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Casting assignment - find a recent article 8/26/2008 3:51:40 PM
This assignment comes up every year and it is back again this semester: Engineering students have been asked to find an article on casting. The best resource for this is the engineering database, Compendex*Plus. When you connect to the Ei Engineering Village, which is the platform Compendex is loaded on, the first thing you should show students in this case is how to de-select the other databases (GeoBase, INSPEC, etc.) at the top so they are left just with Compendex. Searching on "casting" in Compendex will yield huge sets and so you will want to prompt the students to refine their search,. One way to do this is for them to choose a particular type of casting (die casting or sand casting, for example). BUT they should also limit by language (English), by document type (journal article), and by year or range of years (the article is supposed to be "recent"). You will see the various LIMIT options on the first screen once you connect to the Ei Village, directly under the search boxes. Please refer to me any students who need more help. - Nancy Schiller, schiller@buffalo.edu - Nancy Schiller
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BIO 205 Biochemistry 1/25/2008 4:57:10 PM
Students have a biochemistry lab project related to molecular structure.
They are given a CD-ROM software product RASTOP that allows for 3-D visualization of molecules.
Their first exercise is outlined in a handout they received in class and slightly more detailed in their "manual"
The software works apparently only on GREEN-TOPPED PCs. The instructions SHOULD be self-explanatory from the manual--they are learning the VERY basics of how to manipulate 3-D models (in the case given them a simple protein) and answer several questions in their manual, which they then have to provide to the UBLearns site for the class.
If there are problems or issues contact me or have the student contact me via email ( fstoss@buffalo.edu) or phone 645-2947 ext. 224
Historic Maps Assignment: HIS 319 (dues thurs 1/31) 1/25/2008 4:22:29 PM
You may start seeing students from today till next thursday who have a map-related project to do.
They each have a theme and a blank (outline) map to fill in for the world or a part of it. The 1st student in was looking for maps showing world boundaries in 1919 (post WWI).
They can go to many sources but for good starting points, if you get stumped, try going and searching the following online:
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/maps/researching_maps.html
go to the University of Texas at Austin site on this page:
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/maps/researching_maps.html#locate
and once on the UT site, use the left column menu "Historic Maps" page. You can find many maps showing specific years or periods.
Also try:
http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~dbertuca/maps/e-maps-examples.html#t
scroll down to "historic maps" for a list of collections.
one link is:
Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century
http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm
If these do not answer, you can refer to historical atlases in both ref collections, OR to atlases in the Map Room or Lock stacks. DON'T try to find atlases or maps for an exact date or period, but rather maps printed ABOUT a period.
You may also use BISON for reference type books on specific historical periods because these may contain the best maps on the theme (though you will need to look a little harder if you are not familiar with the topic).
Any further questions, contact me and I can assist. - David J. Bertuca
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Soil Surveys for UB Amherst & Precipitation data 12/3/2007 2:52:24 PM
Just in case you find yourself at the desk and this question comes up, I have included the answer below:
There is a hydrology class that has students looking for soil composition mainly for UB Amherst campus. In addition to some other materials that I have provided, the one item that is being requested are actual soil surveys.
Use the following book. note there are copies on both campuses. Using the index in the front you can locate the 4 plates covering the campus. just after the index is the legend that explains what soil types are on the plates:
SCI/ENGR Book Collection: S591 .A22 N.Y. ErieLibrary Info
CAPEN LIBRARIES / Reference: S591 .A22 N.Y. ErieLibrary Info
LOCKWOOD LIBRARY / Documents Collection: US A 57.38: Er 4/
ARCHITECTURE PLANNING LIBRARY / Book Collection: S599.N7 S55 1986
ARCHITECTURE PLANNING LIBRARY / Reserve: S599.N7 S55 1986
Soil survey of Erie County, New York / United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service ; in cooperation with the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station.
Published [Washington, D.C.?] : The Service, 1986. Description xi, 384 p., [4], 130 folded p. of plates : ill., maps (some col.) ; 28 cm.
we have at least 5 copies in SEL but 3 are already checked out. I am hoping now that most of the class has gotten their data and these may be the late ones. If you have further questions or needs let me know. THE CLASS I FOUND OUT IS HYDROLOGY AND THE PROJECTS ARE DUE FRIDAY--that doesn't stop people from rushing in late :<
Oh and they may ask about precipitation data by month for the area as well. Use Buffalo NWS station. see link on the Climate & Weather page:
<http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/climateweather.html#ncdc>
use link:
Local Climatological Data Publications for Buffalo, NY. select NY, then: Buffalo NY by year range. Look for 'annual' cumulation reports. the data by month is included in each of these.
Precip data is for 'total' monthly precip (not average, otherwise).
David J. Bertuca, Map Librarian
225 Capen Hall
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260-1672
716-645-2947 x229
dbertuca@buffalo.edu
- David J. Bertuca, Map Librarian
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Univ. of Chicago Press Journals - URL's all changed 12/3/2007 9:06:51 AM
I've contacted database support. Univ. of Chicago changed all their URL's last week. As of Monday morning, Dec. 2, they still haven't figured out how to do redirects on the new production system. So all old links are broken-- individual title and home pages. New URL for home page is http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/ - A. Ben Wagner
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World Civilizations assignments... 10/18/2007 2:41:37 PM
Hi all...
Soon you will begin to encounter students from sections of the UGC-111 course (World Civilizations: Prehistory to 1500 CE) taught by professors William Baumer, Alfred Price and Donald McGuire. Together, these sections of the course amount to better than 600 students, and each of those students is required to write a term paper.
For the Baumer and McGuire sections, students are expected to find at least four-six secondary sources related to their topics (which have been assigned or pre-approved by the instructor), and those sources are expected to be primarily scholarly books and journal articles. Tertiary sources can be consulted, but they cannot be cited as references. Students are allowed to cite one-two web sources if they are deemed to be reputable and authoritative.
For Dr. Price's section of the course, students are required research and write about an ancient city civilization. For this paper, students must to find at least one relevant book on archeology or cultural anthropology; one book on history, sociology, or technology; two scholarly journal articles, and one map or illustration of the selected civilization. The same rules noted above apply to the use of tertiary sources and the web. Additional details regarding this assignment can be viewed at: http://www.ap.buffalo.edu/%7Eadprice/ugc111/TermPaper.htm
Thanks much...
- Chris Hollister
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Casting assignment 9/4/2007 1:10:49 PM
This assignment comes up every year and here it is again: engineering students in a manufactures class have been asked to find an article on casting. The best resource for this is the engineering database, Compendex*Plus. Searching on "casting" in Compendex will yield huge sets and so you will want to prompt the students to refine their search, say by choosing a particular type of casting (die casting or sand casting, for example). They can also limit by English language and should also limit by year since the article should be recent. Please refer any students to me who need more help. - Nancy Schiller, schiller@buffalo.edu
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ARC 201 Assignment 9/4/2007 9:31:12 AM
Students in the Sophomore Architectural Design Studio ARC 201 are looking for info on Flak- turms in Vienna or the Dutch Water Line. What I didn't realize is that the structures for which these students are seeking info are all fortifications. After a study of the various fortifications, the studio will eventually address the transformations of the
fortifications into contemporary structures. The course description was
helpful to me:<http://www.ap.buffalo.edu/pdfs/architecture/courses/fa_07/201.pdf>.
Since there seem to be very few publications entirely about individual fortifications or military structures, there may be more info. in books entirely about bunkers, fortifications, military architecture, etc. in the 16th century etc. Only one book is on reserve now for ARC 201 -- titled "Bunker Archaeology."
Subject headings for possibly useful books include:
Fortification -- France (or netherlands, China, etc. etc.)
Military architecture or archaeology.
I also found some articles in the Avery Index on adaptive reuse of such buildings, and some of them may contain plans, sections, etc. the materials the students are now seeking. I would also suggest that other articles or entries may be found in Art Index, Art Index Retrospective, JSTOR.There's also an entry in Grove Art Online on "Military rchitecture and fortification." This article provides a very brief overview and then some
entries by country. Don't forget to click on the illustrations and images in the bar at the top, which provide plans and images the students may be able to use.
It may also be useful to search by the title of individual structures, like Great Wall, etc. There's a bibilography for this entry and most likely indiv. bibs for indiv. structures.
- Dorothy Tao, singtao@buffalo.edu
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Special NTIS Full-text database DARTS - 1964-2000 - updated access info 5/10/2007 12:33:11 PM
As a result of UB being a federal depository library, NTIS, the central clearinghouse for U.S. government technical reports, has provided us with free access to approximately 240,000 digitized, full-text reports from 1964-2000. This represents about 11% of the total number of NTIS reports available for this time period.
The database is called DARTS (Depository Access to Reports, Technical & Scientific). Access is by a single user i.d. and password with one concurrent user allowed. The user i.d./password cannot be given out to patrons for obvious reasons.
USER ID: ksmith2
PASSWORD: BErVg7Z$
[Note this is a new i.d. and password. The old one stopped working for undetermined resaons. --Ben Wagner 12/13/2007]
When I tested access, I was getting error messages while trying to log in with IE, but it worked fine with Firefox. This may be a temporary glitch.
Especially those that order government documents will want to remember to check this resource.
I will soon update the main technical report guide to note the existence of this material and ask that they contact a reference desk for access. Guide at < http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/tech_repts.html>
In brief, the process for finding out if we have a full-text of a given NTIS report is:
1) Search the BISON catalog by author/title words.
2) Search the NTIS database to verify citation and determine all associated report numbers.
3) If report is between 1964-2000, try the DARTS database described above. You have much better odds than the lottery!
4) Physically check the microfiche shelves in the Multimedia Center under ALL report numbers since many of our microfiche reports are not cataloged.
5) Many agencies have digitized reports and placed them on their web sites at no cost, sometimes going back several decades. Many of the larger digital collections are identified in our technical report guide (URL above), but it doesn't hurt to visit any of the funding agencies' web sites.
6) Go the ILL route or purchase the document from NTIS.
- A. Ben Wagner
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Journal Title Coverage in Databases - a Reminder 4/12/2007 1:42:34 PM
Yesterday a faculty question proved to be a classic reminder about the pitfalls of journal title coverage in databases. The faculty member searched Web of Science (WOS) for an article in Smart Materials and Structures, Vol. 2, 1993 and could not find it. This journal is from a well-known publisher, Institute of Physics (IOP). It turns out that WOS was not indexing this title for the first 3 volumes. This was NOT inadvertent, but a matter of policy.
I noted in my reply to the faculty member that it is tempting to assume that such a large and multi-disciplinary database like WOS covers "everything". But precisely because it is so large and multi-disciplinary, it is a very expensive operation to run. One of the policy decisions that WOS producers have made is that they usually do not start to cover a journal until it has proved itself in the market place. Given the rate at which hundreds of new journals are started each year (and scores, if not hundreds, cease each year), even journals from a well-known publisher like IOP are not routinely covered starting with the first volume.
In this case, WOS did not start covering Smart Materials & Structures until v. 4, 1995. In certain cases, they will retrospectively index issues once coverage begins, but this, of course, is quite expensive and time consuming, so it is not unusual that they did not go back and index v. 1-3.
This is why we as librarians must continue to encourage all UB patrons to search at least 2-3 databases when it is important to not miss articles. In the case of the 1993 article under question, it is indexed and can be readily found in either Inspec or Compendex (Engineering Index). Inspec and Compendex have the advantage of having an engineering focus (a much smaller universe to cover than WOS), and hence they did start indexing this journal as soon as it appeared in 1992 with v. 1. - A. Ben Wagner
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