Science and technology resources : a guide for information professionals and researchers

An indispensable resource for anyone wanting to create, maintain, improve, understand, or use the diverse information resources within a sci-tech library.

Providing cutting-edge practices and tools in library and information science as well as a historical perspective on science and technology resources, Science and Technology Resources: A Guide for Information Professionals and Researchers begins with an overview of the nature of sci-tech literature, the information-seeking behavior of scientists and engineers, and an examination of the research cycle. Each of the 12 chapters focuses on a specific format, showcasing specific examples and representative resources in current practice.

This practical guide will be invaluable to librarians, information specialists, engineering and science professionals, and students interested in acquiring a practical knowledge of science and technology resources. The comprehensive subject bibliographies provide a sci-tech library administrator with the resources to develop and maintain an effective science, technology, and engineering collection.

• Preface p. xi
• Acknowledgments p. xiii
• 1 Introduction to the Literature of Science and Technology p. 1
• 2 Scientific and Technical Communication p. 5
• Professional Associations and Societies p. 5
• Historical Review p. 6
• The Research Information Cycle p. 8
• Information-Seeking Behaviors of Engineers and Scientists p. 10
• 3 Journals p. 15
• Types of Journals p. 16
• Reviews p. 18
• Journal Publishers p. 19
• Proliferation of the Journal p. 20
• Budgeting for Journals p. 25
• Pricing Factors p. 25
• Review Sources p. 26
• Journal Bundling, Also Known as Aggregator Database p. 30
• JSTOR: A Hybrid Example of Journal Service p. 31
• Electronic Access vs. Traditional Access p. 31
• The Open Access Movement p. 32
• Institutional Repositories (IR) p. 34
• Why an IR? p. 34
• 4 Specialized Databases p. 41
• The Database Selection Process p. 44
• General Sci-Tech Databases p. 49
• 5 Current Awareness and Web 2.0 Tools p. 53
• Web 2.0 Tools p. 55
• RSS Feeds p. 56
• Blogging p. 57
• Wikis and Google Docs p. 58
• Publishers' Gateways (Nature Publishing) p. 59
• 6 Conferences and Society Meetings and Directories p. 63
• Conferences and Society Meetings p. 63
• Directories p. 69
• 7 Dictionaries and Encyclopedias p. 73
• Dictionaries p. 73
• Encyclopedias p. 81
• 8 Handbooks, Tables, and Manuals p. 91
• Handbooks p. 91
• Tables p. 92
• Manuals p. 92
• 9 Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademarks, and Copyright p. 97
• Patents p. 97
• Why Search Patents? p. 99
• What Is a Patent? p. 102
• Types of Patents: Utility Patents, Design Patents, and Plant Patents p. 103
• Parts of a Patent p. 106
• The Seven Steps to Searching the Patent Literature p. 107
• 10 Standards and Specifications p. 125
• More about Stakeholders p. 129
• Types of Standards and Their Elements p. 129
• Standards Collections p. 132
• Standards Education p. 133
• 11 Grey Literature and Technical Reports p. 137
• Grey Literature p. 137
• Technical Reports p. 139
• Government-Sponsored Reports p. 142
• Privately Funded Reports p. 142
• Academia-Generated Research Reports p. 143
• 12 Biographical Resources p. 147
• Biographies in Collected Works p. 148
• Biographical Information in Dictionaries p. 154
• Biographies in Encyclopedias p. 154
• Biographical Information in Festschriften p. 154
• Biographical Information in Journals and Newspapers p. 154
• Information in Membership Directories p. 155
• Individual and Collective Biographies of Scientists in Books p. 155
• Bibliographies of Biographical Information p. 156
• Appendix: Subject Bibliographies p. 161
• Anatomy and Physiology p. 163
• Astronomy p. 166
• Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cell Biology p. 170
• Bioengineering p. 173
• Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering p. 176
• Botany p. 179
• Chemical Engineering p. 182
• Chemistry p. 186
• Civil Engineering p. 192
• Computer Science and Information Technology p. 196
• Electrical Engineering p. 199
• Environmental Engineering p. 202
• Environmental Science p. 206
• General Biology and Natural History p. 211
• General Engineering p. 215
• General Science p. 219
• Genetics, Developmental Biology, and Evolutionary Biology p. 223
• General Technology and Inventions p. 227
• Geology p. 231
• History and Philosophy of Science and Technology p. 235
• Industrial Engineering p. 239
• Mathematics p. 242
• Materials Science Engineering p. 248
• Mechanical Engineering p. 252
• Meteorology p. 255
• Microbiology p. 258
• Nutrition and Food Science p. 261
• Physics p. 266
• Zoology p. 270
• Index p. 273