Search

Peer review in science and technology has been the subject of significant controversy. In a world where finding information is laborious, the knowledge that a document is from a "“trusted source" is valuable. This presentation explores whether coming of Google and other web based search engines have impacted how science is done, peer reviewed and published and whether the present peer review process is necessary and maintains the quality and focus of a journal and articles published. With increasing number of Open Access Institutional Repositories worldwide and indexed by Google, more and more scientific literature is now visible than before and hence resulting in increased worldwide access to scientific literature. Quality blogs and wikis have speeded up the process of scientific communication through informal peer reviews while the present system of formal peer review still attempts to maintain quality of a reserach paper although it tends to slow down the process of scientific communication. More debate and discussion on issues mentioned will further shed light on this important subject of peer reviews in Google environment.

Blogs and RSS (Real Simple Syndication/Rich Site Summary) feeds and their applications in libraries are increasing exponentially. These applications range from current awareness type of settings in keeping up-to-date with new information, table of contents alerts of journal articles, feeds based on a research query in electronic databases, and news alerts from different subject areas. Other library related use of blogs and RSS feeds may include availability of new books based on selected keywords, feeds based on new subject guides, creating simple blog entries for course related useful information, and announcing library related events such as the Scholarly Communications Speaker series. This presentation provides information on these applications and recommendations on how they can be implemented in any library setting. A particular emphasis on the Engineering Resources blog created for the College of Engineering and the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems is given to highlight a variety of information published so far. Future directions and vision of how blogs and RSS can be used in academic library settings are discussed.

The engineering library plays a critical role in initiating and maintaining the conduit between vendors of engineering information and the users of that information—faculty, students, and researchers. Likewise, vendors play a key role in supporting library and faculty efforts to promote engineering information resources, beyond just supplying content and interface. Engineering libraries and vendors can effectively work together to get the most from electronic engineering resources for both large and small institutions. The case studies here show how Knovel Corporation, a sci-tech e-book vendor, has worked with engineering librarians at large and small institutions and with faculty members to promote awareness and usage of Knovel’s interactive library of electronic books for engineering education. Librarians and Knovel partner at a large institution like Drexel University to give on-site workshops for faculty and students. At these workshops important features of Knovel’s content and software are discussed and demonstrated in a live format. Questions are encouraged to ensure participants understand the technology, and short assignments reinforce learning. Knovel works with librarians to promote these sessions and continues the dialogue with attendees afterward. On-site demonstrations are one of the most effective ways to educate users about new technologies and new content. The Information Services Librarian for Engineering at Drexel University will discuss Knovel's use of on-site workshops to promote electronic engineering information awareness. Librarians at smaller institutions often do not have the time and resources to devote to a full-scale on-site workshop. They need an "out-of-the-box" solution that is quick to deploy with an interface that is self-evident to users. Complete integration of e-book titles into the institution’s information toolbox is the key here. Knovel provides resources to promote ready access to meet the needs of smaller institutions, including MARC records for the library's catalog. The Head of Reference at the Colorado School of Mines library will discuss how Knovel provides support for access and outreach at this institution. Finally, librarians and Knovel work directly with faculty to integrate Knovel's content into their courses. An example is Purdue University’s "treasure hunt" assignment given in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program which includes questions which leverage Knovel titles to answer. By supporting outreach and access strategies appropriate for institution size and need, librarians and Knovel illustrate how to create an effective partnership with engineering libraries to increase awareness, usage and, ultimately, cost-effectiveness of electronic resources.

Last year, researchers and librarians at both Drexel University and the University of Maryland initiated similar collaborative projects in their respective institutions to contribute to the development of life-long learning skills among the select participants. One joint finding was the importance of linking advances in knowledge, not just as hypothetical learning that benefits an elite few, but rather for the advancement of our society as a whole. Drexel University has two NSF-supported programs, Research Experience for Teachers (RET) and the Research Experience for Undergraduates Site (REU) DREAM (Drexel Research Experience in Advanced Materials). RET’s primary goal is to provide experiential engineering education to K-12 teachers in the Delaware Valley. DREAM hosts undergraduates from around the country to work closely with faculty and graduate students in cutting-edge research areas, such as biomaterials, nanomaterials, and the design and processing of advanced materials. In both these programs, the participants learned different skills. For example, in the RET program, participating teachers developed skills that would help them to find, apply for, and secure funding for their schools to improve their classrooms and laboratories. RET participants also worked with their faculty mentors on research projects in emerging technologies, such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, and information technology. The library staff played a key role in helping participants in both programs develop crucial information seeking skills to obtain, evaluate, and use needed research material through a variety of information sources. The RET program helps teachers create opportunities to enhance the delivery of science and math education at their schools by helping their students and colleagues learn about science and technology careers and academic opportunities. It is projected that such awareness will motivate more high school students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Participants from the DREAM project may, with the research skills gained, continue with more sophisticated research in new and emerging technology areas after going back to their respective institutions. The program provides possibilities for further collaboration with Drexel researchers. With similar goals, the University of Maryland’s (UM) NSF-funded Gemstone Program focuses on teams of Undergraduate Honors Students that “conduct significant research exploring the interdependence of science and technology with society.” This unique, four year, multidisciplinary research program has received significant assistance since 1996 from many UM Librarians in teaching these students critical information-seeking skills for their topical projects and in their senior theses. Moreover, three UM faculty members created the ESTEEM (Engineering Science and Technology to Energize and Expand Young Minds) Research Mentoring Program that offers high school seniors a chance to be directly involved in university engineering research. Additionally, there are other programs such as Exploring Engineering, Women in Engineering, Stepping Stones to Your Future, and a Girl Scout Engineering Saturday where Girl Scout troops (ages 7-12) engage in fun, hands-on engineering related activities. This paper describes how faculty, engineering librarians, and organizers from the two universities work together to enhance the success of programs for a diverse user population. The long-term goal is to have knowledge as we know it used for the overall betterment of society in general. This paper describes how faculty and engineering librarians at both Drexel University and the University of Maryland developed similar collaborative projects in their respective institutions to contribute to the development of life-long learning skills among their diverse user groups.

This paper details a successful collaborative partnership among the faculty and librarians at Drexel University with the IEEE. The primary groups involved in the partnership were the IEEE liaisons and leaders, the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department of the Drexel University College of Engineering, the Drexel University Libraries, the Drexel Student Branch of IEEE, and IEEE personnel. This innovative collaborative relationship was based on the IEEE University Partnership Program (UPP). From 2000 to 2004, unique activities and events were held to attract new students to the IEEE and encourage students to use IEEE Xplore, a premier electronic resource providing full-text access to IEEE transactions, journals, magazines and conference proceedings. Additional benefits of these events and activities included: improved information awareness and information literacy among the event participants, improved teamwork and communication skills in the members of the Drexel IEEE Student Branch who had to plan, promote, coordinate, and moderate events for students from Drexel and surrounding institutions, and partial rebates to the library for their subscription to the IEEE information product (contingent on predetermined IEEE Student Branch membership goals).

At Drexel University, the present undergraduate engineering curriculum has evolved from the Enhanced Educational Experience for Engineering Students (E4) project and the Gateway Engineering Education Coalition, both National Science Foundation (NSF) funded initiatives to re-engineer undergraduate engineering education. Since its institutionalization in 1994, the curriculum has served as a model for an integrated lower-division engineering curriculum. One aspect of engineering education proposed in this curriculum was “addressing ethics in the context of an engineering issue”. To accomplish this goal, courses were designed with engineering ethics topics embedded within the syllabus. In parallel, the past decade has seen extensive growth in the number of electronic journals such as those from the IEEE, and electronic books available as subscription based library electronic resources. Along with the web, this has created an information overload that is now a major source of confusion among students. This paper discusses an effort to integrate these resources into coursework, as collaborative partnerships among the faculty, the library and students. We describe various materials used for teaching ethics, library created web-based instruction, librarian consultations with students to help them find various sources of information for engineering ethics, and in the process target ABET requirements of lifelong learning.

Nearly two-thirds of millennials aspire to start their own business or have already done so. Innovation and entrepreneurship are dominant forces driving innovation in a dynamic global economy, and universities have an essential role in cultivating the innovators and entrepreneurs of the future. In most universities, capstone senior design courses have an entrepreneurship component. We describe a cross-institution workshop designed to heighten student awareness of university resources supporting entrepreneurship. Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania STEM libraries collaborated with the professional society IEEE to organize a workshop highlighting the role of campus information resources in empowering entrepreneurs. The workshop was organized in a panel discussion format, featuring technology transfer professionals, librarians from both institutions, and examples of successful innovators and entrepreneurs. This allowed for active interaction and networking with the panelists. We review the state-of-the-art in entrepreneurship education, report student feedback, and offer lessons learned from this experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite efforts in the past three decades, participation of underrepresented minority groups is still an issue in STEM disciplines. Minority ethnic groups account for approximately 30% of the United States population, but only 9.1% of those working in STEM occupations. In this context, a program between the Community College of Philadelphia and Drexel University to provide research experience to underrepresented minority students (UMS) was implemented based on the hypothesis that learning about science and engineering is more effective if it is paired with the challenge of independent research in a specifically collaborative "micro-environment", as for example in active research laboratories. Six undergraduate UMS (three male, three female) were selected from a pool of twenty applicants in the inaugural year. Each student independently selected a faculty advisor and corresponding research group best aligned to their interests within the first two of the ten week program. From the outset, library integration underpinned the program. To this aim, students were personally introduced to key library professionals and digital library search tools and databases were immediately employed to review at least three journal articles relevant to their research foci, which assisted to form the basis for independent research proposals. By week four, students presented research plans before a panel of faculty and student judges. In order to complete the program, each student produced three final deliverables - an oral presentation, a technical poster and a paper describing their work. In addition, students were exposed to STEM research in an application-driven industrial setting through a visit to a private corporation known for its innovation. A final survey and individualized assessments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and progress of the individual students, respectively. Students demonstrated familiarity with basic research methods and universally reported increased interest in STEM education and careers, with four continuing to work in their labs beyond the program's formal duration. Beyond the summer research program, the partnership facilitated: (i) tutoring in community college STEM courses by Drexel graduate students, (ii) a STEM career discussion panel, and (iii) a discussion among faculty and staff from both institutions on addressing challenges UMS face in STEM education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]