ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


February 1 9 9 3 / 8 7

setting the equilibrium  o f organizations, B arone 
gave n ew  rules to challenge technologists to 
change their perspective a b o u t m anagem ent 
and organization behavior. She said that w e 
need to address basic relationships an d  rep ro ­
gram our thought patterns. We d o n ’t know  w hat 
is best for o u r clients an d  n e e d  to ap p ro ach  
each w ith a fresh perspective, no t just deliver a 
set slate o f services. O ne o f h e r reco m m en d a­
tions to com puting adm inistrators w as to  align 
w ith the library o n  key joint projects an d  take 
advantage o f the library’s traditionally strong 
su p p o rt in th e cam pus com m unity.

The D artm outh C am pus Inform ation System 
(DCIS) w as p ro m o ted  by R obert B rentrup, w h o  
spoke ab o u t a cam pus inform ation culture, and 
by A pple C om puter, w hich sp o n so red  several 
hands-on dem onstrations. A bout 20-30 confer­
ees sat at M acintosh stations an d  accessed DCIS 
through the Internet. T he m ain features avail­
able w ere the library catalog, dictionaries, e n ­
cyclopedias, an d  w eath er maps. D artm outh has

tried to provide “a p o rt for every pillow ” for 
s tu d e n t u s e  a n d  h a s  b e g u n  u p g ra d in g  to  
eth ern et links for th e m ore than 6,000 Macin­
tosh com puters in use. T he cam pus philoso­
phy follow ed the “library m odel” in w hich com ­
puting is considered a public utility, centrally 
funded, provided free, w ith services reaching 
everyone.

CAUSE is the professional association for 
m anaging an d  using inform ation technology in 
higher education. It is associated w ith adm inis­
trative com puting, w hereas EDUCOM focuses 
o n  academ ic com puting. Its annual conferences 
offer a n  excellent v en u e for librarians to hear 
ab o u t the applications o f inform ation technol­
ogy o n  cam pus. This y ear’s conference will be 
D ecem ber 7-10 in San Diego. If you have ideas 
for a program  proposal, contact the CAUSE of­
fice at 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boul­
d e r, CO 80301. L ibrarians a re  w e lc o m e  at 
CAUSE, a n d  the conference provides a relaxed 
setting for getting n ew  ideas. ■

Letters

Challenging organizational structures
To the Editor:

T he “M odel Statem ent for the Screening an d  
A ppointm ent o f Academic Librarians Using a 
Search Comm ittee" (N ovem ber 1992) is w ell 
do n e w ith o n e exception. It takes as a given 
that this b o d y  sho u ld  act in a “consultative” 
manner. I think it’s time that these efforts should 
be a partnership w ith th e director o r a p p ro p ri­
ate adm inistrator. This partnership w o u ld  re­
quire consensus of all parties or, perhaps even 
more radically, a simple unanimous vote of the 
search committee. I believe it’s time to challenge 
the top dow n organizational structures of our li­
braries (and colleges and universities) that offer the 
guise of democratic participation. Organizations 
should elect their leaders in the same w ay w e elect 
our government leaders.— Terry Link, public policy 
librarian, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Offensive cover features Colorado
To the Editor:

This letter is in resp o n se to  th e  cover of the 
D ecem ber C&RL News. [University o f Colorado 
at Denver, Auraria Campus] I found it highly 
offensive. As a longtim e su p p o rter o f hum an 
rights back  to  the sixties, I have alw ays prided

m yself in w orking for those w h o  have b een  
discrim inated against. I also o p p o se all discrimi­
nation b u t unfortunately, you d o  not. In ch o o s­
ing to  h o n o r a state w hich denies a group of 
citizens its hu m an  rights, you are contributing 
to a clim ate o f hatred  an d  bigotry. I am  very 
tired o f p eo p le preaching h o w  liberal ALA is 
w h e n  I see so m any blatant exam ples of its 
sexist, racist, an d  hom o p h o b ic nature. N one of 
w hich som eone like yourself w ith y o u r ed u ca­
tion is im m une to. I am  at a loss as to w hy 
anyone sho u ld  k eep  renew ing ACRL m em ber­
ship if this is the intolerance its m em bers re­
ceive. Barbra Streisand has led a fine example for 
the rest of the country by boycotting Colorado in 
any way. I suggest you examine your conscience 
(if you have any) and let your heart lead. Maybe 
your next cover should be of South African and the 
wonderful progress they’re making -Joseph T. King, 
San Francisco

(C&RL N ews w elcom es y o u r  signed, typed 
co m m en t on recent content in  o u r pages or on 
matters o f  interest to the academ ic or research 
library profession. S en d  to: The Editor, C&RL 
N ews, 5 0  E. H uron, Chicago, IL 60611; fa x : 
(312)280-7663; bitnet: U38398@UICVM.bitnet ■