Meeting the challenge of "The New Biology" for college libraries and librarians in the post-genomic era

CINF 27

Frederick Stoss, fstoss@buffalo.edu, Science and Engineering Library, University at Buffalo - SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260
Sequencing the Human Genome was one of the greatest scientific achievements in history. The results unleashed a wave of research in molecular and structural biology giving rise to "The New Biology" of genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, systems biology. Research universities have larger budgets than colleges to support libraries addressing these new endeavors. Four-year liberal arts colleges often serve as academic incubators for incoming cohorts of students into Masters and Doctoral programs at larger universities and must adequately prepare these undergraduates. This presentation provides insights for college librarians to access the new generation of genomic databases, describes development of essential monograph and journal collections, addresses reference services and librarian expertise in these subjects, and describes roles college librarians can play in innovative librarian-faculty collaborations. The later aspect of this presentation will outline various strategies for library and librarian outreach to college faculties and students, particularly among the life, physical, and computational sciences.