ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

News from the Field

Mary Ellen Davis

Consortium to build information hub for southeast Michigan

The Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET) will develop the “Southeast Michigan Infor- mation Hub,” a dynamic user-friendly online information system that will house unique information from a variety of community re- sources, such as government organizations, chambers of commerce, trade associations, museums, and more.

The DALNET consortium—made up of 21 libraries, including public, community college, university, medical, law, and art libraries lo- cated in Southeast Michigan—will team with Ameritech Corp. to build the hub using Ameritech Library Services’ Horizon library automation system and an Ameritech man- aged frame relay network. The hub, expected to be fully operational by the year 2000, will offer access to traditional library resources as well as resources of economic development, healthcare, social service, and community in- formation.

“The Southeast Michigan Information Hub is designed to serve people throughout the seven-county Detroit regional area in their lifelong educational, cultural, research, pro- fessional, and rec- reational endeav- ors,” said Patricia Senn Breivik, DALNET presi- dent and dean of the Wayne State University Library System. “It will en- able DALNET li- braries to reach beyond the walls of the library and deliver text, im- ages, sound, and video to the desk- top level and eventually to pub- lic kiosks.”

Already, plans are underway to get the Detroit Public Library and its 24 library facilities throughout the city connected to the system in spring 1999- DALNET Vice-Chair and Detroit Public Library Director Maurice Wheeler said, “The Detroit Public Library is uniquely positioned to deliver community access to all the wonderful information in the Southeast Michigan Information. In this way, customers who do not have in-home or at-work Internet access can take full advantage of these resources.”

Margaret Auer, dean at the University of Detroit Mercy Libraries (UDM) and chair of the DALNET Board, said the new system is a hit already at UDM. “We are getting enthusiastic feedback from students and faculty,” said Auer. “They are finding it easy to use and understand. We anticipated this reaction and are very pleased it has proved to be so positive.”

California community colleges create purchasing consortium

California’s 107 community college library directors have formed a statewide purchasing consortium that will allow them to purchase Internet-based electronic information resources at discounted prices in partnership with the 22-campus California State University (CSU).

Four Minnesota librarians put the techniques learned at ACRL's 1998 "Advocacy Training for Academic Librarians" preconference right to work. While attending ALA's Annual Conference, they visited Sen. Paul Wellstone to advocate academic library legislative issues. Left to right: Mary Martin (Univ. of St. Thomas), Tom Eland (Minneapolis Community & Technical College), Sen. Paul Wellstone, Sylverna Ford (Mankato State Univ.), and Bill Sozansky (Univ. of Minnesota, Duluth).

The new consortium is a cooperative effort led by the California Community College Council of Chief Librarians, the group’s statewide association. The project is being assisted by the Community College League of California and the California State University’s Software & Electronic Information Resources office.

“The Council of Chief Librarians is proud to join together with the CSU and the Community College League in this cooperative purchase partnership,” said Pasadena City College Library Director Mary Ann Laun, who headed up a special committee of the council to develop the program. “This venture offers avenues for community college libraries to leverage financial resources, control escalating costs, and increase access to electronic information resources that are essential to meeting the information needs of students.”

The Community College League of California, which will serve as the fiscal agent, is the statewide association of all 71 districts.

Thomson mergers form Gale Group

Thomson Business Information (TBI) merged three of its electronic and reference publishing subsidiaries—Gale Research, Information Access Company (IAC), and Primary Source Media—into a new company called The Gale Group.

“We are merging three strong companies into a new worldwide leader,” said Patrick J. Tierney, TBI president. “By combining Gale’s extensive new product development, editorial, and print publishing capabilities, IAC’s expertise in electronic publishing, and Primary Source Media’s expertise with publishing original research materials, we will create compelling new products, strengthen existing ones, and deliver the highest quality of customer service.”

Allen Paschal, president of IAC, was appointed CEO of The Gale Group, based in Detroit, Michigan.

… and the Thomson Science and Technology Group

Thomson Business Information also announced the creation of Thomson Science and Technology (TST), a new group that will include two current TBI companies: Derwent Information (London) and the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) (Philadelphia). Derwent provides patent products to Fortune 1000 companies and ISI is recognized for products such as Current Contest and Science Citation Index. TBI presi- dent Patrick J. Tierney said, “The new group will focus on being the scientific researcher’s and scholar’s preferred gateway to scientific literature, patent information, and Web content.”

IS Think Tank III participants sought

Continuing a long tradition of focused deliberation on the future direction of library instruction in higher education, the ACRL Instruction Section (IS) seeks nominations of individuals with exceptional foresight and transformative vision to participate in “Think Tank III: Information Literacy and the Technological Transformation of Higher Education.”

Scheduled to precede the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans on June 25, 1999, Think Tank III is designed to identify and bring together leaders in the field of information literacy with leaders in the field of educational technology to develop an agenda for information literacy that reflects the transformative impact of technology on the field and establish goals for innovative development to meet that transformation. In charting a course for the future of library instruction, Think Tank III follows a 17-year tradition set by the first two IS think tank events, held in 1981 and 1989-

Instruction librarians are defined as professional librarians possessing an ALA- accredited graduate degree whose day-to-day librarianship activities involve managing and/or designing instructional programs and teaching information literacy concepts and skills to college and university populations in a wide variety of settings.

Educational technologists are defined as non-librarian professionals affiliated with institutions of higher education (or other relevant organizations) who possess both theoretical and practical expertise in applying computer technologies to educational endeavors at various levels.

Nominations are also sought for a session moderator and a session recorder. The moderator will guide and shape participant discussions and ensure the timely operation of the working session. The recorder, using a variety of media, will fully document the events of the working session.

Self-nominations in all categories are welcome. Nominations for instruction librarians and educational technologists from the same institution are encouraged. Graduate students in an ALA-accredited library school program who possess a strong interest in academic library instruction will also be considered and are encouraged to participate.

Individuals chosen to participate in Think Tank III will receive lodging (double occupancy) in New Orleans on the night of Thursday, June 24. Meals will be provided during the working session and at the IS dinner on Friday, June 25. Each educational technology participant (non-librarian, non-AIA member) will also receive a $500 honorarium to help cover travel expenses. The Think Tank III project is funded with the support of the ACRL Initiative Fund.

To submit nominations or receive more information about Think Tank III, please visit the IS Web site at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/is/ projects/thinktank.html or contact Keith Gresham at keith.gresham@colorado.edu. The deadline for receipt of nominations is December 31, 1998.

ACRL publishes three new books

ACRL announces the availability of three new titles:

• Constancy and Change in the Worklife of Research University Librarians, Publi- cations in Librarianship no. 51 by Rebecca Watson- Boone is a benchmark for what it is like to work as an academic librarian in a U.S. research univer- sity in the mid-1990s. Work cannot be under- stood apart from organi- zational, group, and indi- vidual cultural and val- ues; nor can workers be understood apart from the tasks and jobs they undertake. Through developing an understanding of the work of the particular academic librarians in this study—and the meaning their work has for them—one can respond to the challenges in their work environment and assess subsequent work-related changes that may occur in the academic library. ($30.00, ACRL member $27.00; 172p._; 1998, 0-8389-7984-X)

• Library and Learning Resource Programs: Evaluation and Self-Study, CJCLS Guide #3 by Wanda Johnston addresses several major areas of evaluation and self-study through a survey of libraries’ practices. Be pre- pared for your next accreditation site visit. Topics covered include how respondents use reports and plans, statistical re- ports, and user satisfac- tion surveys, with exten- sive sample documenta- tion in each of these ar- eas. Appendices include a bibliography, criteria of each of the regional accrediting agencies, and the ACRL Standards for Community, Junior, and Technical College Learning Resources Programs. ($31.00, ACRL member $28.00; 224p,; 1998, 0-8389-7989-0)

• ACRL University Library Statistics, 1996—97, compiled by the Library Research Center, Graduate School of Library and Infor- mation Science, University of Illinois at Ur- bana-Champaign, reviews operating data from over 105 participating libraries. Institutions surveyed are in Carnegie Classifications Research I & II and Doctoral Granting I & II. Catego- ries of data reported in- clude collection infor- mation, such as vol- umes, monographs, seri- als, and microforms; staffing levels; expendi- tures; and interlibrary loan activities. Institutional categories include degrees offered, enrollment size, and faculty size. ($80.00, ACRL member $72.00; 74p,; 1998, 0-8389-7991-2)

ACRL publications may be ordered from ALA Order Fulfillment, 155 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL 60606; (800) 545-2433, press 7; fax: (312) 836-9958.

More libraries choose Endeavor

The State of Washington Community and Technical College system, Wake Forest University, and the University of Wisconsin System have all selected Endeavor Information System’s Voyager integrated library and information access system. In addition to its single customers, Endeavor now claims as customers nine consortiums and two statewide systems—Georgia and Wisconsin.

A rendering of the University of Illinois's new Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Library, Information and Alumni Center.

CSU Northridge breaks ground

California State University (CSU), Northridge, broke ground for the Delmar T. Oviatt Library’s new wings in September. University Library Dean Susan C. Curzon presided over the event at which CSU’s President Blenda Wilson and State Sen. Cathie Wright were featured speakers. Curzon also unveiled the library’s new slogan, “We’ve earned our wings.”

CSU Northridge president Blenda Wilson (I), is joined at the groundbreaking by state and local officials, including State Sen. Cathie Wright (center), Library Dean Susan Curzon (second from right), and Arthur Elbert, CSU vice president for administration and finance.

The library was seriously damaged during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The central core was reopened in the fall of 1994. The wings required more extensive seismic redesign, and reconstruction was delayed until this year.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing the $20 million needed for rebuilding. Since 1992 the library’s technical services, fine arts, microforms, and instructional materials units have been housed in temporary quarters. These units will move back into the Oviatt when the wings are ready for occupancy, which is expected to be sometime in the summer of 1999.

Univ. of Illinois breaks ground

On October 9 the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign broke ground for the new College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Library, Information, and Alumni Center. The building will be ready to use by the year 2000.

The new five-story facility will more than double the amount of space available (to 30,000 square feet) to what used to be called the Library’s Agriculture Library. The project is a result of a partnership between private donors ($10 million), the university library, and the State of Illinois ($10.5 million).