Abstracts

Keynote Speaker:

Reuniting Families: Identification of Deceased International Migrants on the US/Mexico Border

Dr. Lori Baker is the Vice Provost of Strategic Initiatives, Collaboration and Leadership Development at Baylor University. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in anthropology and specializes in the molecular and forensic analysis of skeletal remains. She is founding executive director of Reuniting Families, a program that aids in the recovery, identification and repatriation of undocumented immigrants who perish during migration into the United States. She has acted as a consultant to the attorney general of the Mexican State of Chihuahua, the Washington Office on Latin America, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Truth Commissions in Peru and Panama. She has been an invited speaker in many national and international venues such as the Peace Palace in The Hague, as part of the International Commission on Missing Persons Conference and Amnesty International. She was a finalist for Texan of the Year in 2014 and her work has been featured by National Geographic, Scientific American, Discover Magazine, the Washington Post, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, BBC, MSNBC and other media outlets.

FRIDAY | July 21, 2017

8:00 AM – REGISTRATION / BREAKFAST

9:00 AM – 45min full paper

Mixed-Methods Assessment of an Information Literacy Exercise Taught by Biology Lab Instructors – Roxanne Bogucka & Porcia Vaughn, University of Texas at Austin

For several semesters, a science instruction librarian collaborated with faculty teaching a biology core course to train lab instructors to lead information literacy sessions. A train-the-trainers approach was used as the number of lab sections for this large-enrollment, upper-division genetics class made it impracticable for the instruction librarian to teach them. Lab instructors directed students in a session on techniques for efficiently reading scientific articles, using the hands-on exercise described by Bogucka and Wood (2009). Students completed post-exercise feedback forms, which the lab instructors returned to the librarian. This paper describes the lab exercise and the lab instructors’ training to lead it, and provides step-by-step guidance on a mixed-methods technique for assessing delivery of an exercise based on data from students’ feedback forms.

9:45 AM – 15min short presentation

Flipped Classrooms with Library Resources – Dan Le, Georgia State University, Perimeter College

To STEM faculty members, keeping students engaged and succeeding in learning science concepts and theories can be a challenge. Science faculty are exploring new pedagogical methods, such as the flipped classroom method, to meet this challenge; however, many faculty members are unaware of the resources available in the library and how they can embed these resources in the learning management system (LMS). In this case-based presentation, the audience will learn how the GSU Perimeter College library can support faculty teaching by outreaching to Physics faculty to promote its science databases and resources, and also by initiating a collaboration with instructional technologists (Center for Excellent Teaching and Learning) to help faculty incorporate library resources in their LMS/iCollege courses with ease.

10:00 AM – 15min short presentation

Mapping the Information Environment using The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education – Penelope Wood, University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia College Campus Library

Value is created for students studying sustainability and engineering when librarians use active learning exercises to teach core concepts of ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. The framework (2015) allows for flexibility in IL instruction, as it is “based on a cluster of interconnected core concepts… rather than on a set of standards, learning outcomes, or any prescriptive enumeration of skills.”

In IL sessions in 3 Bachelor of Applied Science in Sustainable Practices classes, students were asked to create a map with 16+ flashcards of different source types using a lens of trustworthiness. The source types represented a range of information and were chosen primarily from ProQuest Databases Source Types facets (conference proceedings, theses, peer-reviewed journal, trade, news and magazine articles, government reports, etc.). Other source types represented content that would be created by or used by professionals working in sustainability fields (case studies, government documents, policy, commissioned reports, etc.) as well as general information sources (conversations with specialists, videos, blogs).

Students engaged in critical conversations on core concepts of The Framework: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual; Information Creation as a Process; Information Has Value; Research as Inquiry; Scholarship as Conversation; Searching as Strategic Exploration. They shared when they were unfamiliar with a source and peers helped define sources in question and what content could be expected from a source. The librarian facilitated the conversation helping students understand how one information source might inform another source and how sources might be used and/or produced.

Through creating a map of the information environment and conversations about sources, authority, creation and content, students recognized their “greater role and responsibility in creating new knowledge, in understanding the contours and the changing dynamics of the world of information, and in using information, data, and scholarship ethically” (ACRL, 2015). Students were asked to research their topics and apply new understandings of the information environment to their research. Students shared their process and how the activity informed their research decisions.

Formative assessment included noting engagement and students shared feedback stating concerns about responsibilities in creating information in their future workplaces.

10:15 AM – 15min short presentation

Improving proof-writing in undergraduate mathematics classes with library instruction – Dianna Morganti, Texas State University

Dianna partnered with a Math faculty member to experiment with library instruction to improve proof-writing in an undergraduate Math class, through a theory that education on accessing and evaluating proofs will improve proof writing. Dianna will share their plans and lessons learned in hopes that others can boost and re-use this idea to improve information literacy in Mathematics classrooms.

10:30 AM – BREAK

10:45 AM – 15min short presentation

Expanding Reference Services to the Sciences Using Digital Image Collections – Erica Lopez & Linda Reynolds, Stephen F. Austin State University

We will present a case study of how librarians may use digital collections to provide reference services to STEM disciplines. We created a library guide that supports life sciences education by providing true-to-life visual identification aids for species that students might never encounter in the field during the course of the semester. The online field guide includes easily accessible and easily navigable photo galleries that correspond with the presentation and organization of course lab materials. We propose to demonstrate how this project offers greater exposure to the digital collections hosted by the East Texas Research Center, creates an opportunity for ongoing librarian-faculty collaboration, and serves as an example for how digital image collections may support a life sciences curriculum.

11:00 AM – 15min short presentation

Object Based Learning for Science &Engineering – Jessica Simpson, Texas Tech University

Libraries are increasingly providing access to physical items. Similarly to the response to the audio visual revolution, libraries are bringing both materials and equipment into the library scene as a result of patron demands and of libraries liberating responses to technological and philosophical advances. Just as it was controversial during the beginning of audio visual centers, real world objects also are being challenged as being appropriate for library services, however, physical objects have long been a resource provided by libraries. Having an understanding of the educational value of real world object (aka realia) will allow libraries to make critical use of their spaces and budgets in order to best serve patron needs.

11:15 AM – 15min short presentation

Realia as a Medium to Increase Scientific Engagement in Public Libraries – Liz Bosarge, Enoch Pratt Free Library

Based on the use of science experiments to promote Chemistry education in libraries, this sessions looks at how comparable Paleontology experiences would work in a similar setting. This session highlights how realia and other “touchables” can impact inner city children’s views of the sciences when accessed through the public library. The first phase of this pilot program looked at the responses of inner city children with minimal access to realia offerings, like those in museums, to see how interactions with the items impacted their views of STEM subjects. We measured their interaction with the collection on related topics and their interactions with the realia items themselves during selected engagement periods. The public library was selected due to its ease of access for outreach. The overall findings determined that realia and other physical items have a positive impact on the expressed interests of children with little access to science education resources outside of the public schools.

11:30 AM – 45min full paper

UTA Libraries Maker Literacies Program Update – Martin Wallace, University of Texas at Arlington

At last year’s TX STEM Librarians Conference, I introduced UT Arlington Libraries’ Maker Literacies Pilot Program and the Maker Literacies Task Force. The Task Force was charged with drafting a set of assessable maker-based student learning outcomes, identifying potential courses for integrating into the Maker Literacies Pilot Program, and assisting those faculty with maker-based curriculum development. That presentation covered the goals and objectives of the Task Force, early-stage work and lessons learned in the research and discovery phase. We have come a long way since then. We have piloted nine undergraduate courses into the Maker Literacies Program, all of which use the UTA FabLab either wholly or in-part for completion of a major assignment. These nine courses include three from English, two from Industrial Engineering, and one each from Art Education, Computer Science, Science Education and Studio Art. At Southwest STEM Librarians Conference in 2017, I would like to present the outcomes from some of these courses and demonstrate how Southwest STEM Librarians may develop similar programs at their libraries and makerspaces. I will also discuss how this work has garnered UT Arlington Libraries an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant for Libraries (NLG) award to formally expand and test our program at other academic library makerspaces around the country. This planning grant, in the amount of $50,000, will help us identify program partners, visit their institutions to meet with makerspace staff, librarians and subject faculty, and pilot the Maker Literacies Program in two courses at each institution in spring 2018. I will wrap up this presentation by discussing challenges we’ve faced and future plans for the program.

12:15 PM – LUNCH

1:00 PM – Keynote Speaker

Lori Baker, Vice Provost of Strategic Initiatives, Collaboration and Leadership Development at Baylor University

2:00 PM – 5min lightning talk

Responsive Resources: Finding the Right Tools for Scientists Anywhere in their Career – Moshe Pritsker, JoVE

According to a recent nation-wide study, 48% of Bachelor’s degree STEM candidates changed their field of study or dropped out of school before graduating. One of the primary reasons according to many academics is a lack of student confidence and preparedness as they move through high school, undergraduate, and graduate courses into doctoral programs and postdoctoral careers. In this presentation we propose a way to flatten the learning curve that scientists face by equipping them with comprehensive resources that map to scientists’ needs no matter where they are in their career path.

2:06 PM – 5min lightning talk

How much is your Science library collection used in the classroom/lab? – Gerry Sawchuk, Cengage Learning

Traditional content in science libraries consists of reference collections of journals, periodicals, and reference books. Is this the extent of how integrated (in to the classroom) the science library intends to shape their collections? What works best for STEM students in helping them learn difficult science subjects, for example human anatomy and chemistry, to name just two? Is this an area that STEM librarians want to explore?

2:12 PM – 5min lightning talk

So Much Content, So Little Time: Squeezing Library Instruction into the STEM Classroom via the LMS – Alyssa Berger, University of Washington Bothell/Cascadia College Library

STEM courses are notoriously packed with content, often leaving little time for information literacy instruction or research support. In this lightning talk, an instruction librarian will discuss her use of the LMS to reach out and build partnerships with faculty, provide tailored information literacy instruction in multiple STEM courses, and maintain a sustainable workload. The presenter will outline how providing instruction via the LMS, in both online and hybrid formats, can increase research support for students while using less classroom time than traditional library sessions. Attendees will leave the talk with concrete examples that they can use and build on in collaboration with their faculty.

2:18 PM – 5min lightning talk

Visualizing a Mediated Search Service – Clara Fowler, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

The librarians at Research Medical Library complete nearly 500 literature searches every year for the faculty and researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Since 2011, we’ve been tracking the use of this service including the reason for the literature search request. Visualizing this data using Tableau has created an opportunity to see patterns in requests and the scope of the service. This lightning talk will show the visualization and the underlying data as well as feedback gathered from our requestors regarding the value of this service to their work. Participants will see a potential model for looking at library-generated statistics and communicating value to external groups.

2:24 PM – 5min lightning talk

Use of Web of Science and Google Scholar to study the Citation Advantage of Science and Technology Publications from a Research University – Lutishoor Salisbury, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

The results of a study of faculty and research publications that were published in fully open access (OA) and non-Open Access (non-OA) journals and indexed in the Web of Science core collections for the period January 2005 to October 2015 will be presented in this lightning talk. Because all these journals are indexed in this database, they are deemed to be of the same scientific merit. We used these publications to study the extent our researchers are publishing in these fully open access journals and to identify the relative impact of their open access (OA) versus non-OA publications, to identify their h-indexes, and to explore the citation advantages.
This research findings that will be presented will specifically answer whether (1) OA articles within the same disciplines, department, subject focus and authors, contained in similar-ranked journals by virtue of being indexed in the Web of Science Core collection, are more heavily cited with higher h-indexes than non-OA articles; (2) OA articles indexed in Google Scholar also have higher citations and h-indexes than non-OA articles, and (3) the objective in (1) is true for articles published in some or all disciplines/departments in science and technology.

2:30 PM – 15min short presentation

Texas Data Repository – Christina Chan-Park, Baylor University & Dianna Morganti, Texas State University

In Fall 2016, the Texas Data Repository was established as a platform for publishing and archiving datasets (and other data products) created by faculty, staff, and students at Texas higher education institutions. The repository is built in an open-source application called Dataverse, developed and used by Harvard University.

The repository is hosted by the Texas Digital Library, a consortium of academic libraries in Texas with a proven history of providing shared technology services that support secure, reliable access to digital collections of research and scholarship. For a list of TDL participating institutions, please visit: http://tdl.org/members.

Researchers who deposit data in the Texas Data Repository are able to comply with funding requirements, ensure reliable, managed access for data, increase scholarly impact, collaborate with research teams, and have access to local support through their institution’s library.

This presentation will provide a quick overview and demonstration of the Texas Data Repository

2:45 PM – 15min short presentation

Doing data analytics using VantagePoint – Isabel Altamirano, Georgia Institute of Technology

Vantage Point is a software for structured text mining. It can be used by librarians to offer new services to faculty and graduate students. Some possible services include: assistance in narrowing down a dissertation topic, discovering the “hot” topic in a field, gathering information for grant proposals, investigating groups of researchers within a university who are doing similar research and collaborating or acting alone, and many other topics.

Using a database that the library subscribes to, the user downloads the result of a search from the database and is uploaded to Vantage Point. The user decides how to direct the analysis, cleans up the data, and can view the results

3:00 PM – 15min short presentation

Marketing and Outreach Efforts in Libraries and its impact on STEM Outreach efforts – Innocent Awasom, Texas Tech University

According to a 2014 report by the U.S Department of Education, over 40% of students in STEM fields as major either switch or fail to get a degree. Whilst this is the lowest in all areas of scholarship ( Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences), it is still a cause for concern. STEM librarians have also been complaining about the turn out for various programs organized in the libraries for the benefit of especially STEM students. The above is clearly an indication that there is something that is fundamentally wrong and needs to be addressed using a multi-pronged approach involving career counselling, mentoring including peer to peer mentoring, improved pedagogy and strategic marketing and outreach initiatives. This paper explores possible options that embedded STEM librarians can pursue in collaboration with faculty to stem the attrition rates.

3:15 PM – BREAK

3:30 PM – 15min short presentation

Chemical Pricing Information for Student Design Projects and Researchers – David Hubbard, Texas A&M University

Many students and academic researchers are in need of chemical pricing information. The individuals seeking this information on university campuses are often from chemical engineering, especially senior design (or capstone) courses, though others may also be in need of such information (e.g., agriculture, business, etc.). Over the last 10 years, access to chemical pricing has become increasingly difficult to locate due to information provider consolidation and changes to publications that have historically provided that information. This presentation will provide some background and history on chemical pricing, discuss sources, and possible opportunities. The latter includes two ongoing projects, (1) to locate/collect citations for chemical pricing, and (2) to compare freely available chemical pricing on the Web to prices in the trade literature.

3:45 PM – 15min short presentation

TRAIL documents – Evaluate scientific works – Isabel Altamirano, Georgia Institute of Technology

TRAIL’s (Technical Report Archive & Image Library) holdings are a collection of digitized technical documents created by the US government. These documents can be used in information evaluation. Some scientific facts may now be outdated. Students can learn about how technology advances and determine what information is now incorrect. These documents can also be used by students to learn how to read scientific documents.

4:00 PM – 15min short presentation

Patent information – under-utilized resource for STEM research – Tom Rohrig, Texas Tech University

Patents are an underutilized resource for STEM research because of:
1) Limited in-depth knowledge about patents and their value
2) Limited number of Patent and Trademark Center Resource Centers (PTRCs) that provide federal government support for researching and using patents and
3) Patents use either the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) or United States Patent Classification (USPC) systems which are based on how an invention works which differs from the more widely known subject-based classification systems such as Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress.

The patent literature is covered well in entrepreneurial research but is not as well covered in STEM research even though patents are included in many well-known patent databases such as Engineering Village, Scopus. etc. The importance of patents to STEM research includes 1) some subjects are covered primarily only in the patent literature, 2) business intelligence strategies for patents can be used for STEM research, and 3) the use of patent prior art to identify more research can be very useful.

Although most academic university libraries subscribe to databases including patents like Scifinder, Scopus—there are only a relatively few academic libraries which are identified Patent and Trademark Resource Centers (PTRCS). At the PTRCS are “PTRC library staff [who] are information experts trained on how to use search tools to access patent and trademark information.”

Researchers generally use Discovery systems and databases to research their topics. These resources use both keyword and subject headings/identifiers approaches. Although the patent literature is partially searchable by keyword–researchers can use the powerful CPC and USPC classification systems. However, these classification systems are generally arranged by how something works rather than by a strict subject approach, which requires some assistance in being used most effectively for research.

By being provided more information about these three topics, STEM researchers can more efficiently utilize the patent literature in their research.

4:15 PM – 45min full paper

STEM Librarians and Scientific Publishers: Partnering Together Against the Reproducibility Crisis – Letisha Wyatt, Oregon Health & Science University & Moshe Pritsker, JoVE

Researchers can learn a lot about research data management best practices from STEM librarians. Librarians are experts in methods for organization, curation, and preservation of enormous amounts of information. At the same time, the scientific publishing community is employing new technologies, such as video, in innovative ways to help researchers better archive and share important data and methods. Together, there is an opportunity for academic librarians and scientific publishers to advocate for best practices that produce clearer and more detailed research methods.

According to many well-publicized studies, between 70-90% of published scientific research is irreproducible. The impact of the reproducibility crisis delays the development of new medical breakthroughs and wastes an estimated $28 billion each year in NIH funding. Despite this, strategies for reproducible research are rarely a compulsory part of the training that scientists receive – providing opportunities for librarian involvement. We contend that when researchers improve the quality and communication of research methods they will come closer to resolving the scientific reproducibility crisis.

This presentation will combine the perspectives of an academic librarian and publisher who both uniquely started their careers as research scientists – Letisha Wyatt, Ph.D., Basic Science Liaison / Research Data Management Librarian at the Oregon Health & Science University and Moshe Pritsker, Ph.D., publisher of the scientific and peer-reviewed: JoVE Video Journal. They will explain why librarians and publishers must align efforts to make method clarity and transparency a top priority for research scientists. They will also inform the audience about how librarians can raise awareness and educate patrons about how they might adopt more reproducible workflows.

5:00 PM – BUSINESS MEETING

5:45 PM – DINNER WITH COLLEAGUES (DUTCH TREAT)