ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

News from the Field

Mary Ellen Davis

Columbia University launches publishing EPIC

Columbia University has launched a new media center to foster the development of online scholarly publications intended to rival their paper counterparts in quality and prestige. The newly established Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia (EPIC) links the expertise of Columbia University Press (CU Press), the Libraries, and the Academic Information System.

“Columbia intends to take a leadership role in developing new forms of scholarly communication and enhancing the ability of scholars to access materials needed for teaching and research,” said Provost Jonathan Cole.

According to Elaine Sloan, vice president for Information Services and university librarian, “Without compromising traditional quality and purpose of university-based research, EPIC will develop innovative, economically viable electronic products that will take full advantage of the very latest in technology.”

Columbia broke with traditional publishing models in 1997 with Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO), which includes full-text online books, book summaries, links to over l60 related sites, a calendar, working papers, etc., and grows at the rate of 2,000 pages a month. This project, originally funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, was designed to be self-supporting through subscription sales after three years of development. To date with 190 subscriptions ranging from $595 to $1,200 per year, the project is on budget.

“Because of CIAO’s success, we now know that scholars are interested in exploring the potential of online publication and research, and that enough librarians and end users find this material sufficiently valuable to purchase it at a price that will permit cost-recovery over the long term,” said Kate Wittenberg, editor-in-chief of CU Press. Wittenberg has been named director of EPIC.

Dickinson librarian detained in China

Dickinson College officials reported that Yongyi Song, head of technical services at Dickinson’s Waidner-Spahr Library in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and his wife were detained in Beijing and are suspected of illicit activities, including stealing and buying state secrets.

Song, a bibliographer and researcher of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and his wife traveled to China in June to conduct research for a book he is working on. According to Tammie Brush-Campbell, associate director of College Relations, Dickinson was told informally in mid-August by a source with contacts in the Chinese embassy that Song had been detained. The same source was able to confirm in September that Song and his wife are suspected of the illicit activities.

Song has lived in the United States since 1990 and has worked for Dickinson since 1997. The couple were nearly through the

Gifts from the E. L. Cord Foundation (totalling more than $90,000 for 1997-98) helped fund this new computing lab at the Getchell Library at the University of Nevada, Reno. The lab includes a help desk and computing instruction room. A gift also led to the opening of the Patricia L. Chase Study area, which includes a quiet study room, conference rooms, and an instruction/teaching room for multimedia presentations.

ACRL Legislative Agenda 1999-2000

ACRL has a commitment to representing academic libraries’ needs and interests in the legislative arena. In order to accomplish this, the ACRL Government Relations Committee (in consultation with the ACRL Board and staff) was charged with taking a direct and active role in formulating and updating the ACRL Legislative Agenda. The committee monitors legislative efforts and issues of interest to academic libraries and higher education.

Since the legislative landscape is constantly evolving, the Government Relations Committee reviews its legislative agenda at Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference, and, if needed, recommends a revised legislative agenda to the ACRL Board. Here is the ACRL Legislative Agenda 1999-2000, approved by the ACRL Board at the 1999 Annual Conference

1. Next Generation Internet (NGI) and Information Technology for the 21^st Century (IT2)

• Support Next Generation Internet and Internet 2 initiatives. The ALA Washington Office recommends that NGI and IT2 be funded at $1.8 billion. NGI will advance cutting-edge Internet technologies and applications. IT2, in addition to advancing a broader range of information technology, will also fund important research in application areas such as education and digital libraries.

2. Intellectual Property

• Follow-up on distance education implications of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Enact an updated exemption for use of copyrighted materials in support of distance education that not only promotes distance education but also meets reasonable proprietor concerns.

• Preserve the concept of fair use in the digital environment.

• Monitor the database protection legislation (specifically H.R. 1858) to ensure that the historical balance in copyright law is not upset. H.R. 1858, the Consumer and Investor Access to Information Act of 1999, is a constructive alternative to H.R. 354, the Collections of Information Antipiracy Act. It protects against piracy of databases while protecting value-added downstream uses of data.

3. Government Information

• Work to strengthen and improve next generation GPO access, which governs the distribution of government information to the public. Seek sponsors for the new draft “Next Generation GPO Access” legislation.

4. Appropriations

As there are a limited number of federal agencies that provide support for academic libraries, ACRL must monitor and support adequate appropriations for:

• NTIA Information Infrastructure Grants (TIAAP)—The ALA Washington Office recommends that TIAAP be funded at the requested $20.1 million.

• Institute for Library and Museum Services (IMLS)—The ALA Washington Office recommends that IMLS be funded at last year’s level of $166.2 million, which is more than the $154.5 million that the President is requesting for FY2000.

• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)—The ALA Washington Office recommends that NEA be funded at $150 million.

• National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)—The ALA Washington Office recommends that NEH be funded at the requested level of $151.4 million.

• Support adequate appropriations for the national libraries. The ALA Washington Office recommends that the Library of Congress be funded at the requested $383.7 million and that the National Agricultural Library be funded $5 million above the requested $21 million because services have been cut and it has had to service its collections at 1991 budget levels

• Support Government Printing Office (GPO) salaries and expense appropriations. The ALA Washington Office recommends that GPO be funded at the $31.2 million requested for the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) account.

5. Preservation and Digitization

• Make decision makers aware of relevant issues related to preservation and digitization. ■ process of becoming U.S. citizens but had not taken the final oath. They have family in China and had traveled to China before without incident. Song has a daughter at Carnegie Mellon University who, as far as officials at Dickinson knew, has not been contacted by the Chinese.

Dickinson College held a community gathering of support in front of the library in September. “We are pursuing all avenues to keep abreast of the situation. It’s a waiting game just now,” said Brush-Campbell.

Subscription agents develop standard licenses

Five subscription agents: Blackwell, Dawson, EBSCO, Harrassowitz and Swets have, in cooperation, developed a suite of standard licenses designed for the acquisition of electronic journals and other electronic resources. The agents claim they contain the words needed to express most of the variables publishers and librarians—and the subscription agents who are experienced in handling the supply of journals—will meet in negotiating licenses.

The license used as a starting point was the UK’s PA/JISAC model license, jointly developed by publishers and librarians from the Publishers Association and the Joint Information Systems Committee of the Higher Education Funding Councils, the U.S. Principles for Licensing Electronic Resources from the ALA et. al, the Statements of Current Perspectives from the International Coalition of Library Consortia, and the LIBLICENSE Web site.

The licenses may be found at http:// www.licensingmodels.com. John Cox Associates, an international publishing consultancy specializing in licensing and content management will keep the site up-to-date. Comments and suggestions may be sent to Cox at john.e.cox@btinternet.com.

ACRL publishes Accessible Libraries on Campus

Accessible Libraries on Campus: A Practical Guide for the Creation of Disability-Friendly Libraries,edited by Tom McNulty and published by ACRL, examines the issues involved, along with specific guidance on the means, for the creation of accessible libraries. The text reviews the ADA guidelines governing the physical accessibility of libraries and other educational buildings, as well as a discussion of ADAcompliant signage and other wayfinding aids for the library user.

Chapters cover special situations such as appropriate text, access for blind and partially sighted computer users, services for those with hearing loss, accommodating the hand-disabled, accessible Web pages, and staff training and support. Appendices include noteworthy programs, projects, and a resources directory. Accessible Libraries (08389-8035-X) is available for $22 ($20 for ACRL members) from ALA Order Fulfillment, 155 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL 60606 or call (800) 545-2433, press 7.

Univ. of Michigan School of Information offers dual degrees

The University of Michigan School of Information has added three dual degrees to its master’s curriculum. Now students can earn the Master of Science in Information in conjunction with either the Master of Business Administration from the Business School, the Master of Public Policy from the School of Public Policy, or the Juris Doctor from the Law School. Additional information is available at http://www.si.umich.edu. ■