Graduate
LIS 742: Reference Sources in the Sciences
Three Credit Hours
Autumn semester 2006
Aug. 29; Sept. 5, 12, 26; Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Nov. 7, 14, 21,
28; Dec. 5, 12.
Instructor: Edward J. Valauskas
E-mail: ejv@dom.edu
Office Hours: 10 AM- Noon, Tuesdays and
by appointment, Crown 313
Course Description
Scientific information is increasing in
both diversity and quantity. There is a strong need to access the most accurate
and up-to-date descriptions of scientific and technical research as quickly as
possible for diverse patrons and clients, from science fair students to
teachers to college students and researchers. This course reviews traditional
paper-based reference sources to the sciences as well as a number of
Internet-based resources in order to realistically acquaint students with
options for scientific and technical information.
Required Texts
There are no required texts in this
course. Handouts will be provided in class.
Objectives
Students in this class will understand
how to answer scientific reference questions by using a combination of paper-
and Internet-based resources.
Specifically, students will:
• Understand
how to evaluate a variety of resources to answer
scientific and technical queries;
• Become
familiar with scientific literature;
• Recognize
the limitations and advantages of both paper- and Internet-based
resources; and,
• Develop an
awareness of the procedures necessary to answer scientific and
technical questions on a routine basis.
All students are expected to
participate in discussions during class meetings, and complete suggested
readings as a basis for discussion. These discussions and assignments will be
used as the basis for evaluation.
Reference queries
Nine assignments will be distributed
during the course of the semester with sample reference questions, within
specific disciplines. These questions will range in difficulty from the kinds
of questions that might be asked by young students to the kinds of queries from
an overworked researcher in a research institute.
Answers to these questions can vary
according to sources used; hence, you are encouraged to discover this
variability in answers, if it exists. Ten points are available for answers to
each suite of questions.
Total points for sample reference
queries= 90 points
Library visits
Students will examine a number of
different science, mathematical, and medical libraries in the
The first “expedition” will occur the
week of September 18-22. During that week, each student will visit one of the following science libraries:
1) John Crerar Library,
2) Science Library,
for specific hours.
3) Seeley
G. Mudd Library for Science-Engineering at
for specific hours.
Each
student will make observations in the library of their choice on the operation
of reference services, the reference collection (accessibility, utility), and
the interaction of patrons with reference staff.
Each
student will create a report no longer than five pages based on their
observations. You will decide, based on your fieldwork, how effective the
library is in providing service to its clientele.
The
second “expedition” will occur the week of Oct. 16-20. During that week, each
student will visit one of the
following mathematical libraries:
1) Eckhart Library, University of Chicago, 1118 East 58th Street Chicago Illinois 60637 ; see http://www1.lib.uchicago.edu/e/eck/index.php3 for
specific hours.
2) Boas Mathematics Library, located on
the first floor of Lunt Hall (2033 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208); see
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/math/ for specific hours.
The
third “expedition” will occur the week of Nov. 13-17. During that week, each
student will visit one of the
following medical libraries:
1) Library of the Health Sciences,
University of Illinois at Chicago, 1750 West Polk
Street. Chicago 60612; see http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/lhsc/ for specific
hours.
Galter Health Sciences Library,
Northwestern University, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago 60611; see
http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/ for specific hours.
Each
paper can receive a maximum value of 30 points. Total points available for
library visit reports = 90 points.
Literature
discussion
A portion of each week’s class will be
dedicated to the latest scientific news from the preceding week’s issues of Nature and Science, the premier science journals in the world. Students are
expected to be ready to discuss the contents of each issue in class. Nature is
not available in the Dominican Library’s collection; Science is available in
print form. In order to make this weekly assignment easier, please listen to
free weekly podcasts from Nature at
http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/index.html and from Science at
http://www.sciencemag.org/about/podcast.dtl#section_podcast-list We will
discuss each week’s podcasts in class.
Total points available for literature
discussion = 60 points.
General class discussion
During formal class sessions, there
will be ample opportunity for students to ask and answer questions and to
participate in discussions on reference sources. All members of the class are
highly encouraged to participate and will be rewarded accordingly.
Total points available for general
class discussion = 60 points
Final
A final assignment at the end of the
semester will act as the final exam. This examination will be distributed to
students on Tuesday, Nov. 28, and will be due in class Tuesday, Dec. 12.
Total points available for final = 100
points.
Example question
A sample question that might appear in
a weekly assignment or on the final examination:
Q: How far away is the moon from Earth?
A: New
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition (1993), Micropaedia,
volume 8, p. 299: “Moon, sole natural satellite of the Earth. It revolves
around the planet from west to east at a mean distance of about 384,400 km
(239,900 miles).”
Gerald North. Observing the Moon: The Modern Astronomer’s Guide. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 2: “The Moon is a solid, rocky, body with
an equatorial diameter of 3476 km. It orbits the earth at a mean distance of
384,000 km.”
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California
Institute of Technology Web site: “From the ranging experiments, scientists
know that the average distance between the centers of the Earth and the moon is
385,000 kilometers (239,000 miles). … Ocean tides on Earth have a direct
influence on the moon's orbit.
Measurements show that the moon is receding from Earth at a rate of
about 3.8 centimeters (1.5 inches) per year.” Press release on the Lunar Laser
Ranging Experiment placed on the moon by the Apollo 11 mission, press release
dated July 21, 1994, at http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/files/releases/lunlaser.txt
NASA Web site: “The average distance to
the moon is 382,500 km.” Exploring the Moon -- A Teacher's Guide with
Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ 1, p.
25, at http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/activities/ExpMoon/DistanceMoon.pdf
Review
of assessment
A grand total of 400 points for all
assignments and contributions are available to each student in this class;
(90 [reference queries] + 90 [library
visits] + 60 [literature discussion] + 60 [general class discussion] + 100
[final]= 400).
Each student should make every effort
to reach class for every session. Please notify the instructor by e-mail
(ejv@dom.edu) if attendance is not possible.
No optional assignments are available.
All assignments must be completed on time; inadequate preparation for each
class session and of specific assignments will lead to a reduction in points
awarded in the aforementioned categories.
Syllabus
Tuesday, August 29
Class focus: Introduction; Assessment
of resources in the sciences; Managing Internet and print resources.
In-class activity: Review of printed
and Internet-based reference sources in the sciences to develop evaluative
techniques of different resources;
Jane T. Bradford, Barbara Costello, Robert Lenholt, 2005. “Reference Service in the Digital Age: An Analysis of Sources Used to Answer Reference Questions,” Journal of Academic Librarianship, volume 31, number 3 (May) pp. 263-272;
University of Illinois at Chicago
Library, “A Guide to Evaluating Web Sites,” at
http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/reference/services/pathfinders/evaluate.shtml
Tuesday, September 5
Class focus: General science resources.
In-class activity: Examination of general science reference sources in the sciences in class, plus a variety of relevant Web sites.
Assignment
1: General science queries, due Sept. 12.
Class focus: Resources in physics.
In-class activity: Examine the Web site
of the Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics Division (PAM) of the Special Libraries
Association, especially resources in Physics at
http://www.sla.org/division/dpam/subjects/phys.html.
Compare the PAM Physics resources to those at the Library of Congress, Science,
Technology and Business Division at http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/selected-internet/physics.html.
What are the differences? What are the similarities? How would you use these
resources?
Assignment 2: Queries in physics, due Sept. 26.
Class focus: Constructing a science library.
Class focus: Astronomical resources.
In-class activity: Compare PAM’s
astronomy resources (http://www.sla.org/division/dpam/subjects/astro.html) to
those available at NASA’s Office of Education at
http://education.nasa.gov/home/index.html and AstroWeb at
http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/astroweb.html
Assignment 3: Astronomical queries, due Oct. 10.
Class focus: Mathematical resources.
In-class activity: Compare PAM’s Math
resources (http://www.sla.org/division/dpam/subjects/math.html) to those of the
American Mathematical Society at http://www.ams.org and at Ask Dr. Math at
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Assignment
4: Mathematical queries, due Oct. 17.
Tuesday, October 17
Class focus: Meteorological resources.
In-class activity: Compare information
available at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Web site at
http://www.noaa.gov/ to information available at weather.com
(http://www.weather.com/).
Library visit 2:Please
visit a math library of your choice at the University of Chicago or
Northwestern University and describe its operation and clientele. Report due Oct. 24
Tuesday, October 24
Class focus: Geophysical resources.
In-class activity: Examine
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Web site at http://www.usgs.gov/. Would it be
useful in answering geophysical reference questions? How
does it compare to information found at the Illinois State Geological Survey
site at http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/
Additional in-class activity: Math libraries of the future: What will they look like? (based in part on your survey of math libraries in the Chicago area)
Assignment 5: Geophysical queries, due Oct. 31.
Tuesday, October 31
Class focus: Botanical resources.
In-class activity: Define an “endangered plant”
based on a review of resources available at the Center for Plant Conservation
Web site at http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/NC_Choice.html, at the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/,
and at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Web site at
http://dnr.state.il.us/espb/
Assignment
6: Botanical queries, due Nov. 7.
Tuesday, November 7
Class focus: Zoological resources.
In-class activity: Are zoos good reference
resources? Examine the Zoological Society of San Diego Library at
http://library.sandiegozoo.org/ and the National Zoological Park Library at
http://www.sil.si.edu/libraries/nzp/.
Assignment
7: Zoological queries, due Nov. 14.
Tuesday, November 14
Class focus: Chemical resources.
In-class activity: a) Examine the
periodic table at
http://www.webelements.com/. Compare it to the Los
Alamos National Laboratory table at http://periodic.lanl.gov/.
What are the advantages of each table?
b) Some five decades ago, Stanley Miller published
the results of an experiment in the pages of the journal Science. What is the significance of Dr. Miller’s experiment?
Assignment
8: Chemical queries, due Nov. 21.
Tuesday, November 21
Class focus: Resources in the medical
and health sciences I.
In-class activity: Be prepared to
discuss in class the American Medical Association’s “Guidelines for medical and
health information sites on the Internet”, at
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1905.html
What are the implications of these guidelines for librarians providing access to medical information via the Internet?
Library visit 3:Please
visit a medical library of your choice at the University of Illinois at Chicago
or Northwestern University and describe its operation and clientele. Report due Nov. 28.
Tuesday, November 28
Class focus: Resources in the medical
and health sciences II.
In-class activity: Examine MEDLINE Plus
at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
for information on “bird flu” and
compare it to resources at the Center for Disease Control at
http://www.cdc.gov/
Assignment
9: Medical queries, due Dec. 5.
Final exam distributed in class.
Tuesday, December 5
Class focus: Commercial online
resources vs. search engines and the Web. Compare values of Dialog and other
fee-based tools to resources available openly on the Internet. In class
exercises will test strength and weaknesses of these digital sources.
Tuesday, December 12
Class focus: The future of reference activities in
the sciences.
In-class activity: Compare Google Scholar
(http://scholar.google.com/) to the Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/).
In which direction do you see reference work moving?
Final
due Dec. 12.