library resources, and with the majority of library faculty less experienced in working with freshman students, the coordinators of the program learned...
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of bibliotherapy in relation to hospital patients. It includes a brief history as well as discussion of practitioners, patients and problems, methodology and effectiveness. It also offers recommendations for those who provide bibliotherapy within the hospital context. The focus is...
Discusses the ease and usefulness of conducting usability studies and provides an example of usability testing at Oregon State University undertaken to improve the DSpace Electronic Thesis/Dissertation (ET/D) submission process.
This article is part of a collection of articles dealing with the endeavors and projects of support staff in Oregon libraries. Describes an ordinary workday at a specialized academic branch library.
The first in a series of articles published in OSU This Week by members of the Faculty Senate Library Committee regarding threats to an open and sustainable system of scholarly communication and potential solutions.
The second in a series of articles published in OSU This Week by members of the Faculty Senate Library Committee regarding threats to an open and sustainable system of scholarly communication and potential solutions. Article discusses how journal prices have increased beyond the rate of inflation, monopolistic publishing practices, library...
The fifth and final article in a series of articles published in OSU This Week by members of the Faculty Senate Library Committee regarding threats to an open and sustainable system of scholarly communication and potential solutions. Article discusses how deposit of articles in institutional repositories increases the availability of...
The second in a series of articles published in OSU This Week by members of the Faculty Senate Library Committee regarding threats to an open and sustainable system of scholarly communication and potential solutions. Article describes what journal impact factors are and how they are determined and makes recommendations for...
The third in a series of articles published in OSU This Week by members of the Faculty Senate Library Committee regarding threats to an open and sustainable system of scholarly communication and potential solutions. Article describes open access model of scholarly communication.
Recent publications about the rising cost of college textbooks by the Public Interest Research and the US Government Accountability Office have caused student groups across the country to explore novel ways to address the problem. Students, publishers, bookstores and academic libraries, because of their role of managing course reserves, are...
How are academic libraries organizing themselves in order to engage in the content selection and digitization of local collections? Are libraries creating new positions or units, assigning responsibilities to existing departments, setting up cross-functional collaboration among existing departments, or using a combination of these strategies? Who holds responsibility for the...
Questions: Can a statistical model be designed to represent more directly the nature of organismal response to multiple interacting factors? Can multiplicative ernel smoothers be used for this purpose? What advantages does this approach have over more traditional habitat modelling methods?
Methods: Non-parametric multiplicative regression (NPMR)was developed from the premises...
Search sessions consist of a person presenting a query to a search engine, followed by that person examining the search
results, selecting some of those search results for further review, possibly following some series of hyperlinks, and perhaps
backtracking to previously viewed pages in the session. The series of pages...
This article describes the selection, implementation, configuration, and assessment of a proprietary federated search product. The decisions made and processes used to facilitate the implementation are outlined. Users' perception of the product based on a usability study and survey responses are presented. Also described are unique and innovative implementations of...
Reviews 5 multicultural poetry books for children and young adult that are appropriate for counselors working with culturally diverse young clients. Cultures addressed include Native American, Black American, Asian Pacific American and Hispanic American.
Since 2001, librarians at Oregon State University’s Valley Library have been working to build a “teaching library” supported by a clearly articulated instruction program. From the start, we believed that we needed to assess the “teaching library’s” impact, not only to determine the success or failure of our efforts but...
Objective ‐ The authors describe a simple and effective tool for selecting digitization
projects from competing alternatives, providing decision makers with objective,
quantitative data.
Methods ‐ The paper adopts the value engineering methodology for the selection,
evaluation and ranking of digitization project proposals. Project selection steps are described. Selection criteria...
Myosins are actin-based molecular motors that may have specialized trafficking and contractile functions in cytoskeletal compartments that lack microtubules. The postsynaptic excitatory synapse is one such specialization, yet little is known about the spatial organization of myosin motor proteins in the mature brain. We used a proteomics approach to determine...
The absence of a direct, long-term measure of individual Steller sea lion survival led to the development of implanted, delayed transmission satellite tags specifically for this species (Life History Transmitter, LHX). To assess possible effects of implant procedures and LHX tags, we undertook a two-stage approach to monitor: 1) immediate...
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to examine trace element concentration in treerings over three and half centuries to assess macro-trends of environmental change. Tree-rings of a 350+ year old mammoth ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) were analyzed for element concentration and evaluated versus local and global historical events....
Oregon State University’s recent response to the crisis in scholarly communications recognizes that teaching faculty must be involved in communicating an appropriate response to their faculty colleagues. As authors, editors, and peer reviewers, direct faculty action can encourage publishers to lower costs and can enhance the availability of research. The...
The ALCTS Technical Services Administrators of Medium-Sized Research Libraries Discussion Group discussed several topics within an overarching theme at the 2006 annual conference in New Orleans: “Threats to and Opportunities for Technical Services Departments”. Topics discussed within that general theme included: Future of the Catalog, Future of Cataloging as a...
At Oregon State University (OSU), writing instructors and librarians collaboratively teach research writing and information literacy in first year composition courses (FYC). A four-week unit focuses on the connections between critical thinking, writing and learning, and information literacy. This paper describes the process of developing, implementing, and refining this collaborative...