Scientific and Technical Information Services

Organization

Space

Services may be virtual [delivered to the desktop] or they may be physical [delivered within a particular place]. At the moment, STM libraries or information centers are in a rapid transition from being seen as a place where services are provided to those who enter the doors to virtual space that provides services 24/7 no matter where you are. Some services may be better provided within a designated environment IF that environment is convenient, comfortable, and open when needed.

Which library services will be most effective if housed in a traditional library building? Which services, if any, require a physical library to be effective?

Traditionally, library services have been housed with the collections needed to support them. One advantage/disadvantage of traditional STM collections was that most of the materials in the stacks were periodicals or annuals and these could be placed in storage collections fairly quickly since STM content often dates quickly. With the replacement of print backfiles by digital ones, the space requirements for access to content has been dramatically reduced. This means that services need not be housed next to collections. Thus, the STM services might well be moved into a relatively small space in the same building where the STM students and faculty or the STM researchers and staff are housed. Although a bit of a challenge, this would allow for a much more effective integration of research, instruction, and information provision.

While libraries have long provided user space, it was typically in large and often somewhat uncomfortable rooms. The recent trend emphasizes smaller, more comfortable rooms suitable for group work. Many of these rooms include the needed hardware and software to prepare and view group presentations. Reservable rooms as well as designated quiet areas are an essential part of the contemporary STM library space. Increasingly, some librarians see the library as a place where information users share and meet with others to solve common problems. Thus, it is important to provide food and drink as well as exhibits, events, and group space.

If you were designing a 21st Century STM library or information center, how much space would you need and for what? Would it make sense to move the service operations to the site where the users are most likely to be found?

Another way of considering space is to begin with the space of actual and potential users. Where do the live? Where do they spend their time? How close are they to the physical library? What incentives would encourage them to come to the library?

Discipline specific

A traditional model for the STM library is the departmental library. Thus, there would be a separate library for each STM department. For example, the geology library would be located in the geology building. The library would be relatively small, really a working collection, with no more than one or two librarians. Students and faculty could easily drop in between classes. In fact, faculty offices would probably be just down the hall. The advantage is that the librarians become an integral part of the geology community and the users see the library as an essential component of their educational/research experience. The major disadvantage is that each discipline specific collection is isolated from others, a terrible barrier when more and more disciplines have become inter-disciplinary. There is also a substantial cost in duplication of content that will be needed by more than one discipline. Typically, small departmental libraries are open fewer hours and have fewer services than would be found in a central library. A serious problem is that there is never enough space as academic departments grow so some departmental libraries have been evicted from their space to make way for offices or class rooms. Nevertheless, this is the most popular model [at least pre library 2.0].

Discipline cluster

The discipline cluster model is one step up from the departmental model. Here related disciplines are housed together. Michigan State has a biomedical and physical sciences library that includes:

• Biochemistry and physical sciences
• Chemistry
• Microbiology and molecular genetics
• Physics and astronomy
• Physiology.

In another example, an engineering library would include the several types of engineering. A life sciences library would include all of the life sciences. A medical library would include the various aspects of medicine as well as the allied health professions. This model reduces some of the costs associated with the departmental library while increasing access to related materials and reducing duplication. Fewer libraries also reduce staffing costs as well as space costs.

Integrated

The integrated model eliminates departmental libraries entirely so that all collections and services are housed in one large facility. This is the most economical model and seems better suited to a world of multi-disciplinary and mission-oriented research where scientific and social science research content are both needed for problem-solving research.

Virtual

Although yet to be realized, the virtual STM library or information center could be housed anywhere and need be visited only by those who maintain the servers and other IT services. Since collections and services are provided digitally, even those who provide intervention, assistance, and instruction could be in a variety of locations [even at home]. This model with its low space requirement could allow for the rebirth of departmental services with the STM library housed in an office in the departmental or research space.

Which sort of STM library makes sense to you?

Access Services

Half-life

Half-life is used "to measure the rate of radioactive decay of disintegration. The time lapse during which a radioactive mass loses one half of its radioactivity." When applied to the scientific literature, half-life is how long it takes for the literature to lose one half of its use. For some scientific literatures, the half-life is as short as five or six years. This means that STM collections become obsolete rather quickly. It also means that if collections are limited to items likely to be used and useful, the collections may be weeded regularly so that there will be a fairly small current collection and a much larger retrospective collection. Of course, with digital full-text databases, shelf space is no longer a concern. Other problems too are eliminated such as mutilation, theft, and the need for duplicate copies. In science, information cumulates quickly so that there is relatively little need for older content.

Collections

Local collections Active

Because STM content, especially the periodicals, are notably expensive, they represent a substantial expense. In many academic libraries, the cost of STM  serial content has substantially reduced the funding available for book purchases so important to disciplines in the humanities and some of the social sciences. The heart of the local STM collection has been the periodical collection and then the reference collection of expensive handbooks and other series. Because of the cost, few users would purchase their own copy of needed content. While the shape of the collection remains the same, the full-text databases have replaced the periodical subscriptions so that most libraries and information agencies no longer own current STM content. Instead, it is leased on an annual basis with use varying according to the licensing agreement. Thus, ownership of content is notably different today than before. Some libraries have been successful in negotiating licensing agreements that allow the library to retain content for the years when the license was active.

Besides periodicals and reference works [especially dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks and companions], standards [both domestic and foreign] are important in engineering libraries and some science libraries. Some science libraries will also have consumer science collections to promote science literacy.

Although relatively new and not very successful, the institutional repository hosted by the library or the information center is both an important opportunity and a challenge. Given the importance of preservation and intellectual access, it makes sense that the library would be the logical host for an institutional repository. This gives the library an important new role in collecting and making available both STM data and also the resulting research products.

Although more popular in technology disciplines than science ones, collections of digital books, often of the handbook type are increasingly popular since they answer many relatively quick "how do I" questions.

Local collections Inactive

While libraries have long housed retrospective collections and some academic libraries have housed institutional archives, growing interest in institutional repositories or digital archives have increased interest in digital content management for a variety of types of content including research data [data archives], drafts of research papers [eprints], and the final research publication. This is an expensive, challenging responsibility and not all librarians are eager to assume the burden. Still, it represents a substantial opportunity for information professionals to work with engineers and scientists to insure that their work is and will be intellectually and physically accessible.

Distant collections [ILL]

To some extent, the digital databases, especially in research extensive corporate and academic environments, have replaced the need for ILL. At the same time, government agencies, foundations, and some corporations have made substantial collections of technical reports available on the Internet. Institutional repositories and individual researcher websites have also increased access to research results and, to some degree, to the research data. Most of the STM content made available to researchers actually comes from distant servers so distant collections are increasingly the norm. Note that with leased collections there are no "first sale rights."

How might STM collections differ from those supporting non-STM subjects?

Alerting services

While libraries and information centers have long circulated new books lists and journal issues received, IT software allows a more personalized or individualized approach, often beginning with a personalized user library home page rather like the Google home page where the user can select links to those sources of immediate interest for one stop shopping. A science library might include a summary of world news along with a summary of science news as a broader context for the alerting effort.

STM special libraries pioneered "systematic dissemination of information" many years ago. This was the first major use of an alerting service which matched the researcher's current interests with incoming scientific content. The matching and alerting can now be done much easier with computer assistance. The basic outline is simple. The researcher, using standard subject headings, identifies a small number of terms, that concern him or her. The library tags incoming materials or uses existing tags that accompany the content and alert the researcher whenever there is a match. Some databases allow users to establish such profiles and be notified when a "hit" is added to the database.

Alerting services may range from the general such as new books, new databases, new websites  [website of the month or similar] or similar within the broader discipline to alerting services that are tailored to individual preferences. The later is more likely to be found in a corporate environment. Users are fond of altering services that provide a reasonable amount of individualization. Since info glut is a problem everywhere, filtering services are valuable and save much user time and effort. The better alerts would likely contain some evaluative information so they also function as brief reviews rather than just an announcement.

RSS feeds and blogs [they often have RSS feeds too] are popular ways to alert users to new services and items in the collection. Since they are "pushed" to the user [read on a news reader], little user effort is required to keep up. Blogs have an advantage of providing an opportunity for commentary and interaction, provoking user interest in scientific, scholarly communication issues. A few academic libraries will also use a wiki to provide access to relevant information.

A very few libraries are using social networking approaches to create subject guides or even add user-provided subject headings to the catalog.

Which alerting services would you find most useful [as a student, as a faculty member, as a researcher]?

Instructional Services

In the olden days, "bibliographic" instruction was often used for this activity. That seems less appropriate today so "library" instruction is more popular. Still, it may be better to consider alternative labels since what is needed is not instruction in how to use the "library," but rather instruction in effective use of complex secondary sources.

The most visible instructional effort in the traditional library was the guide or the pathfinder providing a short list of recommended sources along with tips/suggestions on what to do first, second, and so on. Nearly all STM libraries, especially in academe, have digital versions of these guides on their websites and they constitute a form of de facto instruction. In a science and engineering library, guides would be available for astronomy through zoology. In an astronomy library, guides would be available for sub-disciplines or specific research areas.

Clearly, as reference questions decline rapidly, as fewer users actually walk through library doors, the importance of the teacher - librarian becomes much more visible. The evidence is also overwhelming that instruction works best when available exactly when needed.

Instruction may be:

1. Just there as in a tip of the week feature on the library home page
2. Point of use
3. Class room [or corporate equivalent] away from library or information center.
   
4. Library class room where workshops or classes are presented [usually on effective use of a particular product].
   

A variety of formats may be used for point of use instruction including hard copy and digital guides and pathfinders as well as online tutorials including real time assessments of understanding and competence. While podcasts are normally associated with STM faculty, library faculty may use audio or a-v podcasts for a variety of orientation and instructional instruction moments.

Typically, workshops or seminars focus on applying new technologies or new content sources such as a new database. There is increased emphasis on skill-based rather than tool-based subjects.

Course management systems

Most colleges and universities provide course management systems [BlackBoard is an example] that allow teachers to integrate a wide variety of instructional content and techniques. Part of this integration is the inclusion of relevant content on the site devoted to a particular course or section. Ideally, and increasingly done, library resources including digital reserves, would be accessed from the course page. This means that the student would not need to go to the library website but would simply click on a link available on BB and go directly to the relevant content or resource. The good news is that this allows for tight integration of library resources with instruction. The bad news is that this further discourages students from visiting the physical library.

Creating bibliographies

As more academic libraries acquire site licenses for bibliographic software such as RefWorks, there is a need to provide instruction in how to use the software, how to handle problems related to particular style guides, and how to handle local rules or norms related to the thesis or the dissertation. As more institutions require digital theses and dissertations, this too provides an instructional opportunity.

Information architecture

Although the design of effective, usable websites may be taught in a variety of places on a campus or within a corporation, it is a role that some libraries have assumed. Thus, there are short courses and workshops on design and usability issues as well as more specific topics such as css and xhtml or even effective use of Photoshop or Illustrator or Dreamweaver.

As head of a STM library, what would be your instructional priorities?

Finding & retrieving

Historically, most library instruction focused on how to find, evaluate, and retrieve content to meet a particular need. That need continues today. The number of STM databases has increased notably as has their complexity in many cases. Multi-disciplinary research often requires scientists and engineers to find content beyond their own specialty. Academic science education still neglects instruction in this area. The ideal is for the information professional to partner with the classroom teacher or researcher to provide point-of-use instruction that matches an appropriate and challenging assignment. In many libraries, guides or pathfinders have been created to allow users to have access to instruction whenever it is needed. Some STM libraries have created tutorials for major databases that provide opportunities for users to learn and test their competency.

While walk-in traffic has notably declined, many STM libraries provide "ask-a-librarian service" via the web with IM being particularly popular with undergraduates.  If staffed 24/7, these can be especially popular with those who work in the lab in evenings and weekends and have difficulty in getting to the library.

Normally, the essential digital databases would have highly visible links on the library's home page so that Biological Abstracts would be clearly visible without scrolling on the biology library home page.

Most STM libraries will have guides and pathfinders on particular topics readily available. If well done and highly visible, these may substantially reduce the need for one-on-one reference work as well as group instruction.

Besides technical reports, scientific libraries increasingly provide assistance in finding patents and standards [engineering in particular]. Expensive databases simplify this, but still require time and effort

Although still relatively rare, a few academic libraries allow patron tagging of library content to facilitate access.

Teaching requires both skills and the right manner/style/personality. Some relevant education/training is needed and often it is a notable challenge to persuade faculty or others to provide the time needed for this instruction. Sometimes it is a challenge just to develop a relationship so that the information professional clearly understands instructional goals, objectives, and assignments.

Although rare, a few STM libraries provide consumer science information. For example, a veterinary medicine library provides bibliographies for pet owners and a pet care home page. A general science library provides a directory of useful websites for science fair projects. There are some interesting possibilities here for collaboration between the science library and other non-profit community organizations including public libraries.

Information commons

One of the most popular innovations in the last few years has been the development of the information commons which is a single service point combining IT help desk and reference desk functions. This means that the user can go to one spot to have questions answered that deal with any aspect of information technology as well as finding information on various subjects. Since so much contemporary content is digital, questions on how to print, email, capture digital content are common as are questions about passwords and net connectivity.

It's interesting that several years ago, there was a spurt of articles suggesting that the library and the computing center would merge to form a single information agency. While that has not happened, the information commons validates the notion that IT and other information services are interdependent.

What are the major assets and liabilities of such an arrangement?