Science and technology libraries partnering with Knovel

Science and Technology Libraries, 26(3): pp. 13-28.The engineering library plays a critical role in initiating and maintaining the conduit between vendors of engineering information and the users of that information—faculty, students, and researchers. Likewise, vendors play a key role in supporting library and faculty efforts to promote science and engineering information resources, beyond just supplying content and interface. Science and engineering libraries and vendors can effectively work together to get the most from electronic resources for both large and small institutions. The case studies here show how Knovel Corporation, a sci-tech e-book vendor, has worked with librarians at large and small institutions and with faculty members to promote awareness and usage of Knovel’s interactive library of electronic books for science and engineering education. Librarians and Knovel partner at a large institution like Drexel University to give on-site workshops for faculty and students. At these workshops important features of Knovel’s content and software are discussed and demonstrated in a live format. Questions are encouraged to ensure participants understand the technology, and short assignments reinforce learning. Knovel works with librarians to promote these sessions and continues the dialogue with attendees afterward. On-site demonstrations are one of the most effective ways to educate users about new technologies and new content. Librarians at smaller institutions often do not have the time and resources to devote to a full-scale on-site workshop. They need an "out-of-the-box" solution that is quick to deploy with an interface that is self-evident to users. Complete integration of e-book titles into the institution’s information toolbox is the key here. Knovel provides resources to promote ready access to meet the needs of smaller institutions, including MARC records for the library's catalog. Finally, librarians and Knovel work directly with faculty to integrate Knovel's content into their courses. An example is Purdue University’s "treasure hunt" assignment given in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program which includes questions which leverage Knovel titles to answer. By supporting outreach and access strategies appropriate for institution size and need, librarians and Knovel illustrate how to create an effective partnership with engineering libraries to increase awareness, usage and, ultimately, cost-effectiveness of electronic resources