ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

CONFERENCE CIRCUIT: ACRL explores values in Washington, D.C.: Highlights of ACRL programs at the ALA Annual Conference, Part 2

Ed note: A special thanks to the ACRL mem- bers who made this report possible by writing the following program summaries. Part 1 of this report appeared in the September issue o/C&RL News.

New campus teaching and learning initiatives

At the meeting of the ACRL Alliances for New Directions in Teaching and Learning Discussion Group, Tim Wherry, Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs for Information Services, and a librarian, reported on the distance learning programs at Penn State (PSU), Altoona.

Project Vision—a joint project between PSU, IBM, and AT&T—was team taught with Laurie Bechtel and stressed cooperative, as well as asynchronous, learning. After initial sessions on laptops and software, all instruction from that point was done over the Internet.

Librarian technical expertise, activities to familiarize students with the new format, and teaching critical thinking skills are some critical components for success.

The next speaker, Eugene Brown, described the AAHE’s Teaching, Learning, Technology Roundtable (TLTR) program, and how it changed his campus. Brown is division chair of Sciences and Applied Technologies, professor of Mathematics at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria campus, and co-leader of TLTR regional workshops. The TLTR group has special expertise in bringing together diverse campus constituencies to create an effective strategic technology plan, which puts teaching and learning ahead of the technology. Brown engaged and challenged his audience, making us all hunger for more of what the TLTR group has to offer.

Mark Luker, provided an update on the future plans of higher education’s newest organization, EDUCAUSE. Luker is vice president of the Networking and Telecommunications Task Force (NTTF). Their goal is “to push the edge in national networking” for research and education, through joint projects, and a federal policy presence.

The NTTF is now focusing on advanced connections in the surrounding community and region. The planned merge with the Federation of Academic Research Networks (FARNET) will be a key development for smaller campuses, and regional and public libraries.

Luker believes that improvements in networking and the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII) will be a driving force that will “change the way we do everything.” The access and quality that develops for distance education students will eventually be in demand “on campus” as well. The goal is to get the Internet to support new and affordable models for research, publishing, and education.

Luker encouraged librarians to get more involved with the special interest groups in AAHE, NLII, etc. He suggested that you “jump in” with your campus team, whether it be a TLTR or otherwise, and “make things happen.”

Questions dealt with faculty concern that the technology will replace them or create poor quality education. At PSU, faculty were paid, given release time, or course load reductions to provide incentives. Also, support was freely given from the Computer and Learning Resource Center.

Librarians wanted advice on starting a TLTR. Brown suggested having several colleges or universities sponsor a regional workshop or organizing a meeting with a few key people on campus to eventually build support.

A Chinese parade led conference-goers from the Washington Convention Center to the ALA Opening General Session featuring novelist Amy Tan.

If you are interested in the impact federal information policy is having on the transformation of libraries, especially instruction, let us hear from you. We are particularly interested to make contact with librarians who are working on projects/partnerships that integrate new technology with instruction—especially “models for online course development in library instruction,” “models for evaluation of student learning in distributed environments,” and “instruction models that shift the mind set from teaching to learning.” We would also like to know about other issues you would like explored at future meetings, including critical ones. More information about these programs can be found at:

• Penn State, Altoona: www.aa.psu.edu/ courses/courses.htm

• TLT Group: www.aahe.org/. Click on “technology” in the sidebar for information on the TLT Group’s unique workshops and programs.

• Educause: www.educause.edu/.-Mari Miller, University of California, Berkeley, e-mail: mmiller®libraiy. berkeley.edu

Research 2001

The Anthropology and Sociology Section of ACRL presented “Research 2001: Learned Societies Facilitating Information Awareness and Dissemination in Sociology and Anthropology” in which delegates from organizations headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area were asked to elaborate on the role of learned societies in meeting the information needs of their memberships in a changing environment.

According to Felice Levine, executive officer of the American Sociological Association, ASA was founded to promote the creation and dissemination of scholarly knowledge. The role of scholarly publisher is basic to all learned societies, as is the convening of an annual scholarly meeting to promote intellectual exchange.

In 1994, the Council of Learned Societies met to consider the problem of how learned societies, largely dependent on subscriptions to their print journals, were to situate themselves in the new electronic environment. It was concluded that learned societies would have to broaden their missions beyond publishers of journals; they would have to integrate their functions across fields; they would have to produce products that would compliment and add value to their journals.

Rick Custer, director of publications at the American Anthropological Association, remarked that today’s societies are not so much “learned societies” as “learning societies.” In addition to their primary functions of providing publications and meetings, they have taken on a professional component to provide for the information needs of a more diverse membership. Most learned societies now have well- developed Web sites from which they provide newsletters, journals, and information about publications, conferences, membership, and employment.

Tobi A. Brimsek, executive director of the Society for American Archaeology, stated that for the future, SAA intends to strengthen its Web presence. “Current Research” is now solely Web-based, and e-mail is now the primary means of communication. Brimsek ended the program by demonstrating the CD-ROM as an example of an important technological advancement in teaching archaeology.—Gregory McKinney, Temple University, gregmck@astro. ocis.temple.edu

Will the global network affect local artistic traditions?

On Saturday, June 27, the ACRL Arts Section presented a stimulating program entitled “Local Traditions in the Global Village,” which asked three distinguished speakers to consider whether the ongoing growth of a global electronic information network can work to undermine regional artistic and cultural traditions.

Moderator Stephen Bloom, University of Southern Maine, opened the program by asking whether in our expanding electronic world there might be a conflict for librarians between the revolutionary opportunity to extend access to information, promote literacy, and expand other widely-shared professional programs, and the equally compelling commitment to respect and preserve cultures.

Lily Kecskes, head librarian at the Freer Gallery and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 6 Institution; Professor Edward J. Sullivan, chair of Fine Arts at New York University; and Joanne Zellers, area specialist, Africa Section, African and Middle Eastern Division at the Library of Congress together presented a complex assessment of the interaction between the modem electronic world with its mass culture and the artistic traditions in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

While there was concern expressed that by choosing to look at these three regions the program both overlooked others and signaled a strong Western cultural bias, several general themes emerged from the presentations. The global information network, while aggressively expanding, does not reach evenly or predictably throughout the world.

Governments and communities in many areas recognize the importance of their cultural traditions and are using legal and practical ways of protecting them. The electronic and telecommunications revolution actually is making broader access to regional artistic traditions possible, thus promoting and protecting rather than undermining them. Most importantly, art is not static and has seldom been free from external influences, but instead evolves and enriches itself by those influences.—Stephen Bloom, University of Southern Maine, sbloom@usm.maine.edu

When education becomes a business

“When Education Becomes A Business, What Happens to Traditional Library Values?”—sponsored by the College Libraries Section— brought together four college librarians in “The News Hour with Damon Hickey.” Hickey, College of Wooster, posed a series of provocative questions to four librarians who agreed that higher education has to succeed financially and librarians must adopt good business practices without losing the essence of what we are about. Panelists enumerated collecting and accumulating knowledge, serving patrons, and educating people as essential library values.

Lee Hadden, U.S. Geological Survey, emphasized that administrators often see the “value” of a library through its collection, but librarians must articulate that the real value of the library comes when staff select, organize, and provide access to the collection. Linda Scarth, Mount Mercy College, encouraged librarians to build constituencies on and off campus to develop entrepreneurial activities and to convince administrators that libraries are not commodities valued only in financial terms. Barbara Fister, Gustavus Adolphus College, pointed out that faculty are in charge of “knowledge production” and teaching on campus— two areas that are the most difficult to quantify fiscally. Since librarians are partners in this process, maintaining alignments with faculty may be one of our most successful strategies. John McGinty, Marist College, observed that librarians are good at speaking many languages— business, technology, and education. We should use this skill to articulate our case that there is “no way to outsource a library.” A listen to the audiotape of this session will yield much food for thought about values and college libraries.—Susan Richards, Western State College of Colorado, srichards@westem.edu

Fair use

A crowd of some 400 attended the ACRL Copyright Committee program “Fair Use—A Value in the Digital Age.” Sarah Cox, University of Connecticut School of Law Library, pointed out that “copyright is now a matter for federal jurisdiction and is no longer up to the states.” Licensing and contracts, however, are still a matter of state law, even for those states that adopt the Uniform Commercial Code. Librarians must negotiate contracts or licenses for digital resources, taking care not to contract away rights (such as fair use) that are governed by federal rather than state law.

Western European Specialist Section members John Cullars, Stephen Lehmann, and Heleni Pedersoli attended ACRL's leadership session.

Arlene Bielefield, Southern Connecticut State University and author of Technology and Copyright Law, stressed that the concept of “fair use is the murkiest area in the copyright law.” She stated that copyright law applies to material on the Internet to the same extent as it applies to material in more traditional formats, regardless of whether one is taking something from the “Net” or putting something on it.

There is no standard formula to use for determining what constitutes fair use; the ultimate answer is, “It depends …” For each instance one should apply the concepts in Section 107 of the Copyright Law, supplemented by court decisions, guidelines that have been developed, and good judgment.

Interested parties in both the proprietary and the public arenas—at the state, federal, and international levels—are involved in detailed discussions to establish some forms of balance between the various areas of interest. Tom Sanville, executive director of OhioLINK, described their consortial effort of which a major component is group licensing of electronic content. In this endeavor, although “economics and rights are interrelated; the balances move back and forth”; as a group they are able to provide more resources to more users than a single institution can.—Heather Lloyd, Oklahoma State University, hmlloyd@okway. okstate.edu

Library services to distant students

A capacity crowd attended the panel discussion “Library Services to Distant Students: Values, Ethics, and Cooperation," which was cosponsored by the Distance Learning Section (formerly Extended Campus Library Services Section), the Community and Junior College Libraries Section, and the ALA Copyright Committee.

Kimberly Kelley, University of Maryland University College (UMUC), described her institution’s development of Web-based courses. She identified three key values for providing library services to their distant students: access, equity, and simplicity of use. Carol Turner, University of Florida, described Florida’s Distance Learning Library Initiative (DLLI), which is designed to meet the library needs of all Florida higher education distance learning programs. It relies heavily on Web-based information. Like UMUC, equity and access are key values for DLLI. Though funded by the state during the first year, it must search for partners to fund its continuation. Both speakers acknowledged that collaboration raises legal compliance issues.

Kenneth Solomon of Dow, Lohms, and Albertson, is a lawyer who specializes in government relations for those providing distance education. He described the complex issues surrounding Congressional initiatives to bring the Copyright Act and the concept of “fair use” into the digital era. There is no clear consensus on how to treat Web-based learning, since it is being developed by non-profit institutions as well as for-profit corporations.

The lively discussion that followed included questions about the costs associated with developing Web-based courses (and commercial alternatives), intellectual property rights for electronic materials, and contract liability issues.— Nancy J. Burich, University of Kansas, nburich@ukans.edu

Research with a small r

True or false: “Research is a long, grueling process that has little relevance for you as a librarian?” After hearing the riveting keynote address by Diane Nahl, University of Hawaii, and three panelists describe their research projects, the approximately 300 people attending this Instruction Section program found that the answer is a resounding “FALSE!”

Nahl’s keynote address, which included audience participation, presented incredibly clear explanations of techniques and research methods for practical, attainable results. Examples of steps for an action-oriented research project include: 1) identify the question/problem and tie it into the institutional mission; 2) identify variables; 3) translate query into IVDV (independent variable/dependent variable) format; 4) choose method(s) for gathering the data; 5) analyze results and make necessary changes in library programs.

Nahl gave many great tips including: 1) research is something we already know how to do; 2) collaboration with colleagues leads to synergy; and 3) use existing data and be prepared to believe it.

Participants commented that her presentation gave them the confidence to try these methods.

The three panelists (Rachael Naismith, Springfield College; Trudi Jacobson, SUNY at Albany; and Gail Staines, Niagara County Community College) outlined their practical, action-oriented research projects, giving all who attended proof that this kind of research is possible and productive.

Attendees filled the rooms at ACRL's Instruction Section's "Learning to Teach'' preconference.

The goal of the program was to identify ways to integrate research into our work so that we are more effective in what we do. This goal was achieved and those attending now have workable examples to use to test their own library programs.

Program materials are at www.lib. utexas.edu/is.—Madeline A. Copp, American University, mcopp@oxy.edu

Diversity and demographics

The ACRL Racial and Ethnic Diversity Committee sponsored the program “Diversity and Demographics: Are We Ready for the 21st Century?” The speakers, Sallie Ellison, Wayne State University; Stanley Wilder, Louisiana State University; Kathleen McCook, University of South Florida, addressed: 1) demographic trends in higher education with implications for library services in the 21st century, 2) demographics of the workforce including academic librarians, and 3) demographics of the library and information science programs and the implications for library education.

Librarians must know their customers to serve them properly. The demographics of our customers is changing. The changing immigration and fertility rates are affecting the racial composition of the country. Technology is diverting the focus of universities and libraries away from their customers. Universities and libraries need more librarians and faculty of color.

In the 21st century, more students will be minorities and older. Population changes will affect regions differently. For example, in 2050, the Hispanic population will approach 25% of the U.S. population. Hispanics have a common language that is unique, whereas Asians are not united by a common language. Over half of the Hispanic population live in Texas and California. Fifty-three percent of African Americans live in the South. Forty percent of Asians live in California. Forty percent of our students will be nontraditional, and community colleges will enroll 38% of our students. The education needs are different for students of different ages.

Librarians are older than their counterparts in similar professions. Librarians in the Association of Research Libraries are 89.1% white, 3.6% black, 2% Hispanic, and 5.3% Asian. This profile is not representative of our population. There will be many vacancies due to retirement and death. Retirement rates for whites will be higher and as a result the percentage of minorities will eventually increase.

Library schools are only graduating 10% of minority librarians. Academic libraries only get 3% of those graduates. Academic libraries are behind in recruiting minority librarians because of passive recruitment strategies, low salaries, and other hurdles, such as publishing and committee work.

The answer to “Diversity and Demographics: Are We Ready for the 21st Century?” is “No.”—Mae N. Schreiber, University of Akron, mae1 @uakron.edu

The future of area studies librarians

While the global mission of libraries is a hot topic, and the number of international books and journals published has increased by 150 percent, the salaries of area studies librarians are often seen as an expendable luxury. Speakers at the Slavic and East European Section’s program, “The Future of Area Studies Librarianship,” discussed the role of area studies collections and the challenges faced by the librarians managing them.

Maria Carlson, University of Kansas, described the development of government-spon- sored National Research Centers, major consumers of area studies collections. She concluded that there would be a need for area studies programs as long as one goal of American education is to understand the quality and nature of the world around us.

According to James Neal, Johns Hopkins University, fewer than 5 percent of recent MLS graduates have master’s in area studies fields. Neal summarized information presented at the 1995 Future of Area Librarianship Conference and stressed the need for collaborative efforts— educational exchanges with overseas libraries, partnerships with scholarly societies, and coordinated collection development for libraries in the United States.

Deborah Jakubs, Duke University, noted that area studies librarians need to publicize the various services they provide and to consider which skills users need.

Jakubs said there is a need to develop diverse means of training, like internships, for area studies librarians, and she suggested that possibly the MLS should not be a fundamental requirement for these positions —Julie Swann, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, julies® unllib.unl.edu

Digitizing a continent

With the help of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), Western European Specialists Section brought three speakers to Washington, D.C. for a program on digitization planning in Western Europe.

Jack Kessler, editor of FYI France, addressed the cultural/political/economic contexts that make France, and French planning, distinctive from the United States, especially the priority of “patrimony” as a driving force (in contrast to the economic considerations that tend to dictate U.S. priorities).

Kessler argued for the necessity of a pluralist approach in understanding developments in France and elsewhere. Kurt De Beider, University of Amsterdam Library, focused on the differences between the United States and the Netherlands in their provision of digital resources, but predicted a “second digital wave” in which planning in the Netherlands will take on features hitherto characteristic of the United States (innovative management, local knowhow, initiative, more local control). De Beider made it clear, however, that certain features of the centralized service that have prevailed in the Netherlands are superior to what we know in the United States (e.g., interlibrary loan).

The third speaker was Göttingen University Library Directory and Coordinator of Germany’s Distributed National Research Library, Elmar Mittler. Drawing on specific institutional models (such as the retrodigiti-zation program of the German Research Society), Mittler stressed the emphasis given by German programs to the digitization of specialized research materials, and to research generally as a priority. He characterized the German approach as “centralized” and “coordinated” in contrast to the more competitive American style.

In her response, CLIR President Deanna Marcum examined different facets of digitization planning (“digitally born information,” new audiences, educational aims, a redesign of the scholarly communication process.)—Stephen Lehmann, University of Pennsylvania, lehmann@pobox.upenn.edu

A world in motion

The numbers are overwhelming: 90 active conflicts in the world today have forced 50 million people to flee war, persecution, and famine at home.

ACRL’s Women’s Studies Section and the Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Section presented the program “A World in Motion: Refugees and Resources,” which examined the challenge of providing up-to-date information to refugees and relief workers while preserving the historical record of this fast-moving world.

Charles Dambach, president of the National Peace Corps Association, spoke of his group’s work advocating the “importance of positive U.S. engagement in foreign affairs.” Libraries can play a key role by providing free access to information and public gathering places. Returned Peace Corps volunteers often take short-term assignments overseas where they need timely political and economic information. Dambach stressed that librarians need to better educate the public about library resources and the personalized help that librarians offer.

A far more complex problem is getting information to relief workers. Judy Benjamin, Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, noted that field workers often know little about the cultural and political histories of their host regions. Coordinating efforts among relief organizations is also difficult; when Benjamin worked in Rwanda in 1994, the 40 humanitarian organizations there struggled to share information between camps and over borders.

Since field workers need access to research on everything from reproductive health to the location of refugee camp water taps, information clearinghouses would provide invaluable assistance.

Collecting the publications that document this changing world poses special challenges. Carolyn Brown, Library of Congress Area Studies Section, noted that traditional country-based acquisitions programs are insufficient when faced with colonial and postcolonial writings, publications of nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations, and ephemeral documents of refugee and immigrant life.

As Brown observed, “Embedded in these publications are important keys to the future.”—Kristin Nielsen, University of Georgia Libraries, knielsen@arches.uga.edu ■