Random Comments for March

It is now the end of March and we are past the halfway mark of the Spring Semester.  Three candidates were interviewed for the open position of University Librarian.  Two of them are internal while the other is from another academic library.  I am assuming that there will be another interview with the President of the university before an appointment is made.  This has created some anxiety among the staff as we don’t know who will be our boss.

We also have a new reference librarian on our staff.  He has many years of experience working for Merck, but none in an academic library.  I realize that it takes time for any new employee to get adjusted to a new job.

Apparently Students are Night Owls as We will be Extending Library Hours To Respond To Their Requests

 There is a saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin -  "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."  It seems that college students are night owls and want to "burn the midnight oil."  A few weeks ago I was at a feedback session run by the Student Senate and heard first hand that the NJIT students want longer library hours.

Beginning Monday, February 27, 2017 – April 15, 2017, extended hours will be:

Monday through Thursday   7:30 am – 1:45 am (2 additional hours each night)
Friday                                   7:30 am – 7:45 pm
Saturday                              10:00 am – 8:45 pm
Sunday                                 1:00 pm – 11:45 pm

The Robert W. Van Houten Library will extend hours every day to support students studying for finals. From Monday, April 17, 2017, to Wednesday, May 10, 2017, the library will be open:

Monday – Thursday 7:30 am – 2:45 am
Friday 7:30 am – 10:45 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 11:45 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm – 2:45 am

Students will Sign Up For Scifinder Accounts Only If an Assignment is Given which Requires Its Use

Over the last two weeks, I gave my standard lecture to two undergraduate chemical engineering classes that consider the organization of the literature, journals in the field, and the databases that we provide including Scifinder and Scopus.  The professor didn’t want me to give an assignment since she felt that the workload for the course is heavy enough.  I gave the students some sample search problems to try in the two databases.

Every month I get a statement from Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) which tells how many people signed up for new Scifinder accounts  Out of 60 students in the two classes, only 2 signed up for Scifinder classes.  I think this shows that an assignment must be given for information literacy classes to be effective.  Again, I observed one student sleeping and other playing with their smart phones.

I had better luck in an undergraduate chemistry class titled “Applied Computational Chemistry and Molecular Modelling”.    3 of the 8 students in the class stated they already had experience with Scifinder.  When I looked at the report from CAS, I saw that the other 5 people in the class signed up that day for accounts.  The professor gave an assignment that required them to search the literature.

Random Thoughts at the Start of the Spring Semester

As the spring semester has just begun at the NJIT Library, we are somewhat shorthanded as two of our colleagues are on family leave.  We have been short staffed before and we made it through.  One of my reference colleagues will resign at the end of the month and move on to Baruch College.  We started a search for the permanent position, but the response was small.  We will also start a search for a temporary research and user services librarian.

There is also a search for a permanent University Librarian since the tragic passing of Rich Sweeney.  I am not aware of the status, but I suspect the position will not be filled until the summer.

There is usually a slightly smaller number of students in the spring semester as we have lost more to graduation more than we have gained from new enrollments or transfer students.  Of course, there are so few reference questions.

My first class will be in Chemical Engineering 396.  I only have 70 minutes so it will be impossible to go into depth into the resources that I will discuss.  Also, the professor does not want me to give an assignment to the class.  Thus, it is impossible to do any assessment of information literacy skills.

If everything goes alright, I will retire as a librarian at the end of 2017.  I think after working since 1974,  I need time for rest and relaxation.  

Undergraduate Students in Environmental Engineering Show Poor Information Literacy Skills

For many years I have taught information literacy skills to students in a course called Introduction to Environmental Engineering.  I discuss the various formats of the literature, the scholarly, communication process and the databases that the university provides that cover technical disciplines.  I always describe in detail the peer review process and tell how web sites do not undergo a rigorous evaluation before they are published.  Students are assigned to groups of 3 or 4 and must write a paper on one of these topics:

• BP Oil Spill - Ethics and Safeguards
• Reduction of Greenhouse Gases
• Life Cycle Analysis of Hybrid vs Conventional Batteries
• Bottled Water vs Tap Water
• Landfilling: Municipal and Hazardous Waste
• Arsenic in New Jersey
• Flint Michigan Water Crisis
• Deepwater Horizon Disaster

I asked the professor to give me the papers after the semester so that I can evaluate the information literacy skills. Only 25% of the references cited were from peer review journals.  I guess the student just prefer to use the web sites that they find by searching Google.  Also students made comments in the paper and did not substantiate them with literature references.

It is quite sad that even after getting information literacy training in freshman courses and in this environmental engineering class, students’ writing skills are poor.  Will they ever learn to use peer reviewed journal articles?

Presenters at Professional Meetings Must Have Good Public Speaking Skills

Over the course of my career I have been to many professional meetings and heard numerous presentations on topics from A to Z in chemistry or library science.  Speakers likely know their topic very well, but must communicate properly to their audience.  Last Friday I attended the New York Chapter of the ACRL’s annual meeting at Baruch College.  The theme was money and power in relation to libraries.  Several speakers were terrible as they read their talks and spoke very rapidly.  It was impossible to absorb much of what they said. 

The organizers of this symposium asked for feedback and I mentioned this.  My suggestion is that large professional societies offer workshops on public speaking.

Open Position for a Research & User Services Librarian at NJIT

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) seeks applications and nominations for the position of Research & User Services Librarian at the Van Houten Library. The ideal candidate should be an experienced researcher with excellent communication, teaching, and technology skills.  The successful candidate will be delivering services to students and faculty in STEM disciplines.

Position Summary:

The position reports to the Director of Reference and assists, advises, and instructs users in accessing and using information in all formats including direct and indirect service to users.  The incumbent provides high quality services, responsive to user needs by carefully analyzing information sources and services.  The Librarian serves as a liaison to designated academic departments and other administrative units supporting resource discovery, evaluation and access, research, instruction and assessment.  This position requires independence and collaboration within and beyond the library to achieve excellent user satisfaction.

Summary of Qualifications:

Candidate must possess an ALA accredited MLS or MLIS degree in Library or Information Science, a bachelor’s or second master’s degree in a STEM discipline.  Selected candidate must become a New Jersey resident within 365 days of appointment.  

Application Procedure:

Interested candidates are encouraged to visit https://njit.jobs and search for posting #0603696 where a detailed position description and qualifications are posted. Candidates may apply online at the same site with a cover letter, cv/resume, and a copy of an article, paper, or report written solely by the candidate.

To build a diverse workforce, NJIT encourages applications from individuals with disabilities, minorities, veterans and women. EEO employer.

NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

University Heights, Newark, NJ 07102-­‐1982