ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


378/C&RL News

In the News
“We spent the better part of two hours on

the Internet, and we failed to turn up a single
fact w e were looking for— not the unemploy­
ment rate, not the Supreme Court decision, not
a one. We may have stumbled across a fact
along the way, but it was like pulling a random
book from a library shelf. Interesting, maybe. 
But useful?”

This excerpt from Rick Horowitz’s column
in a recent Chicago Tribune describes his reac­
tion to his first tour of cyberspace— and his tour
was given by an expert leading an online semi­
nar. This column reinforced my conviction that
there is a real and important role for librarians
to play as more and more information is
churned out, digitized, and set up on the Inter­
net. It is our job to try to make sense out of this
chaos and help our library users find the infor­
mation they want.

Our contribution to helping organize infor­
mation on the Internet continues in this issue
with a look at resources for film and television
compiled by Tony Adam (page 397). A num­
ber of fun-sounding resources are listed; enjoy

 
 

 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 
 

visiting sites like the Rocky Horror Picture Show 
Web.

Our in-depth coverage o f ACRL’s 7th Na­
tional Conference in Pittsburgh begins in this 
issue with summary reports o f a number of 
sessions (page 385). Part two will be published 
next month. Many thanks to the participants 
who volunteered to report on the sessions. Au­
diocassettes o f many of the sessions are also 
available as described in the insert.

Terry Mech gives us an in-depth report on a 
Pittsburgh preconference dealing with how li­
brarians can become successful campus lead­
ers. Cogent advice for those wanting their voices 
recognized outside the library’s walls (page 
409).

Stuart Basefsky suggests an innovative 
method for funding periodicals and for using 
OPACs in his article, “Pooled endowments: A 
new funding idea” (page 405).

Be sure to review ACRL’s proposed new 
mission, vision, and goals (page 401).

— Mary Ellen K. Davis
Editor & Publisher