ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

The ICONMAL ’98 conference: New missions of academic libraries in the 21st century

by Lester J. Pourciau

About the author

Lester J. Pourciau is director of libraries at the University of Memphis, e-mail: pourciau@latte.memphis.edu

With a clearly discernible focus, ICONMAL (International Conference on New Missions of Academic Libraries), the brief name by which the conference became known, included 142 papers, of which 109 are in English, and 33 are in Chinese (with English abstracts). Each converged on the conference title and theme, “New Missions of Academic Libraries in the 21st Century” and are available at http://www.lib.pku.edu.cn/98conf/. The conference was held from October 25-28, 1998, and the venue was the newly completed library building at Beida—the affectionate, shortened name of Peking University, Bei(jing), Da(xue).

The format of the conference divided the papers into six different theme sessions, each of which spoke to some concern about the role of the academic library of the future. There were two keynote presentations at each theme session, followed by discussions coordinated by a moderator.

Connecting CALIS

One of the keynote presentations was made by Zhu Qiang, professor and deputy director of the Peking University Library. Qiang spoke about CALIS, the Chinese Academic Library and Information System. His description of CALIS was most impressive and he spoke in some detail about the efforts to establish connectivity among Chinese institutions of higher education.

He spoke about the current priorities of those involved in implementing CALIS, the various facilities that are needed, and the effectiveness expected of CALIS by professional librarians in China.

Managing electronic information

Another of the keynote presenters, Carole Moore, chief librarian at the University of Toronto, spoke of the management of electronic information, making the point that, “The potential of new technologies to expand access to knowledge beyond our borders brings enormous new opportunities for libraries to give service at levels previously unimagined.”

She identified various questions that must be addressed and answered in order to provide such service, and stressed the importance of standards in creating a new paradigm of library service.

The challenges of distance learning

Rebecca Martin, dean of Libraries at the University of Vermont, spoke about the increasingly popular and challenging topic of library services to distance learning and the changing environment of higher education.

She identified the challenge as one of “… how we will move into this new environment, changing the rules and changing the very nature of what it means to be an academic library.” She identified this new meaning in terms of the shifting role of the institution of higher education from that of sole provider of educational content to one of guidance to students in their efforts to assemble “… learning opportunities, available at a distance from a variety of institutions,” into a coherent educational experience.

Professional development and continuing education

Peter Durey, university librarian emeritus at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, defined professional development as “… a program which encourages employees to develop their skills and capabilities on a continuing basis.” He was clear in his view that such a program be well-planned, resulting from performance reviews and discussions with library staff. He suggested the use of local library resources, expertise elsewhere in the university, and programs offered by external sources, and noted that such training and development is often available in the form of interactive video or via the Internet.

On the third and closing day of the conference, Beverly Lynch of UCLA presented a masterful summary of the various discussions that took place during each of the six theme sessions, highlighting and making reference to several significant papers that were included in each of the six themes.

By any measure, ICONMAL ’98 must be considered a major success. The new library building at Peking University is stunning, and this conference, designed to celebrate the centennial of the university and to commemorate the opening of the building, was a most fitting effort. Zhu Qiang, was the primary individual responsible for what we in the United States call “local arrangements.”

Zhu and his staff did a truly remarkable job, and their efforts showed clearly throughout the entire conduct of the conference. ■