ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

News from the Field

Stephanie Orphan

Library of Congress and OCLC release reference service

The Library of Congress’s (LC) Public Service Collections Directorate and OCLC have developed a new collaborative online reference service, QuestionPoint. The service, which is available at www.questionpoint.org, provides libraries with access to a growing collaborative network of reference librarians in the United States and around the world.

The subscription service enables reference librarians to share their resources and expertise with each other and with their patrons free of charge. Library patrons can submit questions through the library’s Web site. The questions will be answered online by qualified library staff from the patron’s own library or forwarded to a participating library around the world.

Brandeis selects Ex Libris' DigiTool

Brandeis University has awarded a contract to Ex Libris for the implementation of DigiTool as the university’s digital asset management system. DigiTool offers a format- and protocol-independent design, uniform search interface for all collections, and policy-based authentication methods. The implementation of the DigiTool software module is part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services Grant Project underway at Brandeis.

The membership vote followed an extensive review of qualitative and quantitative documentation and a site visit. A visiting committee considering the eligibility of UL reviewed the breadth and depth of collections, uniqueness of research resources, potential contributions to scholarship, and leadership in the library and information science profession.

UL enrolls approximately 14,500 undergraduates, 4,500 graduate students, and 1,800 professional school students. The university is consistently strengthening its research programs and resources, and the library is a top strategic priority of the university.

UNC Chapel Hill offers bachelor's degree in information science

The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) will begin offering a bachelor’s degree in information science this fall. Building on the undergraduate minor in the field that UNC has offered since 1997, the major will integrate the study of the creation and management of information content, the characteristics and needs of the people who create and use information, and the technologies used to support the creation and manipulation of information. The new major will be taught in UNC’s School of Information and Library Science and will consist of ten courses.

WHO'S WHO ON CD

Lynn Jane, b. 1945, Thermal, CA.

BA Radcliffe 1966 ; MLS Simmons, 1994.

Has stored her entire long distance Record on CD-ROM.

David Fishlow, b. 1943, Toana, VA.

BA William & Mary 1969; MBA Berkeley 1972. CD "The Sounds of Silence," offering 2 hours of silence, recorded at spots of great physical beauty. A cult classic since 1994.

BobbieSue Dinwiddie, b. unknown, NYC.

CEO of C-D Seating, a company constructing Furniture from CDs .

K. Waugh

University of Louisville becomes newest ARL member

At its 2002 Spring Membership Meeting, the Association of Research Libraries CARL) membership voted to invite the University of Louisville (UL) Library to join the association as its 124th member. Established in 1798, UL was included in the Doctoral/Research Extensive classification by the Carnegie Corporation, the category now required for ARL membership. Hannelore B. Rader, university librarian, accepted ARL’s invitation on behalf of the library.

University of Missouri-Kansas City Info Commons wins design awards

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Miller Nichols Library Information Commons has received an International Illumination Design Award “in recognition of professionalism, ingenuity, and originality in lighting design” from the Heart of America section of the Illumination Engineering Society of North America. The Information Commons has also been recognized for educational interior design excellence in American School & University magazine. In the competition that has been held since 1983, the Information Commons was recognized for Outstanding Design in the category of Libraries/ Media Centers. Pictures and information about the UMKC Information Commons can be found at http://www.umkc.edu/lib/MNL/ About/info-commons, htm.

Call for popular culture papers

The Libraries, Archives, and Popular Culture Research Area of the Popular Culture Association is soliciting papers dealing with any aspect of popular culture as it pertains to libraries, archives, museums, or research. Particularly welcome are papers responding to Nicholson Baker’s book, Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper. Prospective presenters should send a one-page abstract by September 15 to: Allen Ellis, W. Frank Steely Library, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY, 41099-6101, e- mail: ellisa@nku.edu.

CNI and Dartmouth offer "Collaborative Facilities" Web site

The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) and Dartmouth College have created a quest a new Web site, “Collaborative Facilities,” designed to collect, organize, and disseminate information about model collaborative facilities on college and university campuses. This includes information commons; teaching, learning, and technology training facilities; and multimedia facilities.

All higher education institutions are invited to submit materials on collaborative facilities for inclusion on the Web site. The materials will be reviewed to determine that they meet the primary criteria of the Collaborative Facilities project, namely that the facilities must be physical spaces, involve more than one unit of the institution, and involve the use of information technology. The Web site, which includes a submission form, is at http:// www.dartmouth.edu/~collab/index.html.

Columbia U to preserve School of Library Services collection

Columbia University Libraries has started a project to preserve, rehouse, and enhance access to the School of Library Service (SLS) library collection. The SLS collection is the strongest historical collection in the world for materials relating to libraries and librarianship. The collection was started in 1887 with “practice books” used by the first class of students in the first library school in the country, founded by Melvil Dewey at Columbia University. Over the course of its 100-year history, the SLS collection grew in size and scope to include all manner of material documenting every aspect of librarianship.

Over the next three years, catalog records for the collection’s 110,000 volumes will be converted to machine-readable form and made accessible in CLIO, the libraries’ online catalog, as well as through OCLC and RLIN. The collection will be inventoried and moved to the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium’s Shelving Facility, with fragile items receiving preservation treatment.

Village Voice Pubs added to Alt- Press Watch

Proquest Company’s Information and Learning unit has added seven publications from Village Voice Media Publications to its Alt-Press Watch Database. The database offers full-text content from newspapers, magazines, and journals of the alternative and independent press. Titles from Village Voice Media include the Village Voice, LA Weekly, Seattle Weekly, City Pages, Cleveland Free Times, OC Weekly, and Nashville Scene. Coverage for the weekly newspapers begins with January 2002 and continues foiward. In addition, Proquest is adding Village Voice articles back to the first issue in 1955, with full text and complete indexing. ■

Toronto, 2003: It's closer than you think

Toronto is a world-class city and a great location for next year’s ALA Annual Conference. In addition to the fact that the U.S. dollar goes a long way in Canada, Toronto offers a central convention center, in walking distance to the ballpark and theater district, and is very family friendly. Many of the major hotels are connected to an underground network that includes a variety of stores and access to the subway, so there’s always time to sneak in a little shopping on the way to your next meeting.

Despite these pluses, we know that there are some concerns over the fact that attending the conference requires crossing the border into another country. If you start planning now using the following tips, you should be all set for a memorable conference

• Bring appropriate identification.A passport is the best form of identification. Alternatives are a birth certificate and a picture ID, such as a driver’s licence or a state- issued picture ID.

• You do not need employment authorization to attend this conference.The

Canada Customs and Revenue Agency produces a guidebook for associations and groups that are bringing conventions, meetings, and trade shows across the Canadian border, “Welcome to Canada: Your Guide to Bringing a Convention, Meeting, Trade Show, or Exhibition Across the Canadian Border.” The book states:

“Professional organizers or planners contracted to a foreign organization holding an event in Canada, or permanent employees or members of a foreign organization, do not need employment authorization” and

“Invited foreign speakers do not need employment authorization, even if they receive funds in addition to expenses or an honorarium.”

Next year’s ALA Annual Conference in Toronto may seem like a long way off, but it’s never too early to start making your plans for a visit to our nearest neighbor.