Ring the Bell for a Reference Librarian

It is very frustrating to be a reference librarian and just sit at a public service desk and wait for questions.  Summers are especially slow since there are much fewer students taking classes.    For the summer only we are closing the reference desk and placing a door bell for patrons to use if they need assistance.  So far it has worked well.  We can be more productive by staying in our offices.

The 2012 New Jersey Chemistry Olympics was a Great Success

Yesterday 17 high schools participated in the New Jersey Chemistry Olympics which has been held at NJIT since 1985.  Several schools were represented by two teams.  There were 10 competitions that are described at the event's web page.  This year the Co-Directors were Somenath Mitra of NJIT and Natalie Macke of Pascack Hills High School.  All of the students, coaches, judges and volunteers should be congratulated for a job well done.  There are certainly no losers as all students gain by their experience.

As usual I organized the Information Search which had two components:

1. Students were judged on the accuracy of a molecular model of a chemical dye which they constructed before the event.
2. Students used databases on the Internet to answer questions about chemical dyes.

Bergenfield Team B coached by Ara Kahyaoglu won the Information Search.

The big winners of the Chemistry Olympics was River Dell High School coached by Carrie Jacobus seen in the photo below.

 

I am sure that within a few days all of the results will be announced on the event's web page.

More photos from the NJCO sent to me by Grace Woleslagle  may be found at http://bit.ly/PSXSI2 

Stuart Kaback passes away at age 77

Today I also found out that Stuart Kaback, a distinguished patent information specialist, died at his home in Cranford, NJ.  There are obituaries in the

Chemical and Engineering News

Patent information user Group (PIUG) website written by Sandra Unger

I had the pleasure of knowing Stu through the AmericanChemical Society Division of Chemical Information.  He distinguished himself by winning the prestigious Herman Skolnik Award in 1999.  I first met Stu when he gave a talk at the Careers in Chemical Information Workshop at the City University of new York Graduate Center in November 1989. DOI: 10.1021/ed068p43.  In the Spring of 1991 Stu spoke at a similar workshop that I organized at the Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM) at the University of Delaware.

A few years ago I encountered Stu on a New Jersey Transit train as he was on his way to an opera in Manhattan.

He will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and colleagues.  My belated condolences to his family.

Remembering Ellis Mount (1921-2012)

I just found out that Ellis Mount, Professor of Library Science at Columbia University, passed away in Hawaii in January.  Ellis literally “wrote the book on science librarianship.

Mount, Ellis. University Science and Engineering Libraries. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1985. Print

I met Ellis in 1989 when I was a librarian at the New York Public Library Science and Technology Division.  He was editor of Science and Technology Libraries when I submitted a paper about a Chemical Abstracts training session that I gave to NYPL librarians.  In 2000 I became the convener of the METRO Science Librarians SIG  Ellis came to the first several meetings and made a presentation about science libraries and how they have evolved.

SLA is honoring Ellis by offering a scholarship to SLA NY chapter members who are enrolled in one of the New York area schools of library and information science.  More information may be found at http://newyork.sla.org/the-ellis-mount-scholarship-award/

 Short obituary

Tribute by Nancy Panella - Librarian at St. Lukes and Roosevelt Hospital

Selected Bibliography of Books by Ellis Mount

Mount, Ellis, and Beatrice Kovacs. Using Science and Technology Information Sources. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1991. Print.

Mount, Ellis. University Science and Engineering Libraries, Their Operation, Collections, and Facilities. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1975. Print.

Mount, Ellis. University Science and Engineering Libraries. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1985. Print

Mount, Ellis. Opening New Doors: Alternative Careers for Librarians. Washington, D.C: Special Libraries Association, 1993. Print.

Mount, Ellis, and Barbara A. List. Milestones in Science and Technology: The Ready Reference Guide to Discoveries, Inventions, and Facts. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1987. Print.

Mount, Ellis. Special Libraries and Information Centers: An Introductory Text. New York, N.Y: Special Libraries Association, 1983. Print.

Mount, Ellis. Planning the Special Library: A Project of the New York Chapter, Sla. New York: Special Libraries Association, 1972. Print.

Mount, Ellis. Guide to Basic Information Sources in Engineering. New York: Wiley, 1976. Print.

Mount, Ellis. Creative Planning of Special Library Facilities. New York: Haworth Press, 1988. Print

Mount, Ellis. Scientific and Technical Libraries in the Seventies: A Guide to Information Sources. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Co, 1981. Print.

Reading Day at NJIT

Yesterday was the last day of classes at NJIT. Thus, today is the "reading day" meaning that there are no classes or exams scheduled.  There appears to be fewer students on campus.  I assume that many commuting students stay at home to study.  The busiest area of the library is the group study rooms.  At least two students must apply for a room at the circulation desk.  They may have to room for only 3 hours.

I wish we could move all of the bound periodicals on the third floor to a storage facility allowing that space to be used for collaborative study.

Comments on Two Articles About the New York Public Library

There were two recent articles about the New York Public Library. The first one in the Sunday Review of the New York Times is by Edmund Morris, the author of biography of Beethoven, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. I think he is a little too harsh as he describes the “sacking of a palace of culture“. He objects to President Anthony W. Marx’s plan to spend $300 Million to transform the main building to a “palace of presentism.” I do feel that NYPL must move into the future and provide research level journals electronically instead of in print. However, it should preserve its unique collections. The special collections  must never be compromised and not moved from the Schwartman Building. I question if there is enough room in that building for Mid Manhattan and SIBL as stated in the plan.

I don’t know if this analogy is valid, but Yankee Stadium was reconstructed with many of the features of the original ball park. Features like the frieze and Monument Park appear in the new stadium along with amenities such as luxury boxes and restaurants.

This brings me to the second article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on off site storage for researchers. In a small academic library like NJIT, users can just walk up to shelve and pick off the book or periodical they need. NYPL is closed stack necessitating patrons to fill out a call slip and wait for item. I remember my days at NYPL when patrons were so impatient. Some would have an anxiety attack when they would have to wait 20 minutes for their book and direct their anger toward the reference librarian when the item was late. There was always the “fast food” way of thinking by patrons. Right now NYPL has a facility in New Jersey called Recap where less popular materials are housed. Patrons likely have to wait a day for their request. The renovations of the Schwartzman Building would require more materials to be moved there. There is a plan to build more storage capacity there.

I have no conclusions to make. You just can’t please all the people all of the time. A small library can’t provide all the resources its patrons need. When I worked at NYPL people were asking for materials it didn’t own. When you have a large collection, there is only so much space and of course space costs money. Thanks for reading this :)

Unethical Behavior of Journal Editors

I thought that readers of this blog should read this article http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i14/Editors-Coercing-Citations.html that appeared in the April 2, 2012 issue of the Chemical and Engineering News.  An editor does have the right to check the references in a paper.  There may be times when more documentation is needed and a paper must be revised to include more citations.  A journal editor has no right to "pump up" data that will eventually appear in Journal Citation Reports.  I wonder if the publishers are aware if this practice.  The authors of this article are asking scientists to complete a survey to determine how widespread this practice is.  I am interested in seeing the results.  This could be a "scandal" in STEM publishing.