Merge Everything It Makes Sense to Merge: The History and Philosophy of the Merged Reference Collection at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in San Jose, California

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in San Jose, California is a unique dual-use library serving the students of San Jose State University and the community of San Jose, California. The reference collections of the two libraries are merged and interfiled to promote ease of access for both populations served. Economies of scale were realized through collaborative collection development activities for major reference purchases between the two institutions. This article describes the planning and creation of the King Library\u27s merged reference collection and reviews the literature of collaborative collection development and merged or interfiled collections

Reference Revitalization and Roving Reference: Are the Reference Desk and Print Reference Sources Passé?

Print reference sources and references desks are still vital parts of reference service in some libraries, while in others innovative models such as roving reference and learning commons thrive. While undergraduate students’ preferences and usage has shifted from print to electronic, students still need to learn the application of metacognitive thinking skills in library research. Updating how reference is delivered to accommodate students’ emphasis on mobility and expectation of access to information has led to revitalizing reference collections, reconfiguring space as learning commons and roving reference as solutions at Taylor University and Palm Beach Atlantic University, while Whitworth University retains a more traditional configuration to meet student research needs

Ready Reference Collections: A History

Ready reference collections were originally formed, and still exist, because they perform a valuable function in providing convenient access to information that is frequently used at the reference desk. As library collections have been transformed from print to electronic, some of the materials in these collections have inevitably also been replaced by electronic resources. This article explores the historical roots of ready reference collections and their recent evolution

Predicting urinary creatinine excretion and its usefulness to identify incomplete 24h urine collections

Studies using 24 h urine collections need to incorporate ways to validate the completeness of the urine samples. Models to predict urinary creatinine excretion (UCE) have been developed for this purpose; however, information on their usefulness to identify incomplete urine collections is limited. We aimed to develop a model for predicting UCE and to assess the performance of a creatinine index using para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) as a reference. Data were taken from the European Food Consumption Validation study comprising two non-consecutive 24 h urine collections from 600 subjects in five European countries. Data from one collection were used to build a multiple linear regression model to predict UCE, and data from the other collection were used for performance testing of a creatinine index-based strategy to identify incomplete collections. Multiple linear regression (n 458) of UCE showed a significant positive association for body weight (ß = 0·07), the interaction term sex × weight (ß = 0·09, reference women) and protein intake (ß = 0·02). A significant negative association was found for age (ß = - 0·09) and sex (ß = - 3·14, reference women). An index of observed-to-predicted creatinine resulted in a sensitivity to identify incomplete collections of 0·06 (95 % CI 0·01, 0·20) and 0·11 (95 % CI 0·03, 0·22) in men and women, respectively. Specificity was 0·97 (95 % CI 0·97, 0·98) in men and 0·98 (95 % CI 0·98, 0·99) in women. The present study shows that UCE can be predicted from weight, age and sex. However, the results revealed that a creatinine index based on these predictions is not sufficiently sensitive to exclude incomplete 24 h urine collections

So Many Choices!

As the semester progresses, I have been working on many little projects to get a feel for the different aspects of reference librarianship. One of the projects that I just finished working on was a collections development project, in which I got to work closer with one of our reference librarians, Kerri. Collection development is an ongoing process, for there are always more books being written and published. [excerpt

Natural Areas and Reference Collections for Environmental Education in Some Arkansas Schools

A survey of 20 school campuses throughout Arkansas showed that most lack natural areas for outdoor environmental education. For most Arkansas schools no checklists of local plants are available, and there are no reference collections at the schools. Projects are underway at State College of Arkansas to establish herberia for the woody plants of Arkansas and the vascular plants of Faulkner County