ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

News from the Field

Stephanie Orphan

ALA members can change contact info, Web site login online

Members wishing to update their contact infor- mation or change their login and password for the ALA Web site can now do so through the “Update My Profile” feature on the Web site. To view your current information and make changes, go to www.ala.org (or any page on the ALA Web site, including all ACRL pages) and click on the “login” button on the top right-hand corner of the page. You will be prompted to enter a login (ALA member ID or valid e-mail address) and password. If you do not know your password, follow the link at the bottom of the page to have it e-mailed to you.

Once you have logged into the site, click on “View My ALA,” then select “Update My Pro- file.” Make any necessary changes, then click “save and continue,” and your profile will be updated.

Stanford withdraws from ARL

Stanford University has withdrawn from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), citing a number of concerns that the university had with ARL operations, including compliance with labor-intensive annual reporting requirements. University Librarian Michael A. Keller made the decision after conferring with the university’s president, provost, and heads of five campus co- ordinate libraries that are administratively sepa- rate from the Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources. Keller stated,

“The bottom line is that we no longer saw a return on Stanford’s continued investment of dues, reporting effort, or of staff engagement in ARL.” His concerns focused on mission drift, weak oversight of programs and direc- tion, and inadequate management on the part of members. ARL is a nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to shape and influence forces affecting the future of research libraries. Stanford helped to establish the or- ganization more than 70 years ago.

ASERL launches regional "Ask A Librarian"

The Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) has launched the first virtual reference service cooperatively staffed by research libraries from across a region. The service, which is available for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, is staffed by reference personnel at ten ASERL member libraries. It is available by linking through the Web site of any participating library as well as through www.ask-a-librarian.org. During its first few months, the ASERL service will provide varying service hours to determine user demand and preferences. Users do not need special equipment or software to access the service and, once connected, can chat real time with reference staff from ASERL libraries.

British Library joins Digital Library Federation

The British Library has joined the Digital Library Federation (DLF) as its first strategic partner from outside the United States. The library has embarked upon a significant expansion of its digital library program that will benefit citizens of the U.K. and researchers from around the world. As a member of DLF, the library will be able to exploit possibilities for research and study and for communication and collaboration of digital information resources. DLF is a partnership organization of academic libraries and related organizations that are pioneering the use of electronic-information technologies to extend their collections and services.

Living the Future 5: Strategically Striving and Surviving

"turning uncertainty and change into innovative improvements"

In 1996, our colleagues at the University of Arizona Library (UA) invited us to the first “Living the Future” conference where they made public how they were “turning uncertainty and change into innovative improvements.” We learned about transformational library organizational changes, teams, process improvement (improving service while reducing costs), strategic planning, and the changing roles of library staff.

While the concepts and methods employed at UA were new to many of us, the need to transform our libraries in response to our rapidly changing environment is something we have all struggled with in recent years. Now “Living the Future 5: Strategically Striving and Surviving,” jointly sponsored by UA, ACRL, and ARL (Association of Research Libraries), promises to be another opportunity to learn from colleagues in the forefront of library organizational change efforts.

Reserve April 14-17, 2004, and plan to visit sunny Tucson, Arizona

Several all-conference sessions will challenge our thinking and lead us down new paths:

• Carla Stoffle, dean of libraries for the University of Arizona, will focus our thinking on the strategic role that consortial and partnering approaches play in our transformational change efforts, given the thriving digital environment on the one hand and current budget reductions that many libraries are faced with on the other.

• Rick Luce, research library director at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, pioneered the Library Without Walls, one of the first digital libraries to deliver large-scale production databases via the Web, interactive personalized Web alerts, and dynamic content linking. Luce will share his beliefs about the role that strategic planning and assessment play in developing a library that is accountable to its users.

• Judy Sorum Brown is an educator, speaker, consultant, poet, and writer whose work in organizations revolves around themes of leadership, change, learning, strategy, dialogue, creativity, diversity, and renewal. She will facilitate an opportunity for us to link leadership and learning as a way to think about sustainable change, even in times of turbulence.

During our time together, we’ll follow the path of UA’s efforts to continuously turn uncertainty and change into innovative improvements. We'll learn why and how the Library embarked on some of these current developments:

• GPO Virtual Depository Project

• Strategic digital initiatives, including research library portal software

• Budgeting strategies

• Single system for electronic reserves and interlibrary loan

• Streamlining circulation policies

• Combining branch services

• Partnering for information literacy and instruction

• Setting quality standards

• Evaluation and cost-effectiveness of reference and referral services

• Training area studies librarians for the future

• Access and delivery in the 21st-century digital environment

Building on the pattern of previous conferences, we’ll also hear from colleagues at libraries across the country who are implementing organizational change efforts. In past years, we’ve learned from as many as 25 different libraries, including colleagues from Emory, Brown, George Washington, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, New York Public Library, North Suburban Library System, University of Las Vegas, University of Connecticut, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, and University of Washington.

This year we anticipate 10 to 12 “contributor” sessions led by colleagues from a cross-section of different types of libraries. Some of the themes that will be addressed include:

• Global changes

• Strategic directions for higher education

• Library mission and vision in the digital environment

• Strategic reallocation

• Developing the entrepreneurial organization

• Making a difference for users

• Focusing on individual performance

• Supporting staff through transformational change

• Strategic partnering

• Assessment

And, as if that’s not enough, “Living the Future 5” will kick off with several preconference workshops. ARL will present:

• Introduction to Student Development Theory: Making the Library a Center for Learning and Growth with facilitator Jerome Offord Jr., ARL program officer for training and diversity

• Emotional Intelligence: Principles for Personal and Organizational Success with facilitator Melanie Hawks, ARL/OLMS program officer for training and leadership development

• Conducting User Surveys: A General Introduction with facilitators Julia Blixrud, ARL assistant executive director for external relations; Dan Lee, Digital Library and Information Systems, University of Arizona; and Jim Self, Management Information Services, University of Virginia

Make your plans now to participate in one of the most thought-provoking and action-generating library conferences you have ever attended. You can find periodic updates about conference plans and details at www. library.arizona.edu/conference/.

Sign up before April 8, 2004, to get the best conference rate; three or more attendees from the same organization also receive a conference discount.

Through the generosity of ARL, registration forms are available online at db.arl.org/ ltf5/.—Laura Bender, University of Arizona, benderl@u.library.anzona.edu, and Raynna Bowlby, Brown University Library, Raynna_ Bowldby@brσwn.edu

UT endowment for students with visual disabilities funded

University of Tennessee (UT) professor Otis H. Stephens Jr. and his wife, Mary T. Stephens, have fully funded the endowment they created in 1997 to make library resources more accessible to students with visual and other physical disabilities. Income from the Otis H. and Mary T. Stephens Library Endowment will be used to purchase new technology and equipment for the UT library. Both of the Stephens are blind from birth and understand the importance of new technologies that give those with visual disabilities more equal and independent access to information sources. Otis Stephens has been an active library supporter since joining the UT faculty in 1967. The endowment is open for outside gifts from donors.

Project Muse offers enhanced search features

Project Muse has made several enhancements to its search interface in response to users requests to make it a more effective research tool. Users now have more options to work with their search results, including saving, e-mailing, and exporting results to RefWorks and EndNote, and downloading and printing in text-only format. Users can also view their search history and follow links provided to modify their previous searches or retrieve all of the results from those searches.

ACRL and AASL hosted the Presidential Report on Information Literacy 15th Anniversary Celebration at January's Midwinter Meeting. The event recognized the impact of ALA's 1989 release of "The Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report," which is credited as marking the start of the information literacy movement. Shown are Patricia Senn Breivek (right), ACRL past president and chair of ALA's Presidential Committee on Information Literacy at the time the report was written, AASL President Frances Roscello (center), and current ACRL President Tyrone Cannon (left).

Project Muse currently provides online access to more than 200 titles from 30 not-for- profit publishers to more than 1,000 subscriber libraries worldwide.

UC Press enters publishing partnership with anthropological association

University of California (UC) Press and the American Anthropological Association (AAA) have entered into a multiyear publishing partnership to produce AAA’s historical Web-based communications initiative, AnthroSource. AnthroSource is an electronic portal designed to provide access to a vast network of digitized materials on anthropology and will unite more than 100 years of anthropological material and all AAA publications. UC Press has begun work on the development and implementation of AnthroSource and has assumed responsibility for print and electronic production of ten of the association’s journals, newsletters, and bulletins.

Serial Solutions releases E-Journal Portal

Serials Solutions has released E-Journal Portal, a low-maintenance e-journal management solution, as a feature of its E-Journal Access and Management Suite. The portal provides a customizable, single-page interface for patrons to access e-journals through a browsable A-to- Z title list, eliminates the need for librarians to post HTML reports, and provides daily updates to library-specific data. ■

Plan to attend ACRL's Legislative Luncheon at ALA's National Library Legislative Day

ALA National Library Legislative Day in Washington, D.C. is an event that raises awareness about the importance of federal funding for libraries and other library legislative issues. The 30th Annual National Library Legislative Day will be held on May 3 and May 4, 2004, at the Holiday Inn on the Hill and will include an ACRL-sponsored luncheon.

Become an academic librarian advocate

National Library Legislative Day events will start off on Monday with Briefing Day. This full day of issue briefings will inform and prepare participants for congressional visits on Tuesday.

Network with your academic colleagues at ACRL's Legislative Luncheon

Also on Monday, ACRL will sponsor a Legislative Luncheon with a session for academic librarians who are participating in the Legislative Day activities. The complimentary 2004 ACRL luncheon and advocacy session will be from 12:00-2:00 p.m. and will provide an opportunity to meet other academic librarians interested in advocacy. The advocacy session, which will be led by staff from the ALA Washington Office, will help you become an effective advocate during National Library Legislative Day and will provide you with tools to continue this work throughout the year.

Tell your senators and representatives about the issues affecting your library

On Tuesday, Legislative Day participants will be on Capitol Hill visiting their representatives and senators to communicate the importance of a wide range of issues of great concern to the library community. This is your chance to highlight your library’s programs and activities and to promote the issues that are important to academic libraries.

All members of ACRL are encouraged to attend National Library Legislative Day and the ACRL Legislative Luncheon. To make your reservation, please contact Shannon Cary by e-mail at scary@ala.org or by phone at (800) 545-2433, ext. 2510.