Charles H. Smith
Professor and Science Librarian, Department of Library Public Services, Western Kentucky University

Education  ••  Services Offered as Science Librarian  ••  Research and Personal Interests  ••  Professional Affiliations
Selected Print Publications  ••  Selected Honors and Grants  ••  Most Unusual Achievement  ••  Web Materials by Charles Smith

• B.A. (1972), Geology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
• M.A. (1980), Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
• Ph.D. (1984), Geography (Emphasis: Biogeography; Minor: History & Philosophy of Science), University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL
• M.L.S. (1995), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Services Offered as Science Librarian  

There are two science librarians in University Libraries; each has faculty status and performs a variety of services within the WKU community. Carol Watwood, the Health Sciences Librarian, provides departmental liaison and reference contacts for the health sciences departments. My designation is 'Science Librarian,' and in this capacity I serve as the library liaison and select library materials for the following departments: Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, Geography & Geology, Mathematics, Physics & Astronomy, Engineering, and Architectural & Manufacturing Sciences. I also oversee the Maps & Atlases materials purchasing account. Rob Harbison is now the liaison for Computer Science.

Note this special online "gateway" page I have created: WKU Libraries' E-Resources: Gateway for the Sciences. This should help students and faculty access WKU Libraries' various electronic resources related to the areas of mathematics and the natural and applied sciences.

For faculty (and staff), graduate students, and undergraduate majors in these departments I perform the following special, individualized, services (in addition, that is, to the 'regular' reference services that I or any of the other librarians might supply for science- or nonscience-oriented students, staff or faculty):

• helping you locate materials in the collections
• helping you prepare interlibrary loan requests, including deciphering abbreviations and verifying citations
• spending as much as an hour or so at a time to individually go over library resources relevant to your particular interests, including pertinent reference works, indexes/abstracts, and electronic format databases
• assisting students in choosing a subject on which to do a paper (that is, I can suggest ways to go about coming up with a subject--for specific suggestions, students should confer with their course professor)
• teaching the use of particular print reference sources or electronic databases
• for teachers, giving class-level ('research instruction') presentations on library resources or other subjects
• maintaining the electronically-available departmental research guides for my assigned departments
• maintaining the electronically-available shelf list of sciences-related works in the Helm Library Reference Collection
• maintaining the electronically-available summary of sciences-related indexes, abstracts, and full-text databases subscribed to by University Libraries
• for teachers, preparing a succinct handout of reference and index/abstract materials we own that pertain to a particular course subject (or subject in general)
• assisting in researching sources for particular projects

Research and Personal Interests  

My own research has primarily involved bibliography and bibliometrics, collection development, history and philosophy of science (especially the nineteenth century naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace), biogeography and biodiversity, evolutionary theory, and general systems theory. I am also interested in music, baseball, and the paranormal. My favorite foods include the basics: good coffee, orange juice, and bread.

Current Professional Affiliations 

I am currently a member of the International Biogeography Society, The Linnean Society of London, The History of Science Society, The Society for the History of Natural History, The Scientific and Medical Network, the Kentucky Library Association, and the American Society for Engineering Education. I sit on the Editorial Board of the journal Science & Technology Libraries.

Selected Print Publications 

• "What's in a Word? On Reading--and Misreading--Alfred Russel Wallace" (January 2009). In Survival of the Fittest; Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Darwin-Wallace Theory of Evolution (The Linnean Special Issue No. 9): 35-44.
• Natural Selection and Beyond: The Intellectual Legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace (edited by Charles H. Smith & George Beccaloni, 2008). Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.
• "Wallace, Spiritualism, and Beyond: 'Change,' or 'No Change'?" (2008). In Charles H. Smith & George Beccaloni, eds., Natural Selection and Beyond: The Intellectual Legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press): 391-423.
• "Alfred Russel Wallace, Journalist" (October 2008). Archives of Natural History 35(2): 203-207.
• "Introduction" (June 2008). To Anne Cluysenaar, Batu-Angas; Envisioning Nature With Alfred Russel Wallace [a collection of her poems] (Bridgen, Wales: Seren): 10-14.
• "'Hussel,' 'Bussel' and 'Kussel,' Or, Using Google Books to Stalk the Elusive Alfred Russel Wallace" (Spring 2008). Kentucky Libraries 72(2): 8-11.
• "Wallace, Alfred Russel" (2008). In Noretta Koertge, ed., New Dictionary of Scientific Biography (Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons), Vol. 7: 224-228.
• "Editorial Rant: Unjust Tiered Pricing Formulas" (2007). Science & Technology Libraries 27(4): 89-91.
• "Meta-Assessment of Online Research Guides Usage" (2007). The Reference Librarian 47(1): 89-103.
• "Wallace, Alfred Russel" (2007). In Thomas Hockey, ed., The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (New York: Springer), Vol. 2: 1191-1193.
• "Reflections on Wallace" (7 September 2006). Nature 443(7107): 33-34.
• "Alfred Russel Wallace: Past and Future" (September 2005). Journal of Biogeography 32(9): 1509-1515.
• "Wallace's Unfinished Business" (November 2004). Complexity 10(2) : 25-32.
• "Alfred Russel Wallace on Man: A Famous 'Change of Mind'--Or Not?" (2004). History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 26(2): 257-270.
• "Wallace, Alfred Russel (1823-1913)" (2004). In H. C. G. Matthew & Brian Harrison, eds., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press), Vol. 56: 920-927.
• "Alfred Russel Wallace: A Capsule Biography" (30 June 2004). Southern Lepidopterists' News 26(2): 46-57.
• "Further Additions to the Bibliography of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)" (April 2004). Archives of Natural History 31(1): 1-5.
• Alfred Russel Wallace: Writings on Evolution 1843-1912 (edited by Charles H. Smith, 2004). Bristol, U.K.: Thoemmes Press. 3 vols.
• "Comment: Alfred Russel Wallace, Societal Planning and Environmental Agenda" (September 2003). Environmental Conservation 30(3): 215-218.
• "Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)" (2002). In W. J. Mander & Alan P. F. Sell, eds., Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century British Philosophers (Bristol, U.K.: Thoemmes Press), Vol. 2: 1156-1160.
• "The Nationality of a Naturalist" (1 March 2002). Science 295(5560): 1644-1645.
• "Biodiversity: The World of Life" (May 2001). Choice 38(9): 1565-1580.
• "Using a Lens Stereoscope for the First Time" (November 2000). Journal of Geoscience Education 48(5): 595-596.
• Biodiversity Studies: A Bibliographic Review (2000). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. 461 pages.
• "Additions to the Bibliography of Alfred Russel Wallace" (June 1999). Archives of Natural History 26(2): 273-277.
• "Biodiversity: A Selector's Guide to Monographic Works" (1999). Science & Technology Libraries 18(1): 25-57.
• "'With Eyes on the Prize': Identifying Award-Winning Books in Science and Technology" (1998). College & Undergraduate Libraries 5(2): 115-129.
• "The Paranormal: A Selected Bibliography of Serials and Reference Works, With Commentary" (1997). Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian 16(1): 11-46.
• "'With Eyes on the Prize III': Identifying Award-Winning Books in Science and Technology" (Charles H. Smith & Marvin D. Leavy, 1997). College & Undergraduate Libraries 4(1): 29-40.
• Alfred Russel Wallace on Spiritualism, Man & Evolution: An Analytical Essay (1992/1999). Torrington, CT. 72 pages.
• Alfred Russel Wallace; An Anthology of His Shorter Writings (edited by Charles H. Smith, 1991). Oxford, New York & Tokyo: Oxford University Press. 551 pages.
• "Historical Biogeography: Geography as Evolution, Evolution as Geography" (1989). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 16(4): 773-785.
• "Identifying the Contemporary Political Culture of the American Frontier: The Libertarian Party's Vote in 1980" (Fred M. Shelley, Charles H. Smith & George N. Smith, Fall 1987). Geographical Perspectives No. 60: 36-42.
• "A General Approach to the Study of Spatial Systems. II. Two Examples of Application" (1986). International Journal of General Systems 12(4): 385-400.
• "A General Approach to the Study of Spatial Systems. I. The Relational Representation of Measurable Attributes" (1986). International Journal of General Systems 12(4): 359-384.
• "A Contribution to the Geographical Interpretation of Biological Change" (1986). Acta Biotheoretica 35(4): 229-278.
• "Alfred Russel Wallace 1823-1913" (1984). In Geographers Biobibliographical Studies (London: Mansell), Volume 8: 125-133.
• "Guidelines and an Illustration of the Use of Ecological Data for Seeking Clues of Excess Risk" (Michael Greenberg, Mark Burrington & Charles H. Smith, 1984). Socio-Economic Planning Sciences 18(4): 293-299.
• The Dynamics of Animal Distribution: An Evolutionary/Ecological Model (1984). Ph.D. Dissertation, Dept. of Geography, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. 242 pp.
• "A Method for Studying Intercorrelated Circulation Patterns in Library Systems" (March 1984). Journal of the American Society for Information Science 35(2): 118-121.
• "A System of World Mammal Faunal Regions. II. The Distance Decay Effect upon Inter-regional Affinities" (November 1983). Journal of Biogeography 10(5): 467-482.
• "A System of World Mammal Faunal Regions. I. Logical and Statistical Derivation of the Regions" (September 1983). Journal of Biogeography 10(6): 455-466.
• "Areographic Representation of Faunal Characteristics Through a 'Second-Order' Relational Approach" (August 1983). Evolutionary Theory 6(5): 225-232.
• "Spatial Trends in Canadian Snowshoe Hare, Lepus americanus, Population Cycles" (1983). Canadian Field-Naturalist 97(2): 151-160.
• "A Spatial Analysis of Wildlife's Ten-Year Cycle" (Charles H. Smith & Jerry M. Davis, January 1981). Journal of Biogeography 8(1): 27-35.

Selected Highlights, Honors and Grants at WKU  

• in October 2009 it is announced that my book Natural Selection and Beyond... will be rereleased as a paperback in March 2010
• on 10 September 2009 deliver an invited two-hour talk (including following discussion period) at a four-day Darwinism conference at UNISINOS, near Porto Alegre in Brazil
• to be featured in the Fall 2009 issue of WKU's The Western Scholar
• my website The Alfred Russel Wallace Page included as a 'Best of Free Reference 2008' selection by Library Journal (15 April 2009)
• am subject of the monthly featured cover story in the local news and arts publication The Amplifier (March 2009)
• in February 2009 invited to go on television to take part in a segment on Darwin and Wallace on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," but the producers ultimately decide not to go through with the spot
• recipient of the 2008 Margie Helm Faculty Award for Outstanding Performance, University Libraries (December 2008)
• deliver an invited talk at the Linnean Society in London at a 22 November 2008 conference celebrating the double occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first presentation of the theory of natural selection in 1858, and the publication of my Oxford University Press book Natural Selection and Beyond: The Intellectual Legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace the same month
• elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London (9 October 2008)
• interviewed by the journal The Scientist and the Communications Office at Princeton University for usable quotations regarding the work of Princeton scientists Raj Chakrabarti and Herschel Rabitz on protein evolution (September 2008)
• asked to contribute a 1200-word "sidebar" essay for one of the chapters of the upcoming eighth edition of a popular biogeography textbook (September 2008)
• included in the 2009 (63rd) edition of Marquis' Who's Who in America (informed Summer 2008)
• on 30 June 2008 invited to do an eight-minute interview segment on NPR's "Morning Edition" (concerning the 150th anniversary of the first presentation of the theory of natural selection in 1858), but the spot ultimately goes to someone else (I miss out by five minutes when I see the invitation message a bit too late to respond in time!)
• included in the 2008 (62nd) edition of Marquis' Who's Who in America (informed Fall 2007)
• The Wikipedia people create a "Charles H. Smith" page on their service (May 2007)
• my website The 111 Greatest Acts of the Anglo-American Folk Music Tradition included as a 'Best Websites of 2006' selection by Library Journal, May 2007
• submit successful Priority Initiative Award application for the Dept. of Library Public Services (Fall 2006)
• place an article in Nature (7 September 2006)
• included in the 2007 (61st) edition of Marquis' Who's Who in America (informed Fall 2006)
• invited keynote speaker at the second biennial meeting of the International Biogeography Society (held in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, January 4-8, 2005)
• advanced to Professor (30 April 2004)
• recipient of a ScientificAmerican.com Sci/Tech Web Award 2003 (for one of the five best history or biography of sci/tech-related websites of the year) for my website The Alfred Russel Wallace Page
• recipient of the Golden Web Award for my websites The Alfred Russel Wallace Page and The Classical Music Navigator in 2001, and my websites Early Classics in Biogeography, Distribution and Diversity Studies: To 1950 and Nineteenth Century Exploration of Australia in 2002
• featured in the second issue of WKU's The Western Scholar, Spring 2001
• honored by University Libraries for work in science bibliography with reception, Spring 2001
• recipient of the 2001 Oberly Award (for best bibliography published in the agricultural or natural sciences, 1999-2001) for my book Biodiversity Studies: A Bibliographic Review; this work also included in Library Journal's 'Best Reference Sources 2000' list
• advanced to Associate Professor with tenure (19 May 2000)
• recipient of the 1999 University Libraries/Information Technologies WKU Outstanding Research/Creativity Award (24 March 1999)
• WKU Faculty Scholarship Grants: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
• began working at WKU (as "Science Librarian") (1 March 1995)

Most Unusual Achievement 

On an otherwise ordinary day in the spring of 1966, while pitching in a junior varsity high school baseball game, I picked off two runners in a row who had reached first base on consecutive at-bats. Neither was caught in the act of a steal attempt, mind you--they just weren't able to beat the tag, returning to first. And I am right-handed, not left-handed: considering that, this must be about as rare a feat as taking part in an unassisted triple play!

Web Materials Created by Charles Smith

I have written or compiled and maintain the following materials, available on the World Wide Web:

    WKU Libraries-Oriented Web Materials:

• WKU Libraries' E-Resources: Gateway for the Sciences (a single-page gateway to WKU Libraries' electronic resources in the areas of mathematics and the natural and applied sciences)
• The Contemporary Music Genres Collection (circulating CDs for popular music connoisseurs; note especially the annotated browse list of titles)
• WKU Departmental Research Guides (information portals for students and faculty)
     For the Sciences:
  
  Agriculture
  Architectural & Manufacturing Sciences
  Biology
  Chemistry
  Computer Science
  Engineering
  Geography & Geology
  Mathematics
  Physics & Astronomy
• Science & Technology-Related Reference Works in Helm Library (complete and regularly updated shelf list of items held in the Reference Department, Helm Library)
• Comprehensive List of Indexes, Abstracts, and Full-Text Services Related to the Natural & Applied Sciences Held by University Libraries (regularly updated listing, with links to electronic services)

     Alfred Russel Wallace-Related Materials: 

• The Alfred Russel Wallace Page (extensive materials by and about the extraordinary English evolutionist, naturalist, and social critic, who lived from 1823-1913)
• Alfred R. Wallace: Evolution of an Evolutionist (monographic analysis)
• "Wallace on Conservation" (a collection of Wallace's conservation-related writings)
• "Full-Text of Some of Wallace's Published Writings" (more than 400 texts)
• "Bibliography of the Writings of Alfred Russel Wallace"
• "Personal Names Index to the Writings of Alfred Russel Wallace" (about 2500 names included in some 800 publications)
• The Once and Future Wallace, or, Evolutionary Theorizing in the Manner of Alfred Russel Wallace (a website dwelling on my revisionist views of Wallace's thought, including biogeographic and systems theory modeling based on "final causes" thinking)
• Alfred Russel Wallace on Spiritualism, Man, and Evolution: An Analytical Essay (a short monographic essay)
• "Alfred Russel Wallace on Evolution: A Change of Mind?" (a symposium presentation)
• "It's on the Web--Or, When is a 'Russel' a 'Russel'?" (an essay)
• "Wallace, Alfred Russel (1823-1913)" (bibliographic page for The Infography)

     Natural History and History-Related Databases:

• Early Classics in Biogeography, Distribution, and Diversity Studies: To 1950 (an enhanced bibliography with links to: (1) the full-text of many of the items listed, and (2) biographical information on the authors)
• Early Classics in Biogeography, Distribution, and Diversity Studies: 1951-1975 (a continuation of the previous service)
• Some Biogeographers, Evolutionists and Ecologists: Chrono-Biographical Sketches (a collection of more than 250 short biographical sketches)
• The Once and Future Wallace, or, Evolutionary Theorizing in the Manner of Alfred Russel Wallace (a website dwelling on my revisionist views of Wallace's thought, including biogeographic and systems theory modeling based on "final causes" thinking)
• Nineteenth Century Exploration of Australia (a website focusing on the routes of the Inland explorers)
• HERPFAUN (a taxon- and faunal unit-referenced bibliography of publications concerning the geographical distribution of reptiles and amphibians)
• MAMMFAUN (a taxon- and faunal unit-referenced bibliography of publications concerning the geographical distribution of mammals)

• Malvina Reynolds: Song Lyrics and Poems (poetry and song lyrics from the celebrated 1950s-70s topical and children's songs composer)
• The Classical Music Navigator (a web-based service facilitating the identification and linking of composers and their works, styles, and influences)
• The 111 Greatest Acts of the Anglo-American Folk Music Tradition... (an ordered list of 111+ folkies and folk-rockers, with links to websites)
• music CD and book reviews for Amazon.com
• "We Five's 'You Were on My Mind': Ode to a Sometimes-Maligned Song"
• WKU Departmental Research Guide: Music
• Suggestions for a Contemporary Music Genres Collection (classified browse list)