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Library News for the Faculty |
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Spring 2001
In This Issue:
SciFinder® Scholar 2000 Offers EnhancementsSciFinder Scholar 2000, released last fall by Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), offers UCLA users several enhancements. Scholar 2000 adds access to 11 million records from OLDMEDLINE and MEDLINE for searching in conjunction with 16 million Chemical Abstracts CAPlus Using CAS's ChemPort connection supported by California Digital Library (CDL) programming, Scholar 2000 also provides access to CDL-licensed e-journals in the California Periodicals Titles database. By clicking on the Full Text icon in the banner, UC users link to full text for Wiley and Elsevier e-journals, for example. For articles published from 1999 forward, answer sets include hyperlinks from journal article references to corresponding CAPlus or MEDLINE records. Full text for references that display a computer icon are also retrievable from CAS's ChemPort connection. To access these new features, UCLA faculty, students, and staff need to install the Scholar 2000 client (MS Windows or Apple Macintosh) or upgrade existing Scholar 3.0 clients. Both the new client and the upgrade can be downloaded from the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Web site at <http://dirac.chem.ucla.edu/scifind>. The Web site also includes a useful links section with searching tips, hardware and software requirements, and importing data to EndNote, ProCite, and Reference Manager. CDL recently completed renegotiations with CAS for a slight increase in ports for 2001. Users are reminded to log off after completing their searches, since ports are still limited and shared among the UC campuses. SciFinder Scholar is accessible nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week; the system is unavailable from 3 p.m. PST on Saturdays to 5 a.m. PST on Sundays. If you have questions regarding SciFinder Scholar, contact Marion Peters in the Science & Engineering Library by email at <mpeters@library.ucla.edu> or by phone at extension 50190. Billing Resumed for Overdue ItemsAfter a hiatus during the implementation of ORION2, the Library has resumed sending notices of overdue materials and producing replacement bills for unreturned items. Users will receive notification of materials more than 28 days overdue and will be asked to renew or return them before a replacement bill is produced 30 days later. Replacement bills include the replacement cost for the item and a processing fee. Once a replacement bill has been issued, a $10 non-cancelable portion of the processing fee will be charged for each item even if the item is returned. Users can renew their own materials by using the renewal feature within My Account on ORION2 at <http://orion2.library.ucla.edu>. Users can also renew materials by calling the telephone renewal number at 310/825-9188, by email to <url-circ@library.ucla.edu> (please include your library account number), or in person at any campus library. The Library expects to introduce electronic mail notices later this year. CDL's Melvyl Catalog To Be ReplacedEx Libris, a worldwide supplier of software solutions and related services for libraries and information centers, has been the apparent successful bidder for the contract for replacement of the Melvyl Union Catalog technology. One of the California Digital Library's major components, the Melvyl Catalog provides access to materials cataloged by the libraries of the nine UC campuses, the California State Library, and the Center for Research Libraries. The mainframe computer technology supporting the system is approaching the end of its useful life and requires replacement to fully meet present and future information access needs. The Ex Libris ALEPH 500 system will provide several new features that do not currently exist in the Melvyl Catalog while not losing any significant functionality found in the current system. Examples include a combined book and periodicals database, call number searching, multilingual character support, a general keyword search, and better options for sorting search results. The current goal is to have the new system fully functional by Fall 2002. Updates on the implementation will appear in future issues of Library News for the Faculty. Link from PubMed to E-JournalsUsers conducting searches in PubMed, a bibliographic database service of the National Library of Medicine, will now find links next to citations of articles that appear in journals for which UCLA has an electronic subcription. The link appears as the blue and gold UCLA logo. There are two methods to make the logo appear adjacent to relevant citations: either change the display to "Abstract" after conducting a search, or set up a Cubby, which is PubMed's current awareness and updating service. For assistance with this new PubMed feature, consult with staff at the Biomedical Library reference desk or through email at <biomed-ref@library.ucla.edu>. New Digital Collections Focus on Popular Music and HealthThe UCLA Library Digital Projects Initiative has recently completed prototypes of two Web-based digital collections: The Archive of Popular American Music (APAM) and Nutrition Bytes. APAM (<http://digital.library.ucla.edu/apam>), a selection of sheet music and covers from the vast popular music holdings of the Music Library, is designed to give scholars and enthusiasts direct access to both popular sheet music and the commercial art that accompanied its publication. In the next stage, to be completed in June 2001, users will be able to listen to digital versions of historic performances of the songs from this Web site. Nutrition Bytes (<http://digital.library.ucla.edu/nutritionbytes>), a publication containing the best papers submitted by first-year students enrolled in the UCLA School of Medicine, is the Digital Library Initiative's first experiment in managing a locally produced journal. More than 60 articles selected by the faculty of UCLA's Human Biochemistry and Nutrition Laboratory provide a clinical perspective on a diet or nutrition topic. Examples include the beneficial effects of echinacea and St. John's wort and whether ginseng can really prevent cancer. Further information on the UCLA Library Digital Projects Initiative is available at <http://digital.library.ucla.edu>. Faculty members with questions or suggestions of possible projects should contact Howard Batchelor, digital library coordinator, by email at <howardb@library.ucla.edu> or by phone at extension 57657. Web Evaluation/Using the Web for Research SessionsDuring Winter Quarter 2001 Esther Grassian, a librarian in the College Library, led an information literacy update for Technology TAs on locating, evaluating, and citing Internet resources. The TAs came from many different disciplines, ranging from applied linguistics to Italian to chemical engineering to mathematics. The session began with "Hoax...," a Web evaluation exercise available on the College Library Web site at <http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/hoax/index.htm>. This Web site guides students through an exercise in evaluating the objectivity and value of information sources on the Web. Grassian then introduced the TAs to three free research sites listed on the College Library's Sample WWW Sites page at <http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/websamplesites/index.htm>: ICYouSee: What Can You Do on the WORLD WIDE WEB That is Actually Useful? at <http://www.ithaca.edu/library/Training/useful.html>; The English Server at the University of Washington at <http://eserver.org>; and REESWeb: Russian and East European Studies at <http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/reesweb>. She also reminded participants of many free and licensed databases available through the UCLA Library Web site, including AskERIC (educational resources), PubMed (medicine and related topics), Internet Movie Database (movies and television programs; actors, actresses, and directors), Encyclopedia Americana (general encyclopedia), Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (newspaper and magazine articles), Ethnic NewsWatch (newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority. and native press), and Literature OnLine (English and American literature). Grassian addressed the question of how to identify quality research sites by showing the TAs the Librarians' Index to the Internet at <http://lii.org/>, which features sites handpicked and reviewed by a librarian. She also showed the group the UCLA Library's Asian Studies Web site, which lists a broad range of materials identified and selected by Asian Studies Bibliographer Catherine Lee. The session ended with references to how to cite Internet resources and an example of how to cite Web pages: Olsen, Erica. "Thwart Not the Librarian!" During the Spring Quarter 2001, Grassian will teach a similar session for a group of German, French, and Italian TAs. If you or your department would like to schedule an information literacy update focused on your department's interests, please contact Patti Caravello (YRL Reference & Instructional Services) by phone at extension 64322 or by email at <patti@library.ucla.edu> or contact Esther Grassian (College Library) at extension 64410 or by email at <mailto:estherg@library.ucla.edu>. New YRL Reference and Instructional Services DebutsThe new Reference and Instructional Services (RIS) unit has opened in the Charles E. Young Research Library (YRL). This consolidation of the former Reference Department and Henry J. Bruman Library, Maps and Government Information (MGI) makes more resources and services available to users at a single service point. RIS offers reference services and resources in the areas of the social sciences, humanities, government information, and maps. The primary location of RIS is on the first floor of YRL, in the area formerly occupied by the Reference Department. Materials in this area are available during all hours YRL is open. The Geographic Information Systems Resource Center, which features hardware and software to enter, manipulate, analyze, and output data that can be represented spatially, is also located here. During the spring quarter reference services in this location are available in person 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Specialized assistance with map reference questions is available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment. Telephone reference service for maps and government information is available at extension 53135 and for humanities and social sciences at extension 51323. Email reference service is available at <yrl-ref@library.ucla.edu>. The secondary location of RIS is on Level A of YRL, in the space formerly occupied by MGI. During the spring quarter it is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. This location contains the Henry J. Bruman Map Collection and less frequently used reference materials. This move marks the first phase in the physical consolidation of the two units' holdings, which will be completed as soon as possible. Locations listed in ORION2 for MGI and YRL Reference materials that have been moved may not reflect the new location immediately; check the "Notes" column at the far right of the holdings table in an item’s record for further details on its location or ask the staff at the RIS public service desk. For further information visit the Web site at <http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/url/referenc/index.htm>. UC to Study Use of Print, Digital JournalsThe University of California has received a $670,000, two-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to study how scholars use and libraries can integrate and preserve scholarly journals that are published in both print and digital formats. The study will involve removing from libraries selected print journals for which electronic access is provided and placing the corresponding print volumes in storage. Researchers will then gather data, including cost and usage figures, for both formats of the selected journals and will study user attitudes and preferences when the primary use of the journals is through the electronic versions. Participation in the study is voluntary for all libraries on the nine campuses. Individual libraries that decide to participate choose from either the experimental group (removes print journals, which it selects; gathers usage data) or the control group (does not remove print journals; gathers usage data). The project, which began in January 2001, has three overlapping phases: consultation and preparation (six months); relocation of selected journals and data gathering (12 months); and evaluation of strategies, policies, and programs for archiving and managing both collections (12 months). The experiment is reversible, if results warrant. The study's advisory structure is headed by a steering committee chaired by Brian Schottlaender, university librarian at UCSD, with members including faculty and other university librarians. The research advisory committee is chaired by Gary Lawrence, UC's director of library planning and policy development, and comprised of faculty members from a number of library schools. And the operations advisory committee, chaired by Cecily Johns, associate university librarian at UCSB, includes representatives from each campus. The UC system is particularly well suited to conduct this study for a number of reasons. There is a strong collaborative environment among the system's libraries, and the study can take advantage of the thousands of electronic journals available system-wide through the California Digital Library. Also, two off-site storage facilities for less frequently used materials already exist. And with some 60,000 additional students added to enrollments in the next ten years and limited opportunities to construct new library buildings, the study is both necessary and timely. For further information on the UCLA Library's participation in this study, contact Cynthia Shelton, associate university librarian for collections and technical services, by phone at 51201 or by email at <cshelton@library.ucla.edu>. Library Study Assesses Students' Information CompetenceThe UCLA Library's Instructional Services Advisory Committee recently completed the report on a study it conducted to assess the information competence of UCLA undergraduates. Following is the executive summary from the report, which was presented at the annual conference of the Association for College and Research Libraries in March 2001. To obtain a copy of the full report, contact Patti Caravello by phone at extension 54332 or by email at <mailto:patti@library.ucla.edu>. Librarians have long had anecdotal evidence that undergraduates do not possess adequate information skills for some of the coursework they are required to complete. To obtain an objective measure of their information competence, the UCLA Library's Instructional Services Advisory Committee (ISAC) conducted an assessment project. The committee created a list of competencies and a survey instrument, which was administered to a sample of 453 undergraduates in Spring 1999. This report explains the research problem and methodology, explores the findings and conclusions of the research project, and makes recommendations based on the data. The main goal of the project was to identify ways to make library instruction more effective at UCLA. A practical objective was to obtain data to use in discussions with faculty about students' information and research skills, the impact of those abilities on students' coursework, and the potential of library instruction to improve them. The instrument ISAC created sought to measure how skillful or knowledgeable students were in general with library resources, online searching, and information-seeking concepts, rather than to assess the efficacy of existing library instructional programs. The instrument was vetted in several ways over the course of the project and was administered in a non-course-related classroom setting to a broad sample of students. A data analyst from the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) oversaw the coding of data and performed several types of analysis on it to test hypotheses and verify significant findings. Results indicate many gaps in students' understanding of resources and methods, which are discussed in detail in the report. The general level of information literacy as assessed by the instrument was low. Statistically significant findings based on an analysis of average scores and student demographics are:
The mean scores of students who reported having had a high quantity of library instruction or tours were also analyzed. Although these students did not score significantly higher on the test, two thirds of them had their library classes or tours in high school; the number who had the sessions in college was so small that the result for this variable is not particularly meaningful. Based on the results of this project and the collective experience of committee members, ISAC has made several recommendations aimed at the goal of increasing information competence. Library staff should share the key findings with faculty and create a dialogue about the information competence of their students. This might include discovering how faculty view students' information skills and exploring the effect of increased library use on information competence. Library staff should work with faculty and academic departments to define, adopt, and promote sets of basic and discipline- or major-oriented competencies; these should be used to develop library instruction that is part of a curriculum-integrated information literacy program. The Library should take a more systematic approach to instructional initiatives - which may include Web-based instruction, course-integrated instruction, courses, and remote learning mechanisms. Areas for further research and recommendations about the use of the instrument are also included in the report. Upcoming EventsCampbell Student Book Collection Award Ceremony UCLA English Professor Eric Jager will speak at the ceremony, which recognizes undergraduate and graduate students who have assembled and organized book collections and offers a total of $2050 in prizes. Jager's most recent book is The Book of the Heart, which presents a perspective on the influence of the book as artifact on our language and culture. Powell Library Music Series: Music of the Philippines UCLA ethnomusicology students studying the music of the Philippines present a few styles of music from these islands, including kulintang, a gong ensemble and rondalla, which uses string instruments similar to mandolins. Powell Library Music Series: Trailer Park This Anglo American ensemble focuses on American old time, folk, and bluegrass as well as Irish and Celtic music, played on instruments including banjos, fiddles, guitar, dulcimers, mandolin, tin whistles, and the musical saw. Powell Library Music Series: Music Humana Entitled "Jews in the Italian Renaissance: Music and Readings," this musical picture explores dialogue and exchange, separate and shared musical territories, and problems of representation between Jewish and Catholic cultures and composers in Renaissance Italy. |
