Marine Science and Technology

• Main Authors: Webster, Janet G., Butler, Barbara A.
• Other Authors: Oregon State University. Libraries
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English; unknown
• Published: Bowker
• Subjects: Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/defaults/v118rf602

People of all ages are intrigued by the ocean, its inhabitants, dynamics and future. Our knowledge grows, but we change the ocean as we use its resources thus creating environmental problems and management challenges. When this volume is published, the Gulf of Mexico will not have recovered from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Ocean acidification is a growing problem. Corals reefs are dying due to rising ocean temperatures. Global warming and sea-level rise, the Pacific Garbage Patch, the collapse of fisheries, endangered marine mammals, hypoxic zones …. the list goes on. Periodicals are one place people look for the latest research as well as creative solutions to this list of challenges. However, there is a dearth of quality, focused marine science titles for the general public. National Geographic, Scientific American, and other general science and environmental periodicals are valuable resources. These, combined with the general interest titles listed in this section provide a solid and affordable collection for public and school libraries. For the academic and scientific audiences, the literature is multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and highly specialized. The needs of the audience, the library's budget and consortial affiliations should shape the local collection. A university with a marine engineering program will need different journals than one teaching only marine biology or a high school library attempting to cover all of the sciences. Even the core academic collection, once simple to identify, eludes us as more specialized titles emerge, prices increase, and new topics develop. Librarians need to take particular care in marine science to delineate the scope of their collection. Such considerations include geographic focus, discipline segmentation, teaching needs, and research requirements. Breadth and depth are possible in a marine science collection, but at a high cost typical to many scientific fields. Inflating journal prices make it virtually impossible for a single library to acquire all ...