ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

News from the Field

Univ. of Minn, scores at football game

The University of Minnesota Library, Minneapolis, received its five-miilionth volume during halftime of the football game with Indiana University, October 2. American Hunger, Richard Wright’s continuation of his autobiographical Black Boy, will join the Archie Givens Sr. Collection of African-American Literature and Life. A football game was chosen for the presentation to emphasize the connection between academics and athletics; the men’s athletic director is committed to academics and has a new study initiative for student athletes. The occasion also kicked off a campaign to establish a $5 million University Library Endowment Fund to support acquisitions and new technologies.

Triangle Research Libraries mount online catalog

An integrated online automated catalog and circulation system went up in September at the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN). The system, a goal of the consortium since its 1979 founding, connects the libraries of network members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, and North Carolina State University. Network holdings comprise more than 109 million volumes. A software and communications package, designed by Data Research Associates (DRA) and funded by a $1.4 million grant from the Triangle Universities Center for Advanced Studies, Inc. (TUCASI), links the libraries online catalogs and provides access to national databases, journal indexes, and the Internet. The software also combines the libraries’ catalogs and circulation systems, so patrons can determine instantly whether desired books are available.

Louisiana to improve networks

Louisiana State University (LSU) and the Agricultural and Mechanical College were awarded $2,480,000 by the U.S. Department of Education to improve the existing Louisiana library networks. The grant will provide funds to extend and improve the academic library network in Louisiana, known as LOUIS (Louisiana Online

University Information System) which provides higher education patrons with electronic access to library databases. The result will be a statewide multitype library network over the statewide fiber optic telecommunication network managed by the state’s Office of Telecommunications Management. This grant will also make available the funds to provide electronic information access to citizens and school children who use the State Library of Louisiana, the 64 parish libraries, and some of the state’s larger K-12 programs. Library patrons will be able to access library materials owned by every Louisiana library connected to the network and they will be able—through the Internet—to view information available in libraries and electronic databases throughout the world. This grant prepares Louisiana to be a full partner in the Clinton/Gore initiatives to build an electronic data highway.

Book Center and library team up

The Book Center and the University Library teamed up at the University of Pittsburgh to provide students and faculty with computerized access to R. R. Bowker’s Books in Print database. The database can be accessed through computer terminals in any of the university’s libraries and the Book Center through PittNet Plus, the universitywide electronic network, by dialing into the network via the modem of the Internet. Users can conduct author, subject, and title searches, verify bibliographic information, learn about forthcoming titles, and find out whether or not the titles are available in the library.

Wright State outsources cataloging

Wright State University (WSU), Dayton, Ohio, began contracting with the OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., in Dublin, Ohio, for cataloging services, effective October 1. The change will save the university $200,000-$250,000 per year, but this money will remain in the library’s budget and be “reinvested into direct public services for materials, subscriptions, public workstations, and hardware and software,” according to Arnold Hirshon, university librarian at WSU. “To the best of our knowledge, we are the first major academic library in the U.S. to outsource all of our cataloging services. Reengineering through outsourcing will enable us to invest significant funds to provide critical services for our library users.”

The savings comes primarily from the elimination of 11 positions. When asked what prompted the move to outsourcing, Hirshon said that productivity studies indicated there was an opportunity for a substantial increase in productivity by switching to outsourcing. When asked whether or not he saw outsourcing of cataloging as a trend, Hirshon said that he had other inquiries from libraries in Ohio but that each would have to assess their individual conditions in making that decision. “It was the right decision for Wright State with the conditions we had at the time,” Hirshon commented.

WSU intends to contract authority control separately and is currently reviewing bids. The university catalogs 21,000 titles each year with about 75% of the cataloging copy coming from the Library of Congress or the National Library of Medicine, 20% from member libraries, and 5% original cataloging.

Call for papers: Art and Bl

Both LOEX and the IFLA Section of Art Libraries are seeking proposals for their 1994 conferences.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) invites proposals for papers or recommendations for speakers for the art section workshop and session to be held during the 60th general IFLA conference which will be held in Havana, Cuba, August 21-28, 1994. Papers should address either of these two themes: “Libraries as a bridge between the artist and society” and “Library collections of Latin American and Caribbean materials both inside and outside the region.” Details are available from Jan van der Wateren, chairman, IFLA Section of Art Libraries, c/o National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London SW7 2RL, England; phone: (071) 938-8303; fax: (071) 938-8461. Proposals are due to van der Wateren by January 31, 1994.

LOEX seeks abstracts for short (hour-long) instructive or poster sessions for its May 13-14, 1994, conference in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which will deal with the relationship between reference and BI and the new demands placed on both. LOEX also invites proposals covering BI in specific subject areas (e.g., science, health sciences, arts, education) or on special topics such as teaching Internet use. One-page abstracts are due to LOEX by January 19, 1994. For details contact LOEX at (313) 487-0168; e-mail: lib_shirato@emunix.emich.edu.

Have academic status? Contact committee

The ACRL Academic Status Committee is seeking input from librarians who have academic rather than faculty status. The committee would like to know what use you and your colleagues may have made of the “ACRL Guidelines for College and University Libraries,” which were approved in 1990 and published in the March 1990 issue of C&RL News. Please forward your comments to W. Bede Mitchell, Belk Library, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608. Comments may also be sent electronically to mitchell wb@ appstate.

ALA self-study audit completed

“The association must invest more in the long term, for everything from its chief staff officer and future leadership to its vision and longterm mission. It must make the ultimate choice between unlimited democracy and effectiveness, efficiency and identy.” These are among the conclusions drawn by the Consensus Management Group (CMG) in its “structure and governance audit” presented to the ALA Executive Board in October. CMG was selected by ALA’s Self-study Committee, chaired by William Summers.

Among the 14 areas CMG cited as needing attention are: better clarity of the roles, rights, and responsibilities of the executive director, president, and executive committee (“Instead of the president working for ALA, leading the organization to achieve its stated goals … ‚ it appears as if ALA is now expected to work for the president. This produces an annual rush to accomplishment of presidential initiatives, with little or no assurance of long-term interest or impact.”); not enough attention given to the big picture; too few people participate in the governance of ALA (“there appears to be a cadre of no more than 100 people … in the decisionmaking loop”); the budget drives priorities instead of priorities driving the budget, making COPES the most significant governing body; lack of orientation or training for elected leaders or staff; and lots of duplication of effort.

Among CMG’s recommendations to correct these areas are: make the executive board the executive committee of ALA Council; make the council the primary governance body of ALA; make the president’s role one of stewardship (where the president helps the organization achieve its goals) rather than proprietary (where the president sets the agenda causing there to be significant swings in focus from administration to administration); make the executive director responsible for the administration of ALA. “In other words, the governing bodies determine what ALA should be doing, but the Executive Director and staff should be given both authority and responsibility for deciding how it should be done.”

CMG noted that among ALA’s strengths are: a strong commitment from member-leaders and staff to “do good”; a high member retention rate—an important indicator of member satisfaction; and a sound fiscal condition. Hearings on the report will be held on February 6 from 1:00–3:00 p.m. during the 1994 Midwinter Meeting in Los Angeles. Copies of the report are available from Emily Melton, Executive Office, ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 606ll.

Cornell developing virtual library

Cornell University will digitize material from its collections that document the development of America’s infrastructure—transportation, communications, and the built environment— between 1860 and 1960 in a project called “The Making of America.” The project’s leaders plan to enlist the support of other institutions to digitize, over time 100,000 volumes.

“We want to find out how a virtual library of thematically related material can affect teaching and scholarship,” said Anne Kenney, associate director of preservation at Cornell University Library. A virtual library refers to the existence of a library across the global electronic network, free from the confines of printed matter available only at particular locations.

The project, a joint venture between the Cornell Library and Cornell Information Technologies, with support from the Culpeper Foundation, is also intended to advance the technology of electronic preservation and access. In collaboration with Xerox, Cornell has developed digital imaging technology and demonstrated its usefulness in preserving embrittled library books.

This project will address issues such as defining standards of quality, implementing procedures to ensure digital images are available long-term, and developing techniques to guarantee materials are easily and widely available. Cornell is inviting other institutions to participate in the project.

Wooster revives Mummers’ play

College of Wooster library director Damon Hickey has revived the Mummers’ Play of St. George—an ancient midwinter comic folk drama of death and resurrection—as a way to relieve the students’ tension during those frantic December days of exam preparation. Dressed as Father Christmas, Hickey accosts “Saint” George—a student who has come to the library to study for exams—and a ten-minute play ensues with many deaths and resurrections. Hickey closes the play with “And now all you students, return to your studies; These books are your friends, your comrades, your buddies … The dangers you fear are all in your head, so read now, and study, and then get to bed.”

“Father Christmas,” played by director of the library Damon Hickey, appeals to the audience in the College of Wooster’s Mummers’ Play.

RLG begins digital image access project

Eight Research Libraries Group (RLG) libraries will work together to explore the capabilities of digital image technology for managing access to photographic collections. The institutions will investigate ways to streamline indexing methods and capitalize on the online digital environment for improving access to collections, for local projects and shared networked access.

In total, 8,000 photographs from the collections of these RLG members will be digitized, and image access software created. The project will develop, test, and evaluate a digital image access system consisting of databases, image bases, and software for searching, retrieving, and displaying images. Participating in this project are: Amon Carter Museum, Columbia University, Duke University, Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, Harvard University (Frances Loeb Library), New York Public Library, Northwestern University, and the University of California at Berkeley.

Stanford gets new media center

The Stanford Media Integration Lab for Education (SMILE) was selected as the first New Media Center by a consortium which includes Adobe Systems, Apple Computer, FWB, Macromedia, Prentice Hall, Sony Electronics, and SuperMac. As a New Media Center, SMILE will have access to state-of-the-art multimedia development and production equipment supplied at low cost by leading companies in the industry. This new facility will help the libraries respond to an increasing faculty demand for these facilities and services.

Located on the second floor of the Meyer Library, SMILE will provide multimedia instruction for faculty, students, and staff and support the development of media-based curriculum materials. SMILE makes use of Meyer’s computer classroom and cluster and its curriculum development lab. In the computer classroom, instructors demonstrate computer usage on a large, projected screen display while students work at individual computer stations. Students can work with multimedia applications and produce projects of their own in the computer cluster. The curriculum development lab allows faculty and students to create instructional multimedia applications using text, audio, still image, and video digitizers, authoring systems, and CD-ROM production equipment. ■