Marianne S. Bracke

Librarian Roles in Institutional Repository Data Set Collecting: Outcomes of a Research Library Task Force

The collection development role of the academic librarian in the research university library is increasingly subject to significant change as opportunities to build new types of library collections proliferate, particularly with respect to research data. A Purdue Libraries task force was charged with building faculty-produced collections for a data repository prototype. One purpose of the project was to inventory and characterize the resources and skills required of the libraries and its data-collecting librarians. This paper examines the librarian roles and activities that were identified during the project and suggests ways the experience of the task force can inform the roles and activities of librarians who are similarly charged.

Developing criteria for the withdrawal of print content available online

Purpose – Limited physical and financial resources and changing customer behaviors compelled the University of Arizona Science‐Engineering Library to pursue more flexible collection management options, such as removing print copies of journals as the library purchased the electronic backfiles. The purpose of this paper is to describe a process used at the library to compare electronic journals to their print counterparts.Design/methodology/approach – The librarys approach was to study the electronic content provided through Elseviers ScienceDirect for completeness and quality of text and images. This was to ensure that the removal of print would minimally impact library customers while reclaiming building space that could be better utilized to meet changing customer needs.Findings – The process uncovered the reality that the electronic backfiles were not always adequate substitutes for print copies. In response, it was necessary to open a dialogue with the publisher to share the librarys findings that ...

Emerging Data Curation Roles for Librarians: A Case Study of Agricultural Data

This article discusses ways in which agricultural librarians can transform what they do to meet the emerging needs of scientists for creating data management strategies. Discussion of the Purdue University Libraries’ experience with evolving roles in working with scientists will include required knowledge, training, experimentation, and development of working relationships with scientists involved in the data curation, as well as pitfalls and barriers.

Science and Technology Books on Demand: A Decade of Patron-Driven Collection Development, Part 2

The Purdue University Libraries have been participating in a patron-driven collection development project for 10 years. This analysis focuses on the books purchased in the science and technology areas. The author found that the books were appropriate and in many cases identified emerging or interdisciplinary topics that might have been missed by librarians. In addition, data proved to be a rich source of information for collecting, such as identifying publishers or emerging areas that warranted further attention from selectors. Although not replacing librarians as the major collection developers, patron-driven selection is one successful way to augment collection development.

Some Thoughts on Opportunities for Collection Development Librarians

New and emerging roles are transforming the landscape of academic librarianship. This paper focuses on the changes facing academic librarians whose activities and responsibilities in collections are shifting, particularly in the face of greater emphasis on user-driven collection development. Librarians’ reduced role in routine collection development translates into gaining more time and support to move in other directions. Among many exciting and interesting opportunities, librarians apply their subject expertise in such strategic initiatives as information literacy, research, e-science, digital humanities projects, and collaborative print retention efforts. They can also participate more in campus affairs.

Adding value to digitizing with GIS

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a project that digitized the 1906 Soil Survey of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, extracted its contents into full‐text and geospatial datasets, and then built them into a web application designed to approximate but improve upon the way soil surveys are typically used by soil scientists in their research and field work.Design/methodology/approach – The components of a 1906 soil survey document were scanned and their contents were extracted using several different methods, chief among them imagery segmentation and classification. The resulting datasets included a full‐text version of the original narrative and two georeferenced versions of the soil survey map.Findings – Going several steps beyond just scanning, including the application of geographic information system (GIS) capabilities, adds significant value to geospatial materials whose contents are still relevant but whose formats are cumbersome. In addition, this allows for a GIS platform to which other ma...

Full-Text Online Access to Society for Range Management Journals

Full-text online access to Society for Range Management journals DOI:10.2458/azu_rangelands_v28i1_pfander

Investigating the Needs of Agriculture Scholars: The Purdue Case

ABSTRACT To better understand the complexity of agricultural research, two Purdue University Libraries’ faculty members conducted a series of interviews with subjects from across the College of Agriculture. Interview questions addressed research methodologies and outputs, research data management, primary information resources, and other aspects of the research cycle and the researchers’ professional lives. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using nVivo software. The results are summarized and presented here.

Agriculture/ Graduate Students/ Carlson & Bracke/ Purdue University/ 2014

that they have the knowledge and skills needed to education. Students that do acquire proficiencies on the job and at the problem that information -suited to address (Haendel, et.al., 2012) (Molloy & Snow, Project (Carlson, et.al., 2013) were launched the need for data education. Tools and resources are 1 . And many librarians are offering workshops (Eaker, 2 , or even credit bearing courses (Whitmire, 2013). define what should be taught and what teaching data literacy is their lasting impact the cultures and practices surrounding data : http://library.umassmed.edu/necdmc Marianne Stowell Bracke Purdue University