A Fugitive Discipline & Literature:

Finding Turfgrass Science

Pete CookinghamMichigan 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

Extent of Turfgrass Cover USA (Milesi, 2005)

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

cooking1@msu.edu

tic.msu.edu