ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

News from the Field

Mary Ellen Davis

Applications/ nominations invited for C&RL editor

Applications and nomina- tions are invited for the posi- tion of editor of College &

Research Libraries,the bi- monthly, scholarly research journal of ACRL. The editor is appointed for a three-year term which may be renewed for an additional three years.

Applicants must be members of ALA and ACRL. Qualifica- tions include professional experience in academic libraries, a record of scholarly publication, editing experience, an understanding of the scholarly communication process, and a broad knowledge of the issues confronting academic libraries.

Some funding for editorial assistance is avail- able, and there is a small honorarium for the editor.

Appointment will be made by the ACRL Board of Directors at the 1995 Annual Confer- ence, upon the recommendation of the search committee and of the ACRL Publications Com- mittee. The incoming editor will assume full responsibility for C&RL in July 1996, after a year of working with the outgoing editor.

Nominations, or resumes and letters of ap- plication including the names of three refer- ences, should be sent to: C&RL Search Com- mittee, c/o Hugh Thompson, Program Officer,

ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. The deadline for receipt of applica- tions is December 15. Finalists will be inter- viewed at the Midwinter Meeting in Phila- delphia in February 1995.

Dynix and NOTIS Systems consolidated

Ameritech Library Services (ALS) announced just prior to the ALA Annual Conference in Miami Beach that Dynix and NOTIS Systems divisions were combining development efforts to form a single client/server product. The consolidated client/server product, based on the Marquis system, is available to all current Marquis and NOTIS Horizon customers without additional licensing costs. Release 4.0 of this software will be available in early 1995. Paul Sybrowsky, formerly Dynix president, was named president of ALS; Jane Burke, presi- dent of NOTIS Systems, is no longer with the compa- ny. ALS will continue to de- velop and offer three differ- ent software products: a consolidated client/server product based on Marquis, a Unix host-based product called Dynix or Dynix Scholar, and NOTIS’ main- frame products. The newly consolidated company eventually plans to offer support services for these products under the new Library Systems Division by type of li- brary—academic (the former NOTIS office), public (formerly Dynix), K-12 school (former- ly Scholar), and special (formerly Marquis). Enhancements to the main product line, e.g., WinPac, retrospective conversion, and Vista, will continue to be offered and developed by a new Information Services group.

Alfred University holds “cardbecue”

Alfred University (AU) held a “cardbecue” to burn the 100,000 cards from its closed, 1,140- drawer card catalog. Using metal half-drums often used at pig-roasts, AU’s Herrick Memorial Library staff held the “cardbecue” ceremony to acknowledge symbolically the end of its paper path and the beginning of a new computerized road. This ceremony follows a tradition started in 1987 when, to mark the change from the Dewey to the Library of Congress system of classification, the library burned the cards with the Dewey numbers on them.

Steve Crandall (left), associate director of Herrick Memorial Library at Alfred University, feeds catalog cards into the flames while three members of the volunteer Hook & Ladder Co. look on.

Photo credit: William G. Moogan

Let's talk about ACRL

ACRL-Forum, an unmoderated listserv open to all for discussion of issues pertinent to ACRL, academic librarianship, and higher education, has been established by ACRL. Ray Metz, director of library information technology at Case Western Reserve University, has accepted a two-year appointment as the listserv “owner.”

To subscribe send the message “Sub ACRL-FRM your name” to “listserv@uicvm” for bitnet users and “listserv@uicvm.uic.edu” for Internet users.

Questions? Contact Ray Metz at: metz® po.cwru.edu or Mary Ellen K. Davis (co-owner of the list) at mary.ellen.davis@ala.org.

Promotion/tenure documents sought

ACRL’s Academic Status Committee seeks documents stating the criteria for promotion and tenure for librarians with faculty status. Send sample documents to: Gemma DeVinney, Coordinator of Reference & Instructional Services, Lockwood Library, SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260; e-mail: lolgemma@ubvm.cc. buffalo.edu.

Cartoonist wanted for C&RL News

Do you have a flair for drawing and an ability to express ideas in cartoons? Can you capture the humorous side of library issues in a single cartoon? C&RL News is seeking cartoonists/illustrators to prepare original material for its monthly publication.

If you are interested send a cover letter expressing your interest and experience along with three to five samples of your work to: Mary Ellen K. Davis, Editor, C&RL News, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 606ll.

Librarians win Pittsburgh prizes

Thirty-five librarians who stopped by ACRL’s booth during the ALA Annual Conference in Miami won prizes from Pittsburgh, site of ACRL’s 7th National Conference. Prizes included free admissions to local museums, free drinks, free meals, and free lodging in Pittsburgh hotels. More prizes—including a free airline ticket to Pittsburgh—will be available at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, February 3-9, 1995. ACRL’s 7th National Conference will be held March 29-April 1, 1995. ACRL members will be mailed a registration packet in mid-November. (Ed. note: See Marcia Lowry’s article on Pittsburgh on page 480).

Cal Poly Library participates in Electronic Village conference

The Kennedy Library of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, participated in the first annual Electronic Village conference sponsored by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce. The library exhibited its touchscreen electronic information kiosk to the 400 attendees representing the business, education, library, government, and nonprofit sectors of the community. Users accessed an alphabetized list of subjects by pressing the color touch screen. The kiosk then displayed text, graphics, animation, QuickTime full motion video, still photographs, sound, and a floor plan pinpointing the exact location of the materials within the library’s 200,000-square-foot building.

Univ. of Alabama and Washington & Lee dedicate libraries

The University of Alabama recently celebrated the opening of the Angelo Bruno Business Library and Sloan Y. Bashinsky Sr. Computer Center with a dedication ceremony. The $9 million state-of-the-art facility was funded through pri- vate gifts—primarily a $4 million gift from the Angelo Bruno family for the library and a $3 million gift from Sloan Y. Bashinsky Sr. for the computer center.

A view of the stacks from inside the Bruno Business Library at the University of Alabama.

Washington & Lee University’s Board of Trustees voted to name the University Library posthumously for James Graham Leyburn, a former dean and professor who retired in 1972 after 25 years of un- paralleled academic service to the univer- sity. It is only the sec- ond building on cam- pus in modern history to be named honorifi- cally. A poster com- memorating the event (right) was commis- sioned and is available for $15 from Barbara Brown, University Li- brarian, Leyburn Li- brary, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA 24450; phone: (703) 463-8640. ■