LS 556: Bibliography of the Sciences
Spring Semester 2010
Instructor: G. Lynn Berard

Description of LS 556: Survey of the literature and practice of librarianship in major areas of the sciences, including biology, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, physics, computer science and general engineering. Prerequisite: LS 500.

Learning Objectives
This course has been designed to enable the student to:

    * understand and have a working knowledge of science and technology library collections and services;
    * to appreciate steps necessary to build, maintain, budget, and manage a science or engineering library;
    * to learn how to communicate with their clientele;
    *  to be familiar with the processes necessary for the purchase of both print and electronic resources towards building a sci-tech collection.

Office Hours
Office Hours will be held every Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to 11a.m. EST.

Lynn Berard,  Principal Librarian, Engineering & Science

Email:  lberard@andrew.cmu.edu
Work Phone:  412-268-2428

 4402 Wean Hall
Engineering & Science Library
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890

I can be reached anytime at lberard@andrew.cmu.edu

Required Materials
Text:  I will be providing reading material written by myself and a co-author for an upcoming textbook that we are writing on Science & Technology Resources  plus a variety of readings in lieu of a formal textbook. I will provide a list of items for you to obtain; many will be available in full text electronic form, others you may need to search for using the Clarion databases or interlibrary loan and when possible, I will provide a PDF.

Course Lectures/Calendar
Session 1: (Week of Jan. 19)    Introduction - Overview of the nature of scientific and technical literature - Information seeking behavior of scientists and engineers - The research and teaching environment in science as it operates in academic, corporate and public libraries - The research information cycle

Session 2: (Week of Jan.25)   Professional societies and their publications

Session 3:   (Week of Feb.1)   Biographical Resources

Session 4:  (Week of Feb.8)   Internet resources, specialized subject databases.

Session 5:  (Week of Feb.15)  Manufacture's literature, handbooks, manuals, almanacs, & encyclopedia's.

Session 6:  (Week of Feb. 22)  Print and Electronic Journals

Session 7:  (Week of March 1)     Reference and information services.

                        *****Winter Break  March 5 to March 14 ****

Session 8:  (Week of March 16)   Personnel Management

Session 9:  (Week of March 22)   Patents and Trademarks.

Session 10:  (Week of March 29)  Technical reports and standards.

Session 11:  (Week of April 5) Current Awareness and Web 2.0 tools

Session 12:   (Week of April 12)  Facilities and Budgets

Session 13:  (Week of April 19) Conferences, Directories and Dissertations.

Session 14:   (Week of April 26)  Technical Reports and Grey Literature
 

Grading
Grades will be based on regular class attendance and active participation in discussions, session assignments, and the completion of the course group project.
Main course project, due May 3rd   20%
Class/Discussion List Participation 35%
Session assignments  45%
TOTAL 100%

Main Course Project – Your Scientist is your Client
Due:  May 3rd

Description:  For the main course project you will be exploring the career of the aspiring scientist you have chosen in our first session and introduced to the class on the Discussion Board.  Your Scientist now becomes your client (customer/patron) and is a researcher in the library community that you serve.  As the information professional that s/he would come to for assistance with locating research resources, your job is to become familiar with their subject area;  provide information on where to find appropriate topical scholarly articles, books, patents, websites, etc.  Be prepared to introduce and train your patron on scientific databases, institutional repositories, open access sites and so on that may point them to materials and connect them to other scientists currently working in their field.  You are their go-to-info-person!

Elements/Sections to cover:


Length:  This paper should be between 5 to 8 pages; double-spaced; may contain links to websites, illustrations, charts, etc as necessary.  The bibliography format is to be Chicago  Manual of Style.  You may upload your final project directly into the Gradebook via the Assignments Tab on Blackboard.

Tips for a successful (and seamless) project:


Special Needs
Students with learning disabilities and/or special physical requirements should make their needs known to the Department for Academic Enrichment and to me. I will make every effort to assist you.

 Contact:  Disability Support Services
 102 Ralston Hall
 Phone: 814-393-2095
Coordinator:  Jennifer May, jmay@clarion.edu

Academic Honesty Policy
Students are expected to follow normal practice in acknowledging the source of facts, ideas, summaries, quotations, and paraphrases used in their written work. Direct quotations must be enclosed in quotation marks and the exact source acknowledged. The use of another's words without attribution and without enclosing the words in quotation marks is plagiarism. Using facts, ideas and summaries derived from another source without indicating the source is also plagiarism. A close paraphrase may also be considered plagiarism - even if the source is named. Submitting another student's work as though it were your own is always plagiarism - even if the original paper has been paraphrased or otherwise modified. If you are in doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism, you are encouraged to consult with the instructor. Any student suspected of plagiarism will have the suspect passage pointed out to him/her and will be given an opportunity to explain why it should not be regarded as plagiarism. Depending on the severity of the infraction, penalties for plagiarism include 1) receiving a reduced grade for the assignment 2) redoing the assignment on a different topic 3) receiving a failing grade for the assignment, or 4) receiving a failing grade for the course. Students who are dissatisfied with the instructor's decision in such a case may - without prejudice - refer the matter to the attention of the department chair, the college dean, the provost and academic vice president, and/or the university Conduct Board, as described in the Student Rights and Regulations Handbook.

Late Assignment Policy
My policy on late work is to deduct 1/2 letter grade each day from the due date with exceptions only for medical or bereavement situations.  Please contact me if you have an exception.

Citation Style
Please use Chicago Manual of Style as your citation style for the completion of assignments.
 

January 2010