Metrics of monograph use in the Marston Science Library

As academic libraries are increasingly supported by a matrix of databases functions, the use of data mining and visualization techniques offer significant potential for future collection development and service initiatives based on quantifiable data. While data collection techniques are still not standardized and results may be skewed because of granularity problems, faulty algorithms, and a host of other factors, useful baseline data is extractable and broad trends can be identified. The purpose of the current study is to provide an initial assessment of data associated with science monograph collection at the Marston Science Library (MSL), University of Florida. These sciences fall within the major Library of Congress Classification schedules of Q, S, and T, excluding R, TN, TR, and TT. Overall strategy of this project is to look at the potential science audiences within the university community and analyze data related to purchasing and circulation patterns, e-book usage, and interlibrary loan statistics. While a longitudinal study from 2004 to the present would be ideal, this paper presents the results from the academic year July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 which was chosen as the pilot period because all data reservoirs identified above were available.

Measuring Learning Outcomes in Library Instruction

The author uses clicker technology to incorporate polling and multiple choice question techniques into library instruction classes. Clickers can be used to give a keener understanding of how many students grasp the concepts presented in a specific class session. Typically, a student that aces a definition-type question will fail to answer an application-type question correctly. Immediate, electronic feedback helps to calibrate teaching approaches and gather data about learning outcomes. This presentation will analyze learning outcomes specific to scientific disciplines, and demonstrate the usefulness of clickers to engage and sustain student learning.

Data management plans - the role of the library

Planning the management of data at proposal time and throughout its lifecycle is becoming increasingly important to funding agencies and is essential to ensure its current usability and long term preservation and access. This presentation will describe the work being done at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to assist PIs with the preparation of data management plans and the role the Library has in this process. Data management does not mean simply storing information. The emphasis is now on sharing data and making research accessible. Topics to be covered include educating staff about the NSF data policy implementation, a data management survey, resources for proposal preparation, collaborating with other librarians, and next steps.

Could the library be dismantled/role of unique holdings in modern times

I have been asked by administration, how much of our collection could go into storage. They optimistically hoping for a room or two for faculty/staff offices, as some buildings need renovation or need to be closed due to safety issues. Clearly, much of the population believes that all/most library materials are available on-line – free. I will present the results of our survey’s of material held and available on-line and space “freed” thanks to archiving. How little space is freed.

The Marine Science Library, Resource Center : poster presentation

The first concept of a new library was introduced in 2001 by a faculty member at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. The suggestion for the construction of a new library was based on two specific reasons: existing library is located in one of the most vulnerable buildings to hurricane damage and the library has outgrown its current space. This presentation provides a general overview of the current status and changing needs of the Marine Science Library and how the idea of a new library finally became a reality

Creating a collection development model for a marine science library

The purpose of this article is to update and build on the approximate 10,000 item collection of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Library. This article will present a history of Harbor Branch and its library, and a literature review, outlining the collection development methods of other marine science libraries and academic libraries. The article will relate brief histories of three marine science libraries. A comparative table is constructed to compare Harbor Branch Library with three marine science libraries. The methodology, or how the table was created, is explained. The comparative table will be shown and analyzed, and the results of the table discussed. Finally, some recommendations for improvement of the Harbor Branch Library will be presented.

Construction and characterization of bacterial artificial chromosome library of black-handed spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi)

The large-insert genomic DNA library is a critical resource for genome-wide genetic dissection of target species. We constructed a high-redundancy bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library of a New World monkey species, the black-handed spider monkey

Construction of a BAC library for Chinese amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri and identification of clones containing Amphi-pax genes

Amphioxus is a crucial organism for the study of vertebrate evolution. Although a genomic BAC library of Branchiostoma floridae has been constructed, we report here another BAC library construction of its distant relative species Branchiostoma belcheri. The amphioxus BAC library established in present study consists of 45,312 clones arrayed in one hundred and eighteen 384-well plates. The average insert fragment size was 120 kb estimated by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis of 318 randomly selected clones. The representation of the library is about 12 equivalent to the genome, allowing a 99.9995% probability of recovering any specific sequence of interest. We further screened the library with 4 single copied Amphi-Pax genes and identified total of 26 positive clones with average of 6.5 clones for each gene. The result indicates this library is well suited for many applications and should also serve as a useful complemental resource for the scientific community.

Construction, characterization and chromosomal mapping of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library of Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti)

We constructed a high redundancy bacterial artificial chromosome library of a seriously endangered Old World Monkey, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) from China. This library contains a total of 136 320 BAC clones. The average insert size of BAC clones was estimated to be 148 kb. The percentage of small inserts (50-100 kb) is 2.74%, and only 2.67% non-recombinant clones were observed. Assuming a similar genome size with closely related primate species, the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey BAC library has at least six times the genome coverage. By end sequencing of randomly selected BAC clones, we generated 201 sequence tags for the library. A total of 139 end-sequenced BAC clones were mapped onto the chromosomes of Yunnan snub-nosed monkey by fluorescence in-situ hybridization, demonstrating a high degree of synteny conservation between humans and Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys. Blast search against human genome showed a good correlation between the number of hit clones and the size of the chromosomes, an indication of unbiased chromosomal distribution of the BAC library. This library and the mapped BAC clones will serve as a valuable resource in comparative genomics studies and large-scale genome sequencing of nonhuman primates. The DNA sequence data reported in this paper were deposited in GenBank and assigned the accession number CG891489-CG891703.

Construction and characterization of a Lipotes vexillifer genomic DNA BAC library

We constructed a genomic DNA library for Lipotes vexillifer (L. vexillifer), the Baiji or Yangtze River dolphin, one of the most endangered mammals in the world. The library consists of 149,000 BAC clones, with an average insert size of 83 kb, representing approximately 3.4 haploid genome equivalents. PCR amplification of four known L. vexillifer genes yielded two to four positive clones each. To demonstrate the utility of this library, we isolated and sequenced the L. vexillifer alpha lactalbumin gene, which is a gene specific to mammals and one which has been widely used as molecular tool in phylogenetic analysis. We also end-sequenced 20 randomly selected clones, resulting in the identification of at least five new L. vexilliter genes, five SSR loci, and one SINE locus. These results suggest that this library is a valuable resource for candidate gene cloning, physical mapping, and genome sequencing of this important and threatened species.

A combined phage display ScFv library against Myxobolus rotundus infecting crucian carp, Carassius auratus auratus (L.), in China

Immunological methods have been developed for the diagnosis of Myxobolus rotundus but their use has been limited for the prevention and therapy of this serious parasitic pathogen. Phage display antibody libraries are a powerful technique for the development of antibodies to molecules of interest and have advantages over traditional hybridroma approaches. In the present study, four antigen fractions related to M. rotundus were prepared and a combined phage display single-chain antibody fragments (ScFv) library was constructed against this parasite. Preliminary analysis indicated that a combined antibody library of about 2.08 X 10(5) individual clones and high diversity was generated. After four rounds of screening (bio-panning) against soluble spore protein prepared from lysed, intact, mature M rotundus spores, a strain monoclonal phage display ScFv, termed pCAN-6H9, with better affinity, was isolated. The pCAN-6H9 gene fragment was sequenced and analysed. The specificity of pCAN-6H9 was further demonstrated by dot-blot. In competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, both the original and enriched phage-displayed ScFv repertoire showed significant inhibition of mouse anti-M rotundus serum binding to coated antigen, while the inhibition rate of monoclonal pCAN-6H9 phage particles was only 11.83%.