ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

PUBLICATIONS

• Brigham Young University has published a new collection development policy statement (676 pages) detailing its collection policy for the entire LC class. Included are narrative descriptions for each academic department, current collecting levels and existing strengths based on Research Libraries Group definitions, statements for Manuscripts and Special Collections, and an exhaustive subject index. Copies are $30 and are available from the Collection Development Department, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602.

• Career Opportunities for Writers, by Rosemary Guiley (247 pages, 1985), describes 91 jobs for writers, including the requirements and prospects for advancement offered in each position, a summary career profile and career ladder flowchart. All types of writing careers are highlighted including editorial assistant, reporter, research analyst, public information officer, press secretary, jingle writer, poet, historian, and librarian. The book should prove useful as a general guide for undergraduates contemplating such careers. Copies are $18.95 from Facts on File, 460 Park Ave. South, New York, NY 10016. ISBN 0-8160-1015-3.

• The Directory of Periodicals Online: Indexed, Abstracted and Full–Text, edited by Catherine Chung (Volume 1, 524 pages, July 1985), provides information on 25,000 periodicals available on more than 375 databases. Each current title record contains the name of the publisher, ISSN, frequency, subject area, database availability, length of coverage, lag time, format, and database vendor. The first volume covers periodicals in news, law, and business; two additional volumes will include medicine and social science, and science and technology. The price for Volume One is $90 (prices for later volumes not yet determined). Copies may be ordered from Federal Document Retrieval, 514 C St., N.E., Washington, DC 20002. ISBN 0-932929-00-1.

• Directory of Specialist Bookdealers in the United Kingdom Handling Mainly New Books (3d ed., 1984, 83 pages) lists 681 booksellers by subject. A new feature in this edition is a geographical place name index that makes it easier to locate shops in a given area. The cost is £8.50, plus 50 pence postage and handling, from Peter Marcan Publications, 31 Rowliff Road, High Wycombe, Bucks, England. ISBN 0-9504211-7-0.

• The EC Index is a new monthly index and abstract service covering the publications of the European Communities. Published by Europe Data of the Netherlands, the index is marketed in the U.S. by Congressional Information Service. EC Index provides comprehensive access to Commission final documents, European Parliament working documents, Economic and Social Committee documents, Courtof Justice judgments and opinions of the Advocates General, and Official Journal information and notices and legislation. A one-year subscription is available for $995; the monthly issues are cumulated quarterly and annually. Write EC Index, Congressional Information Service, P.O. Box 30056, Bethesda, MD 20814-3389.

• The EDUCOM Bulletin, vol.20, no.l (Spring 1985), is a special issue devoted to libraries and computing. EDUCOM is a consortium of 500 colleges and universities that promotes resource sharing, facilities planning and management of information technology in higher education. The articles in this issue include “Building Networks for Scholarly Information,” by Richard W. McCoy and Wayne E. Davison of the Research Libraries Group, and “Academic Libraries and Computing: A Time of Change,” by C. Lee Jones of the Council on Library Resources. Single copy price is $5, and a full subscription is $20 annually (libraries at EDU- COM member institutions may obtain a free single copy).

• A Guidebook for Shelf Inventory Procedures in Academic Libraries, by Clifford A. Haka and Nancy Stevens (July 1985), has been published as Occasional Paper #10 by the ARL Office of Management Studies. It expands on a “Research Notes” article in the March 1985 issue of College & Research Libraries. The guidebook provides a set of inventory procedures with 10 flowcharts and diagrams, as well as examples from an inventory conducted at the University of Kansas, and has been printed with a three-hole punch format to allow staff to use it as a workbook. Copies are available for $15 from ARL/OMS, 1527 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036.

• Microforms in Libraries: A Manual for Evaluation and Management, edited by Francis Spreitzer (63 pages, July 1985), describes the organization and management of a library microform reading facility and explains the physical properties of different types of microforms and how to evaluate their technical quality. The book was prepared by the ALA Resources and Technical Services Division’s Reproduction of Library Materials Section and the RTSD Resources Section. Copies may be ordered for $8.95 from ALA Publishing Services, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. ISBN 0-8389- 3310-6.

• The Moon and Planets: A Catalog of Astronomical Anomalies, edited by William R. Corliss (383 pages, June 1985), lists 199 different types of unusual event observed in our Solar System. A description and references are given for such phenomena as ephemeral earth satellites, lights on the Moon, periodic brightenings of Uranus, Saturn’s kinked rings, and Mercury’s unexpected magnetic field. The book should make an interesting companion piece to the new Cambridge Atlas of Astronomy. Copies may be ordered for $18.95 from The Sourcebook Project, P.O. Box 107, Glen Arm, MD 21057. ISBN 0-915554-19-4.

• Photocopy Services in ARL Libraries, SPEC Kit #115 (106 pages, June 1985), details the results of an Office of Management Studies survey on both self-service copiers and staffed copy centers in 79 research libraries. The kit includes 2 policy statements, an outline of cost factors, 9 descriptions of services and price lists, 17 position descriptions, advertising copy from 3 libraries, 3 user surveys, and 5 vendor contracts. SPEC kits are available by subscription from the SPEC Center, ARL/OMS, 1527 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036. Individual kits are available for $20 each, prepayment required.

• The Research Guide to Musicology, by James W. Pruett and Thomas P. Slavens (175 pages, June 1985), is the fourth and final work in the ALA series, Sources of Information in the Humanities. The guide has two parts: a series of essays surveying the field, and an annotated bibliography of reference works. All periods of serious music history are covered, from antiquity to the present. Copies may be ordered for $30 from ALA Publishing Services, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. ISBN 0-8389- 0331-2.

• Scholarly Communication, the new newsletter published by the Office of Scholarly Communication and Technology, an affiliate of the American Council of Learned Societies, issued its first number in June 1985. Librarians interested in publishing, research, new technology, and library policy may write for a sample copy (12 pages). The contents include a report on Stanford’s experiment to provide computers to professors in the humanities, a brief roundup of developments in preservation, the copyright payment problem, and a review of software. To obtain a copy, write the Office of Scholarly Communication, 1717 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036.

• Shelf Browsing, Open Access and Storage Capacity in Research Libraries, by John J. Boll (34 pages, June 1985), has been published as Occasional Paper number 169 of the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science. This paper advocates limiting shelf browsing capability to areas of a research-oriented library that deal primarily with current and frequently used resources. The cost is $3, available from the GSLIS Publications Office, 249 Armory Building, 505 E. Armory St., Champaign, IL 61820.

• The Supply List of the Guild of Book Workers (82 pages, March 1985) includes’ information on more than 220 suppliers of materials for bookbinding, conservation and calligraphy, principally in the U.S. and Canada, although a number of European and Asian suppliers are also listed. Addresses, telephone numbers, lists of supplies and services, minimum order requirements, shipping restrictions, availability of catalog and sample books are given for each supplier. Copies are available from Jean Gunner, Supply Chairperson, Guild of Book Workers, 118 Carnegie Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15208, for $12.50 prepaid ($1 surcharge for invoicing).

British Library MARC records converted

Beginning in April, the Library of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service began offering a conversion service for British Library (UKMARC) catalog records. The machine–readable bibliographic records available through this new service correspond to those found in the printed British National Bibliography covering current books and first issues of serials published in the United Kingdom. British Library cataloging-in-publication records are also included.

OCLC, Inc., of Dublin, Ohio, announced a similar agreement with the British Library at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. UKMARC records are now being added to the OCLC database under a license to OCLC from the British Library. OCLC member libraries will thus at no extra charge have access to the British national output. The Research Libraries Group is currently negotiating a similar arrangement for RLIN users.

Under the terms of LC’s arrangement with the British Library, those in the United States and elsewhere wishing to receive British Library MARC records in the USMARC communications format must first enter into a subscription agreement with the British Library. The subscriber will then enter into a separate agreement with LC for the conversion of British UKMARC records into USMARC. OCLC member libraries, however, will not need a separate agreement.

The new LC conversion service parallels a similar service offered by the British Library, whereby libraries in the United Kingdom and other countries wishing to receive Library of Congress MARC records in the UKMARC exchange format will subscribe directly to the LC tape service, but will receive the records from the British Library converted into UKMARC.

OCLC members may now also order documents from the British Library Lending Division via the OCLC Interlibrary Loan Subsystem.

British Library cataloging adheres to the second edition of the Anglo-American Cataloging Buies (AACR2), although the name and title headings will not always conform to Library of Congress Rule Interpretations.

Libraries needing to contact the British Library for subscriptions to the UKMARC Tape Service should contact the Marketing and Support Office, The British Library, Bibliographic Services Division, 2 Sheraton St., London W1V 4BH, United Kingdom. To obtain the LC conversion service (which costs $1,600 for 1985), contact the Customer Services Section, Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20541.

ARL launches Recon Project

Following the completion of a three-month planning study, the Association of Research Libraries has launched a new program, the ARL Recon Project, designed to enrich the North American database by including bibliographic records for monographs from all significant collections in U.S. and Canadian research libraries, including libraries not represented in ARL. The project will ensure that newly-added records meet minimum quality standards and that they are universally accessible. Achievement of these goals will improve access to scholarly resources, serve as the basis for resource sharing and cooperative preservation programs, and increase the number of records available for local conversion efforts to support online catalogs and collection management activities.

Widespread interest in retrospective conversion throughout the library community encouraged ARL to proceed with the planning study and ultimately the ARL Recon Project. The ARL Committee on Bibliographic Control will serve as the advisory committee for the project, and will help establish priorities and criteria for recon projects, and assist in identifying potential participants in multi-institution efforts.

The overall objective of the program is conversion of about 6-7 million records for monographs not yet in machine-readable form. The program will be based on voluntary efforts, and participation is encouraged from both individual institutions and groups of libraries. It will emphasize avoiding duplication of effort, ensure that standards are being met, and arrange for the widest possible availability of the converted records.

Jutta Reed-Scott has been appointed project coordinator. The Recon Project (formerly the ARL Program for Coordinated Retrospective Conversion of Bibliographic Records for Monographs in North American Research Libraries) grew out of a planning study conducted for ARL by Reed-Scott early in 1985. That study, supported by funds from the Council on Library Resources, demonstrated the feasibility of such a program and provided a plan of action for conducting it. The report of the planning study, Plan for a North American Program for Retrospective Conversion, is available for $15 prepaid (ARL members, $10) from ARL, 1527 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036. For more information on the Recon Project, contact Jutta Reed-Scott, ARL Recon Project, Brandeis University Library, Waltham, MA 02254.