Research & Innovative Services Proposal
Research Question:
Should OSU Libraries (OSUL) develop a mobile applications for searching the Libraries' available resources?
In the summer of 2008, the Valley Library of Oregon State University was faced with a need to re-evaluate its access policies and decide whether to maintain the current policies or change the policies to address existing and potential issues. As part of this process, the Valley Library surveyed the...
A reflection on the significant personal cost incurred by Linus Pauling as a result of his anti-nuclear and anti-war activism. Specifically, this talk focuses on Pauling's harassment by the mainstream media and his receipt of death threats as a result of the public positions that he took as an activist.
Cleveland State University Library, a medium-sized academic library serving approximately 15,000 students, is engaged in large-scale efforts to digitize and make accessible online collections of unique Cleveland-related materials. The Cleveland State University Library Special Collections digitization and cataloging efforts use staff from several different library organizational units. The collaboration of...
To guide the design, content, and development of a natural resources digital library, the Oregon State University Libraries commissioned a needs assessment. Interviews with citizens, policy makers, and scientists show that potential users want to quickly find, retrieve, integrate, and synthesize well organized and geo-referenced information on Oregon's natural resources,...
Cultural background influences information-seeking behaviors and verbal and non-verbal communication styles both in reference encounters and in our interactions with colleagues on the library staff. Recognizing these differences will help us create an inclusive work environment as well as build on the high-quality reference service we provide to our changing...
Web Information Discovery Tool (WIDIT) Laboratory at the Indiana University School of Library, whose basic approach to combine multiple methods as well as to leverage multiple sources of evidence, participated in 2005 Text Retrieval Conference’s Hard track (HARD-2005) to investigate methods of effectively dealing with HARD topics by exploring a...
In this paper, we describe a fusion approach to finding opinionated blog postings. Our approach to opinion blog retrieval consisted of first applying traditional IR methods to retrieve on-topic blogs and then boosting the ranks of opinionated blogs based on combined opinion scores generated by multiple assessment methods. Our opinion...
Web Information Discovery Tool (WIDIT) Laboratory at the Indiana University School of Library and Information Science participated in the HARD, Robust, and SPAM tracks in TREC- 2005. The basic approach of WIDIT is to combine multiple methods as well as to leverage multiple sources of evidence. Our main strategies for...
In TREC-2007, Indiana University‟s WIDIT Lab1 participated in the Blog track‟s opinion task and the polarity subtask. For the opinion task, whose goal is to "uncover the public sentiment towards a given entity/target", we focused on combining multiple sources of evidence to detect opinionated blog postings. Since detecting opinionated blogs...
Web Information Discovery Integrated Tool (WIDIT) Laboratory at the Indiana University School of Library and Information Science participated in the Blog track’s opinion task in TREC- 2006. The goal of opinion task is to "uncover the public sentiment towards a given entity/target", which involves not only retrieving topically relevant blogs...
In this paper, we describe a fusion approach to finding opinion about a given target in blog postings. We tackled the opinion blog retrieval task by breaking it down to two sequential subtasks: on- topic retrieval followed by opinion classification. Our opinion retrieval approach was to first apply traditional IR...
A broad definition of forestry would be the study of trees, forests, and their use by people. Modern science-based forestry is thought to have begun in the nineteenth century when Europeans looked to specialists to address questions of wood supply and extraction both in their forests at home and in...
A broad definition of forestry would include the study of trees and forests and their use by people. Modern, "science-based" forestry began in the nineteenth century when Europeans looked for specialists who could address questions on wood supply and extraction both at home and in their colonies. The threat of...
A broad definition of forestry would include the study of trees and forests and their use by people. Modern or science-based forestry began in the nineteenth century when Europeans looked to specialists to address questions of wood supply and its extraction from both their forests at home and their colonies....
A broad definition of forestry would include the study of trees, forests, and the habitat they provide as well as their use by people. Modern, "science-based" forestry began in the nineteenth century when Europeans looked for specialists who could address questions on wood supply and extraction both at home and...
A multispectral optical sensor collects data at select wavebands or channels. An example is the Sea-viewing Wide-Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) ocean color satellite, which measures eight wavebands between 402 and 885 nm (20-40 nm bandwidth with peaks centered around 412, 443, 490, 510, 555, 670, 765, and 865 nm). Optical oceanographers...
We present new observational data on small-angle light scattering properties of natural, random shaped particles, as contrasted with spherical particles. The interest in
this "shape effect" on scattering arises from the need for a suitable kernel matrix for use in the laser diffraction method (LD) of particle sizing. LD is...
This article describes a grant-funded project with the final goal of creating information literacy collaborative partnerships among academic, school, and public libraries. The objectives of the grant as well as an overall description of the project are stated. The emphasis of the article is on the process followed to create...
Assessing students' information literacy skills can be difficult depending on the involvement of the librarian in a course. To overcome this, librarians created an assignment called the Paper Trail, where students wrote a short essay about their research process and reflected on what they would do differently. Through reviewing and...
In Fall 2006, a faculty member in George Washington University's University Writing 20 (UW20) program began incorporating service learning into her theme-based first-year writing course. Along with her librarian partner, they linked two research assignments to the service work of the students. An end-of-semester survey was administrated over three semesters...
To raise the library's profile within the campus community, it is critical to create a strategic plan and align library goals with those of the university. At George Washington University's Gelman Library, the instruction librarians gained internal and external support to hire two new instruction librarians to better support collaboration...
At George Washington University, librarians and faculty have partnered to provide an effective introduction to information literacy to all freshmen. The structure of the new writing program promotes goals that are at the intersection of the Council of Writing Program Administrators and Association of College and Research Libraries. Furthermore, the...
Using off-the-shelf search technology provides a single point of access into library resources,
but we found that such commercial systems are not entirely satisfactory for the academic library
setting. In response to this, Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries designed and deployed
LibraryFind, a metasearch system. We conducted a usability experiment...
“International librarianship” is a term that embraces many different, though related, topics. These include international exchanges of librarians, cooperation between libraries and librarians in different countries, and the development of library services in Third World countries. Because the term covers so much territory, the literature on the subject is extensive....
Academic library faculty require a supportive atmosphere in order to successfully engage in research and publication. At Oregon State University, the Library Faculty Association (LFA) provides avenues for peer criticism of manuscripts and presentations and for the discussion of professional issues. A survey of LFA members on their level of...
For the past six years, the Oregon State Library and the Fujian Provincial Library have collaborated in the Horner Exchange a program that fosters mutual understanding between librarians from Oregon and Fujian. In odd-numbered years, an Oregon librarian visits Fujian Province while in even-numbered years two Chinese librarians visit Oregon....
Trip report and summary of conference content of Fifth Plenary Session, International Workshop on Implementing a Maghreb Digital Library for Education, Science & Culture held Jan. 25-28, 2007.
In the late 1850s, few young Jews, recently arrived in the United States from Poland, chose to live in Florida. Fortunately, one who did, Max White, wrote down his memoirs of those years, leaving us a remarkable, very personal account of life on the Florida frontier as well as a...
Subject reference librarians at OSU create subject guides to assist library patrons to locate pertinent sources on their own. These guides direct patrons to information in a variety of formats, including books, series, and journals, but often lack Internet resources. The original intent of the CAMEL Project was to set...
The Library of Congress (LC) decided to suspend creating series authority records on May 1, 2006 and to transcribe all future series statements as untraced. To evaluate the impact on cataloging workload at Oregon State University (OSU), bibliographic records were examined for untraced series statements from June 1, 2006 to...
Oregon State University has trained paraprofessionals to assign subject headings to theses and dissertations. This article describes the training program for the paraprofessionals and the ongoing support provided by weekly meetings to discuss works that are difficult to analyze. The transition from copy cataloging to subject analysis is a major...
Paper presented at Information Interoperability And Organization For National And Global Forest Information Systems (IUFRO D4, D6), September 17-19, 2003 Satellite event of the XII World Forestry Congress.
Conference predates the naming of OSUL's "Oregon Explorer" but covers the collaboration and need for partnership building that was the hallmark of...
Research to address the question of whether OSU Libraries (OSUL) should have a circulating video game collection?
Rationale for a video game collection included: A circulating video game collection could support learning, bring new users to the library, and help students make connections with their peers. Good video games are...
An investigation of current practices among other university libraries (and "best practices" should they exist), to establish what needs to be in place for Oregon State University Libraries to implement a centralized rights management service for its digitization projects?
The Oregon Multicultural Archives (OMA) investigation team from the Research and Innovative Services Department was charged with exploring the future directions of this program. Team members make recommendations about future actions including effective ways to engage internal and external stakeholders based on website and literature review findings.
Research and Innovative Services (RIS) conducted focus groups with the OSU Libraries faculty and staff to promote the mission of the department and to identify potential research areas. We saw the focus groups as a way to elicit input and tap the reservoir of ideas from people across the library....
At Oregon State University a library collection assessment is a required part of the review process for every new academic program proposal. Over time, this assessment has moved away from a brief statement regarding the adequacy of the collection to support the new program to a more thorough evaluation and...
This is a redacted version of a two-week investigation of academic libraries offering "24/7" services within the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA). It was undertaken to better inform Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) administration of the staffing, security and costs associated with providing such a service. OSUL undertook a pilot...
Abstract:
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate librarians' attitudes towards instruction in virtual reference transactions and to review relevant literature.
Design/methodology/approach – Librarians who provide virtual reference services are surveyed about attitudes towards providing instruction via virtual reference software. In addition to gathering demographic information respondents...
Oregon State University Libraries tossed out our old subject guides and re-imagined them as dynamic, interactive and user-centered. We adapted our freely available open source tool, Library à la Carte, and created guides that appeal to students by including Web 2.0 applications alongside traditional library resources. OSU librarians easily make,...
This report is a redacted version of the report presented to the University Librarian. Dec. 30, 2009 report of the Oregon State University Libraries Discovery Search Task Force to the University Librarian. Report recommends the 2 year purchase of the Serials Solutions Summon discovery product.
Although the Dunns’ learning styles and Gardner’s multiple intelligences theories are two distinct areas of research, they do not oppose each other and can be used together to improve learning. The design of this tutorial is an attempt to integrate students’ learning styles and their unique blend of intelligences in...
Oregon State University Libraries has developed a variety of digital collections that support the university‘s commitment to natural resources research. Two of these collections are the Umpqua Basin Explorer and the Middle East Water Collection. The existence of both of these digital initiatives represents the ongoing collaborative work between librarians,...
Oregon’s two marine laboratory libraries (located at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport and UO’s Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston) have collaborated for 17 years on collection development. We share the same research environments– the Northeast Pacific Ocean and the Oregon coast. While our researchers and students...
Presented at 2009 Institutional Repositories: Disseminating, Promoting, and Preserving Scholarship Conference held September 30 at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.
In 2005, Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries conducted a needs assessment to determine the best approach for connecting students with the wealth of information available to them through the library. The needs assessment revealed that undergraduates are assignment driven and focused on particular courses. To address these needs, OSU Libraries...
In September 2005 LAMP charged the Virtual College Library task force to begin work on the University Libraries Strategic Plan Goal 2 Strategy A-a. The VCL task force was charged to co-develop “with faculty ‘virtual college libraries’ to make targeted information easily available to students.” The VCL task force engaged...
Library a la Carte is software developed at Oregon State University that lets you build customized Web pages by choosing exactly what you want from a menu of choices. Jane Nichols, Oregon State University subject librarian, will demonstrate how to create course Web pages, assignment tip sheets and subject guides...
The Oregon State University Archives has a robust photograph collection, which is reflected in its hearty companion digital collection. These collections document the history of the university, as well as the agriculture and natural resources of the Pacific Northwest. While the physical and online collections are popular, we were interested...
Usability, user studies, and evaluating user experiences have been a part of academic libraries for many years. In the last 20 years libraries have created ad hoc usability teams to do user studies. Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries started its ongoing team in 2006, resulting in an increased focus on...
Diminishing access to seafood technology literature, both the published and the unpublished “gray” literature, is perceived, due to closures of labs and libraries, and loss of expertise by retirement and funding reductions.
Our response in 1998 was to initiate a project that would measure interest and need, while demonstrating a...
A poster presentation for the 2009 Annual American Library Conference.
In 2005 Oregon State University librarians set out on a quest to update their pathfinders. Through focus groups and surveys we found that students wanted course-driven guides as well as subject guides. The question then became, how can we enable...
On September 10, 2008, the Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries shut its doors for the annual In-Service Day event. Eighty employees from all three OSU libraries gathered at the Valley Library on the OSU main campus. Karyle Butcher, university librarian, strongly supports this annual event planned by library staff for...
ticTOCs, a new journal table of contents service, provides users a free resource for managing RSS feeds for new content from selected journals. This service could be used as a complement and in some cases as an alternative to other table of contents providers. Using RSS feeds provided by publishers,...
The Messenger magazine is published twice annually by Oregon State University Libraries. In this issue: Celebrating our 10th anniversary of the Valley Library remodel
In July 2005, the Oregon State University Libraries began accepting electronic versions of student theses and dissertations into ScholarsArchive@OSU, the library’s institutional repository. By January 2007, all Oregon State University graduate students were required to deposit their final research. This paper compares past processes and workflows for print theses and...
The Internet enables global dissemination and
retrieval of information at any time, as a result, it has
a tremendous impact on how libraries provide
reference services to this new web-based clientele.
One impact is the increase in off-site library users
who make in-person reference interviews impossible.
To serve this new...
Fisheries scientists persistently create, communicate, and use information. In
fact, if they did not, there would be no fisheries science. To exist, science must be
part of a continuum where shared information, from casual hallway communications
to rigorously reviewed articles, documents the questions asked and
the solutions suggested. Relevant information...
Our oceans surround us, and we depend upon them for food, transportation, and recreation. They affect us daily as they shape our climate and rattle our world with unexpected events. Current headlines indicate that they are in flux and perhaps in trouble. Coral reefs are dying due to rising ocean...
Our culture has been shifting toward an expectation of self-service for over a decade. In banks, grocery stores, gas stations and airports, people are becoming accustomed to self-service. Libraries have also joined this larger trend by implementing ways to allow patrons to interact with services in a disintermediated manner if...
In this article, the authors share how they turned themselves from hesitant library blog readers into dedicated bloggers. The authors share how they started their blog named infodoodads and why they started writing it. The authors also share how blogging with partners is a great way to maintain a frequent...
Librarians at Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries used the discussion board features of Blackboard courseware to create an interactive experience for graduate students at a distance who could not attend the on-campus “Literature Review Workshops.” These recently developed workshops have been extremely popular with graduate students across the disciplines and...
This article describes a technique using the Thomson Reuters' Journal Citation Reports and the SHERPA RoMEO Web site to identify a set of core journals in a discipline and determine whether the journals' publishers allow preprint or postprint archiving in their copyright transfer agreements.
This article presents a case study of how Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) organized to accomplish digitization activities. Digitization activities are broken down into 6 major categories: management, copyright, digital imaging, metadata, hardware/software/web design, and selection. The OSUL departments responsible for tasks within each of these sets of responsibilities are...
Since September 2006, the Oregon State University (OSU) Archives has concentrated on the preparation of collection-level finding aids for all new collections received by the Archives and for collections that have no descriptive information available online. This article presents a preliminary analysis of the results of this approach, demonstrates the...