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Sports Turf Manager Magazine Now Completely Digitized
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Members of the Sports Turf Association (STA) and the greater turfgrass industry now have access to the complete back files of the Sports Turf Manager (STM) and its predecessor the Sports Turf Newsletter through a partnership between the STA and Michigan State University’s Turfgrass Information Center (TIC).
In the past, STM readers could search the cumulative index on the STA website for article citations, or subscribers to the TIC’s Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) could search for articles but would obtain only the abstract. In either case they would have to physically obtain the article themselves. Digitization provides a much more usable tool, removing the step of having to go and find a particular issue of STM, assuming readers even had access to it. Through the new online digitized archive readers can browse year-by-year or search by term to retrieve PDF files of articles.
The addition of the full content of the publication is the result of the cooperation and dedication of TIC and MSU staff and students, involving more than 87 issues of the magazine, 1,300 pages of material, manually splitting nearly 1,400 PDFs, harvesting the citations for more than 400 turfgrass-related citations and linking more than 900 citations to the PDFs. As part of the ongoing cooperative project as new issues are produced materials will be scanned and made available six months following the date of publication.
Sports Turf Association members continue to enjoy complete subscriber access to the Turfgrass Information File, the most comprehensive publicly available collection of turfgrass educational materials in the world, via the Michael J. Bladon Educational Link. Simply login for access to the 'Members Only' section of the website.
The Turfgrass Information Center, a unit of the Michigan State University Libraries, was founded in 1984 to both continue building the O. J. Noer Memorial Turfgrass Collection, and begin construction of what became the USGA Turfgrass Information File (TGIF). TGIF has since become the largest online database serving turfgrass science and management, with worldwide coverage of all sectors of the turfgrass industry. With the arrival of the James B Beard Turfgrass Library Collection in 2003, TIC also became a center for scholarship and study of turfgrass science. Since that time, additional focus on building and hosting digital archives has become a primary activity of TIC. For further information on the Center, the Noer or Beard Collections, the digital collections, or TGIF, please begin at TIC's website.
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STA Recognized by STMA as First International Affiliate Organization
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The Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) announced on December 1st that it is recognizing the Sports Turf Association as its first International Affiliate Organization. STA and STMA will collaborate and share information and educational resources.
To be an International Affiliate, the organization must be recognized as a business entity in their country and provide proof to STMA annually; develop bylaws or other governing documents; and have a governing Board of Directors. The STA meets these requirements and officially became an STMA International Affiliate Organization on November 5th.
In addition to sharing information and resources, STMA will list the STA on its website as an International Affiliate Organization, provide one membership annually to the President of the STA, and will offer to the membership of the STA conference registration and education and training resources at STMA member rates.
STMA President Abby McNeal, CSFM was enthusiastic about the new partnership. “Officially establishing a relationship with the STA will help to connect our memberships and allow us to collaborate on issues common across the profession,” says McNeal. “Our Board of Directors has much respect for the work of the STA, and we know we will learn from them.”
Gord Dol, STA President, concurs. “We believe that this is an important step forward in establishing an information conduit for organizations around the world to share research, knowledge, and experience for the advancement of everyone involved in the sports turf industry.”
About STMA – STMA is the not-for-profit, professional association for the men and women who manage sports fields in the USA. Its more than 2,800 members oversee sports fields and facilities at schools, colleges and universities, parks and recreational facilities, and professional sports stadiums. The membership’s goal is to manage natural turf and synthetic surfaces to produce safe and aesthetically pleasing playing surfaces for athletes at all levels of playing abilities. Since 1981, the association and its dozens of local chapters have been providing education, information and sharing practical knowledge in the art and science of sports field management.
About STA – The STA was formed in 1987 by representatives from a broad segment of the turf industry. They recognized the need for a central resource for better education and information for those involved in maintaining sports turf. More than two decades later the STA remains dedicated to the promotion of better, safer sports turf. The STA has over 280 members from across Canada.
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Opinions expressed on this website are those of the author and not necessarily those of the STA.
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