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LIS 657���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Jonathan Eaker Science
Special Libraries I Have Abided By The Academic
Integrity Policy On This Assignment. Signature_____________________________
Date____________ ����������� Science special libraries are any special library that serves those in the field of one of the sciences. In most cases the majority of their patrons are scientists or graduate students in the sciences, but many are open to the public for their use. They come in many sizes and types. The two major types are corporate and academic. Corporate libraries serve a company and their employees. Usually these libraries are tailored to their users needs. The government also has libraries at some of their facilities that tend to be like corporate libraries because the collections are oriented toward the scientists needs. Academic libraries are there to support the professors and graduate students in their research and studies. Since, many times, they are part of the university�s library system they will cover all areas of science and be heavier in the areas of research. ����������� The Special Libraries Association has three different divisions which cover science libraries: the Chemistry Division, Sci-Tech Division, and the Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics (PAM) Division. The Chemistry Division was started as a group in 1933 and became a division in 1966 and covers just the field of chemistry.[1] They have 4 goals that they strive to meet: ����������� 1. Provide channels of communication among members. ����������� 2. Increase member involvement with the division, service to the membership, and �������������������������������� develop division leaders. ����������� 3. Position division members to meet future information challenges. ����������� 4. Develop vision of the profession.[2] These goals not only apply to
chemistry librarians, but all science librarians. The Sci-Tech division started
as the Technology division in 1925. Their mission is: "The objectives of
the Science-Technology Division shall be: to draw together those members of the
Special Libraries Association having an interest in the role of library and
information science as applied to the recording, retrieval and dissemination of
knowledge and information in all areas of science and technology; and to
promote and improve the communication, dissemination and use of such knowledge
for the benefit of libraries and their users."[3]
Again that is applicable to all science special libraries. Their web site has a
nice directory of links related to the sciences and technology. The PAM
division was started when the Astronomy librarians wanted a separate group and
the Mathematics and Physics librarians joined them.[4] They
are working hard to promote international communication with an International
Relations Committee and a database of translated physics papers. There are two
journals that are specifically tailored to science libraries. Issues in
Science & Technology Librarianship is a journal produced by the Science
and Technology Section of ACRL. Many issues cover a theme and they provide book
and database reviews. Science & Technology Libraries is a publication that
tends to be written at a more scholarly level but comes out less frequently. There
are other publications that cater to the specific sciences and regions science
librarians work in. ����������� A survey was done to see why science (and technology) librarians chose to be in their field. 54% of those polled said they knew they wanted to become science-tech librarians, and of those, 47% said they were trained in the sciences and 29% said they had not science training but did have interest. Many of the people who said they did not intend to become sci-tech librarians, came to the field by chance. 70% of those who had some training said that it was helpful in doing their job. [5] �Many of those who work in the field and had no training say it would have been helpful, but not vital. As for specific reasons for becoming a science librarian many wanted to apply the science knowledge they had to the field without getting higher degrees.[6] Some liked the idea of being involved in ground breaking research. Looking at what has made successful science librarians in the past is good so that new librarians can be taught what is important. It also is helpful in recruiting new science librarians to the field. ����������� Gary Davidoff works in one of the Argonne National Laboratory libraries and has written a chapter on working in a Mathematics library (Math). His experiences apply to all science libraries. He gives some good suggestions on what a librarian should do to be of most use to scientists. The first thing he states is that a librarian has to be assertive.[7] Some people still hold the view that the librarian is there just to check out and shelve books. The science librarian has to establish their role because they are not there to serve the scientists, but to work with them. The librarian should try to reach out to the scientists and try different methods of knowledge positioning. He suggests asking them what it is they do and what materials they need to do it.[8] He also suggests going to meetings so you can find out how they work and to let them see you want to work with them.[9] He says the library needs to create a committee that will advise the library on various decisions. Although the committee serves another, possibly more important, role in that it informs those on the committee about everything the library does. Another benefit of a committee is that the members will understand the library�s value and advertise to other scientists and management. ����������� Based on Davidoff�s experiences working in a science library, he has some ideas on how a library should be arranged to be most productive. The desk should be at the entrance to the library so that the librarian can greet each person as they come in.[10] He says initiating contact is important because many scientists my be reluctant to ask for help and by talking to them first you may be able to help them find what they need without them having to ask. Putting the reference books, abstracts, and indexes near the desk is advised because they tend to be the hardest to use. He emphasizes line of sight, saying that many times you can see when a patron is having trouble and ask them if they need assistance. Put the newest journals and books out where they can be easily seen. Some scientists will consider looking at new journals the most important function of the library. Place the copier near the journals so when a scientists needs to copy an article, the journals do not wander too far. ����������� Mr. Davidoff also provides some advice for new librarians who are going to work in a science library. When one begins, the scientists may be reluctant to trust you because they do not know you and may think you are not as good as your predecessor.[11] That is normal and as you get to know them they will begin to trust in your ability. A lack of knowledge in the terminology of the sciences is not a big problem because most questions are more general. When it comes to purchasing new resources, there will always be items researchers wish to be bought, but the librarians has to look at the collection and the library�s needs and buy those things the library needs most.[12] The more the librarian stands up for the library the more they will be treated like a professional. Sometimes journals may need to be cancelled. There is a good chance someone will be upset by this so it�s important to show why this journal needs to be cancelled and what other options are for getting access to it. The last thing he says is that a new librarian probably will have many new ideas for the library but you should not introduce them too quickly.[13] There is a good chance new ideas will cost more than expected and people may be scared off if the library changes too suddenly. ����������� Uta Grothkopf, an astronomy librarian at the European Southern Observatory, has written an article that outlines some of the newer problems and responsibilities of the modern science librarian. Today many astronomers expect all their information to be online and many do not want to visit the library.[14] While promoting the library will help draw some people in, it is good networking to provide resources online. The increase in online journals and their costs require the librarian to have some legal knowledge of how journal licenses work.[15] Ms. Grothkopf says that the librarians should require the journal makers and vendors to provide the best resource possible if they are going to pay the amounts they ask. Because of the rising journal costs less money will be left for new books so collection development is more important than ever. Without good knowledge positioning the only time people would notice the library would be when they had a problem and couldn�t get something they need.[16] The librarian should make its presence known though emails discussing new services. Training in the use of new databases and other sources is also a good way to promote the library�s services. With new developments happening so quickly, networking with other similar librarians is very important. The astronomy librarians have their own conferences and newsletters as do many other science library fields. ����������� All
of the science library literature makes it very clear that the most pressing
problem being faced is the rising cost of journals. The cost of journals is
rising faster than the cost of library budgets requiring librarians to make
some hard decisions. Since journals are usually the most heavily used item in a
science library it only makes it more important to manage them carefully. With
most journal subscriptions you do not buy that year�s issues, you buy a year�s worth
of access to the journal.[17] If
you stop payment then you lose all those back issues. One suggested solution is
to use interlibrary loan, especially if the library is part of a larger
organization like a state university system or government labs.[18] The
biggest problem with this is there is no immediate access. The ����������� One study was done on researchers and their expectations and the reality of good research. It says that those new to research believe that the computer and online search have replaced the older, slower methods of searching through journals and indexes.[21] The problem is that search tools are not perfect, not everything is online, and not every library has access to everything online. It says that some researchers will not look at an article if it requires them to search for it manually. Thorough research requires searching all material and checking items that are related but may not be the central topic. This is one place where science librarians can help. Our knowledge management responsibility involves teaching researchers that the library offers many resources they will not find online and that librarians are there to help in their search; we can contribute to better research. ����������� A survey was conducted at the Research Triangle Park EPA office on the interdisciplinary researchers there. The author did a study of interdisciplinary researchers because she found previous studies only focused on single discipline scientists. Most scientists talk to fellow researchers to get ideas and gather information. The interdisciplinary scientist runs into the problem of not knowing the vocabulary of all the areas they work in. Most scientists� backgrounds are in one area so when their research takes them to another they are at a disadvantage. Since reading literature is essential to research, a lack of knowledge in that field�s jargon could slow research and make it ineffective. 89% of those surveyed said they needed to know the vocabulary of multiple disciplines with some saying they needed to know as many as five.[22] The survey also found that most researchers spend between four and ten hours doing research outside of work. This means they would benefit from being able to do research in a quicker manner. The survey also found that the scientists use support staff, mostly graduate students and contract workers, to help them do their research. The problem with that is they are not trained to do research and if there are librarians available why not use them. Good knowledge management would be very helpful in a situation like that because you have scientists of all different types having trouble understanding each other�s fields. Getting them to cooperate in helping each other with the finer points of understanding the literature could speed everyone up. The library could talk to people in each field and compile a guide for it that covers the basic vocabulary and types of literature to search. Whenever a question arises and the answer is found it can be added to the guide. ����������� Many science special libraries tend to be small so there is a good chance there may be only one or two librarians. This makes understanding good management and leadership essential. Donald Frank has written an article where he separates managers from leaders. His idea is that a manager is someone who runs the day to day activities while a leader is someone with vision who is always looking toward the future.[23] In his view managers rule over people telling them what to do and do not want to rock the boat. Leaders, on the other hand, work with their staff to come up with ways to improve the library and are willing to change when necessary. With changes coming quickly in the library field, a science librarian needs to be a leader that looks at what is out there and what would be best for their researchers. Mr. Frank also makes a distinction between modern and post-modern leaders.[24] A modern leader is someone who leads from up high and follows a very structured, pre-determined path. A post-modern leader is one who interactive and flexible. A post-modern leader will be better suited to deal with things like unknown or changing budgets. ����������� A
good way to understand how science special libraries should work is to take a
look at one of the most innovative ones. The Los Alamos National Library
Laboratory Research Library was created to support the researchers at the lab.
They have over 100,000 titles, 8,500 journals (electronic and print combined),
and over 1.5 million reports.[25]
Because of the very diverse work being done at Bibliography Adams, Mignon. �Rethinking Interlibrary Loan for the Scientist.� Science and Technology Libraries 24, no. 3/4 (2004): 401-409. Dagenais, Michel. �The Future of Scientific and Technical Journals.� Science and Technology Libraries 22, no. 3/4 (2002): 19-28. Davidoff,
Gary. �Mathematics Library Service in Special Libraries.� In A Guide to Library Service in Mathematics:
The Non-Trivial Mathematics Librarian, ed. Nancy Anderson, Lois Pausch,
55-71. Facts and Figures - LANL Research Library.
Frank, Donald. �Effective Leadership in Postmodern Science/Technology Libraries.� Science and Technology Libraries 24, no. 3/4 (2004): 411-419. Grothkopf,
Uta. �Astronomy Libraries 2000.� In Information
Handling in Astronomy, ed. Andr� Heck, 165-174. Hackenburg,
Jill and Barbara Chu. �Why Does One Choose Sci-Tech Librarianship?: Findings of
a Survey.� Science and Technology Libraries 23, no. 1 (2002): 3-15. LANL Research Library. Murphy,
Janet. �Information-Seeking Habits of Environmental Scientists: A Study of
Interdisciplinary Scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency in Sci-Tech Division of SLA-FAQ. 24 May
2005. On-line. Available from <http://www.sla.org/division/dst/faq.html>.
Internet. Accessed Soehner, Catherine. �The eScholarship Repository: A University of California Response to the Scholarly Communication Crisis.� Science and Technology Libraries 22, no. 3/4 (2002): 29-37. Special Libraries Association Chemistry
Division Strategic Plan. Stern, David. �User Expectations and the Complex Reality of Online Research Efforts.� Science and Technology Libraries 22, no. 3/4 (2002): 137-148. Vision of the Library Without Walls Project:
LANL Research Library. Weigel,
Jack. ��������������� [1].
SLA Chemistry Division, ��������������� [2].
Special Libraries Association Chemistry
Division Strategic Plan, ��������������� [3].
Sci-Tech Division of SLA-FAQ, ��������������� [4].
Jack Weigel, SLA PAM Division Practices
Manual: Brief History of the Division: Part I, ��������������� [5].
Jill Hackenburg, Barbara Chu, �Why Does One Choose Sci-Tech Librarianship?:
Findings of a Survey,� Science and
Technology Libraries 23, no. 1 (2002): 5. ��������������� [7].
Gary Davidoff, �Mathematics Library Service in Special Libraries,� in A Guide to Library Service in Mathematics:
The Non-Trivial Mathematics Librarian, ed. Nancy Anderson, Lois Pausch,
(Greenwich, CT: Jai Press, 1993), 56. ��������������� [14].
Uta Grothkopf, �Astronomy Libraries 2000,� in Information Handling in Astronomy, ed. Andr� Heck, ( ��������������� [17].
Michel Dagenais, �The Future of Scientific and Technical Journals,� Science and Technology Libraries 22, no.
3/4 (2002): 26. ��������������� [18].
Mignon Adams, �Rethinking Interlibrary Loan for the Scientist,� Science and Technology Libraries 24, no.
3/4 (2004): 5. ��������������� [19].
Catherine Soehner, �The eScholarship Repository: A University of California
Response to the Scholarly Communication Crisis,� Science and Technology Libraries 22, no. 3/4 (2002): 32. ��������������� [21].
David Stern, �User Expectations and the Complex Reality of Online Research
Efforts,� Science and Technology Libraries 22, no. 3/4 (2002): 139. ��������������� [22].
Janet Murphy, �Information-Seeking Habits of Environmental Scientists: A Study
of� Interdisciplinary Scientists at the
Environmental Protection Agency in ��������������� [23].
Donald Frank, �Effective Leadership in Postmodern Science/Technology
Libraries,� Science and Technology Libraries 24, no. 3/4 (2004): 412. ��������������� [25].
Facts and Figures - LANL Research Library,
��������������� [26].
LANL Research Library, |