QR Codes in the Math Bookshelves

First things first. I am officially a Science Librarian now; however, I hope the "in training" part continues as long as I am a librarian.

Yesterday I put pink paperboard tabs in among the mathematics bookshelves at the library. On the end of these tabs were QR codes that take the viewer to various mathematics subject ebook collections in SpringerLink. I am very excited about the pilot project,a nd truly hope it gets some use.

As we have not been ordering print copies of Springer books since 2008, I have been concerned that the math book browsers (those who like to browse a section of the physical books rather than the online catalog) might be missing some of the most recently published books on a topic. With these QR codes, I hope to be leading math book users to the massive collections on mathematics ebooks. You may not realize this but a very large number of Springer books are in mathematics!

I will post some pictures later to give you an idea of what it looks like...

Photos from the SJSU Library Research Forum

Where Few Have Trekked Before: Mathematicians and Info Literacy

On Friday, June 6, I participated in the San Jose State University King Library's Research Forum. I presented a poster on my survey research of the SJSU Mathematics Faculty. Here is the extended abstract:

Mathematicians are rarely researched by librarians. This poster presentation will consider mathematicians in light of the rising pervasiveness of information literacy and lifelong learning goals for undergraduate students in colleges and universities. Mathematics faculty at San Jose State University are surveyed to explore and develop an understanding of their perceptions of information literacy and how it relates to undergraduate students earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics (hereafter, referred to as “math major”).

In Fall 2007, the survey questionnaires were distributed among the 33 SJSU math faculty (not including two faculty who participated in the instrument testing). The questionnaire was designed by the researcher to elicit several key issues relating to math faculty, math majors, and information literacy. Altogether 19 completed questionnaires were returned (57.6% response rate). A look at the qualitative portion of the faculty responses reveals that not only are very few math faculty currently (or in the past) collaborating with a librarian, but also many do not see a present need for information literacy within math courses. The poster will additionally include some illuminating and revealing comments made by the math faculty when they answered the open-ended questions. Possibilities for further research and study of mathematics faculty and students will conclude the poster presentation.

I learned in practical sense how to improve my poster-making skills. It was a challenge because I wanted to put so much more information on the board than could really fit. In the end, I could have done a better job making the essential information stand out and be eye-catching. I am quite proud of the color design for the poster, that looked good. Another SLIS student poster presenter took photos and said that she would send them to me. When I get these, I will post them here.