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In response to the coronavirus pandemic in the fall of 2020, we created hybrid-virtual or fully virtual field trips to replace in-person field trips in two courses. For an introductory soil science course with 178 students enrolled, we used a narrative format supported by 360° ground-level and drone photos, newspaper articles, videos, websites, and landscape diagrams. After reading the narratives, the students took a quiz and then visited the sites (public parks near campus) on their own. For the advanced pedology course with seven students enrolled, a virtual trip replaced an all-day field trip that travels a 100-mile route from West Lafayette to Michigan City, IN. The virtual trip was created within the Soil Explorer platform and consists of >50 points of interest (POIs) overlayed on detailed soil maps. Each POI includes relevant information about the soils, agriculture, geology, geomorphology, or history at that point. At two POIs students examined four or five soils along two transects by filling in worksheets using the official series descriptions. Learning was facilitated by a study guide. Effectiveness was assessed by anonymous surveys. Students found the hybrid-virtual or fully virtual field trips informative, interesting, enjoyable, and appropriate given the pandemic. For the introductory class, 42% preferred a virtual field trip format, 39% preferred an in-person format, and 19% were neutral. In the advanced class there was with a clear preference for in-person field trips.

The goal of this project was to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the spatiotemporal distribution of the library's online patrons, so that we could assess if the scheduled library reference hours are meeting the needs of the academic community. We collected each online reference patron's location information via their IP address, as well as the timestamp of each online reference instance. The spatiotemporal distribution patterns were analyzed and compared before and after in-person instruction was suspended due to COVID-19 distance protocols and a closing of the campus in the 2020 spring semester. The results show that the geographic origins of reference questions redistributed after COVID-19 protocols were initially implemented and the university community underwent a temporary geographical redistribution. Reference question origins tended to move away from campus to other areas of the state, other states, and internationally. This population redistribution suggested that the library could adjust the online reference schedule to provide better access and service to patrons., INTRODUCTION The library's online reference service, also referred to as library chat or digital reference, is a synchronous text-based interaction between the library and the patron via an internet connection, [...]

The data set accompanying theses is a valuable intellectual property asset, both from the viewpoint of the PhD student, who can procure employment and build publications and research grants from the work for years to come, and the university, which owns the data and has invested in the work. However, the data set has generally not been captured as a finished product in a similar manner to the published thesis. A course has been developed which walks PhD students through the process of identifying an archival data set, selecting a repository or long term storage location, creating metadata and documentation for the data package, and the deposit process. A pre- and post assessment has been designed to ascertain the level of data literacy the students gain through curating their own dataset. PIs for the projects have input into the repositories and metadata standards selected. The university thesis office was consulted as the course was developed, so that accurate procedures and practices are reflected throughout the course. This first of a kind class is open to students of any discipline at a Research-1 university. The resulting mixture of data types creates a unique course every time it is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geospatial data includes many formats, varying from historical paper maps, to digital information collected by various sensors. Many libraries have started the efforts to build a geospatial data portal to connect users with the various information. For example, GeoBlacklight and OpenGeoportal are two open-source projects that initiated from academic institutions which have been adopted by many universities and libraries for geospatial data discovery. While several recent studies have focused on the metadata, usability and data collection perspectives of geospatial data portals, not many have explored the backend stories about data management to support the data discovery platform. The objective of this paper is to provide a summary about geospatial data management strategies involved in the geospatial data portal development by reviewing related projects. These data management strategies include managing the historical paper maps, scanned maps, aerial photos, research generated geospatial information, and web map services. This paper focuses on the data organization, storage, cyberinfrastructure configuration, preservation and sharing perspectives of these efforts with the goal to provide a range of options or best management practices for information managers when curating geospatial data in their own institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]