A Fugitive Discipline & Literature:
Finding Turfgrass Science
Pete Cookingham
Michigan State University Libraries
NRIC 2007 -- Las Vegas – 4 August 2007
I hope to introduce:
• Who cares & why – ie. Does it matter?
• What turf is
• Who’s involved
• Why me
• Why you
So What?• Land coverage -- sheer amount of turf
• Participation -- sheer number of ‘doers’
• Water use -- turf in Las Vegas?
• CO emissions -- mowers, etc.
• Pesticide use – what/where/when/who
• Fertilizer use – what/where/when/who
• Public policy -- who decides?
Turf Benefits (further to Beard and Green, 1994)
• Erosion control, dust stabilization, & soil building capacity, including remediation
• Groundwater recharge & runoff buffering• Heat dissipation, noise abatement, glare reduction,
fire-resistance, road and airfield safety• Habitat & green space • Recreational use: Soccer, golf, cricket, softball,
bocci, football, baseball, hurling, etc.• Aesthetic: Visual comfort
Industry Sectors & Maintenance Intensity • Utility turf• Roadsides/Airfields• Cemeteries• Landscapes/home lawns/parks &
grounds• Golf course fairways/Sports turf/Sod
production/Seed production• Golf course greens
Hopefully of interest……….
• Cooperative/consortium project: sector & geographic independence
• Technology-based delivery to end-users since day one
• A very grey literature, and poorly collected
• We seek ‘Exhaustive Bibliographic Control’: an archaic concept?
This one gets personal………
• Your yard
• Your condo
• Your campus
• Your school district
• Your local park facilities
• The Super Bowl, The World Cup, The World Series, and the White House
Mission of the Turfgrass Information Center (TIC)
• Collect, digitize, & preserve turfgrass materials, both print & online
• Provide precise access to turf information resources, including the above
• Assist users of the materials & access• Provide physical and online infrastructure
supporting turfgrass scholarship• Build a stable long-term structure to continue this
work
TIC Online Presence• Public website & public resources
Digitized serial runsDigitized monographsDigitized graphic & visual content
• Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) database– All formats, all languages, all turf, “all content”,
Turfgrass Thesaurus indexing: moving towards a disciplinary ‘info base’
• Limited access resources– Digitized serial runs– Beard’s Turfgrass Encyclopedia – full text
Turf trends…..
• Turf has always been local– it will be even more so in the future:
• local legislative initiatives – the irony of extremes
Turf trends…..
• Turf has always been local– it will be even more so in the future:
• local legislative initiatives – the irony of extremes
• Water use
Turf trends…..
• Turf has always been local– it will be even more so in the future:
• local legislative initiatives – the irony of extremes
• Water use
• GMOs & NIMBY
Turf trends…..
• Turf has always been local– it will be even more so in the future:
• local legislative initiatives – the irony of extremes
• Water use
• GMOs & NIMBY
• Did I say water?
Turf trends…..
• Turf has always been local– it will be even more so in the future:
• local legislative initiatives – the irony of extremes
• Water use
• GMOs & NIMBY
• Did I say water?
• Breeding & genetics; because…
Can you breed this grass?
• Low, slow, aggressive growth habit
• Drought and salt tolerant
• Stays green(ish)
• Pest & disease resistant
• High seed producer
• Fineleaf
• Great name
Why was I here?
• Turf is important to you as a NR information professional – even if you really aren’t interested!
• Your institutions/organizations need to be involved, and we need you, too!
• And, if nothing else, please be sure to add our full-text hosted, public resources to your electronic serials lists – they’re free!
thank you!email if you have any questions about TIC or
TGIF!Pete Cookingham
tic.msu.edu