Pasquale J. Festa INF384C - Organizing and Providing Access to Information Prof. Efron 1.25.2007

Library Search Assignment

Time: Start: 3:40 p.m. Finish: 4:15 p.m. 35 minutes total (includes a 5 minute break and any technical problems). Search Terms: Library Catalog: -Subject Keyword: "Secondhand Smoke" = 0 items -Subject: "Secondhand Smoke" = Indexed to "Passive Smoking" = 2 items -"Passive smoking--Health aspects" = 10 items Research Tools: -Databases & Indexes to Articles -Medicine -Health and Wellness Resource Center -Subject: "Secondhand Smoke" = 2 items In-Source Reference: 2 items -http://www.cancer.org -http://www.lungusa.org Resources Chosen: Library Catalog Resources: 1.Environmental tobacco smoke : risk assessment. Special report : pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment : agents o / Research Triangle Park, NC / 1999 http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS4258 DOCS HE20.3559:107/6/SUPP Public Affairs Library - U.S. Documents 2.The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke : a report of the Surgeon General. / Rockville, MD / 2006 http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS71463 DOCS HE20.7002:T55/3 U.S. Documents Collection PCL Stacks 4H 3. Health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke : the report of the California Environmental Protection Agency. / (Bethesda, Md.) / 1999 http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS46816 DOCS HE20.3184/2:10 U.S. Documents Collection PCL Stacks 4H DOCS HE20.3184/2:10 Public Affairs Library - U.S. Documents 4. Secondhand smoke. / (Atlanta, Ga.) / 2006 http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS75910 5. Secondhand smoke what it means to you. / (Rockville, Md.) / 2006 http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS71465 DOCS HE20.7002:T55/4 U.S. Documents Collection PCL Stacks 4H

6. Douville, Judith A. / Active and passive smoking hazards in the workplace. / New York, N.Y. / 1990 RA 1242 T6 D68 1990 Life Science Library

Research Tools Resources:

7."Reported Health Effects of ETS (Secondhand Smoke) Exposure." Caroline M. Levchuck, Jane Kelly Kosek, and Michele Drohan. Healthy Living. Allison McNeill, Editor. Farmington Hills, Mich.: UXL, 2000. http://galenet.galegroup.com.content.lib.utexas.edu:2048/servlet/HWRC/hits?docNum=DU2606000053&year2=&year1=&tcit=1_1_0_0_0&locID=txshracd2598&rlt=1&origSearch=true&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=false&o=&n=10&day2=&day1=&l=d&sgPhrase=false&month2=&month1=&c=1&bucket=ref&SU=secondhand+smoke

8. Secondhand smoke. (passive smoking risk factors)(Medical condition overview)

Clinical Reference Systems. May 24, 2006 v2006 i2 pNA. Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2006 McKesson Health Solutions LLC. http://galenet.galegroup.com.content.lib.utexas.edu:2048/servlet/HWRC/hits?docNum=A150474924&year2=&year1=&tcit=1_1_0_0_0&locID=txshracd2598&rlt=1&origSearch=true&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=false&o=&n=10&day2=&day1=&l=d&sgPhrase=false&month2=&month1=&c=2&bucket=ref&SU=secondhand+smoke In-Source Reference Resources:

9. American Cancer Society: What is Secondhand Smoke? http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Secondhand_Smoke-Clean_Indoor_Air.asp

10. American Lung Association: Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet. http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/s/content.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=34706&ct=66707

As stated above, my search took me approximately thirty-five minutes from start to

finish (from the first search query to my final compilation of the bibliography above). During

the process, I ran into a number of problems. At one point Internet Explorer gave me an

error and shut down, stopping my search cold. Also, my word processing program crashed,

causing me to lose about 10 minutes worth of work that was not saved and required me to

back track and repeat steps I had already taken. This forced me to expend more time and

energy on repetitive commands, loading times, and searches. While I would not describe

these problems as "difficulties" in the sense that they kept me from ascertaining the

information I was looking for, I would say that technical problems, especially for a user who

is not used to doing source research or is befuddled by computer technology, could be of

great annoyance and may perhaps be one of the greatest barriers when it comes to

retrieving information. After my second technical problem I took a five minute break from

searching due to my level of slight frustration. I would say it is logical to propose that for

some users such obstacles could make one quit his or her search for credible resources by

means of online catalog systems and turn to something more simplistic, such as Yahoo! or

Google search engines, to find information that, due to the sheer volume and lack of fact

checking on the Internet, could actually be unreliable or damaging to their research.

I did a number of searches using "Secondhand Smoke" as my search term. In my

first attempt with the Library Catalog I chose to use "Subject Keyword" and this turned up

no results. I then moved to "Subject" and was directed to "Passive Smoking". Luckily, the

term "Secondhand Smoke" had been considered by the bibliographic compiler and linked to

the library's regulated descriptor of "Passive Smoking". Under "Passive Smoking" I found a

subtitle for "Health Aspects" and followed that link to a collection of 10 resources. I chose a

number of sources from this collection by skimming through the documents and identifying

if the materials would be pertinent to my research. I also looked at who the author of each

document was and chose to include works from EPA reports and other government agencies

as I thought these to be factually credible. Some of the documents were repeated twice (for

instance, one document was in both in English and Spanish and while it was technically one

source it was listed as two in the catalog) so I was required to look elsewhere for a few

more sources to complete my list.

After exhausting the resources I found at the Library Catalog I chose to move on to

the library's list of databases and indexes to find what may be available to me through other

online collections. I decided to go to the subject list and after finding there was no heading

for "Health" I chose to look under the "Medicine" heading. Scrolling down the list I looked

for an index title that would seem most pertinent to my search and came across the Health

and Wellness Resource Center. I accessed the database and subject searched for

"Secondhand Smoke". My query was answered with two sources that I scanned for

information, found to be fitting for general explanations of the health aspects of secondhand

smoke, and chose to include in my list. By this time I was still in need of 2 more sources to

complete my list. As I was already accessing materials through the Library tools I chose to

use the sources I had as a new direction guide. One source suggested looking to the

American Cancer Society and American Lung Associations for further information regarding

second hand smoking. As these sources seemed credible to me, I chose to follow their

advice and went to the above mentioned websites.

At these two sites I chose to use their search options to look up "Secondhand

Smoke". I was directed to a couple of reports on secondhand smoking health risks and

factors. I chose to include these two fact sheets in my list as they came from two credible

organizations when it comes to tobacco and health research.

In the end, I experienced relatively few problems with finding information. Most

difficulties came about due to technological issues which is more-so a technical problem

with the programs I was using and less-so a problem with catalog tool interface design.

While this was not too difficult of a task for me to accomplish, I can see how doing a search

of this nature could pose a threat to someone who is uninformed in regards to research

methods and computer literacy. In addition, because the systems I accessed had a level of

bibliographic control to them, I found that the information I came across to be rather

credible and pertinent to my topic. I found the Library Catalog to be rather straightforward

as its interface was quite similar to an online search engine which I have extensive

experience with. However, when I moved to the Database and Indexes tool the library

offered to me, my search for information required a number of extra steps. I was required

to look through a list of subjects and hypothesize which subject my topic would best fit

under. After that I had to browse through a list of journal titles and, if I had gone one by

one, finding a publication that held information pertinent to my research could have been

very time consuming. Luckily, I was able to ascertain a journal that was focused on the

information I was seeking and was successful in finding materials for my topic. However,

due to my research intensive undergraduate degree I understand that I am lucky to have

interacted with this method of information finding and my past experiences lent a helping

hand to my success. If I were someone not accustomed to such methods, I feel that the

process would take a great deal more time and would be accompanied by more numerous

and greatly frustrating obstacles. If this were the case I feel it would be plausible that I may

have become frustrated or confused by the database system and moved to another search

method (such as a search engine). I feel that my queries would have been less credible as a

great deal of information on the Internet is electronically published without fact control and

may have been slanted, skewed, or opinion-based if I were to follow this route.