LS 556: Bibliography of the Sciences

Description of LS 556: Survey of the literature and practice of librarianship in major areas of the sciences, including biology, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, physics, computer science and general engineering. Prerequisite: LS 500.

Learning Objectives
This course has been designed to enable the student to:

    * understand and have a working knowledge of science and technology library collections and services;
    * to appreciate steps necessary to build, maintain, budget, and manage a science or engineering library;
    * to learn how to communicate with their clientele;
    *  to be familiar with the processes necessary for the purchase of both print and electronic resources towards building a sci-tech collection.

Office Hours
Office Hours will be held every Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to 11a.m. EST.

Lynn Berard,  Principal Librarian, Engineering & Science

Email:  lberard@andrew.cmu.edu
Work Phone:  412-268-2428

 4402 Wean Hall
Engineering & Science Library
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890

I can be reached anytime at lberard@andrew.cmu.edu

Course Lectures/Calendar
Session 1: (Week of Jan. 19)    Introduction - Overview of the nature of scientific and technical literature - Information seeking behavior of scientists and engineers - The research and teaching environment in science as it operates in academic, corporate and public libraries - The research information cycle

Session 2: (Week of Jan.25)   Professional societies and their publications

Session 3:   (Week of Feb.1)   Biographical Resources

Session 4:  (Week of Feb.8)   Internet resources, specialized subject databases.

Session 5:  (Week of Feb.15)  Manufacture's literature, handbooks, manuals, almanacs, & encyclopedia's.

Session 6:  (Week of Feb. 22)  Print and Electronic Journals

Session 7:  (Week of March 1)     Reference and information services.

                        *****Winter Break  March 5 to March 14 ****

Session 8:  (Week of March 16)   Personnel Management

Session 9:  (Week of March 22)   Patents and Trademarks.

Session 10:  (Week of March 29)  Technical reports and standards.

Session 11:  (Week of April 5) Current Awareness and Web 2.0 tools

Session 12:   (Week of April 12)  Facilities and Budgets

Session 13:  (Week of April 19) Conferences, Directories and Dissertations.

Session 14:   (Week of April 26)  Technical Reports and Grey Literature
 

Grading
Grades will be based on regular class attendance and active participation in discussions, session assignments, and the completion of the course group project.

Main course project, due May 3rd

20%

Class/Discussion List Participation

35%

Session assignments

45%

TOTAL

100%

Main Course Project – Your Scientist is your Client
Due:  May 3rd

Description:  For the main course project you will be exploring the career of the aspiring scientist you have chosen in our first session and introduced to the class on the Discussion Board.  Your Scientist now becomes your client (customer/patron) and is a researcher in the library community that you serve.  As the information professional that s/he would come to for assistance with locating research resources, your job is to become familiar with their subject area;  provide information on where to find appropriate topical scholarly articles, books, patents, websites, etc.  Be prepared to introduce and train your patron on scientific databases, institutional repositories, open access sites and so on that may point them to materials and connect them to other scientists currently working in their field.  You are their go-to-info-person!

Elements/Sections to cover:

• Provide a biographical sketch of your scientist; include any personal/professional websites they may have; a bit of info on the institution/company they are affiliated with; and a short discussion of their research area.  Search online for their vita/resume to draw information from.

• Tell me about 1 or 2 associations/professional societies that you think your scientist would benefit from belonging to.

• Conduct several searches in scientific databases on your scientists work (search for articles AUTHORED BY your person); Clarion has access to the ISI Web of Science database and I will give you a password to access it remotely + in Session 5/6, July 20th you will have a chance to learn all about this database, so feel free to wait until then.).  Clarion also has a whole host of databases to use and you will need to explore the A to Z  Database list and choose which ones to search as it applies to your topic area.  Locating your author’s work will give you the chance to learn more about what journals they tend to publish in; what descriptors are assigned to their papers; to related papers on their topic by other researchers in their field; and in learning about classic papers in the subject area, etc.

•  Keep a log of the databases you search in (and the search terms you used)  for your scientists work and write a summary of where/how they publish their work.

• Provide a list of keywords/descriptors that are generally assigned to their published papers (this information can be found in the analytical record fields from the database searches you conduct).

• Provide a list to alternative media that generated quality information about your scientist.  This list may include web links (no more than 3), handbooks, encyclopedias, directories, etc.

• Provide a list of 5 reference books you would need to have in your library to best serve scholars in the same topic area as your scientist.

Length:  This paper should be between 5 to 8 pages; double-spaced; may contain links to websites, illustrations, charts, etc as necessary.  The bibliography format is to be Chicago  Manual of Style.  You may upload your final project directly into the Gradebook via the Assignments Tab on Blackboard.

Tips for a successful (and seamless) project:

• As we progress through the next few weeks together, use the tools you are introduced to in each Session and try your scientist’s name and topic area.  Keep good notes and use those to pull together this one report.

•  Try Google Scholar for locating papers and information on your scientist.

• Explore Clarion’s databases to mine for information on your person/topic.

• Search library catalogs for recommended books in your topic area.

• Why only 3 websites?  Because in this course I want you to have as much experience as possible in searching expensive and authoritative science resources and not public browsers that we all use everyday :-}…

• What is a classic or seminal scientific paper?  It is the original work of a scientist that is the source or cause from which something arises as a discovery containing or contributing the seeds of later development in this same area.  Often the first work to be published that spans new areas of scientific study.

• If you keep working on this each week, it will be done and ready to turn in without too much additional work!

Special Needs
Students with learning disabilities and/or special physical requirements should make their needs known to the Department for Academic Enrichment and to me. I will make every effort to assist you.

 Contact:  Disability Support Services
 102 Ralston Hall
 Phone: 814-393-2095
Coordinator:  Jennifer May, jmay@clarion.edu

Academic Honesty Policy
Students are expected to follow normal practice in acknowledging the source of facts, ideas, summaries, quotations, and paraphrases used in their written work. Direct quotations must be enclosed in quotation marks and the exact source acknowledged. The use of another's words without attribution and without enclosing the words in quotation marks is plagiarism. Using facts, ideas and summaries derived from another source without indicating the source is also plagiarism. A close paraphrase may also be considered plagiarism - even if the source is named. Submitting another student's work as though it were your own is always plagiarism - even if the original paper has been paraphrased or otherwise modified. If you are in doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism, you are encouraged to consult with the instructor. Any student suspected of plagiarism will have the suspect passage pointed out to him/her and will be given an opportunity to explain why it should not be regarded as plagiarism. Depending on the severity of the infraction, penalties for plagiarism include 1) receiving a reduced grade for the assignment 2) redoing the assignment on a different topic 3) receiving a failing grade for the assignment, or 4) receiving a failing grade for the course. Students who are dissatisfied with the instructor's decision in such a case may - without prejudice - refer the matter to the attention of the department chair, the college dean, the provost and academic vice president, and/or the university Conduct Board, as described in the Student Rights and Regulations Handbook.

Late Assignment Policy
My policy on late work is to deduct 1/2 letter grade each day from the due date with exceptions only for medical or bereavement situations.  Please contact me if you have an exception.

Citation Style
Please use Chicago Manual of Style as your citation style for the completion of assignments.
 

January 2010