Marine Science and Technology
Datum
2008-12
Autor:innen
Zeitschriftentitel
ISSN der Zeitschrift
Bandtitel
Verlag
Bowker
Zusammenfassung
Our oceans surround us, and we depend upon them for food, transportation, and
recreation. They affect us daily as they shape our climate and rattle our world
with unexpected events. Current headlines indicate that they are in flux and
perhaps in trouble. Coral reefs are dying due to rising ocean temperatures.
Fisheries throughout the world are collapsing, threatening ecosystems and
livelihoods. Hypoxic zones suggest that ocean conditions are either shifting
from one cycle to another or perhaps into a very different status. Increasing
acidification raises concerns for the future of marine life. Are the oceans actually
dying or just changing? Inquiring minds want to know.
Librarians serving these inquiring minds face a range of distinct questions.
Research scientists examine the problems and explore solutions or answers. The
general populace wonders how the shifting ocean environment affects the
present and future of the earth. Students want help tackling difficult questions.
The marine environment is complex, and its literature is multidisciplinary,
interdisciplinary, and highly specialized. Much of the research focuses on the
four classic oceanographic disciplines-physical, biological, chemical, and
geological. However, general audiences want information that crosses all
disciplines.
The audience and the questions being asked should help shape the local
collection. A university with a marine engineering program will need different
journals than do universities focused on teaching marine biology or high school
libraries attempting to cover all of the sciences. Even the core academic
collection, once simple to identify, eludes us as more specialized titles emerge;
the general titles expand coverage, causing users to be overwhelmed with
information on multiple scales. Librarians need to take particular care in marine
science to recognize the scope of their collection. Such considerations include geographic focus, discipline segmentation, teaching needs, and research
requirements. Breadth and depth are possible in a marine science collection, but
at costs typical to many scientific fields.
There is a dearth of quality, focused marine science titles for the general
public, yet the subject is covered in National Geographic, Scientific American,
and other general science and environmental periodicals. The ocean
environment intrigues many, so the issues and questions appear frequently
throughout the print and electronic media. As with any environmental field, bias
can be an issue, making balanced selection essential.
Identifying marine science information is also challenging because not one
index covers the field comprehensively. Web of Science provides adequate
general access. For the subfields of oceanography, the academic librarian will
need access to resources such as SciFinder Scholar (Chemical Abstracts) or
GeoRef, depending on the research question. Biosis and Zoological Record
cover the biological aspects well. Aquatic Science and Fisheries Abstracts
(ASFA) is an essential resource for the applied science of the marine and
estuarine environments. Policy and management information remains more
difficult to access and requires multiple indexes including ASFA, Google
Scholar, and relevant social sciences databases. For general public and basic
academic collections, an index such as EBSCO's Academic Search Premier is
adequate.
Our relationship with the ocean will not disappear. People will continue to
want timely information on ocean conditions, its inhabitants, and its problems.
The scientists continue their exploration. New journals emerge to address the
timely issues in new and traditional ways. The American Fisheries Society will
launch its open-access journal, Marine and Coastal Fisheries, sometime in late
2008 or early 2009. A new annual review is due in late 2008 as well, Annual
Review of Marine Science. The ever-changing and dynamic nature of the ocean
is well reflected in the information that describes it.
Beschreibung
Posted by permission of Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA). (c) CSA 2006. All rights reserved.
Schlagwörter
Periodical selection, Marine science, Marine biology, Collection development (Libraries)
Zitierform
Webster, J.G. and B.A. Butler. 2008. Marine Science and Technology. In: Magazines for Libraries. 17th ed. New York: Bowker. pp.648-657.