Subject matrices: an innovative approach to serving the agricultural and biological science disciplines

Discover an alternative approach to the subject liaison model which uses a distributed, team-based matrix to increase communication and collaboration in order to better serve the agriculture and biological sciences communities at our university. Learn the strengths, challenges, and theory of this approach

Chapter 01 - The Research Process & Scholarly Communication

Learn about scholarly communication, the four stages of the research process, and how to plan for a successful research project.https://cedar.wwu.edu/research_process/1001/thumbnail.jp

Subject matrices: An innovative, collaborative approach to serving the agricultural sciences

Our library reorganized, moving from traditional subject-specific departments to Basic Information Services (BIS) and Researcher Services (RS) departments, based around how patrons use information. This model emphasizes collaboration through internal teams called “subject matrices”. Our library’s Agriculture & Biological Sciences Matrix includes individuals from BIS, RS, Archives, and Technical Services as well as individuals with expertise in instructional design, copyright, and data management. This matrix has emerged as a community interested in agriculture and the sciences by bringing people together from many departments. We have learned from each other through presentations and “field trips” to various locations around campus. The matrix has become a conduit for sharing information interdepartmentally through discussions about collection development and collaboration opportunities in instruction and research. One collaboration lead to the creation of a unique newsletter that promotes information resources to library users. The matrix plans to pursue a user needs assessment of faculty in agriculture and the sciences. This holistic approach increases opportunities for the matrix and the library, such as bringing in other agricultural informationists from across campus. Opening matrix membership beyond the library enables more effective communication with patrons to better serve their needs. This increases collaboration opportunities between the library and teaching or research faculty and recognizes the interdisciplinary nature of current research. Libraries wishing to maintain a traditional subject-liaison model can adapt key principles underlying our matrix. Subject liaisons can go beyond siloed perspectives by soliciting advice from individuals, such as librarians from technical services, non-library faculty and staff, undergraduates, or community members. Another approach is to disturb established structures and introduce selective pressure to inspire the creation of innovative methods of serving communities. Administration can introduce expectations for collaboration into position descriptions and evaluation criteria or require faculty to provide evidence of meeting student learning and faculty research needs

Chapter 11 - Copyright & Fair Use

Learn how copyright and Fair Use affects your research.https://cedar.wwu.edu/research_process/1006/thumbnail.jp

Publishing and archiving trends in open access: preliminary results

Agricultural researchers are engaged in the growing open access (OA) movement, either publishing in OA journals or archiving in OA repositories. The latter is reflected in the use of the institutional repository (IR) at Kansas State University (K-State), a land grant institution. K-State library faculty are analyzing faculty publications to determine the publishing and archiving habits of selected researchers. Reviewing copyright agreements from journals reveals those with policies for archiving post-prints in an IR; articles by these authors are compared to their total three-year article output to determine the efficacy of the current IR program at K-State. Chosen for analysis were the faculties of the College of Agriculture’s Department of Animal Sciences and Industry’s (ASI) and the College of Veterinary Medicine\u27s Department of Clinical Sciences (CS) who conduct research on food animals. ASI has one of the largest faculty on campus as well as a department head supportive of the University’s IR. While many of ASI’s extension publications are in the IR, several important animal science journals do not allow for self-archiving or deposit in an IR. Many articles published by ASI faculty are co-authored with faculty in CS, who also focus their research on livestock

The Textbook Publication Process: Strategies for Creating Open Education Resources

Join the editors of the new textbook The Research Process: Strategies for Undergraduate Students as they discuss the process of creating this Open Education Resource. An edited anthology, this textbook was collaboratively written by specialists across the library, utilizing a wide range of expertise to cover a variety of topics to support undergraduate student research. The editors, Rebecca M. Marrall and Jenny Oleen, will discuss the philosophy behind publishing the textbook as an open education resource, the process of creating and editing the text, working with authors, and implementation of open access publication. Geared towards faculty and instructors who may be interested in creating or collaborating on their own open access textbook, an electronic toolkit of resources, including templates, is provided in additional files below. This open education resource is published through Western Washington University’s Institutional Repository, Western CEDAR, a service available for all faculty authors associated with Western

Chapter 06 - Web Literacy

Identify the concepts of web literacy; learn about Google and Wikipedia as research tools; and explore the Digital Divide phenomenon.https://cedar.wwu.edu/research_process/1011/thumbnail.jp

Mongolian Libraries Assessment: A Collaboration Between Western Washington University and the American Center for Mongolian Studies

In November, 2015, Western Washington University (WWU) librarians Jenny Oleen and Gabe Gossett, the authors of this report, were invited to visit Ulaanbaatar in order to do a preliminary assessment of library services in the area and participate in a conference. The assessment was supported by the American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) and WWU with the purpose of identifying ways in which there could be improved collaboration and development between Mongolian libraries, ACMS, and WWU (Western Libraries in particular). The librarians made numerous site visits over a two week period in Ulaanbaatar and the surrounding area to gather information about library facilities, collections, services, and, most importantly, their development goals in order to meet the information needs of Mongolians in the 21st Century. Near the end of their stay the librarians took part in a conference, hosted and co-sponsored by the Mongolian National University of Education, with over 200 library participants. This report includes an overview discussing general themes, a narrative describing issues and areas for development identified during library site visits and conference, and recommendations for partnerships

Publishing and Archiving Trends in Open Access: Preliminary Results

Agricultural researchers are engaged in the growing open access (OA) movement, either publishing in OA journals or archiving in OA repositories. The latter is reflected in the use of the institutional repository (IR) at Kansas State University (K-State), a land grant institution. K-State library faculty are analyzing faculty publications to determine the publishing and archiving habits of selected researchers. Reviewing copyright agreements from journals reveals those with policies for archiving post-prints in an IR; articles by these authors are compared to their total three-year article output to determine the efficacy of the current IR program at K-State. Chosen for analysis were the faculties of the College of Agriculture’s Department of Animal Sciences and Industry’s (ASI) and the College of Veterinary Medicine\u27s Department of Clinical Sciences (CS) who conduct research on food animals. ASI has one of the largest faculty on campus as well as a department head supportive of the University’s IR. While many of ASI’s extension publications are in the IR, several important animal science journals do not allow for self-archiving or deposit in an IR. Many articles published by ASI faculty are co-authored with faculty in CS, who also focus their research on livestock

Practicing What We Preach: Showcasing OER through the Creation of a Research Strategies Textbook

Learn how an academic library at a Master\u27s granting university published an open access textbook, intended for undergraduate students and authored by librarians and library professionals. This textbook was an edited anthology intended to supplement a library-based credit course in research strategies and academic success. This poster session will provide an overview of the process and the final product, alongside an electronic toolkit of resources for attendees. Additional materials are available here