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It is necessary, because
of the variety of disciplines in the sciences and in technology, that librarians
and information specialists must be aware of the differing forms of information
available for those disciplines.�
Biological and physical sciences, mathematics and logic, and technology
all have characteristics that make certain forms and formats of information
inappropriate. Write an essay about
information in the sciences and technology.�
In your essay, include the following:
����������� The science and technology fields contain a vast amount of information that is spread out into many different areas and formats. A good librarian should be able to help the patron by knowing where to look for this information. Since all of the science and technology disciplines are very broad and varied some sources of information may contain information relevant to only a few of them. It is the librarian�s job to know how each of the sources operates, what type of information they contain, and how to use them. ����������� In the academic library setting most, if not all, types of sources in the sciences and technology would be very important. With students studying the topics for class and professors researching their own papers, it is vital for a librarian to know all of the sources and how they can help people of all levels, from the beginner to the advanced user. Below, the different types of sources will be discussed, identifying some areas they would be good and how they apply in the academic library setting. ����������� Indexes provide the user with a huge amount of sources listed so that they can be searched for the information needed. Many of the specializations in the sciences and technology have their own indexes dealing with sources just in that area. This is a great source for anyone looking for more information on a topic. It probably wouldn�t be useful to most people taking just an intro class in a subject, but for senior papers, theses, and especially research papers for journals or other scientific literature this would be very important. It allows you to search for other articles on the same topic or that you may use for reference. It�s also a good place to for someone who is new to a particular topic in a field and wants to survey the literature. Indexes would be useful to all of the sciences and technology fields. Some larger sciences like Chemistry and Physics have their own indexes, but even in the smaller areas, a person could always consult an index that encompasses that area, like one of the indexes for all of computer put out by the ACM. Very new areas of research may be harder to find because they would not have many articles and would not have their own topic heading to search for, but for anyone doing research this would be a very valuable resource. The Academic librarian would need to know how to use this resource very well, because it is usually in the reference collection and not something most people use very often. They are usually large with tiny print and could be somewhat intimidating to someone who has never used one. Now, since many indexes are online it may be easier to for a person to have access to them, but if they put a search term in and get a list of 1000 sources back, it can be overwhelming. The librarian may need to guide the user on how to input their search term or how to limit their search based on what they need. Since so much research is done in the academic library, the index is a source that is very valuable to science and technology, and that the librarian should understand well in order to serve their patrons best. ����������� Very similar to the indexes, abstracting services give you a list of sources, but they also include a brief summary of what the source is about. Like the index this is very valuable, but the abstracts in many cases are more valuable because they quickly let you decide whether the articles contain information you need or not, with out having to go find it and read through it. Since the abstracts have to be written and compiled they usually aren�t immediately available so that may be a hindrance for researchers needing the most up to date information. Anyone looking for articles and not needing them from the last few months to a year can be helped with abstracts. Abstracting service listing can even help students who, say are taking an anthropology class for their own enrichment and are asked to find 10 articles covering a number of different topics. This student could go to the abstracts and easily figure out if an article has what they need, then find it, with out having to go through every article on a topic to see if it fits what the professor wanted. Like with the indexes the academic librarian would need to understand how the abstracting listings are organized and used because they aren�t frequently used tools. Since many of them are online the librarian may need to help the user in searching them so that they get the results they want. ����������� Thesauri are sources of information that can help the user identify other search terms or additional terms to limit the number of sources they get so that they can find sources they need. Since thesauri tend to be created for areas of science and technology that are very broad and contain a large number of disciplines and information sources it may impossible to find one for someone searching for information from a very narrow field. Many things may act as thesauri even if they were not created as one, such as the ACM�s classification for computer literature. It divides the entire field of computer technology into many levels so that it�s easy to find literature you need but it works great to find other terms that can be searched for. The academic librarian would need to know about thesauri and how to use them because many people don�t know they even exist, let alone how to use them. The librarian should be able to point them out when someone needs better search terms or different search terms in order to find what it is they are searching for. ����������� Guides to the literature are very good sources for those beginning to do research in the sciences or technology. They tell the reader how to search for information in a given field and usually go into many of the different types of sources valuable to that field. This is actually one of the sources that could be the most valuable to someone doing research because it will tell about the different sources and how to use them in a much longer discussion than the librarian could give when helping a patron. This is probably more helpful to someone who hasn�t done much in-depth research and needs to know what is out there and best for them to search. Guides to the literature would be helpful in all of the disciplines of science and technology, the availability of a guide for all areas would probably be the only problem. The academic librarian would need to know about these and be able to suggest them to students and possibly faculty who appear to have no idea how to search for the information they need. It�s important the librarian know about them and recommend them because it�s doubtful most people would search out one or even know they exist. Since the librarian�s job is to help the user find what they need and how to search for information, sending them to a guide to the literature actually gives them more than a librarian could tell them in a brief meeting and it frees up the librarian to help others, so everyone wins. ����������� Bibliographies are a great source of information because they are compiled list of references that someone created. Usually it�s won�t contain every article out there, just the ones the complier found useful. When someone needs sources pertaining to a certain area they can find a bibliography someone has compiled for a book on the subject or a paper. Bibliographies are helpful in all areas. Since there are books, papers, and just extensive bibliographies out there for almost every subject one could come up with they are helpful in any subject area in the sciences or technology. The academic librarian should know about bibliographies so that when a student is searching for more information they can suggest a bibliography even if it�s from their textbook or another book they are using. Many people wouldn�t think to check the sources the author of a source they are using used for their research. ����������� Translations are important for those doing research in the sciences and technology. They provide the user access to research being done in countries speaking other languages. This is important because someone on the other side of the world could be researching the same thing as you are, or you want to. Then you could contact them about collaboration or avoid redundantly doing the same thing they have been doing. This would be important mostly to professors doing research or grad students doing their theses. The average student would not usually need this information. This would be most important in some of the larger disciplines. The smaller areas such as astrophysics (and its subdivisions) tend to have few enough researchers that they can keep up with what the others are doing, but in large areas or research that crosses fields, it would be important to check what others have already done. In the academic library the users will probably know what they are looking for since they would be high-level users, but they may just need help searching or locating it. The librarian should know what sources of translation are available and how to access them. ����������� Dictionaries are good sources for those needing basic information on a very specific topic or term. The science and technology dictionaries give users, especially people who don�t work or research in the area, a definition of most any term they may run across in the literature. Dictionaries would be helpful to people who are new to a field and may encounter a term in a book or journal and need to know what it means. Dictionaries are available and helpful in all the areas of science and technology. Areas in technology tend to use lots of acronyms and the sciences are filled with exotic words so a specialized dictionary is very helpful. In the academic library the dictionaries may be in the reference section or in the stacks so it the librarian must know which are where and which would be best for a certain term a user my need help with. ����������� Encyclopedias are very important resources for those who need some simple background information on a topic. Encyclopedias will give a good overview of a topic that someone may want to know about. This is very helpful to people not familiar with a subject than just want to know what it�s about, not an exhaustive overview. This would be helpful to people who don�t have a background in an area and my run across something and need some background on it. Encyclopedias are created for every subject out there, some may be more specialized than others, but a person could probably find information on any topic in science and technology they needed. It may be hard to find information on newer areas, because many encyclopedias aren�t updated annually or on a regular basis, but many of the specialized ones are so it may just depend on what someone is looking for. The academic librarian should be able to decide from what the user thinks they need, if an encyclopedia is appropriate. They should also be able to guide the user to the encyclopedias which are usually located in the reference section. ����������� Handbooks are an excellent source for those looking for in-depth information. They provide lots of data that is essential for many disciplines in a concise easy to find source. This would be something only a high-level user like a researcher or someone doing a thesis would need since most of the information would be above the average person. There are handbooks for almost all disciplines but some may have more than others. Math, Physics, and areas that use lots of equations and relationships have lots of handbooks, the computer sciences seem to have less, but they are out there. An academic librarian would have to help researchers needing this type of information know where these books are located. Since most of the information is very complicated most librarians would not understand it so their job would be to point someone in the right direction. ����������� Manuals are very useful resources in the sciences and technology. A manual gives you directions on how to do some process or use some type of equipment. These could be useful to a novice that needs to know how to do something or use something and has no idea what to do, and it can be useful to a more advanced user that is familiar with the discipline but may be trying something different or something very complicated. There are manuals and guides for nearly all the disciplines but the technology areas seem to have more because they use computers or programs that someone needs to learn and use, each having their own set of guides and manuals. The sciences have manuals for procedures on how to grow plants, do experiments, and get data from telescopes, among others. An academic library may have some manuals but not every one that person could need. ����������� Textbooks are a good source of information for the person starting to learn more about a certain subject. They are created for learning a subject area so they thoroughly cover a topic. It can be a very low-level introduction or cover a high-level specialized subject for a doctorate class. Since they are usually thorough they can be used to learn everything about that subject or they can be used to look up something about one area of that subject. Textbooks are created for every subject in the sciences and technology. Since they are usually made for classes they usually cover any topic there is a class for. Some smaller more complicated areas may not have a textbook, but most subjects are covered from simple introductions to complicated topics. At the academic library, most of the students will have textbooks from classes, but they may need some additional information, or a student may need a textbook for reference on a subject they learned but need refreshing on. The librarian should be able to see if the user needs a comprehensive overview of a topic if so; a textbook may be what they need. ����������� Monographs and treatises cover advanced topics in-depth so they are a great asset to the advanced user. Since they are so advanced they would only be helpful to someone who knows a subject very well. These are used very extensively in all the sciences and technology. Almost every area in which some significant research has been done will have a few monographs and/or treatises. They are very important for someone who works or researches in a field and needs to learn about another topic with out any introductory material. The academic library has lots of researchers and grad students who will need monographs and treatises. Like the handbooks, since they are very advanced, the librarian should know where to guide the user and when a one of these is what they need. Undergraduate students may be tempted to look for information in these for a paper but unless they are doing it for an advanced class, most monographs and treatises may be too complex for what they need. ����������� Histories can be important sources of information to many people in the sciences any technology. To the low-level user, histories may be used to see what advances have been made in the field to give a perspective on how we got where we are now. To the more advanced user histories can be used to see when and what should be searched to find out about past research, so that they can add to it with their own research. Most areas of science and technology have and can benefit from histories. Of course, a field like biology will have a much longer and fuller history than say computer science, but all of the fields around have progressed and have gotten to where they are through the accumulation of their work. An Academic librarian needs to know when a user is looking for historical information on science or technology subjects what is available or where to find it. For the subjects that have been around for hundreds of years there are books that cover their development, while subjects around for only the past several decades may be harder to find. You may have to find an article or webpage with an overview of the history of the subject. ����������� Reviews, either topical or comprehensive, provide users in the field of science and technology an overview of the literature out there. They allow someone to stay current with what new developments are going on without having to go through all the literature out there. In science and technology things happen so quickly it�s easy to lose track of what else is going on in your field. Reviews allow users to quickly and without effort find out what is going on so they can stay current. In science and technology reviews would be most helpful to people who work or research in a particular field. They are usually compilations of journal articles that may be too advanced for someone not familiar with the field, but someone new to the field may be able to use one to learn what all is currently being researched. In the academic library researchers may want an overview of what is currently being researched and the librarian should be able to point out a review instead of them reading through all the journals and periodicals. ����������� Annuals and yearbooks are some kind of publication that comes out once a year. These serve the science and technology fields very well. Like the reviews they give an idea of things going over a period of time, in this case a year, but they don�t have to be just literature, it could be data, statistics, or updates from conference proceedings. Annuals are very valuable to science and technology because they give a summary of what has happened or changed in the past year. They can apply to any subject area, so that a user that is a casual reader of a subject or doesn�t keep up with everything can read this once a year and have a good idea of what�s happening. Yearbooks usually provide data and statistics so they are more applicable to the fields that have yearly data like biology where the latest figures on insect population growth or spread of a disease would be important. The academic librarian should be able to show a user the annuals if they are looking for what has happened over the last year or yearbooks of a certain year if they are applicable. Usually higher-level users will want this data to stay current or have the most current figures so knowing where they are located is very important. ����������� Field guides are visual references to nature. They are used to identify natural objects in the field or elsewhere. In most cases they are created with the novice to moderate knowledge level user in mind. They allow someone who may not know every type of item to look through and identify something they have found with pictures and sometimes a short description. Many advanced users will be around the field so much that they can identify most of the items without the aide of a visual guide. Field guides are only applicable to the sciences and not technology. Even there not all the fields have a field guide; there are no particle physics field guides out there. The academic librarian should be able to direct someone looking to identify an object to the field guide and be able to show them how to use one. ����������� Almanacs usually come out once a year like annuals and yearbooks and they have a lot in common. They have statistics and tables of data from the past year. They aren�t applicable to technology data because there aren�t new recurring statistics each year. In the sciences they may have climatological data or data on the phases of the moon and positions of planets. The academic librarian probably won�t have too many casual users for this information. They should know when people need data like that on some daily, weekly, or yearly basis, to guide them to an almanac. Researches that need real world data like rainfall statistics could need to consult an almanac. ����������� Compendia and anthologies give a good overview of a subject area. Compendia condense works so that a reader can learn the major points without going through all the data. This could be good for moderate users to learn about what�s going on in a topic with out having to read through all of the material. A more advanced user can use them to learn about recent developments if they just want an overview and not all the details. An anthology can be good for reference because they compile writings from an author or about a subject. Someone looking for an idea of what has been written about a certain subject can go to an anthology to see. In the sciences and technology a user from an intermediate level to an advanced one could consult an anthology or compendia. There are anthologies and compendia for most of the fields that have enough writings to compile. In an academic library a patron should be directed to compendia and anthologies when they want an overview of a topic, but maybe not every writing or every detail, in the case of compendia. ����������� Periodicals can be used by people of all levels. For many areas there are periodicals aimed at the novice or at least the person who isn�t very advanced in the subject area. There are also journals created specifically for researchers and those who work in the field. They are usually very high-level and would be of no interest to someone who doesn�t need to know all the workings of a topic. In the sciences and technology there are periodicals of all levels. There are more basic ones about computers and astronomy to complicated journals in almost every subject area. Larger disciplines will have more journals and newer fields may have one or may be a part of an associated journal, but if it�s being researched it�s usually has some form of periodical. The academic librarian has to be able to tell patrons that some periodicals may be online but there are also lots of periodicals in hard copies, usually kept away from the other books. The librarian also has to be able to show the user a periodical appropriate for their level, most undergraduates wouldn�t need a scientific journal, and that most researchers wouldn�t want a normal magazine. ����������� Conference proceedings tell what has happened and what was presented at some conference. Most conferences deal with the latest research in a particular area so it�s good for people who need to keep up with the most current information but not for the beginner or novice. In the sciences and technology most of the disciplines have conferences to most will have conference proceedings. Depending on how much new research there is in field there may be many conferences around the world on very specific topics. In the academic library, if a most researchers would probably want the proceedings from a specific conference and just need help locating it, but some may come looking for the newest research and the conference proceedings are a good place to start. ����������� Technical reports contain detailed information about some procedure or topic. Since they are usually very complicated and not widely circulated they are only for those very interested in a very high-level subject. In the sciences and technology these are very important because they document work on some type of project others may need to know about. They are done for many of the sciences and are very common in the technologies. Many created by or for the government are available online for those who need to see them. When someone comes into the academic library looking for a technical report the librarian may not have a physical copy and may have to guide the patron to the item online or held by someone else. Unless someone asks for it specifically it�s probably not good to guide them to a technical report unless they really sound like that�s what they need. ����������� Patents and other government documents are different from other sources because they are created and maintained by the government. Patents give information on devices or procedures that people want to protect from copying. They give all the information and diagrams and measurement so that someone else can reproduce it. Other government documents can be of all forms from pamphlets to big research studies to manuals. They all have in common that some branch of government needs or thinks it may be useful. In the sciences and technology all disciplines are covered. There are patents for biological systems to computer algorithms to be implemented in hardware. In the academic library if someone is looking for specific information on a certain patented item then the librarian should be able to know how to search for the patent either in a database or from the government�s webpage. For other government documents the librarian should realize that many research grants are given by government so other information needed may be found there. The library may have some of the documents on hand but since they are by the government and paid for by the public they are usually freely available online. Usually only people doing research would want this level of detail. ����������� Dissertations are the papers done by students getting their masters or doctorate. Since they are for a high-level degree they are usually complex and not intended for someone not familiar with the field. In the sciences and technology fields there are dissertations in every discipline because there are degrees and research in them all. The academic librarian should know to check in dissertations for current and past research done, because many of them can be very hold important studies. Also they are very thorough and have good bibliographies so they make good places to learn about a subject and get additional sources. Since they are in-depth they wouldn�t be for the undergraduate student unless they were taking advanced classes but for the graduate students they would be very important, if not to just get an idea what their dissertations should be like. Most schools keep some or all of their past masters and/or doctorate theses on hand so the librarian should be able to locate them. ����������� Preprints and e-prints, their online equivalent, are research papers made available before publishing for peer review. This is very important for other researchers because they can see what others are currently doing in the field. Since they haven�t been published and are still undergoing peer review, there is the chance that something or everything could be faulty or incorrect. They are the most current research and tend to be too advanced for something not very knowledgeable in a field. In the sciences and technology these are available in all fields, and with the ease of access to the internet more and more people are putting them online, making them easily available. In the academic library there probably won�t be any preprint on the shelves but if someone needs the most current up-to-date information then they should be able to guide them so pre-prints and e-prints online or elsewhere. Only researchers in the field will probable need these as they are too complicated and not yet verified for other�s use. ����������� Tables are compilations of data in an easy to understand form. They can have any type of data and can have from a few lines to many pages of information. Tables can have information useful to someone with no experience in the field to people who work in it every day. In the sciences and technology there are tables for all of the fields that cover many different types of information. Tables can be found in almost any other type of source and may be made up of numbers text or a combination of both. In an academic library, if a patron needs facts and figures then a table may contain what they need. Since it could be in any type of source the librarian has to be familiar with the other sources so they know where to look. ����������� Standards and specifications show how to carry out a process or the properties of a item or system. They will tell someone what criteria they have to meet for whatever it is they are doing. These are intended for people very knowledgeable in the subject. In the sciences and technology they are created for all areas. In the sciences there are many created to specify how experiments and equipment must run and maintained to ensure safety. In the technology fields there are lots of specifications for software and hardware so that things will run correctly. In an academic library there won�t be too many standards and specifications on hand so the when someone need that type of information the librarian must be able to send them to the company or organization which has created them. ����������� Taxonomic literature is created to help someone identify organisms. They can come in many forms, from small articles to large books that give full descriptions and criteria for classification. Since this deals with the classification of living organisms it only applies to the sciences and the biological sciences at that. If an academic librarian is approached by someone wanting to identify some organism they should find a taxonomic source that matches that specimen. People at any level may need use of taxonomic literature but the depth of criteria and descriptions should be appropriate for the user�s level of knowledge in the area. ����������� Trade catalogs and manufacturer�s literature are created by companies to give people information about their products and to help sell them. Since they are produced to promote products they will contain all the information about a product that only a high-level person may be able to understand. Some of the literature may be written in a way to reach people who don�t know all about the equipment because many time the person approving the purchases aren�t the researchers. In the sciences and technology there are trade catalogs and manufacturer�s literature for all areas because there are equipment and items that have to be used for each. Most academic libraries don�t keep many trade catalogs or manufacturer�s literature on hand so if someone needs this type of information they need to know to direct the patron to the company, most likely through their webpage. ����������� Directories are lists of some type of information such as people or places that that have do similar work or belong to common organization. Since directories are just lists and provide little beside possibly contact information they can be used by anyone. In the sciences and technology field they are used in every field so tell who�s in certain organizations or affiliated with certain groups. They may also list places or companies that do a certain type of work. In an academic library there are many places to find directories, they may be published as such or as part of a group�s other publications. The librarian may have to guide the user to a webpage or the organization itself to for member directories. Many books and other literature will provide directories with other information that may be helpful. ����������� Atlases are collections of maps or other visual information. Atlases may contain an array of information on a topic with pictures or charts or some other visual representation. In the sciences and technology there are atlases created for many areas but the sciences are much more frequently created because they use visual data much more than technology. An academic library may have atlases that cover many areas so the librarian has to know when the patron needs good visual data to consult them. Since most of the information is visual it can be used by most anyone but it may be too much for someone who is not familiar with the field. ����������� Other sources of information can also be of great help to people looking for information in science and technology. Movies and videos can give someone a good introduction to topic and the visuals it provides give a perspective that you can�t get from a book. Audio sources could be of help in many of the science where you may need to know birds or whale songs, and aren�t able to go out to the field to learn for yourself. For the technology fields the user may need a source in the form of source code or a program. The internet also offers a huge amount of information. There may be so much information a user doesn�t know some of what is out there or how to properly search or access it. The academic librarian should be able to help those patrons find what they are looking for. The librarian should be familiar with what their library has and to keep it in mind when helping patrons, because many may not know it is available. ����������� All of the forms of information have their own strengths and are created for a specific audience. It�s up to the librarian to take what the user tells them they want and use their knowledge of the resources available and guide them to the ones that are right for what they need. In the sciences and technology this is so important because there is a lot of research that requires finding information in a timely manner. Since the patron could be anywhere from person just wanting some basic information to a person needing the latest research it is critical to know what level of information is appropriate. |