ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

In the News

“We spent the better part of two hours on the Internet, and we failed to turn up a single fact we were looking for—not the unemployment rate, not the Supreme Court decision, not a one. We may have stumbled across a fact along the way, but it was like pulling a random book from a library shelf. Interesting, maybe. But useful?”

This excerpt from Rick Horowitz’s column in a recent Chicago Tribune describes his reaction to his first tour of cyberspace—and his tour was given by an expert leading an online seminar. This column reinforced my conviction that there is a real and important role for librarians to play as more and more information is churned out, digitized, and set up on the Internet. It is our job to try to make sense out of this chaos and help our library users find the information they want.

Our contribution to helping organize information on the Internet continues in this issue with a look at resources for film and television compiled by Tony Adam (page 397). A number of fun-sounding resources are listed; enjoy visiting sites like the Rocky Horror Picture Show Web.

Our in-depth coverage of ACRL’s 7th National Conference in Pittsburgh begins in this issue with summary reports of a number of sessions (page 385). Part two will be published next month. Many thanks to the participants who volunteered to report on the sessions. Audiocassettes of many of the sessions are also available as described in the insert.

Terry Mech gives us an in-depth report on a Pittsburgh preconference dealing with how librarians can become successful campus leaders. Cogent advice for those wanting their voices recognized outside the library’s walls (page 409).

Stuart Basefsky suggests an innovative method for funding periodicals and for using OPACs in his article, “Pooled endowments: A new funding idea” (page 405).

Be sure to review ACRL’s proposed new mission, vision, and goals (page 401).

—Mary Ellen K. Davis Editor & Publisher