RUNNING OUT OF SPACE . . .NCSU LIBRARIES OPENS

ON-CAMPUS SHELVING FACILITY

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS RECEIVES

GENEROUS SUPPORT FOR

SIGMA XI ARCHIVE

UNIVERSITY LIBRARY COMMITTEE

2003–2004

AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION FOR

THE NEW MILLENNIUM

VOLUME 24 NO. 1, PART IILIBRARY SEMINARS AND EVENTS

VOLUME 24 NO. 1, PART IIINEW LIBRARY PERSONNEL

APRIL–AUGUST 2003

VOLUME 24 NO. 1, PART IVLIBRARY DEVELOPMENT

VOLUME 24 NO. 1, PART VFRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY

F O C U S

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PART ILIBRARY NEWS

NCSU LIBRARIES

VOLUME 24 NO. 1

© NCSU Libraries 2003CB 7111

Raleigh, N.C. 27695-7111

Please direct queries or feedback about this issue to terry_crow@ncsu.edu.

OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY

LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT

SCHOLARLY

COMMUNICATION CENTER

Photographs by Sheri D. Thomas, NCSU, unless otherwise noted.

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Images from The Pulitzer Prize Photographs: Capture the Moment areunpacked in preparation for mounting the exhibition in the D. H. Hill Library.

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ith a severe shortage of stacks andseating space, the NCSU Librar-ies has added a new shelvinglocation for its least-used materi-

als. Called the Satellite Shelving Facility (SSF),it is located on Sullivan Drive in the formerCentral Stores building. The SSF project beganin 2000, renovations to the building and shelv-ing installation were completed in 2001/02,volumes were identified and moved in 2002/03,and the facility opened in March 2003. In the2003/04 academic year, the final sections ofcompact shelving will be installed, and—withthe transfer of additional materials over the nexttwo years from the D. H. Hill Library andbranch libraries—the SSF will be at capacity. Thetransfer of collections from the D. H. HillLibrary will create 450 additional study seatswithin the library.

The Satellite Shelving Facility provides 20,000square feet of high-density, environmentallycontrolled shelving for low-use books; boundjournals; and audiovisual, microform, andSpecial Collections materials. The buildingcurrently houses 250,000 volumes and over7,000 linear feet of special collections, and morematerials are being identified for location thereover the next few years. It is estimated that thefacility will be at total capacity by early 2007, ifthe addition of new collection materials contin-ues at the same rate.

Library staff developed criteria for selectingmaterials appropriate for satellite shelving inconsultation with the University Library Com-mittee (ULC). Nearly 96 percent of the itemsshelved at the facility are bound journal titlesthat ceased publication or had subscriptionscancelled prior to 1995. More than sixty cabinetsof low-use microform materials, as well as archi-

Running Out of Space . . .NCSU Libraries OpensOn-campus Shelving FacilityBY CAROLYN ARGENTATI, ASSOCIATE VICE PROVOST AND DONALD E. MORELAND DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF

LIBRARIES, AND JAN KEMP, COLLECTION MANAGEMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND PRESERVATION

val and manuscript materials from the Libraries’Special Collections Department, are also housedin the building. The library recognizes that boththe assignment of specific item locations and theservices for satellite shelving will be modifiedover time in response to user needs.

A program of rapid delivery services for materi-als located at the SSF has been developed in

Michael Wallace, supervisor of theSatellite Shelving Facility, retrieves a book

from the compact shelving stacks.

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collaboration with the ULC and library users.The user community’s response to these serviceshas been extremely positive. Items housed at theSSF are identified in the Libraries’ catalog with alocation of “Satellite Shelving Facility.” A “Re-quest Item” feature provides a link to an onlinerequest form. Journal articles requested byfaculty, students, staff, and registered borrowersare scanned and delivered via the Web, oftenwithin only a few hours. At the user’s request,articles may alternatively be faxed or photocop-ied, with a cost-recovery charge for photocopies.Books and entire journal volumes (if needed) aredelivered to the user’s selected NCSU librarylocation for pick up or to a campus office ad-dress. A small reading room at the facility,equipped with a computer and photocopier, isavailable by appointment for use by NCSUfaculty, students, staff, and registered libraryborrowers. All services can be requested via theWeb, electronic mail, fax, or telephone.

For further information, visit the Web at:http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/ads/satellite.html.Staff at the SSF can be reached by telephone at(919) 513-7190 or via an electronic-mail mes-sage sent to satellite@ncsu.edu. ❖

Johnnie Pippin [seated]and Michael Wallace

demonstrate the vehiclethat is used to deliver

material from theSatellite Shelving Facilityto users across campus.

[Above] Johnnie Pippin (NCSU Libraries)scans material at the Satellite Shelving Facilitythat will be sent via the Web to a researcher.

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igma Xi, the Scientific Research Society,has generously ensured that the NCSULibraries received not only the Sigma XiCollection, but also the funds needed to

process the society’s collection and to make itavailable to researchers. The initial acquisition ofthe Sigma Xi papers was a noteworthy event in1997, but subsequent additions to the collectionhave far eclipsed that donation. [A discussion ofthe initial gift can be found in Focus, volume18.2 (1998). To learn more about Sigma Xi, visitits Web site at http://www.sigmaxi.org/.]

Since 2001, Sigma Xi has awarded the NCSULibraries funds totaling $20,000 to contract witha graduate student in the archival managementfield to help manage the collection. JaimeMargalotti, a graduate student who began workon the collection while enrolled in NC State’s

Special Collections Receives GenerousSupport for Sigma Xi Archive

BY LOIS FISCHER BLACK, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

public history program, was selected to processand catalog the material, which entailed severaldifferent steps beginning with a survey to evalu-ate and make preliminary decisions about thecollection’s content and organization. Throughthe course of this work, Margalotti also ad-dressed preservation needs and familiarizedherself with the society’s history.

Sigma Xi was established at Cornell Universityin 1886 as an honorary society for scientists andengineers. One of the main goals of the society isto foster communication among professionalsand provide support for research. Today, SigmaXi’s headquarters is located in the ResearchTriangle Park, and the society has close to100,000 members internationally.

On June 30, 2003, Sigma Xi Executive Direc-tor Patrick Sculley visited the NCSU Libraries to

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[Left to right] PatrickSculley (executivedirector of Sigma Xi),Susan Nutter (viceprovost and director ofLibraries), and LoisBlack (curator ofcollections) standbeside a portion of theSigma Xi Collection.

Focus online | Volume 24:1 (2003) | 5

tour the Sigma Xi Collection, which is part ofSpecial Collections. He wanted to gain anunderstanding of the work being done on thecollection that occupies more than 400 linearfeet of shelf space. The library began its process-ing activities in 1998, which included a survey ofthe materials donated in 1997. Thanks to theprocessing funds received from Sigma Xi,Special Collections renewed its processingefforts in 2001 and tackled a new donation ofSigma Xi materials.

Special Collections staff first reviewed thefrequency of research requests received over thepast few years to determine how the processingfunds received from Sigma Xi might best beallocated. Margalotti then began processing theSigma Xi Chapter Files, which entailed integrat-ing new material into a previously organizedseries. Chapter Files are organized into twocategories, Correspondence and Annual Reports.Upon completion of the Chapter Correspon-

dence Files, Margalotti began processing theAnnual Reports Files. The next series to beaddressed will be the Executive Files, followed bythe Organizational Files, Audio-visual Collec-tion, and Artifacts. The final group of materialswill include the archives of American Scientist, ajournal published by Sigma Xi, and Sigma Xi’sGrants in Aid of Research. This extensive projectwill conclude with the preparation of an elec-tronic guide to the collection, which should bemounted on the NCSU Libraries’ Web site nextsummer. Special Collections is also planning anexhibition to commemorate the completion ofthe Sigma Xi Collection next spring.

For information about the Sigma Xi collectionor to learn more about contributing a collectionand the funds to process it, please call Lois Black,curator of collections, at (919) 515-9059, orsend an electronic-mail message toLois_Black@ncsu.edu. ❖

Michael R. Hyman, chair MicrobiologyPenny M. Amato Food ScienceRichard H. Bernhard Industrial Engineer-

ingAlexander J. De Grand HistoryEdward M. Farmer Public SafetyJames R. Flowers Microbiology,

Pathology, andParasitology

Martin A. Hubbe Wood and PaperScience

Jonathan S. Lindsey ChemistryCarolyn R. Miller EnglishCraig M. Newmark EconomicsSusan S. Osborne Curriculum and

InstructionMary M. Peet Horticultural

ScienceDouglas S. Reeves Computer ScienceRebecca C. Swanson Distance Education

and LearningTechnology Appli-cations (DELTA)

Michael H. Theil Textile Engineering,Chemistry, andScience

Student MembersYinon H. Bentor Student/

EngineeringMichael E. Cropper Student/

EngineeringErich M. Fabricius Student/

EngineeringAnjan R. Kundavaram Student/

EngineeringChad V. Jordan Graduate

Student/BotanyNegela Moaddeb Graduate

Student/SoilScience

David Shuford GraduateStudent/Genetics

Ex officio, nonvotingSusan K. Nutter Vice Provost and

Director of Libraries

University Library Committee2003–2004

6 | Focus online | Volume 24:1 (2003)

ontemporary challenges facing agricul-tural information parallel those facingagricultural research and practice.Agriculture today must feed a growing

population in a world of static or shrinkingnatural resources and increasing social andenvironmental constraints. Agricultural informa-tion professionals similarly must support agricul-ture by managing and improving access to aproliferating and increasingly complex array ofinformation resources in a climate of shrinkingresources and expanding constraints. Yet bothfields have access to powerful resources andtechnologies. This article describes three majorissues facing agricultural research and informa-tion—preservation, technology, and diversity—and highlights some of the ways the NCSULibraries is dealing with them.

PreservationFirst is preserving the past, whether in the

form of wild relatives of domesticated crops,early farming practices, or original agriculturalpublications. Agriculture helps preserve thepast through seed banks, living plant collections,and germ-plasm collections. Similarly, agricul-tural information is often preserved in archives orby conversion to other formats. The NCSULibraries’ Preservation Department is participat-ing in two collaborative projects to preserveagricultural information. The library’s historicentomology collection will be microfilmed aspart of the SOLINET Cooperative PreservationMicrofilming project. The Libraries has alsoreceived a grant to microfilm rural agriculturalmaterial related to the history of agriculture inNorth Carolina.

Agricultural Informationfor the New MillenniumBY ELEANOR M. SMITH, RESEARCH AND INFORMATION SERVICES

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was adapted from an essay that won the 2003U.S. Agricultural Information Network Conference Scholarship.

Zeno P. Metcalf was head of NC State’s entomologyand zoology departments from 1912 to 1950. Hedeveloped a comprehensive bibliography of theorder Homoptera.

TechnologyThe second issue facing agricultural research

and information is the rapid growth of technol-ogy, whether biotechnology or informationtechnology. Technological advances create newchallenges for understanding and managinginformation and often require new skills andinfrastructure. The NCSU Libraries is activelyinvolved in several projects using technology toimprove access to agriculture, forestry, and

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entomology information. As a member ofAgNIC (Agriculture Network InformationCenter), the Libraries works in collaborationwith NC State’s Department of Entomology tomaintain a Web site named “Systematic Ento-mology: A Guide to Online Insect SystematicResources” (http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/agnic/sys_entomology/). The site features cutting-edge technology, a quality selection of resources,and an online reference service. AgNIC is acollaborative effort between the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture/National AgriculturalLibrary and an alliance of land-grant universitiesto provide a network of subject-based electronicresource collections.

The Libraries is also involved in digitizing twomajor collections. The Metcalf project will createa Web-accessible bibliographic database of theearly literature for several insect superfamilies.Zeno P. Metcalf was the head of the NC Stateentomology and zoology departments from1912 to 1950. One of his many achievementswas the development of a comprehensive bibli-ography (through 1955) of the orderHomoptera. This project uses technology topreserve a collection while improving access tokey print and graphic resources. In cooperationwith Elisabeth Wheeler, professor emeritus ofwood and paper science at NCSU, the Librariesrecently received a National Science Foundationgrant to develop InsideWood, an extensive Web-accessible database for wood anatomy andidentification resources. This tool will makeavailable images of specimens and photographsfrom NC State’s extensive wood collections.

DiversityThe third issue is diversity. Agriculture practice

and research are becoming increasingly interdis-ciplinary while serving widely diverse popula-tions. Agricultural information experiences ahigh level of diversity, too, in content, format,technology, audiences, and services.

Models and MetaphorsUnderstanding the central models and meta-

phors of a profession helps information profes-sionals in two ways. First, it provides insight into

the thought processes of users, which leads tobetter understanding of their information needs.Second, thinking metaphorically and abstractlyoffers fresh perspectives on the profession andsparks new insights and practices.

Genes and genetic information are centralmetaphors in modern agriculture. Agriculture,from its primitive beginnings to contemporaryachievements in breeding and biotechnology, hasrelied on the same essential information source,the gene. What has changed is that understand-ing and manipulation of genetic information isoccurring at ever-increasing levels of sophistica-tion, technological skill, and potential for impact.Developments in agricultural information parallelthese trends.

Another powerful metaphor is genetic diversityand how it connects the past with the present.Biotechnology requires a variety of geneticinformation as a source of new genes and traits.Because modern agriculture relies on a relativelysmall and uniform collection of plants, with acorrespondingly limited collection of genes,diversity must be found outside of contemporaryagricultural species. Wild species from whichdomestic crops originated provide a pool ofgenetic diversity essential to biotechnology. Theplace where a species originated sometimescontains numerous wild progenitors and isreferred to as a center of diversity. The preserva-tion of genetic diversity is essential to manyaspects of agriculture today. Likewise, informa-tion and ideas from the past contribute to thedevelopment of new knowledge. Agriculturalinformation specialists must preserve and makeaccessible the wide diversity of agriculturalinformation, thereby creating centers of informa-tion diversity while developing systems to handlenew types of agricultural information. TheNCSU Libraries—with its strong historical andelectronic collections and its development andadoption of services and technologies to enhanceaccess to these collections—is meeting thechallenge of becoming a center of informationdiversity for agriculture and allied fields. ❖

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Focus, a newsletter published three times a year, seeks to promote the services, activities, needs, and interestsof the NCSU Libraries to the university, the Friends of the Library, and beyond.Editor: Terrell Armistead Crow.NCSU Libraries Homepage: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/