ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

CONFERENCE CIRCUIT: News from the University Libraries Section: Activities at Midwinter

The ULS Section Executive Committee is ad- dressing several important issues as we grapple with changing economic times and reduced travel budgets. The section is anxious to assess the current two-conference attendance requirement for ALA committee involvement. We will find out whether our membership supports the use of virtual meeting technology to handle routine busi- ness, and we will look at ways to ensure our younger professionals can still participate in ACRL activities. We are also looking at ways to partner with other sections in ULS and will per- haps use Sections Council as a forum for discus- sion of topics of mutual interest.

The ULS program in Orlando is designed to open up the issue of how to prepare and acculturate our new library school graduates, while making sure that we older professionals fully reap the benefits of their creativity and enthusiasm. See you there- Gillian McCombs, Southern Methodist Uniœısity, gmccombs@mail.smu.edu

Executive Committee

The University Libraries Section (ULS) Executive Committee, chaired by Gillian McCombs, met twice during the Midwinter Meeting. Discussions centered on the ACRL dialogue session on strategic planning (the plan that will guide ACRL activities and initiatives from 2006 to 2010) and the possibility of producing the section newsletter, ULS Universe, in print, as well as electronic format, to reach more members.

The committee also reviewed notable reports from several committees and task forces. Lori Goetsch, chair of the Standards and Guidelines committee, reported that work on the Standards for Libraries in Higher Education continues, but was hindered by poor attendance of the hearings at the ALA Annual Conference in Toronto. Academic libraries that have recently undergone accreditation reviews will be surveyed to see if standards and guidelines would have helped with the process. The Undergraduate libraries Discussion Group is also reviewing the standards.

Cheryl Middleton, member of the ACRL Task Force on Virtual Meetings, reported that committee chairs are being surveyed to determine how and when virtual meetings are being held. The task force intends to have recommendations, based on ACRL policies, ready to present by the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando.

The Program Planning Committee reported that the theme for the 2004 conference program is “Beyond the MLS: Today’s Graduates for Tomorrow’s Libraries.” Speakers will include Joseph Lucia of Villanova University on the topic of changing roles, professional competencies, and changes in organizational cultures and John Unsworth of the University of Illinois on emerging roles for professionals and combining subject specialties with librarianship.

Discussion groups

ULS Discussion Groups were active and well- attended at the Midwinter Meeting. The Current Topics Discussion Group presented a capstone discussion for its three-year look at the “library as place.” “Promoting and Marketing the ‘Library as Place’” featured a panel of speakers on various aspects of library marketing. Bill Miller of Florida Atlantic University discussed the importance of marketing the library as place and promoting our unique services, resources, and role as a social and academic center of the campus. Danuta Nitecki discussed how Yale University libraries have marketed the expanding role of the library on campus—from cultural icon and sacred space to an evolved, technologically sophisticated place of study and new learning commons. Mary Reichel of Appalachian State University discussed how her library used marketing to gain support (financial and otherwise) for a new library building and information commons. Virginia Cherry of Richard Bland College presented ideas for using the @ your library campaign to promote library events, activities, exhibits, and services to the larger campus community, and related specific campaigns that her library has used to gain greater visibility and support on campus. Finally, Kenneth Marks spoke about the history and development of the @ your library campaign.

The Campus Administration and Leadership Discussion Group presented “First, You’ve Got to Get Their Attention! A Discussion About Budget-Reduction Strategies That Wake Up Campus Administrators (And Those That Put Them to Sleep).” David Gleim of the University of Colorado-Denver led a lively discussion about budgetcutting tactics designed to restore financial strength in libraries and absorb cuts wide protecting user services and resources.

The Public Services Directors of Large Research Libraries Discussion Group presented several topics for discussion. Diane Strauss of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill facilitated a discussion on consolidating libraries, service points, and branch libraries. Members of the group provided examples of what works and doesn’t work; the impacts on space, staffing, and financial resources; and how to make the transitions easier on library and departmental faculty and staff. Paul Constantine of the University of Washington then led a discussion on staffing at reference and other service desks. Members discussed staffing models using professional and paraprofessional staff; how changes in numbers and length of reference questions and digital reference are affecting staffing on desks; and training issues. A discussion of virtual reference services will be continued until the Annual Conference in Orlando.— Leslie Madden, Georgia Institute of Technology, leslie.madden@libraiy.gatech.edu ■