Concentration levels of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in car parks at Queensland University of Technology

This study investigates the level of pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals) in three car parks at QUT, one at Kelvin Grove campus and two at the Gardens Point campus. In addition, comparisons between site designs were assessed to identify the possible sources of heavy metals and PAHs. The main contributing source for heavy metals was identified to be from vehicle debris and emissions, while the source of PAHs was identified to be from petrol and diesel engine vehicle emissions. The highest concentration of pollutants was typically found for the 63 micro meter dust samples, proposed to be due to increased surface areas and thus available adsorption sites.

Improving the effectiveness of age-abundance indicators in the management of fisheries in Queensland, Australia

The development of fishery indicators is a crucial undertaking as it ultimately provides evidence to stakeholders about the status of fished species such as population size and survival rates. In Queensland, as in many other parts of the world, age-abundance indicators (e.g. fish catch rate and/or age composition data) are traditionally used as the evidence basis because they provide information on species life history traits as well as on changes in fishing pressures and population sizes. Often, however, the accuracy of the information from age-abundance indicators can be limited due to missing or biased data. Consequently, improved statistical methods are required to enhance the accuracy, precision and decision-support value of age-abundance indicators.

Use of library and information science journals by Master?s students in their dissertations: experiences at the University of Wales Aberystwyth

Tedd, L.A. (2006).Use of library and information science journals by Master?s students in their dissertations: experiences at the University of Wales Aberystwyth. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives, 58(6), 570-581.

When the library is located in prime real estate: a case study on the loss of space from the Duke University Medical Center Library and Archives.

The Duke University Medical Center Library and Archives is located in the heart of the Duke Medicine campus, surrounded by Duke Hospital, ambulatory clinics, and numerous research facilities. Its location is considered prime real estate, given its adjacency to patient care, research, and educational activities. In 2005, the Duke University Library Space Planning Committee had recommended creating a learning center in the library that would support a variety of educational activities. However, the health system needed to convert the library's top floor into office space to make way for expansion of the hospital and cancer center. The library had only five months to plan the storage and consolidation of its journal and book collections, while working with the facilities design office and architect on the replacement of key user spaces on the top floor. Library staff worked together to develop plans for storing, weeding, and consolidating the collections and provided input into renovation plans for users spaces on its mezzanine level. The library lost 15,238 square feet (29%) of its net assignable square footage and a total of 16,897 (30%) gross square feet. This included 50% of the total space allotted to collections and over 15% of user spaces. The top-floor space now houses offices for Duke Medicine oncology faculty and staff. By storing a large portion of its collection off-site, the library was able to remove more stacks on the remaining stack level and convert them to user spaces, a long-term goal for the library. Additional space on the mezzanine level had to be converted to replace lost study and conference room spaces. While this project did not match the recommended space plans for the library, it underscored the need for the library to think creatively about the future of its facility and to work toward a more cohesive master plan.

Libraries and Canon-Formation: the Case of English in the Collections of the Library of the Faculty of Humanities, Lisbon University

Abstract: The project for researching the role played by libraries in canon-formation (namely through their policies regarding the creation, organization, preservation, and utilization of the collections) will be presented and discussed. We selected the Library of the Faculty of Humanities, Lisbon University, a modern academic library, created in 1859, by royal decree of D. Pedro V, following his canonical choice. Actually, the two contemporary rulers of new Britannia— Prince Albert, his cousin, and Queen Victoria—held this king in high consideration for his outstanding contribution to Portuguese modernisation. Representing various fields of study, the collections were decisive to canon-formation in the Faculty of Humanities. Thus, we have been trying to answer the following questions: who has been creating, organizing, preserving, and utilizing the collections, from the mid-nineteenth century onwards? When, where and how? Presently, we are studying the collections in English, namely the works belonging or referring to the long nineteenth century. Richard Garnett’s “The International Library of Famous Literature” (London, 1899) is our first case-study. The anthology determined the Western literary, cultural and visual canon at the turning of the century, as evidenced by comparing it to the Portuguese and Spanish editions, published at the beginning of the twentieth century.

World Cultures in English(es) at the School of Arts and Humanities Library, University of Lisbon: the Communication Platform Architecture and Its Critical Analysis

We will consider the architecture of the communication platform prototype, "World Cultures in English(es)" (WCE), in relation to the interaction among different types of media and audiences. Such an architecture has emphasized the need for an interdisciplinary team of scholars, librarians, and Information Technology experts who have conceived the prototype. This prototype was developed using PHP and MySQL, and is based on the University of Lisbon server. The "World Cultures in English(es)" is an Open Access platform bringing together different types of documents—written, audio, visual, multimedia, and electronic—and aims at educational, cultural, social, and economic inclusiveness, namely in terms of users with special needs. The WCE platform strongly implies social commitment through reliable information and forms of communication adequate to different kinds of audiences. The "World Cultures in English(es)" prototype will be tested by different audiences from different schools and universities, leading to the necessary adjustments.

Collegial Self-Governance for Professional Librarians: A Look at the Advantages of the Establishment of a Library Council and its Role in the Lives of the Librarians in the Brock University Faculty Association

The ability to perform collegial governance is a cornerstone of modern universities in the United States and Canada. This idea of governance is well practiced among faculty members but is not often practiced to the same extent with librarians in those same institutions. In this chapter, I will look at a popular form of collegial governance called the Library Council. Further, I will examine how the Library Council at Brock University has enabled librarians there to perform meaningful collegial self-governance.

University of Southampton Inter-Library Loan (ILL) Form

A form for obtaining material from other libraries or institutions. Any type of material included.

Assessing the Design of the Library's Discovery Interface and Online resources: A Case Study at the University of Maryland

This presentation was offered as part of the CUNY Library Assessment Conference, Reinventing Libraries: Reinventing Assessment, held at the City University of New York in June 2014.

The Use of the Library Catalogue by Undergraduate Students in Niger Delta University Library

This study investigated the use of library catalogue in Niger Delta University library. The study employed descriptive research method and questionnaire as a research instrument to generate the data. The analysis revealed that 168 (51 percent) of the users were not aware of library catalogue, and 160 (54 percent) had never used the catalogue. The study also showed that 209 (71.7 percent) encountered difficulties in using the catalogue because of lack of proper education and, as a result, 202 (68.7 percent) of the users resolved to used browsing/reading through the shelves method to locate books. The analysis also revealed that 202 (68.7 percent) of users indicated that proper user education was a means to easy catalogue use in the library. Recommendations were made to improve effective catalogue use, including user education, regular orientation programme, and preparation of guidelines on use of the library catalogue.

Spectral reflectance library of selected biotic and abiotic coral reef features in Glovers Reef, Belize

Underwater spectral reflectance was measured for selected biotic and abiotic coral reef features of Glovers Reef, Belize from March 6 - 10, 2005. Spectral reflectance's of 63 different benthic types were obtained in-situ. An Ocean Optics USB2000 spectrometer was deployed in an custom made underwater housing with a 0.5 m fiber-optic probe mounted next to an artificial light source. Spectral readings were collected with the probe (bear fibre) about 5 cm from the target to ensure that the target would fill the field of view of the fiber optic (FOV diameter ~4.4 cm), as well as to reduce the attenuating effect of the intermediate water (Roelfsema et al., 2006). Spectral readings included for one target included: 1 reading of the covered spectral fibre to correct for instrument noise, 1 reading of spectralon panel mounted on divers wrist to measure incident ambient light, and 8 readings of the target. Spectral reflectance was calculated for each target by first subtracting the instrument noise reading from each other reading. The corrected target readings were then divided by the corrected spectralon reading resulting in spectral reflectance of each target reading. An average target spectral reflectance was calculated by averaging the eight individual spectral reflectance's of the target. If an individual target spectral reflectance was visual considered an outlier, it was not included in the average spectral reflectance calculation. See Roelfsema at al. (2006) for additional info on the methodology of underwater spectra collection.

Spectral reflectance library of selected biotic and abiotic coral reef features in Heron Reef

Underwater spectral reflectance was measured for selected biotic and abiotic coral reef features of Heron Reef from June 25-30, 2006. Spectral reflectance's of 105 different benthic types were obtained in-situ. An Ocean Optics USB2000 spectrometer was deployed in an custom made underwater housing with a 0.5 m fiber-optic probe mounted next to an artificial light source. Spectral readings were collected with the probe(bear fibre) about 5 cm from the target to ensure that the target would fill the field of view of the fiber optic (FOV diameter ~4.4 cm), as well as to reduce the attenuating effect of the intermediate water (Roelfsema et al., 2006). Spectral readings included for one target included: 1 reading of the covered spectral fibre to correct for instrument noise, 1 reading of spectralon panel mounted on divers wrist to measure incident ambient light, and 8 readings of the target. Spectral reflectance was calculated for each target by first subtracting the instrument noise reading from each other reading. The corrected target readings were then divided by the corrected spectralon reading resulting in spectral reflectance of each target reading. An average target spectral reflectance was calculated by averaging the eight individual spectral reflectance's of the target. If an individual target spectral reflectance was visual considered an outlier, it was not included in the average spectral reflectance calculation. See Roelfsema at al. (2006) for additional info on the methodology of underwater spectra collection.