Rusty Kimball

Comparative Usage of Science E-book and Print Collections at Texas A&M University Libraries

This study compares usage figures between equivalent e-books and print books owned by the Texas A&M University Libraries in the physical sciences and technology. For NetLibrary, the top 10 science e-books were used over six times more than the print books, and the top 10 chemistry e-books were used over three times more than their print counterparts. For ebrary, the top 17 science e-books were used at least 17 times more than the same print books. In Safari, the top 10 computer science e-books were used 207 times more than their print counterparts. Usage statistics such as these can help librarians make informed e-book purchase decisions, especially in times of retrenchment.

Revisiting an Abandoned Practice: The Death and Resurrection of Collection Development Policies

Academic libraries have a long tradition of endorsing and creating written collection development policies to communicate, both internally and externally, their dynamic collection practices. As revealed by a literature search, academic libraries, over time, appear to have abandoned this practice. This article documents how Texas A&M University Libraries embraced the ambitious task of resurrecting written collection development policies and, as part of this process, assessed the current state of collection development, systematically planned for future collection growth, and identified emerging fields of research requiring additional collection support. This process also undertook the integration of collection development into the organizational culture of the libraries. Reflecting on this process, the authors present the case for creating and maintaining written collection development policies in academic libraries.

Tenure support mechanisms provided by the Faculty Research Committee at Texas A&M University Libraries: A model for academic libraries

Purpose – The Research Committee at Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries provides a model of tenure support that includes funding of research projects and an annual Research Forum. The purpose of this article is to review these support mechanisms and their outcomes. An argument for the benefit of such a model is presented.Design/methodology/approach – Tenure support provided by the Research Committee and the broader supportive environment in which it functions is described. Each supported project was reviewed to determine its outcome (publication or conference presentation).Findings – This model of support benefits tenure‐track librarians at Texas A&M University Libraries.Practical implications – This model of support would likely benefit other academic libraries that require librarians to engage in scholarly communication. Thus this paper should be of interest to academic librarians and to library managers seeking to enhance tenure support for their faculty librarians.Originality/value – Much of the lit...

The TULSA Petroleum Abstracts Database: A Comparison of Two Platforms

Until recently, the database TULSA Petroleum Abstracts has been available to academic libraries with essentially the same interface and features that are provided to its primary users in the petroleum industry. A comparative analysis of the database is presented between the Dialog platform and the recently introduced EBSCO platform. Detailed comparisons are given in the areas of general features, search features, display options, retrieval options, and search results algorithms, thus allowing academic libraries to make informed purchase decisions. Considering the substantial number of petroleum engineering college departments and related programs in the world and the present state of the economy, the information presented is significant.

The GeoRef Database: A Detailed Comparison and Analysis of Three Platforms

A detailed comparative analysis of three platforms of the geoscience database GeoRef is presented. Detailed comparisons are presented in the areas of general features, search features, display options, retrieval options, and search results algorithms for the GeoRef platforms produced by OvidSP, EBSCO, and Engineering Village. These platforms prove to be comparable in many respects. The remaining noncomparable features are contrasted as strengths and weaknesses, allowing academic libraries to make informed purchase decisions.

Journal Overlap Analysis of the GeoRef and Web of Science Databases

ABSTRACT A journal overlap analysis was performed between the academic library databases GeoRef and Web of Science using Microsoft Excel with a third-party add-in for matching data in spreadsheets. The analysis determined that there were 555 journal titles common to both databases and that 4.13 percent of the 13,437 GeoRef journals were found in Web of Science, and 2.84 percent of the 19,489 Web of Science journals were indexed in GeoRef. This small percentage of geology journal coverage in Web of Science indicates that the use of this database would best be limited to lower-undergraduate assignments of geology students. This method of journal overlap analysis is fast and easy and can benefit both subject librarians and collection development departments.

Journal Overlap of the Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts and Web of Science Databases

ABSTRACT A journal overlap analysis was performed between the academic library databases Meteorological & Geoastrophysical Abstracts (MGA) and Web of Science. This overlap analysis determined that there are 1263 serial titles common to both Web of Science and MGA with a full 87 percent of the 1447 MGA journals/serials indexed in Web of Science. In all, 5.47 percent of Web of Science journals are indexed in MGA. The size of this overlap may have potential implications for library collections.

Profiles in Science for Science Librarians: Profile of Geologist Walter Alvarez

Geologist Walter Alvarez is a scientist best known for his 1980 publication of evidence that a comet or large asteroid collided with the earth 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period and ultimately caused numerous mass extinctions, including that of the dinosaurs. He has made other significant contributions to science, including to the areas of European plate tectonics and to the age of reversals of the earth’s magnetic field.

Profiles in Science for Science Librarians: Recent Top Award-Winning Geoscientists

Several awards are given in areas of the geosciences that are thought to be the highest honors in their field and generally considered to parallel the Nobel Prize. In atmospheric science, the highest award is the Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal given by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The 2012 winner is John C. Wyngaard. For oceanography, the highest award is the Alexander Agassiz Medal, awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. The 2010 winner is Sallie W. Chisholm. For geology, the highest award is the Vetlesen Prize. The 2012 prize was split between climate scientists Susan Solomon and Jean Jouzel.

Profiles in Science for Science Librarians: Wallace Broecker

Wallace Broecker is thought to be one of the greatest living geoscientists. During his fifty-plus year career at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in Palisades, New York, he has been very prolific and is a highly cited geoscientist. Broecker is probably best known for his theory of global ocean circulation, a “great ocean conveyor” that transports a significant amount of heat around the globe that can also trigger abrupt shifts in world climate. He unintentionally coined the phrase global warming in the title of one of his many papers and is very active to this day. His diverse research areas include paleoclimatology, environmental science, ocean chemistry, isotope geochemistry, and geochronology. Broecker is the winner of most of the awards in his field, including the Crafoord Prize in Geosciences.