Library A Week

Illinois State Water Survey Library

2010 no. 34

Library Profile

Library Name: Illinois State Water Survey Library Location: 2204 Griffith Dr, Champaign, IL Mission:The Illinois State Water Survey is the primary agency in Illinois for research and information on surface water, groundwater, and the atmosphere. Its mission is to characterize and evaluate the quality, quantity, and use of these resources. The mission is achieved through basic and applied research; by collecting, analyzing, archiving, and disseminating objective scientific and engineering data and information; and through service, education, and outreach programs. This information provides a sound technical basis for the citizens and policymakers of Illinois and the nation to make wise social, economic, and environmental decisions. Type: Special LTLS Directory Page: http://www.lincolntrail.info/qwn.html Library Website: http://www.isws.illinois.edu/chief/library Library Member Since: 1978

What is unique about your library?

Our library holds many documents on water and weather that are not widely held.  Our archive includes the weather station records, some of which have hand-written entries for daily temperature and precipitation, occasionally with anecdotal observations by weather station operators. These entries go back to the late 1800s and although the data has been put into an online database, it is exciting to hold the original logs.

What are the primary goals and objectives of your library?

Our primary goal is to support the staff of the ISWS.  As a taxpayer supported institution, we also have an obligation and privilege to meet the information needs of the public. We also serve the students and faculty on the U of I campus.

What cooperative efforts are you currently doing?

My work at the ISWS Library is actually a cooperative effort in and of itself-my services were loaned to ISWS by the Illinois Natural History Survey starting in December 2008.  In turn, the ISWS has given some much needed student help at the INHS Library, and covered part of my salary in FY10.  It was a first step in the direction of Institute-wide library service, and has been a wonderful opportunity for me to get to know the ISWS staff and learn about their work.  In 2008, the State Scientific Surveys, including the Illinois State Water Survey, joined the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign as the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability.  Prior to that, we had been somewhat independent units of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.  The libraries are an area where the Institute is actively striving to become more than the sum of its parts. This spring, the Institute’s Library Advisory Task Force, with representation from each of the member surveys was convened to make recommendations on Institute library operations.  The task force recommended the merger of the physical collections, centralized administration of all library activities under the Institute, as well as the preservation of the relationships of the librarians to the units they serve.  All Institute librarians are currently working together to staff the public service point we will retain, which is the current Illinois Natural History Survey Library. In spring of 2009, the librarians of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability and the University Library submitted a successful proposal for funds from CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois) for the transfer of the catalogs of the State Scientific Surveys into the University of Illinois Library catalog.  The award, through CARLI’s Collections Enhancement Awards program, funded student help and a research programmer to make the record transfer possible.  In addition, Beth Wohlgemuth at the INHS submitted a successful proposal for funds from the University Library, in a competition open only to University Library bibliographers, for funds for card to MARC conversion of portions of the card catalogs of the ISWS and ISGS libraries.  We have successfully worked through most of the catalogs of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and ISWS.  Of about 10,000 records tested from the ISWS catalog, about 6,800 were found to be new to the University of Illinois and were added.  These materials are now requestable through I-Share and via Interlibrary Loan from the University of Illinois Library.  The University Library’s infrastructure allows us to fill the requests more easily and more economically than we were able to do in the past.  It also provides our staff with an online catalog for the ISWS collection, which they previously lacked.  There remains more to do, but we have accomplished a great deal together and with the help of the University of Illinois, of which we are all now a part.

Tell us a story about your library.

I have discovered many information gems left by the former ISWS Librarian, Pat Gobert.  My personal favorite is the Boneyard Creek Bibliography.  Pat did a wonderful job of compiling a wide range of resources on the history of the Boneyard.  Many of these resources would be quite hidden but for Pat’s work.  She collocated ISWS holdings in the collection and created a wonderful annotated bibliography with an introduction summarizing the available information.  This resource attracts a variety of patrons, both local and far-flung.  I’ve met with graduate students and members of local community groups who found the ISWS Library through that bibliography.  One of the first call slip requests received after the ISWS records were moved into the University Library catalog was for a report from this collection.  I’ve been working with Betsy Kruger in the University Library’s Digital Content Creation Unit to identify materials from the Boneyard collection that are appropriate candidates for digitization.  This bibliography exemplifies the value the State Scientific Surveys and their librarians offer our campus and community.

If money were no object, what services would you add?

One of my goals is to involve all the Institute libraries making our data more visible and usable, tracking its use, and ensuring its long-term curation.  Unlimited money could buy a lot of infrastructure and professional development for this type of work. I keep a list of online resources I would love to be able to provide our staff and the University of Illinois campus.  Our research areas are well covered by the bibliographers at the University of Illinois, and the University has always been generous with access for ISWS staff.  But, as every librarian knows, the availability of new content always outpaces the availability of money to acquire it.

What is popular in your library?

As with other libraries, our website sees more visits than our physical location.  The Boneyard Bibliography may be one of the most frequently used pages and leads patrons to our door.  Librarian assistance is probably the most important service I offer to ISWS staff, but I think the online resources the University Library offers beat me hands down in a popularity contest.  We’re grateful to be part of the University and have the use of those resources!

How does your library use online tools to connect to your users?

I connect with our staff and the public through our website, and I use RefWorks and LibGuides to share information.  I use RefWorks both for general web publishing, as in the ISWS Staff Bibliography, and to respond to literature search requests.  I use email to communicate with ISWS staff and other patrons, which allows me to provide service to anyone from wherever I happen to be.  Because my time in the physical space is relatively limited, I rely heavily on email communication, and it seems to be working effectively.  I help to monitor the University Library’s Ask A Librarian instant messaging service, and although those are not typically ISWS users, participation in library-wide service initiatives keeps me current and builds good will for the Institute.  During this period of transition, I’ve held of on new online communications initiatives (e.g., blogs) that are ISWS-specific; I hope we’ll be able to develop more robust tools and services for the whole Institute.

Request a visit to your library If you would like to set up a special date for us to visit your library contact LTLS Consultant Michelle Ralston Library of the Week is published by Lincoln Trail Libraries System, 1704 W. Interstate Dr., Champaign, IL 61822 217-352-0047  -   ltls@lincolntrail.info Executive Director: Jan Ison, Editorial and Design Team: Michelle Ralston and David Lottes