Estuary Bibliography Project Outline April 13, 2009
Susan Gilmont
Purpose of the project:
This project has two purposes: to identify and make accessible publications about North Coast Oregon estuaries through the development of bibliographies, and to identify documents about Oregon estuaries that would be good candidates for digitization.
Scope of project:
The bibliographies would cover the North Oregon Coast, from the Necanicum through the Siuslaw, and including Depoe Bay. The Columbia River would not be included in this project. The primary focus of the bibliographies would be on the estuarine system, from the mouth of the bay through brackish water. Tidal fresh water areas up to the head of tide would be lower priority for most estuaries. (Note: exceptions would be the Umpqua Basin bibliography [completed], which covers the entire basin, and the Alsea bibliography, which should cover more freshwater issues because much research on the Alsea has been driven by logging and watershed issues. The kind of research done on each estuary and the resulting literature will affect the respective bibliography.)
Objectives:
1. The primary objective is to create bibliographies for each estuary, and develop a working method to keep them up-to-date when completed. Add value to the bibliography with judicious notes ("good maps", "excellent photos," "subject is..." streams covered, etc.).
2. Post bibliographies on the internet.
a. Find a free web-searchable platform to make searching easier.
3. Identify critical documents about each estuary to be digitized by the Digital Production Unit at the OSU Libraries.
Methods:
1. Create storage space for references and EndNote bibliographies for all Oregon estuaries in the Guin Library space on the shared drive.
2. Study each estuary's physical/hydrological features: how far upstream is the main study area? What major streams are involved? Synthesize information for each estuary by writing a short description.
3. Build a matrix of search terms, both before and during searches. This will allow systematic searching and tracking of terms that have been used. Use authority sources for names (Geographical Names Information System) as needed.
4. Build database file in EndNote.
5. Move appropriate records from the General References file into the new EndNote file.
6. Systematically search major catalogs and databases, including: the OSU catalog, Summit, WorldCat, ASFA, Fish & Fisheries, NTIS, Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management, Conference Papers, GeoRef, GeoBase, Lexis-Nexis Congressional, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Also search environmental impact statements, watershed reports, existing bibliographies, etc.
7. Identify recurring sources of grey literature (Oregon Chapter of AFS, NW Fish Culture Conference, Oregon Game Commission Bulletin, etc.).
8. Track resources searched.
9. Input records. Continue to refine style sheet to incorporate notes and potential future metadata about documents to add value to the final products.
10. Note references to southern Oregon estuaries and share with Barbara Butler, librarian at OIMB.
11. Upon completion of bibliography, produce
a. Print bibliography in Word format
b. Web-based searchable bibliography
12. Set up RSS feeds for future updates and reviews to keep bibliographies current.
Schedule:
My goal is to input an average of 10 records each day (about 200 records per month). I believe this is attainable. Each estuary will be different, and there have been varying degrees of research done in each. It is difficult to estimate how many records will be in each estuary, but a well-developed set of about 400 records for the larger bays seems a reasonable estimate. By this standard, the extensively studied Yaquina Bay estuary bibliography at over 1200 records is complete, and only updates need to be done. The Umpqua basin bibliography at over 500 records is relatively complete, and the Alsea, Salmon River and Netarts Bay bibliographies are well underway. I would first work to complete and update the bibliographies that have been started. The Necanicum, Nehalem, Sand Lake, Nestucca, Siletz, Depoe Bay and Siuslaw bibliographies are to be done in the second stage. I would save Tillamook Bay, a large project, for last.
Reports:
Review quarterly (July 1, October 1, January 1, April 1).
Projected Timeline:
April 13-30: clear desk, finish current projects. May 1-September 30, 2009: Finish Alsea, Salmon River and Netarts bibliographies, as needed. Bring Yaquina Bay bibliography up to date. Bring updated versions of all to the web.
October 1, 2009 - September 30, 2010: Do Necanicum, Nehalem, Sand Lake, Siletz, Depoe Bay and Siuslaw bibliographies. Evaluate Necanicum and Depoe Bay material carefully to see if there is enough material to justify bibliographies.
October 1, 2010-April 30, 2011: Work on Tillamook Bay.
May 1 , 2011: Evaluate project and determine future steps.