FOR 111: Introduction to Forestry

• David Stemper
• Contact Info:
  
  Instructor's Website

You will need to be familiar with where things are on the first and second floors -- to do this, use the floor maps (http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/locations/valley.html).

A word to the wise:, the first floor, which houses most forestry material, seems complicated at first. On this floor we house older volumes of journals in "compact shelving" on the North side. Journals volumes from 1990 through last year are shelved with the books on the South side. The current year of print journals are unbound in display shelving in the Southeast corner.  

It is *always* okay to ask questions - here are some options to try before you get frustrated:

• Look for the in-library phone on each floor -- use it to call the Reference Desk (7-7295).
• Come to the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor.
• Try the *ASK A LIBRARIAN!* chat service on the right of most library pages.

Experiment with the OSU Libraries Catalog; here are some hints:

• Search by keyword. Use quotation marks around phrases. Ex: "forest ecology"
• Look for the latest edition of the book titled "Balancing Act: environmental issues in forestry" by the author "Kimmins, J. P."
• You will see two copies, one is at our branch library on the Bend/Cascades campus (too far to walk) the other is in The Valley Library.
• Find its call number and use the Call Number Directory locate the floor its on (use the first letter of the call number).
• Check the "Status" to see if the book should be "available" (i.e. on the shelf) or if is it checked out (look for a "DUE" date).

• In the Summit catalog, click on the line that tells you how many libraries have the book. If OSU doesn't have it, or our copy is checked out, click on "Request this Item" and complete the information asked for.
• It will take 3 workdays for the book to arrive at the Valley Library. A notice will be sent to your ONID email when it's in and it will be held for 5 days for you to pick-up.

If you want to browse for books about forestry look for call numbers beginning with SD. However, there are many related disciplines that support forestry and books in these areas will have different call numbers.  For more information follow the link below:

• Read More...

Forestry Handbook:
Published 1984, this is a 1335 page resource of tables, figures and explanations for the working forester.
Ref: SD 373 .F58

Natural Vegetation of Oregon and Washington:
Written by J.F. Franklin and C.T. Dyrness in 1973 [reprinted 1988], this is a thorough treatment of forest and range ecology for our region of the U.S.
Ref: QK 182 .F7 19

Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material:
Also known as, USDA Agric. Handbook no.72, 1987, this is an extensive handbook of information about the physical and mechanical aspects of wood and wood products.
Ref: S 21 .A42 no.72

Encyclopedia of American Forest and Conservation History:
This two volume work contains a variety of articles from forest entomology to hardwood floor, and from Smokey the Bear to the Pacific Coast lumber industry. Be sure to use the index in the second volume.
Ref. SD 143 .E53 1983.

Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences:
A new encyclopedia with a wide range of articles on all aspects of Forestry many written by authorities in the field (look for some familiar names from OSU). Entries are listed alphabetically, or your can use the author/subject indexes.
Ref SD126 .E53 2004.

Encyclopedia of Soil Science:
is an online encyclopedia with a range of articles on all aspects of soils including forest soils. Entries are listed alphabetically or your can use the author index.
Ref S592 .E53 2002.

Whatever you learn/ed about posing researchable questions in Writing 121 will apply to forestry as well. 

If you would like a review of how to begin researching a topic, consider the Library Research Tutorial at: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/instruction/tutorials/. This tutorial also has links guidelines for citing the sources you used when writing a paper. 

Remember to make use of the tutors in the OSU Writing Center.

Try these web resources:

AgNIC:Forestry: http://forestry.lib.umn.edu/agnic/

• Wonderful resource for forestry.
• Includes a wide variety of resources on forestry.

Google: http://www.google.com.

• Use quotation marks around the phrases when searching for better results;
  
• Use the "Advanced" search feature and limit your search to domains: .gov | .edu | .org for more reliable information
• Try Google Scholar if you are primarily interested in journals. OSU Libraries is registered with Google Scholar so many of the links will get you to the full-text of articles if the Library has a paid subscription to the online version of the journal.

• This is a growing natural resource information site for Oregon with sections on wildfire, basin, etc. within the state.
  
• Look for focused resources like this from other states and/or government agencies.

When evaluating a web site look for these key features and decide how this compares to the requirements of your need for information.  Remember to distinguish your personal views from your growing "professional" knowledge.

1. Purpose : Is it there to inform? Persuade? Sell? Entertain?
2. Authorship & Authority : What are the person's (group's) credentials? Can you tell? Is the person/group credible? An authority?
3. Objectivity : Does the site have a bias? Can you articulate what it is?
4. Accuracy : Are sources cited or acknowledged?
5. Currency : How current is the information? Is this important?
6. Completeness : Is the information complete or just a summary of information found elsewhere?