Arts organizations can beautifully express a community's identity through music, dance, and theatre. Through their performances and outreach activities, performing arts organizations can engage audiences in transformative experiences. However, an arts organization is more than just "the performance." The behind-the-scenes of an arts organization provides its own unique narrative documenting...
On academic campuses, graduate students produce data and that data is often being lost. This paper describes the efforts at Oregon State University to educate graduate students on the value of their data and of preserving it. Graduate students were interviewed and from this information a successful data management workshop...
When we think of voices in the library, we have tended to think of them as disruptive, something to control and manage for the sake of the total library environment. The stereotype of the shushing librarian pervades public perception, creating expectations about the kinds of spaces libraries want to create....
This study explores how researchers choose a bibliographic management tool and what makes them continue using this tool. This exploratory, observational study combined a naturalistic work-practice method, interviews, and journal reflections to collect qualitative research data from researchers actively using a bibliographic management tool. The unified theory of acceptance and...
Much of the focus of digital collections has been and continues to be on rare and unique materials,
including monographs. A monograph may be made even rarer and more valuable by virtue of hand
written marginalia. Using technology to enhance scans of unique books and make previously
unreadable marginalia readable...
As mobile technologies continue to evolve, libraries seek sustainable ways to keep up with these changes and to best serve our users. Previous library mobile usability research has examined tasks users predict they might be likely to perform, but little is known about what users actually do on a mobile-optimized...
Among the many issues associated with integrating e-books into library collections and services, the revision of existing workflows in cataloging units has received little attention. The experience designing new workflows for e-books at Oregon State University Libraries since 2008 is described in detail from the perspective of three different sources...
New unified discovery tools are designed to help students easily identify and retrieve library content. Students want quick and easy discovery of quality sources in a “Google-like” environment. Librarians have often expressed frustration with federated and metasearch systems that cannot take full advantage of discipline specific database features. As new...
Academic and public libraries have begun to purchase e-book readers and make them available for check-out to their users. The nature of the e-books on these devices necessitates new approaches to workflow for acquisitions and cataloging departments. In addition, the application of cataloging rules and conventions presents a number of...
This issue of the Oregon Library Association Quarterly is dedicated to exploring the multiple meanings of service, the way
we accomplish service through our programs and policies, and the deeply held beliefs and feelings that drive us to serve.
Some academic libraries no longer assign subject headings to bibliographic records for dissertations, but have not evaluated the impact this might have on dissertation usage. In this study, bibliographic and circulation records for a sample of 248 academic dissertations were examined to determine the effect of controlled subject headings in...
“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....
Remote-access computer file serials, often referred to simply as electronic serials, possess characteristics that challenge our definition of the term “serial” and our ability to catalog them according to the established cataloging code. These challenges are reflected in the library science literature, where cataloging and indexing issues have generated thoughtful...
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...
In the spring of 2005 Oregon State University librarians conducted an undergraduate survey and focus groups that confirmed Reeb and Gibbons’ assertion that our students want library sources targeted to their specific courses. In response to this need we considered how to best design assignment focused web pages that were...
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.
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...
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...
Like other academic libraries, Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) diligently reaches out to a wide variety of campus groups as part of its mission to develop user-focused services that contribute to student success. Outreach to student groups focuses on equipping “students with tools and resources needed to succeed in and...
The Oregon Spatial Data Library (http://spatialdata.oregonexplorer.info/) provides easy and convenient ways to find, access, and share geospatial data. Developed in partnership with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS), the Oregon Spatial Data Library provides access to spatial data including "framework" data for the State of Oregon. Framework datasets serve...
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,...
This has been a banner year for open access, and the momentum shows no sign of letting up. College and university faculties, and the granting agencies that fund a significant amount of their research, are increasingly embracing open access to ensure research findings across disciplines are freely accessible to the...
The article discusses effective methods for measuring the success of classroom instruction using original primary sources in special collections and archives and how to translate these effects to demonstrate learning impact that can be used in other assessment projects. The global economic crisis has reportedly pushed assessment activities in libraries...
The article discusses how to bring the educational benefits that come from analyzing and interpreting physical materials to a bigger class environment and whether these benefits are worth the costs. It notes the growth of literature on instruction in special collections environments and the creative instructional methods presented by its...
Collaborative planning to streamline as well as to provide citizens with easier access to geospatial data has a long history in Oregon. A milestone in this process was the launch of the Oregon Spatial Data Library (OSDL) in November 2009. The Oregon Spatial Data Library is a joint effort between...
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....
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...
This article discusses findings from a longitudinal research study that examined the way graduate students carry out the literature review and how they were impacted by attending a library literature review workshop. The literature review research process serves as an important gateway for graduate students’ into their scholarly communities’ practices,...
Library faculty are often tenure track, requiring a record of significant publishing and service before achieving tenure. However, meaningful tools and methods for evaluating the scholarship of librarianship frequently fall short of providing an accurate picture of the scholarship of any particular candidate. The authors conducted a case study analyzing...
The Oregon ExplorerTM (www.oregonexplorer.info) strives to support informed decisions and actions by people concerned with Oregon's natural resources and environment. The Oregon Explorer's multi-media environment integrates archived digital documents, mapping and decision support tools, and finding aids for specific natural resource issues and topics. This paper presents the chronology of...
Program description: Do users want simpler access to "best sources" for subject research? Should libraries filter information by discipline, subject area or course? Should information be tailored to undergraduate level? This presentation will present findings from research on these and other questions.
Shifting priorities in academic libraries have led to experimentation in methods of keeping a reference desk open for the users who still need in-person immediate help, while at the same time freeing up faculty librarians to pursue other pressing priorities. The Valley Library at Oregon State University has relied entirely...
Graduate students are critical stakeholders for academic libraries. As libraries continue to reinvent themselves to remain relevant, spaces, services, and instruction targeted specifically for the needs of the graduate student community are essential. Transforming Libraries to Serve Graduate Students is a practical atlas of how librarians around the world are...
Marine libraries serve as access points to a multitude of bibliographic information which is vital to the pursuit of science. Yet of growing importance is access to data by researchers. Is there a place for the library in the management of scientific data? In April 1990 the United States National...
During the spring of 2014, 176 members of the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers completed a survey on their participation in and expectations of IAMSLIC. Their responses and comments are presented to inform planning and communication. The results were presented at the 40th annual...
As the options for open access publishing increase, scientists and students are a bit befuddled by the choices and the costs. Librarians are being asked difficult questions: Is this an okay journal to publish in? Is the editorial board reputable? How much is this going to cost? Is it worth...
As IAMSLIC members will recall, in 1990 Stephanie Haas questioned ASFA’s supremacy in marine science libraries and found “potential pitfalls” if relying on a single database to adequately discover the relevant literature (Haas 1990). We still question the best way to access the literature in our multidisciplinary field. Patrons and...
In the past, fisheries and aquaculture researchers in Africa have been handicapped by poor access to current scientific literature and difficulties in getting published in visible outlets. Efforts in the past decade to improve access, awareness and use of information have flourished. We examine whether these efforts are reflected in...
As editors of the Marine Science and Technology section for the last three editions of Magazines for Libraries (MFL), we developed lists of journals and annotations to help guide marine sciences acquisitions for all types of libraries. We recommended essential titles at the same time we needed to cancel some...
As librarians, we recognize that users seldom approach a research project with a clear search strategy and thus we develop means to help them clarify their research objectives. However, our traditional methods do not translate well to the web environment, while at the same time demand for web access increases....
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
The endangered salmon crisis in the Pacific Northwest has researchers scouring the scientific and institutional literature for data, analysis and information. The accessible publications are the foundation for much of the current work and debate. But, older materials and institutionally-generated information containing unique data are harder to locate. To accurately...
The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries provides a policy framework for sustainable fisheries management. Decision and policy makers as well as resource managers and users all need diverse information to implement the Code in their varied communities. They are challenged to understand the breadth of the information and...