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EPA Librarians and Elsevier Collaborate to Support Researchers
The EPA Libraries offer specialized services to EPA
staff, including in-person and online training on the
libraries' e-resources such as ScienceDirect. More
information appears on the libraries' website at
www.epa.gov/natlibra/
During 2003 and 2004, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) librarians and Elsevier Account Development Manager Armond DiRado teamed up to deliver ScienceDirect and Scirus training sessions throughout the agency. The partnership has reached over 500 EPA researchers across the States and has brought excellent results.
ScienceDirect usage has significantly increased following the EPA presentations. Searches at www.sciencedirect.com for full-text journal articles increased by 69 percent from March 2003 through March 2004, according to EPA usage statistics. The feedback from librarians and end users has also been encouraging.
What ingredients created this successful collaboration?
Armond and several EPA librarians organized and delivered training sessions open to EPA researchers across groups, as well as training sessions tailored to specific groups. These sessions have included general introductions to ScienceDirect, plus instruction on specific topics such as advanced searching. Additionally, during and following sessions, researchers have received supplementary print materials provided by Elsevier.
In fall 2003, EPA’s Atlantic Ecology Division Librarian Martha Caterson-Beazley organized an in-person ScienceDirect introductory training session led by Armond in Narragansett, Rhode Island. This session – open to all comers – comprised EPA’s kick-off for the agency’s comprehensive, months-long training collaboration with Elsevier. Following the event, Ms. Caterson-Beazley stated, “One scientist told me today that this was THE best training session he has ever attended, and he is a senior scientist who has been using ScienceDirect all along.”
During another introductory ScienceDirect workshop in Chicago in May 2004, EPA Library Manager Patricia Krause noted that the material covered was relevant not only to participating scientists but also to librarians in attendance.
In addition to the well-received ScienceDirect introductory training sessions, EPA scientists and staff have been able to take advantage of more specialized training classes. Armond and EPA librarians have created and delivered multiple workshops on how to get the most from ScienceDirect via its personalization or searching features, plus classes on how Scirus can make research more efficient.
– Patricia Krause, EPA Library Manager, EPA, Chicago, Illinois, USA
“Keeping Up in Your Field” workshops have offered instruction targeted to specific user groups. Joan T. Meyer, Marketing and Network Support Librarian at the EPA Headquarters Library in Washington, DC, attended one such ScienceDirect workshop and found it met her needs. “I can’t think of an instance when a staff member would want to know about one of the features like Scirus and not another,” she said.
Besides the hands-on training sessions, EPA researchers have received ScienceDirect user guides and quick reference guides. Useful tools that can help users long after a training program has ended, several of these guides are available in various languages on the ScienceDirect Info site. To browse the guides, please visit www.info.sciencedirect.com
According to EPA librarians, scientists and other researchers with the agency are finding vital information they need through ScienceDirect. For information on how to collaborate with Elsevier to arrange training sessions meeting needs of particular groups, please contact your Account Development Manager or drop a line to trainingfeedback@elsevier.com 
Jill Ovren is earning her Master of Library and Information Science degree at San José State University in California. By interning with Elsevier and working on Library Connect projects, she has gained knowledge of the publishing industry.
