Schwerdtfeger Library News -- June 2004
 

Schwerdtfeger Library News - June 2004

By Jean Phillips, Librarian

 

 

 

Online Circulation at the Schwerdtfeger Library

Library staff are implementing the circulation module that accompanies MadCat. Our module is up and running which means:

  • we are now circulating materials that have been barcoded
  • the correct status for bar coded materials appears in MadCat (checked out/not checked out)
  • you can request that materials be delivered to the Schwerdtfeger Library. To do this, search for a title and from the "Place Requests" tab at the top of the MadCat display, select the library to which you'd like the book delivered
  • you will need to have your UW ID with you in order to check books out of the Library
  • some materials, such as journals, will not be barcoded at this time, thus they will circulate under the old card system

The Library will notify you when something is available, overdue or recalled. You will not be notified when it's time to renew materials you have checked out. One thing that you'll need to do is grow accustomed to checking your MadCat Account. Logon with your UW ID and last name. Once logged in to your account you can check to see if there are any blocks on your record, what items you have checked out and their due dates, whether you have any pending requests, fines or fees. From this screen you can renew books or cancel requests for materials you no longer need.

If the campus has an email address for you (most faculty/staff/students do) all communications will be directed to the e-mail address attached to your patron record.

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Geology Library Closed for Renovations

The Geology and Geophysics Library will be closed for renovations starting May 29, 2004. The expected completion date is August 2004.

The Geology Library staff will move to 470 Weeks Hall and maintain normal intersession and summer hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. Staff will be able to answer questions and provide access to some heavily used portions of the collection, however; most of the print collection will be inaccessible during this period.

Please let us know if you need materials that would normally be obtained at the Geology Library and we'll get them through other channels.

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New Reports

Science Policy: Is the United States Losing Dominance?

"The United States has started to lose its worldwide dominance in critical areas of science and innovation" as "foreign advances in basic science now often rival or even exceed America's, apparently with little public awareness of the trend or its implications for jobs, industry, national security, or the vigor of the nation's intellectual and cultural life," writes reporter William J. Broad in a front page, May 3 article in the New York Times. In addition to fewer Nobel Prizes going to Americans and a downturn in the number of scientific papers published, the number of American patents is also down, with a quarter of all U.S. patents awarded each year to foreign researchers working outside the U.S. While scientific accomplishments in Europe and Asia are on the rise, but largely go unnoticed in the United States, "China represents the next wave, experts agree, its scientific rise still too fresh to show up in most statistics but already apparent." In addition, the drop in the number of foreign students in the U.S., the "apparently declining interest of young Americans in science careers," and the graying of the technical workforce is a perilous combination of developments, says Shirley Jackson, president of AAAS, who asks "who will do the science of this millennium?"

On May 5, the New York Times headline, " National Science Panel Warns of Far Too Few New Scientists" reports on the Science and Engineering Indicators 2004 study released May 4 by the National Science Board. Although 38 percent of the nation's current crop of scientists and engineers with doctorates are foreign born, the NSB predicts the U.S. will soon face a shortage of scientists because too few Americans are entering technical fields, visa restrictions are preventing more foreigners from working in the United States, and more skilled foreigners in countries committed to gains in science and technology are opting not to relocate to the United States. Says NSB Chair Warren M. Washington, "The United States is in a long-distance race to retain its essential global advantage in S&E human resources and sustain our world leadership in science and technology." (Excerpted from NSF Sci-Tech Library Newsletter 5/17/04)

Science and Engineering Indicators 2004, (National Academy Press, 2004)

An Emerging and Critical Problem of the Science and Engineering Labor Force (companion to Science and Engineering Indicators 2004)

U.S. Losing Dominance in the Sciences, New York Times, 3 May 2004, pA1 (in the Library).

National Science Panel Warns of Far Too Few New Scientists, New York Times, 5 May 2004, pA18 (in the Library).

Report: U.S. Losing Ground in Science Education (USA Today, 6 May 2004)

Chronicle of Higher Education articles on visa restrictions (Schwerdtfeger Library ITAR page)

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