Presenter Profile Series: Diane Castillo
We can almost smell the salty sea air we are so close to #IamHawaii now. Hope everyone’s final preparations for their trip to Honolulu are going well. Don’t forget to pack something in your bag for the Guin auction.
We have a few more presenters to showcase before signing of on this series for 2017. We hope you have enjoyed reading so far.
Next up for our Presenter Profile Series is Diane Castillo from Dalhousie University. Diane is presenting on Meeting Information Needs through Innovation: A Case Study of the Use of the International Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts Database.
A little bit about Diane…
Diana Castillo is a second year MLIS student at the Dalhousie School of Information Management. A California native, she first fell in love with the ocean due to frequent trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She completed her BA in Government and Latin American Studies at Smith College down in the United States, where she was got her first taste working at a small public library. After graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C., working at a non-profit advocacy group focused on evidence-based policies for three years before deciding to pursue her library degree. It was at Dalhousie she found out about marine science librarianship as a way to combine two of her areas of interest. Diana serves as co-chair for the Information Without Borders conference and works as a research assistant for the Environmental Information: Use and Influence group examining the intersection of information and policy. As part of her work with EIUI, she is currently working on her master’s thesis examining the use and perception Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts database among information professionals. This is her first trip to Honolulu, and she hopes to have time to explore the city and its rich history, as well as visit the local aquarium.
In Honolulu, talk to Diana about…
Her research project, Star Wars, women’s soccer, and sharks.
Diane will present…
Title:Â Meeting Information Needs through Innovation: A Case Study of the Use of the International Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts Database
Abstract: A significant hallmark of today’s society is the large quantity of scientific information about oceans available to researchers and decision-makers in a wide diversity of formats. Although much information is easily accessible, sizeable volumes may be unknown or limited in access despite benefiting stakeholder communities. The Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) database has been a resource since 1971 on the science, technology, and management of marine, brackishwater, and freshwater environments, and is an access point for a large amount of grey literature. Due to the rapidly changing information landscape, the future of ASFA in its present form is being reconsidered. Does an abstracting and indexing service have a place in present day aquatic research? Does ASFA meet the information needs of its potential users or are there alternatives available that work better? This paper will report on research, pursued in collaboration with FAO, to determine how ASFA is currently accessed and used. The initial results from the research will be presented, along with preliminary discussion of how the service might evolve in the changing information landscape. The research is relevant to IAMSLIC members, particularly with regard to fostering innovations in resources, services, and communication with information users
Posted by Stephanie Ronan, Communications Team
