Emerging Issues in the Electronic Environment: Challenges for Librarians and Researchers in the Sciences

by Jeannie P Miller

Overview

Explore the issues that are changing user/librarian interactions in today’s evolving electronic libraries

This book examines the rapid advances in technology and scientific discovery that have changed the way sci/tech library users seek information—changes which have also necessitated increasingly high levels of skill in information technology and advanced subject knowledge from librarians. From negotiating the intricacies of working with e-journals to simplifying the data collection process, anyone involved in allocating library resources or prioritizing research agendas will find relevant, useful information here, as will those involved in library education.

Emerging Issues in the Electronic Environment: Challenges for Librarians and Researchers in the Sciences begins with "Scientific Communication: New Roles and New Players," a detailed examination of the evolution of the information-seeking behavior of scientists, from the days of print-based resources to today’s electronic media. Next, you’ll find techniques designed to maximize the ability of scientists to make "lucky" connections in their electronic search for information in "Too Important to be Left to Chance: Serendipity and the Digital Library."

Four chapters in Emerging Issues in the Electronic Environment bring you up-to-date information on various aspects of working with e-journals:

• "For Better or Worse: The Joys and Woes of E-Journals," investigates the impact of electronic-only journal holdings on collection development decisions and the accompanying issues of archiving, economics, content, and research use
• "Scan It and They Will Come . . . But Will They Cite It?" provides citation data on the usefulness and impact of retrospective digitization projects for journal contents
• "The Use of Online Supplementary Material in High-Impact Scientific Journals" raises vital questions as to whether the print or electronic article should be regarded as the primary archival resource
• "Challenges and Opportunities for Bibliometrics in the Electronic Environment: The Case of the Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science" investigates how issues of access, copyright, and fair use, as well as differences among online file formats may impact bibliometric analysis

Two chapters in Emerging Issues in the Electronic Environment are designed to help simplify the data collection process.

• "Information Overload: Keeping Current Without Being Overwhelmed" will show you how to identify needed sources by using current awareness services and e-mail filtering technologies
• "The Impact of Electronic Bibliographic Databases and Electronic Journal Articles on the Scholar’s Information Seeking Behavior and Personal Collection of Reprints" reviews organizational methods for managing large collections of electronic articles.

In addition, this forward-thinking book contains four chapters that point out possible avenues for increased librarian-facilitated service to users:

• "Biology Databases for the New Life Sciences" discusses the new sequence, microarray, and protein structure databases, the emergence of bioinformatics, and the opportunities available to librarians in this developing area
• "Map and Spatial Data Acquisitions in the Electronic Age" shows how the traditionally complicated and time-consuming process of acquiring cartographic information can be simplified by efficient use of the Internet
• "Webinar Technology: Applications in Libraries" reviews the operation, application, and features of Webinars and compares this technology with Web tutorials, virtual reference, and courseware management systems, videoconferencing, and Webcasting
  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789025784
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/07/2005
Series:	A Monograph Published Simultaneously As Science and Technology Libraries Series
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	8.38(w) x 6.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

• Introduction (Jeannie P. Miller)
• Scientific Communication: New Roles and New Players (Julie M. Hurd)
• Too Important to Be Left to Chance—Serendipity and the Digital Library (Elizabeth B. Cooksey)
• For Better or Worse: The Joys and Woes of E-Journals (Linda L. Eells)
• Scan It and They Will Come . . . But Will They Cite It? (Michael Fosmire)
• The Use of Online Supplementary Material in High-Impact Scientific Journals (Thomas Schaffer and Kathy M. Jackson)
• Challenges and Opportunities for Bibliometrics in the Electronic Environment: The Case of the Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science (Tony L. Bremholm)
• Information Overload: Keeping Current Without Being Overwhelmed (Patrick Sullivan)
• The Impact of Electronic Bibliographic Databases and Electronic Journal Articles on the Scholar’s Information-Seeking Behavior and Personal Collection of "Reprints" (Robert B. McGeachin)
• Biology Databases for the New Life Sciences (Katherine S. Chiang)
• Map and Spatial Data Acquisitions in the Electronic Age (Joanne M. Perry)
• The Virtual Patron (Lesley M. Moyo)
• Webinar Technology: Application in Libraries (Karen J. Docherty and Angi Herold Faiks)
• Preserving Digital Libraries: Determining "What?" Before Deciding "How?" (Jean Marie Deken)
• Index
• Reference Noted Included
  

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: David A. Nolfi, MLS, AHIP (Duquesne University)
Description: The authors of this book chronicle the changes in scientific communication from a print to electronic model and examine the resulting challenges and opportunities. The 13 articles and introduction comprising this book were copublished simultaneously as Science & Technology Libraries, Volume 25, Numbers 1/2, 2004.
Purpose: Recognizing that science libraries are jumping head first into the new world of electronic publishing, the editor strives to inspire thinking and new research on how technology changes scientists' behaviors. Since increasingly large portions of library budgets are devoted to electronic resource subscriptions, examining electronic publishing's effects on the research process is essential and timely.
Audience: Although the primary audience is librarians, scientists too will benefit from the close examination of how electronic publishing changes methods of communication, discovery, and information dissemination. As science librarians and scientists, the authors are uniquely qualified to examine these issues from theoretical and practical perspectives.
Features: This book provides a worthwhile introduction to the issues facing any librarian supporting today's researchers. Its greatest contribution is its emphasis that librarians must continually update their assumptions and practices in order to meet researchers' changing needs in this evolving world. The authors make clear that the electronic publishing model affords librarians new ways of interacting with researchers as well as new methods for measuring the library's impact. Librarians who fail to actively embrace these changes and develop new ways to add value face the risk of being left behind.
Assessment: Emerging Issues in the Electronic Environment provides a worthwhile introduction to the issues facing any librarian supporting today's researchers. This work's greatest contribution is its emphasis that librarians must continually update their assumptions and practices in order to meet researchers' changing needs in this evolving world. The authors make clear that the electronic publishing model affords librarians new ways of interacting with researchers as well as new methods for measuring the library's impact. Librarians who fail to actively embrace these changes and develop new ways to add value face the risk of being left behind.

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