ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

News from the Field

Mary Ellen Davis

ALA Washington celebrates 50 years

ALA’s Washington Office cel- ebrated 50 years of presence and service with a gala recep- tion and dinner honoring leg- islative and grassroots library champions.

Carol C. Henderson, ex- ecutive director, ALA Wash- ington Office, wrote in her greetings, “We’re here tonight to celebrate the wisdom of legislators who recognized the need to build up great collections to support research in the special- ized fields that keep this country competitive; to support the preservation of brittle books and of rapidly changing new technological formats; to support the recruitment of a diverse and highly educated library profession; to stimu- late technological innovation that has encour- aged the sharing of library resources across in- stitutional, political, and geographic boundaries for the public’s benefit.”

Special recognition was given to U.S. Sena- tors Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.), Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), Claiborne Pell (D-R.L), and Paul Si- mon (D-Ill.), U.S. Representative Pat Williams (D-Mont.), and Eileen D. Cooke, former direc- tor of the ALA Washington Office.

Call for papers—rare books…

ACRL’s Rare Books & Manu- scripts Section (RBMS) is seek- ing proposals for papers present- ing current research related to the history of manuscript and print culture for presentation at the 1997 RBMS Preconference, which will be held at the Claremont Col- leges in southern California, June 24–27, 1997. Selected participants will have 20 minutes to present a paper on completed research or work in progress. Papers will be presented in small group ses- sions and audience response will be encouraged. Research should not have been submitted for pub- lication or published. Send four copies of the paper proposal no later than September 1, 1996, to: Nora J. Quinlan, Chair, RBMS Preconference Program, c/o Archives and Special Collections, Richter Library, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124- 0320; e-mail: nquinlan@ umiami.ir.miami.edu. Pro- posals should be no longer than one letter-sized page, double-spaced and should include a cover sheet with title, author’s name and af- filiation, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address. Applicants should note if they are RBMS members. Faxes and e-mail will not be accepted. Final papers should not exceed 3,000 words. Speakers will be notified by January 31, 1997. Papers will be reviewed based on relevance to the preconfer- ence theme, originality, currency, and interest to RBMS members. Submissions from RBMS members will be given priority.

Seminar presentations are also sought and are not limited to the preconference theme. For details contact Elaine Smyth, Louisiana State University Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA 70803; e-mail: notebs@lsuvm.sncc.lsu.edu.

… and “Choosing Our Futures” …

July 1, 1996, is the deadline for submitting proposals for papers and panel sessions for ACRL’s 8th National Conference in Nashville, April 11–14, 1997. Potential presenters should complete a program proposal application and submit it along with a 250- to 500-word abstract that completely describes the proposed program. The full “Call for Participation” and proposal form may be found at http://www.ala. org/acrl.html under the National Conference heading and as an insert in the January issue of C&RL News. Or call the ACRL office at (800) 545-2433 ext. 2519 to request a copy.

At the ALA Washington Office’s gala celebration are members of the ACRL Executive Committee (1 to r): Althea H. Jenkins, William Miller, Patricia Senn Breivik, Helen H. Spalding, and W. Lee Hisle. Not pictured: Susan K. Martin.

Michael P. Olson, chair of WESS, pauses at mile 22 of the 100th Boston Marathon with his coaches, sons James (middle) and Clancy (right).

… and popular culture

Papers are sought for the Popular Culture Association meeting, March 26–29, 1997, in San Antonio, Texas. Those interested in submitting a paper on any aspect of libraries and popular culture should send an abstract of no more than 250 words by September 15, 1996, to Allen Ellis, Associate Professor of Li- brary Services, W. Frank Steely Library, Northern Kentucky Uni- versity, Highland Heights, KY 41099-6101; (606) 572-5527; fax: (606) 572-5390; e-mail: ellisa@nku.edu.

WESS chair uses Boston marathon as fundraiser

Michael P. Olson, chair of ACRL’s Western European Specialists Section and librarian for Ger- manic collections at Harvard University, completed the 100th Boston Marathon in April in four hours and 30 minutes. Olson used the marathon, his first, to raise funds for the Germanic collections at Harvard’s Widener Library.

Olson said, “The entire experience was extraordinary, and I would do it all again in a second. I certainly now have the marathon fever: I next intend to run in Berlin on September 29, in an attempt to qualify for the 101st Boston.” (The Berlin marathon immediately precedes the Frankfurt Book Fair which Olson attends annually.)

Olson recently established two endowments to support Harvard’s Germanic collections: the Eva and Clarence Olson Germanic Book Fund, in memory of his parents who supported him in his Germanic studies from high school through a Ph.D. from UCLA, and the Friends of the Harvard Germanic Collections Book Fund. Olson had asked for donors to sponsor him in the race at $100 per sponsorship and estimates that the marathon will contribute $10,000- $25,000 to the Germanic collections’ fundraising efforts.

Olson estimates that about 14 percent of the nearly 13 million volumes in the University Library are Germanic by language making the Library of Congress the only institution with holdings of comparable stature elsewhere in the world. However, Olson feels that much more should be collected: “I’ve always got this fishing-net mentality. You have to bring the materials in, process them, and let scholars determine whether they’re worthy of research.”

For details on sponsoring Olson’s marathon run or joining the Friends of the Harvard Germanic Collections, contact Olson at Widener 197, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; e-mail: olson@fas.harvard.edu; (617) 495-2426; fax: (617) 495-0403.

“Choosing Our Futures” open for discussion at Web site

“Nearly all academic librarians agree that academic libraries have to change in order to respond successfully to the new realities of the higher education environment, rapidly developing information and telecommunications tech-nologies, and the crisis in scholarly communications. But there is little agreement on what must change, how the changes will take place, how fast the changes must occur, and how much change is neces- sary.”

Now you have an opportunity to voice your opinion on how libraries will change in the future. The above abstract is from “Choosing Our Futures,” an article in the May issue of College & Research Libraries, written by Carla J. Stoffle, Robert Renaud, and Jerilyn R. Veldof. The article and commentaries on it (provided by Susan Lee, Bonnie Jeuergens, and Richard Hume Werking) appear in an interactive form on the ACRL 8th National Conference Homepage at http://www.ala.org/acrl. html.

“Choosing Our Futures” is the theme of the ACRL 8th National Conference, to be held in Nashville, April 11–14, 1997. Conference organizers would like your input on the future of libraries. Visit the conference homepage and follow the instructions for posting your comments and opinions. ■

Patricia Senn Breivik (1) and William Miller (r) enjoy the gala for the ALA Washington Office with Ralph Russell (center), ACRL’s 1996 Academic/Research Librarian of the Year.