ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

News from the Field

Crismonds resignation continues to cause stir

Linda Crismond, former ex- ecutive director of ALA, broke her silence about her “resignation” (see June 1992 C&RL News) in a May 29 let- ter addressed to “staff, friends, and colleagues.” In the letter, Crismond summa- rized the accomplishments made at ALA under her ten- ure and gave her version of how she came to leave ALA so abruptly, despite the board’s decision in January to extend her contract through Sep- tember and to give her a salary increase.

The letter stated, “I was informed during the Executive Board meeting on April 30, 1992, that the Board had informally taken a ‘vote of no confidence,’ and that they would like my resignation within the next forty-eight hours. … When I asked the Executive Board … as to their reasons, I received the response, ‘our attorney has advised us that we are not at liberty to give you that information.’ I was told that I should contact an attorney.” Crismond also said that “a board letter of May 8, 1992, to me demanded that I resign, effective May 12, or I would be terminated, commanded me to take a leave of absence from noon on May 8 until Monday, May 11, and instructed me to collect my personal effects over that weekend.”

ALA’s Executive Board then responded to this letter in a statement to the press in which they claimed that there were several inaccuracies contained in Crismond’s letter and that she had been given “specific and repeated warnings of performance problems—in writing— which led to the request for her resignation … The Executive Board and Ms. Crismond were unable to negotiate an amicable transition period … Ms. Crismond’s contract has been fully honored and the Executive Board has acted in good faith.”

Sullivan named ALA executive director

Peggy Sullivan, director of libraries at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and a past-president of the ALA, has been named the executive director of ALA effective August 17, 1992. Her contract is for two years, ending August 24, 1992. During this interim period, the ALA Executive Board will imple- ment a search process for a successor.

ALA President Marilyn Miller said of Sullivan, “Her skills in interpersonal rela- tions and her broad under- standing of the association and the profession—both as they are today and could be tomorrow—coupled with her incisive wit and com- mon sense make her an ad- mirable choice for the position.”

At NIU Sullivan directs the main campus and five branch libraries as well as serving as a ten- ured professor in the Department of Library and Information Studies. From 1981-90 she served as dean of the College of Professional Studies at NIU, oversee- ing two schools and four departments. Pre- viously she was assis- tant commissioner for executive services for the Chicago Public Li- brary, dean of students and associate professor for the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago, and director of the School Library Certification Program at the University of Pittsburgh.

Peggy Sullivan

Sullivan said she is looking forward to her work at ALA. “To use an expression I took from Dag Hammarskjöld years ago, and which I‘ve used frequently at commencements: ‘For all that has been thanks. To all that will be— yes.’”

Berea College completes $8.2 million expansion

Berea College, Kentucky, united its library and computer services with an $8.2 million renovation and expansion of Hutchins Library. The renovation and addition provide 96,000 square feet over three floors, expanded stack space, and improved study spaces. The library and computer center are installing a fiber-optic network that will provide for electronic mail, file sharing, and access to the library catalog and external databases. This summer the library hopes to complete the automation of its acqui- sitions, circulation, and public catalog using Dynix and to bring all of the student dormito- ries online.

Intricate title page for Frank Lloyd Wright’s first book, The House Beautiful, hand- published in a stable in 1896-97.

Enter your winning publicity ideas

The competition for the 1993 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Awards given by the H.W. Wilson Company and ALA’s Li- brary Administration and Management Asso- ciation is now open. The awards are given for a library’s total annual coordinated public relations program. Completed entries must be received by the H.W. Wilson Company by February 1, 1993- To obtain an information packet and entry forms write: John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Awards Contest, The H.W. Wilson Company, 950 University Avenue, Bronx, NY 10452- 9978. Ed. note: For more information about the award see theJuly/August 1991 issue of C&RL News.

AIDS information online

BIOSIS, sponsor of the Life Science Network, has added AIDSLINE and AIDS Abstracts to the Network. AIDSLINE, produced by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), contains more than 45,000 records from 1980 to the present. Citations are drawn from MEDLINE, CANCERLIT, and HEALTH databases covering biomedical, social, clinical, and research aspects of AIDS as well as health policy issues. AIDS Abstracts, from the Bureau of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases, contains approximately 14,000 citations from 1983 to the present. BIOSIS has also added the complete set of American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) Catalogues to the Network. A free six-minute video demonstrating Life Science Network is available in the U.S. from BIOSIS; call l-(800) 523-4806.

Popular papers needed

Papers on topics related to popular culture and libraries are sought for the April 7-10, 1993, meeting of the Popular Culture Association. Abstracts of not more than 250 words should be sent by September 1, 1992, to: Allen Ellis, W. Frank Steely Library, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099-6101; phone: (606) 572-5527; fax: (606) 572-5390.

Millionth- milestone celebrations

Vanderbilt University, the University of Kan- sas, and the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign are all cel- ebrating millionth-vol- ume milestones. Van- derbilt added its two-millionth volume—a rare first edition of the official Journal of the Proceedings of the Congress of September 1774. Kansas added as its three-millionth volume a revised edition of the Kretschmer atlas, Die Historischen Karten Zur Entdeckung Amerikas [Historical Maps on the Discovery of America] (1991). The University of Illinois added the eighth print of Frank Lloyd Wright’s first book—The House Beautiful—as its eight-millionth volume. Wright designed and hand-printed 90 copies of the book in a stable during the winter months of 1896-97 with the help of his friend William Herman Winslow and Chauncey Williams, the venture’s financial sponsor.

LSU opens Center for Oral History

Louisiana State University opened the T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History, named in honor of a popular history professor and pioneer oral historian. Housed in LSU’s Hill Library, the first major project will be a series of tape-recorded interviews on the history of LSU. Williams Center director Pamela Dean said that the center will work closely with the staff of the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC), the manuscript repository also located in Hill Library. “All of our tapes, transcripts, photographs, and other material will be deposited in LLMVC and available to researchers,” said Dean.

NLW celebration ideas

These ideas for contests and prizes may give you an idea for next year’s National Library Week (NLW) celebration. The University of South Alabama Biomedical Library held drawings during this year’s NLW. Prizes awarded included copicards for $5.00 worth of photocopying and free computer searches (value up to $20.00). The Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) celebrated NLW with “The Second Annual Great NEOUCOM Read Aloud” and “The Faculty Match Game” in which NEOUCOM students and faculty had the chance to match faculty members with their favorite books.

Auburn dedicates library addition

On November 8, 1991, the 207,000-square-foot addition to the Auburn University Libraries was dedicated. The addition doubled the library’s size increasing the building’s capacity to 2.5 million volumes with seating for 2,500. State and university bonds as well as private support made the $20.5 mil- lion expansion and reno- vation project possible.

Dealing with 16th- century info explosion

Although we feel like we are overwhelmed with in- formation, European intel- lectuals in the lóth century felt the same way. Ago- stino Ramelli’s 16th-cen- tury book of machines in- cluded the book wheel (see illustration) which re- solved scholars’ needs to refer to many texts almost simultaneously in an age of information explosion. Those using the machine can see and turn through a large number of books stationed on lecterns, po- sitioned like the seats on a ferris wheel, without moving from one spot. Ramelli’s book will be on exhibit September 19, 1992, through January 9, 1993, as part of the New York Public Library’s exhibition New Worlds, Ancient Texts: The Cultural Impact of an Encounter.

INFORMA 1992 examines CWIS

Campus Wide Information Systems (CWIS) were the topic of the 1992 INFORMA meeting held in May on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. CWIS integrate and organize information resources in a form easily accessible to individual users. Working CWIS were on display at INFORMA’s Academy of Work demonstration area. Rensselaer Poly- technic Institute’s Info- Trax offers a grant direc- tory, job listings, exam schedules, and course evaluations. Montreals McGill University’s CWIS interfaces with online cata- logs, e-mail, conferencing, and classified ads.

Illustration showing a 16th-century book wheel used by scholars to peruse many books at one time.

Five new Annenberg/CPB video courses available

The Pacific Century, The World of Abnormal Psy- chology, Destinos: An In- troduction to Spanish, Literary Visions,and Earth Revealed are the titles of five new videocassette courses available from the Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) project. Used in combination with study guides and textbooks under the direction of a college professor, these video and audio programs are complete college courses for credit. Contact l-(800)-LEARNER for information on purchasing the series. More than 2,700 academic institutions have already acquired Project video and course materials.

Library environmental committee wins awards

The University of Arizona’s Library Staff Association has an award-winning environmental program. Spearheaded by the Library Staff Association (LSA) the Environmental Committee chaired by Peter Catalanotta-Reeves won one of the university’s first annual recycling awards and won honorable mention in the first annual City of Tucson Environmental Awards. They were commended for ongoing projects such as reducing waste; recycling newsprint, white papers, and aluminum cans; and education in the workplace regarding environmental concerns. Part of the positive reinforcement methods used by the committee to encourage waste reduction is the awarding of chocolate kisses to staff members who remember to bring their Own cups and plates to LSA parties.■