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Ana Clemmer
IR 2/10-GT
10/19/18
Site Visit Reflection 2

Site Visit to the Albin O. Kuhn UMBC Library

On October 19, 2018, I visited the Albin O. Kuhn UMBC Library with my mother. The main

reason that I visited the UMBC Library was to find more sources about antibiotic resistance, specifically

related to water and livestock. I also wanted to find out how the library system works there, and how I can

use the databases there, as well as the books and physical resources, in the future. My original plan was to

arrive as early as possible in the morning, then spend a few hours in the library. I wanted to look for

physical sources about antibiotic resistance developed in water related to livestock that I could check out,

as well as online sources from the databases UMBC has access to. I actually ended up arriving at the

campus at 12:30, and stayed for 2 very productive hours.

I had a great experience at the library and I think I will go there again. The all of the librarians

were very helpful and aided in my ease of experience. I found all of my books on floor 3. The first

librarian I talked to at the resource desk helped me find a book on antibiotic resistance, and gave me a call

number to locate it. The book was titled ​The Microbes Fight Back​ by Laura Bowater, published by the

Royal Society of Chemistry. This book was a very good overview of antibiotic resistance, and I checked it

out so to ensure my general knowledge of antibiotic resistance. On the very same shelf, I found the book

The Antibiotic Paradox​ by Stuart B. Levy, M.D. This book is related to my topic most in chapters six and

seven, titled “Antibiotics, Animals, and the Resistance Gene Pool” and “Further Ecological

Considerations: Antibiotic Use in Agriculture, Aquaculture, Pets, and Minor Animal Species.” I checked

this book out as well. After that, I picked up the book ​The Rumen and its Microbes​ by Robert E. Hungate.

I was drawn to this book due to the title, since I had never even considered how the rumen microbes may

play into the grand scheme of antibiotic resistance. The book was published in 1966, but I still checked it
out since I hadn’t seen any other sources related to this specific topic. Next, I looked at two other books

that I didn’t end up borrowing, since they were not as closely related to my topic. These books were titled

Revenge of the Microbes ​and ​The Evolving Threat of Antimicrobial resistance: Options for Action​.

Following that, I went back downstairs to look at the databases. I asked for a UMBC guest log in and then

searched Agricola and ProQuest, searching for “resistance” and “rumen.” I saved four journal articles

total, “Distribution and Quantification of Antibiotic Resistant Genes and Bacteria across Agricultural and

Non-Agricultural Metagenomes,” “HPLC analyses of cultures of Phoma spp. Differentiation among

groups and species through secondary metabolite profiles,” “Resistance of Soil-Bound Prions to Rumen

Digestion,” and “The animal gut as a melting pot for horizontal gene transfer.”

I obtained several sources from this site visit, including four journal articles and three print books.

In addition to finding excellent sources, I was able to find a new aspect of the broad topic of antibiotic

resistance, bacteria and microbes in the rumen. A new and narrower topic I am thinking about is antibiotic

resistance gene transfer in livestock waste lagoons and how it relates to rumen microbes. When searching

for online sources, I realized that many of the sources I was finding did not exist online, but were listed

under the catalog for the National Agricultural Library. Next, I am planning to visit the National

Agricultural Library, after I have an even narrower topic with the help of my research advisor.