ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

News from the Field

Mary Ellen Davis

Flood destroys North Dakota State University’s main library

Just before midnight on June 19, as a severe summer storm pummeled the Fargo community, librarians at North Dakota State University’s (NDSU) main library were taking the precautionary measure of moving serials from the bottom shelves to higher ground.

Minutes later, pressure from water pooling outside the windows burst through, with more than four feet of water mixed with sewage and petroleum products flooding the lower level.

Library staff raced against the clock through the night to save materials as water continued to rise. Initial loss estimates were $2 million in journals and $1 million in furniture and equipment, such as computers, microfilm and microfiche readers, shelving, and microfilm and microfiche cabinets.

Pamela Drayson, NDSU Libraries director, assumed her duties only four days before the storm. “Thanks to the hard work of our staff that night and the hard work of volunteers over the next four days, 99% of the archives and materials in the Institute for Regional Studies, 60% of the bound journals, and 80% of the microfilm and microfiche were saved.”

Workers filled 5 semi-trucks with approximately 25,000 to 30,0 damaged journals, which were hauled to a cleaning facility in Chicago.

Those materials will be returned to NDSU sometime this fall. Another 30,000 to 40,000 volumes went to the Fargo landfill.

Journals not contaminated directly by flood waters but still in danger of molding were dried, cleaned, and inventoried before being shelved in a separate facility. A list of needed journals will be posted to the library’s Web site.

Many academic libraries and consortia, including CIC and Minitex, have offered free interlibrary loan for the coming year. According to Drayson, “A number of library vendors, including Bell & Howell, Elsevier, Gale Publications, EBSCO, and others, have all offered their assistance in recovery efforts.”

The first two floors of the main library reopened to the public in early August, with the lower level being closed indefinitely. Drayson said that faculty and students are being asked to use full-text databases and interlibrary loan for their periodical needs.

Baker & Taylor settle legal dispute

Baker & Taylor (B&T), issued a statement from President Jim Ulsamer saying that

A severe summer storm wreaked havoc on North Dakota State University’s main library. Thanks to the efforts of library staff and volunteers, 99% of the materials in the Institute for Regional Studies were saved, as well as 60% of the bound journals.

Poster presenters sought

Share your expertise in a national forum—present a poster session at ACRL’s 10th National Conference in Denver, March 15-18, 2001.

Poster sessions are informal presentations featuring innovative projects or solutions to problems. These presentations provide a forum for developing contacts among librarians interested in similar issues and is an easy way to get involved at the national level. Poster sessions also provide an opportunity to creatively develop your ideas and get name recognition without the stress of peer review.

Deadline for submission:October 16, 2000. Submit a completed application (available at http://www.ala.org/acrl/ callform.html) and a 250-word abstract indicating whether you will need electricity for a laptop computer or similar device to: Charles Kratz, Weinberg Memorial Library, University of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510-4700; voice: (570) 941-4008; fax: (570) 941- 7817; e-mail: kratzcl@uofs.edu.

Details about the conference are on the ACRL Web site at http://www.ala.org/acrl/ denver.html. Registration begins this month.

B&T, and W. R. Grace, had decided to settle its legal dispute with the 18 states that had joined with the U.S. Justice Department in alleging B&T had violated the federal False Claims Act and similar state laws. With this settlement, B&T said that it is released from all claims without admitting any wrong doing.

B&T spent nearly five years in litigation with the U.S. Justice Department on this issue. In July 1999, B&T settled all claims with the federal government and the Justice Department released them from all civil liability, acknowledging that B&T did not admit guilt and that they continued to deny allegations.

Ulsamer said that with the federal settlement, “B&T was facing a prolonged legal discovery process by all 18 states. This could have disrupted our business for years.

“While we won’t have the satisfaction of being exonerated through the courts, this settlement—like the federal settlement—makes sound business sense.”

Distance Learning Section (DLS) members Alexander (Sandy) Slade and Trish DelNero at the DLS 10th anniversary celebration.

ACRL’s Distance Learning Section celebrates 10th anniversary

ACRL’s Distance Learning Section (DLS) celebrated its 10th anniversary during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago at the Chicago Campus of National-Louis University (NLU) thanks to NLU staffers, Carol Moulden (the incoming DLS chair), Carole Kabel, and Sherrill Weaver.

Harvey Gover, DLS chair, presided over the anniversary observances, which included presentations by Barton Lessin, Tom Abbott, and Sandy Slade, messages from previous section chairs unable to attend, and opportunities for those present to share their reminiscences, tributes, anecdotes, and memories of the section’s first ten years.

DLS was established as the Extended Campus Library Services Section during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago in June 1990. Starting with just 25 signatures on the petition requesting section status and increasing to nearly 200 members by the end of the first year, DLS membership now stands at nearly 1,400.

Since its inception, DLS has sponsored nine Annual Conferences programs and produced and updated the ACRL “Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services.”

Big 12 Plus adds seven members

The addition of seven new Western U.S. academic libraries has swelled the ranks of the Big 12 Plus Libraries Consortium (BTP) to 30 research libraries. Recently joining the BTP are the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of Southern California, the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, Washington State University, and Oregon State University. “The breadth and depth of collections and expertise found in these libraries, combined with those of existing members, position the BTP to make significant contributions to the greater library and scholarly communication effort,” said Dale Cluff, current chair of the BTP and dean of libraries at Texas Tech University.

Rice University offers digital library to German university

International University Bremen (IUB) will open its 80-acre campus in northern Germany in the fall of 2001 without a traditional library. Instead, through collaboration with Rice University in Houston, IUB will have a digital Information Resource Center. A broadband connection between Rice and IUB, provided as part of an agreement between Rice and Enron Broadband Services, will allow simultaneous access to resources to users at both universities. ■

“Smartiesuse the library" (with Smarties candy attached) and "Library staff members go the Extra mile for the students" (Wrigley’s Extra Chewing Gum) are some of the sweet sayings that the campus library staff at Ohio State University-Marion and Marion Technical College put on notecards to make their new students aware of the library. Betsy Blankenship, head librarian (pictured holding some sweetened note cards), said, "We try to plant a seed of awareness and this never fails to get a smile and a laugh when students read them."

Applications/nominations invited for C&RL editor

Applications and nominations are invited for the position of editor of College & Research Libraries (C&RL), the bimonthly, 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. Qualifications include professional experience in academic libraries, a record of scholarly publication, editing experience, an ability to meet publication deadlines, an understanding of the scholarly communication process, and a broad knowledge of the issues confronting academic libraries.

Some funding for editorial assistance and travel to relevant conferences is available, and there is a small honorarium for the editor.

Appointment will be made by the ACRL Board of Directors at the 2001 Annual Conference, upon the recommendation of the search committee and of the ACRL Publications Committee. The incoming editor will serve a one-year internship with the current editor before assuming full responsibility for C&RL in July 2002.

Nominations, resumes, and letters of application, including the names of three references, should be sent to: C&RL Search Committee, c/o Hugh Thompson, ACRL, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611, e-mail: hthompson@ala.org.

The deadline for receipt of applications is December 6, 2000. Finalists will be interviewed at the Midwinter Meeting in February 2001.