ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 556 / C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2002 CONFERENCE CIRCUIT ACRL in Atlanta ACRL’s programs at the ALA Annual Conference A LA’s 121st Annual Conference was held June 13-19, 2002, in Atlanta. Total con­ ference attendance was 21,130, including mem­ bers, exhibitors, exhibits only, and guests. E d. n o te: Tha n ks to the ACRL m em bers w ho sum m a- rized program m st o m ake this re- port possible. Learning communities The ACRL President's Pro­ gram, “Transform ational Learning Communities: Claim­ ing Our Future,” featured Bar­ bara Leigh Smith, codirector of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Na­ tional Learning Community Project and founding director of the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Un­ dergraduate Education. Smith, who has written extensively on learning, pre­ Featured sp eak sented an overview of learn­ S m ith s p e a k s o f le a r n in g c o m m u n it ie s an d t h e ro le o f lib ra rie s as "sp ring b o a rd s," not sim ply "g a te k e e p e rs " fo r higher ed u catio n . ing communities, including how they are defined ( “a va­ riety of approaches that link or cluster classes during a given term, often around an interdisciplinary theme, that enroll a common cohort o f stu­ dents”), their historical development, and the role o f libraries as “spring boards,” not simply “gatekeepers” for higher education. Following Smith’s presentation, a panel of responders spoke on various aspects of learn­ ing communities: Theresa S. Byrd, director of libraries at Ohio Wesleyan University, discussed how small liberal arts and community colleges er are developing learning communities; Randy Burke Hensley, head of public services at the University of Hawaii Libraries, discussed learn­ ing communities in large colleges and universi­ ties; and Joan K. Lippincott, associate execu­ tive director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), discussed how tech­ nology can enhance learning com m u n ities and bring people together around a common goal, theme, or en­ deavor. A poster session followed the program featuring learn­ ing communities that have been implemented at various academic institutions. Dis­ plays featu red research guides, classes, and tutorials that libraries have created to encourage information lit­ B a rb a ra Leigh eracy; descriptions o f dis­ tance learning programs in li­ brary science and media studies; and the development o f lib r a ry lia is o n p r o ­ grams.— LeslieM adden, Geor­ g ia In stitu te o f T echn ology, leslie. m ad d en ® library.gatech.edu Creating new African American special collections The African American Studies Librarians Sec­ tion (AFAS) and the Rare Books and Manu­ scripts Section (RBMS) cosponsored a presen­ tation on African American special collections from the perspective o f three institutions. C&RL News ■ Sep tem b er 2002 / 557 Taronda Spencer (Spelman College) was the moderator for the program. Panelist Randall K. Burkett (Emory Univer­ sity) explained that the focus of the African American collection at Emory University is black print culture, expatriate African Ameri­ can writers and artists, and the post-Civil Rights movement. Lucelia Flood-Partridge (Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History [AARL] in Atlanta) described the AARL, which began as a small collection of books on Negro history in 1934. Some of its notable collections are the Andrew Young Col­ lection and the records o f the Atlanta NAACP. Although the foundation o f the collection is the African American experience in Atlanta, it has expanded to a global perspective. Pearl Woolridge (Broward County African American Research Library and Cultural Cen­ ter [AARLCC] in Ft. Lauderdale) announced that the AARLCC is scheduled to open on October 26, 2002. It will document the “mari­ time” Underground Railroad and how peoples of Jamaican, Haitian, Cuban, and African de­ scent have contributed to the fabric of Ft. Lau­ derdale society. The collection will have more than 750,000 items.— A ngelaJ . Wright, Univer­ sity o f Alabam a, ajw right@bama.ua.edu Shamanism and librarianship Speakers in this session addressed various as­ pects of a more unusual, less pragmatic topic than your standard library conference fare. “Shamanism: Implications for Re-Visioning Librarianship” was sponsored by the Anthro­ pology and Sociology Section (ANSS). Present­ ers offered various interpretations on why sha­ manism attracts contemporary, technologically advanced, information-driven cultures. Delia Easton (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) noted that earlier cultures were sociocentric in their shamanistic practices. Our more egocentric societies employ shamanism along with western psychotherapy and biomedi­ cine in private rather than public spaces. The Internet hosts countless Web sites for latter- day shamans from Sedona, Arizona, and other New Age locales. Gary Laderman (Emory University) stated that shamanism defies definition. In recent times shamanism became democratized. Grow­ ing numbers of people simply proclaim them­ selves shamans. A case might be made that fu­ neral directors are modern counterparts of sha­ mans because they mediate between life and death for those mourning the loss o f loved ones. The vast terrain of shamanism that en­ compasses folkways, biomedicine, and popular culture overwhelms and frustrates academicians in the 21st century. Sydney Pierce (Catholic University of America) closed the session. As a professor of library science, she made the connection be­ tween shamans and librarians. Librarians emu­ late shamans because we mediate between a repository of knowledge from the past and make it accessible to the living. We make sense out of chaotic accretions of old and new in­ formation for our clients and patrons. She en­ couraged us to really examine how our users find information, because it often deviates from accepted practices, and urged us to make ad­ justments to ease/heal their anxieties.—JoE llen B room e, G eorgia Southern University‚jbroom e@ g asouedu The social psychology of faculty/ librarian relationships An enthusiastic standing-room-only audience attended “Games Academics Play,” the pro­ gram presented by the Education and Behav­ ioral Sciences Section (EBSS). The first pre­ senter, John Budd (School o f Information Science and Learning Technologies of the Uni­ versity of Missouri, Columbia), set up a frame­ work through which to answer the question, “How do [librarians] strategize to win?” Budd suggested that we need to develop a clear un­ derstanding o f the scholarly apparatus within academic disciplines and to focus on librarians’ specific and unique contributions to the ulti­ mate objects o f the “game”: academic inquiry and student learning and development. Sociologists Mindy Stombler (Georgia State University) and Lars Christiansen (Augsburg College) reported the results of surveys, focus groups, and interviews on faculty-librarian re­ lationships. Overall sources o f disconnection include: different functions served (production versus service); lack o f faculty knowledge of librarians’ skills; physical separation; faculty perception that librarians lack knowledge of specific academic areas and their methodology; and information technology that “frees” teach­ ing faculty from dependence on librarians. Suggestions for librarians to overcome these disconnections include: proactive, personalized mailto:ight@bama.ua.edu 558 / C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2002 contact; gaining substantive knowledge of aca­ demic disciplines; and socializing new faculty members early regarding potential library con­ tributions. Psychologist James Emshoff (Georgia State University) presented the perspective o f a “naïve” faculty member who respects librarians and is baffled by the expressed need to improve relationships. He pointed out that the faculty members might avoid the library and librarians because o f bewilderment at the pace of tech­ nological change and reluctance to express ig­ norance. Emshoff stressed that focusing on the differences in skills between teaching faculty and librarians could enhance collaboration and communication.— Lyn Thaxton, G eorgia State University, libmlt@langategsu.edu Literary research instruction “Teaching Literary Research: Challenges in a Changing Environm ent,” a program c o ­ sponsored by the Literatures in English Sec­ tion (LES) and the Instruction Section (IS), offered a lively discussion on research in­ struction in the field o f literary studies. The program was moderated by Steven Harris (University o f T en n essee), and the panelists were James K. Bracken (Ohio State University), Jam es L. Harner (Texas A&M University), H elene C. Williams (Harvard University), and William A. Wortman (Miami University Ohio). The panel addressed several problems in teaching literary research today, including the difficulty in establishing collaborative relation- Annual Conference audiocassettes available Audiocassettes of selected ACRL programs from the 2002 ALA Annual Conference in Atlanta are available. Each program consists o f two cassettes for $28, unless otherwise noted. • Games A cadem ics Play: M astering th e S o cial P sy ch o lo g y o f F a c u lty /L i­ b r a r i a n R e l a t i o n s h i p s . O rd e r n o. ALA206 • E -R e s e a r c h C o m p a n ie s : Value- Added o r V irtu ally R edundant? Order no. ALA207 • Teachin g L iterary R esearch : Chal­ len g es in a C h an gin g E n v iro n m e n t. Order no. ALA211 • L ibrarian s in th e Big Leagues: A re Y o u r R ead y f o r th e T e a c h in g A cad ­ em y? Order no. ALA213 • M in d in g th e G e n e r a tio n G ap: L e a r n H o w t o C o m m u n i c a t e a n d W ork T o g e th e r A cro s s G e n e ra tio n s. Order no. ALA215 • M ission Brief: The R e search Lega­ cies o f M issio n ary L iteratu res, 3 cas­ settes, $42. Order no. ALA226 • W ill th e R eal C u s to m e r P lease Stand Up? D esignin g S ervices fo r 2 1 s t C en tu ry U sers, 1 cassette, $14. Order no. ALA227 • The E m ergence o f Digital S cholar­ ship: New Models fo r Librarians, A rchi­ vists and Humanists. Order no. ALA234 • P ira te s o n th e C o m m o n s: Legal an d P o litical Assaults o n In fo rm atio n A ccess b y th e E x p a n d in g D om ain o f C o py rig ht. Order no. ALA236 • T h e D o c u m e n ts o f S e p te m b e r 1 1 t h a n d t h e S e a r c h f o r S ta b le Ground, 1 cassette, $14. Order no. ALA237 • P o rn o g ra p h y in Libraries: Sexual H arassm en t? 1 cassette, $14. Order no. ALA238 • S h a m a n is m : I m p lic a tio n s f o r R ev isio n in g L ib ra ria n sh ip . Order no. ALA241 • Building P re m ie r L earn in g C om ­ m u n ities: S trategies fo r S uccessfu l Li­ b ra ry In v o lv em en t. Order no. ALA243 • Old, New, B o rro w e d an d Blue: S cien ce an d T ech n o lo g y In tellectu al P r o p e r ty Issu es in th e D igital Age. Order no. ALA264 • T ran sfo rm atio n al L earn in g C om ­ m u n ities: Claim ing O ur F u tu re. Order no. ALA266 Audiocassettes for other ALA programs are also available. Call in or fax your order to Teach ’Em, 74-923 Hovley Lane East, Suite 250, Palm Desert, CA 92260; (800) 776-5454, fax: (760) 773-9671 (credit cards only); e-mail: info@teachem.net; Web: www.teachem.net/ ala. You may pay by check (payable to Teach ’Em) or credit card (VISA, MC, AMEX). mailto:libmlt@langategsu.edu mailto:info@teachem.net http://www.teachem.net/ C&RL News ■ Septem b er 2002 / 559 ships with faculty (many o f whom lack exper­ tise in new electronic resources), student reli­ ance on “prepackaged" research tools that mask the actual processes and sources of traditional research, and a focus on technology and for­ mats over content. Panelists offered various conceptualizations o f information literacy in an attempt to define the essential goals of literary research instruc­ tion. A core list of standards or resources can serve as a starting point for discussion with fac­ ulty and administrators, but most seemed to agree with Wortman that we probably need to “reinvent the methods course” to reflect a re­ newed interest in historical bibliography and to acknowledge the impact of the new electronic tools. Harner warned against librarians assuming the role of the “glorified assistant” in this con­ text. Ideally, librarians and teaching faculty should set goals and design courses together, so that expertise in both the process and con­ tent o f research is integrated into instruction in literary research methods.—-Jeann e P aty, Uni­ versity o f New Orleans, jp a vy@uno.edu Ethical dilemmas and libraries The program “Ethical Dilemmas and Librar­ ies: An Analytic Model Applied to the ‘With­ out Sanctuary’ Exhibit,” sponsored by the ACRL Committee on Ethics, was as thought­ ful as it was provocative. Jo h n Banja (Emory University Center for Ethics) analyzed from an ethical perspective an Emory University/Martin Luther King Jr. Na­ tional Historic Site exhibit o f lynching photo­ graphs. He weighed library values of freedom of access and intellectual freedom against the potential harm that exhibiting such photo­ graphs could cause. Banja concluded that these values are well intentioned by librarians but that we are being naïve when we think of ourselves as represent­ ing a neutral viewpoint. The decision of whether to show the materials, how to show the materials, h o w to describe the contents of the exhibit, and figuring out what the exhibit means all require the librarian to have an opin­ ion about the value of the materials. For example, the tone of the lynching ex­ hibit is very somber, in part because the cura­ tor painted the walls of the exhibit space black. The need for somberness reflects the values of the library, the community for which the ex­ hibit is being mounted, and other groups in­ volved in the exhibit. Banja concluded that the mounting o f this exhibit successfully balanced showing the truth o f our past while not recreating it.— F r a n c e s M aloy, E m ory U n iversity, lib fm @ emory.edu Pornography in libraries: sexual harassment? Betsy Williams (Minneapolis Public Library) be­ gan this program, sponsored by the ACRL Intel­ lectual Freedom Committee, with a summary of a complaint made to the Equal Employment Op­ portunity Commission by 12 librarians working at the Minneapolis Public Library in May 2000. The complaint was the culmination o f a three-year disagreement between the librarians and the Minneapolis Public Library’s adminis­ tration. The librarians wanted the library to in­ stitute an Internet use policy setting clear lim­ its on how public computers should be used by patrons of the public library who accessed the Internet. The 12 librarians complained o f being ex­ posed to sexually explicit Web sites being ac­ cessed by patrons, resulting in inappropriate behavior in the library (including masturbation and offensive language). They claimed that un­ limited and uncontrolled access to the Internet created a “hostile work environment.” For two years, the library’s director refused to create a use policy, insisting that members o f the public had an absolute right to access any Web site they wished. However, when the local newspaper published an article about the complaint and seven librarians filed a law suit against the library, and after the EEOC deter­ mined that the Minneapolis Public Library was guilty of exposing its staff to a “hostile work environment,” the director and the library board apologized to the staff and decided to create a policy that limits the use of computers to reg­ istered library card holders and sets parameters on what is acceptable use of the computers. L. Camille Hebert (Center for Law, Policy, and Social Science at Ohio State University) focused her discussion on the inappropriate sexual conduct of patrons, not on the access to information on the Internet. She argued that the library had a right to control the behav­ ior of its patrons, but that the library had to tread very carefully in limiting access to adult patrons. 560 / C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2002 B ob Corn-Revere (Hogan & Hartson Law Firm, Washington, D.C.) insisted that libraries need to use policies for the Internet, but cau­ tioned that filters do not solve the problem; they over-block and under-block and, therefore, are not reliable in helping the library enforce its use policies. He also criticized the broadness of the EEOC determination, saying that the criterion o f offensiveness of Internet Web sites to library staff as a cause of a “hostile work environment” and "sexual harassment” opens “a much broader door” where almost anything displayed on a computer screen could be used to limit access to information. In a short question-and-answer period, the issue of national standards for what constitutes obscenity was discussed—Ja k e Form a n, San Di- ego M esaC ollege Library,Jforman@$dccd.cc.ca.us Digital scholarship “The Emergence of Digital Scholarship: New Models for Libraries, Archivists, and Human- Mary Reichel presented a presidential recognitio honoring the late Sharon Hogan to Nancy Joh University of lllinois-Chicago during "A Celebr the Life of Sharon Hogan," held at the ALA Conference. ists” was cosponsored by ACRL’s Rare Books and Manuscripts and Arts Sections. Presenter Daniel V. Pitti (University of Virginia) started the pro­ gram and provided the context for the other three panelists by arguing that the traditional scholarly community of archivists, creators, curators, librar­ ians, and publishers is in the midst of a transition. Instead of each controlling a stage of scholarly work with a physical artifact as the object of control, now each contributor shares control, while the boundaries, contributions, and standards of coop­ eration are being negotiated. Morris Eaves (University o f Rochester) placed the William Blake Archive (http:// www.blakearchive.org/) within Pitti’s context. For two centuries Blake’s works have presented problems to traditional editorial practice be­ cause of their visual and textual format. He explained that today consolidation is only pos­ sible via electronic means. An aid to the pro­ cess has been a burst o f volunteerism. John Unswoith (University of Virginia) focused on the aspect of negotiation that occurs between librarians and publishers, which represents a shift from their historically adversarial roles necessitated by the digital age. While both are still concerned with selection, Unsworth feels that each should spend time fulfilling traditional roles in new ways. Questions from the audience focused on ob­ taining rights to materials, funding projects, the expectation of income, and determining where we are in the publisher/author collaboration— to which Unsworth answered that this still is “the incunabular stage.”—B ru ce Swann, Univer­ sity o f Illin ois-U rban a-C ham paign , bswann@ιuiuc.edu Specialized research The Slavic and East European Section (SEES) presented its program “What do you do when you don’t have a sub­ ject specialist? or Research needs strain your library scope?” The Slavic stud­ ies academic community consists of many different constituents, who have varying degrees of access to library and archival materials. Gregory Ference (Salisbury Uni­ versity) spoke candidly about the dif­ n award ficulties scholars at primarily teach­ n of the ing institutions face in conducting ation of specialized research. In his case, his Annual library had no Slavic collection and he drew on his own contacts at re­ search institutions to prepare his publications. Ference noted that the introduction o f Web- based catalogs has helped facilitate this research. He also gave high praise to the annual Summer Research Laboratory on Russia and Eastern Eu­ rope, held every year at the University of Illi­ nois, which draws scholars and librarians from the United States and abroad. Erika Banski (University o f Alberta) dis­ cussed the challenge of supporting increasingly cross-disciplinary research in Russian and East European Studies. She highlighted the unique http://www.blakearchive.org/ C&RL N ew s ■ S e p te m b e r 2002 / 561 Slavic collection at the University o f Alberta, which is especially strong in materials pertain­ ing to Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian studies, and the extensive consortia arrangements her library has d ev elo p ed with institutions in Canada and the United States. Her presenta­ tion is available at http://www.ualberta.ca/ ~ebanski/SEES2002_Banski.ppt. Lastly H elen Sullivan (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) gave an overview of ser­ vices provided by the federally funded Slavic Reference Service (http://www.library.uiuc. edu/spx/). The service, which began 25 years ago to help researchers across the United States locate hard-to-find Slavic m aterials, now in­ cludes new formats, such as Web forms for pa­ tron requests, chat components with librarians at Jagellon ian University and the National Li­ brary o f Russia, and an online course o n Slavic bibliographic research.— M arta D eyru p, S eton H all University, deyrupm a@ shu.edu Minding the generation gap During the University libraries Section’s program “Minding the Generation Gap: Learn How to Communicate and Work Together Across Gen­ erations,” Stanley Wilder (University o f Roch­ ester) prompted attendees to ponder who might b e m inding the library o f the future. W ilder shared charts showing the ages o f librarians in ARL libraries, the largest group o f w hich in 1986 consisted o f those aged 35 to 39. This co­ hort m arched forward to 2000 w hen, at ages 50 to 54, they still comprised the largest group. This group’s retirem ents will require a large number o f new hires, but rather than viewing this as a threat, Wilder indicated that these re­ placements would position libraries to adapt as they hire librarians with new skills. Generational differences between the newer and more experienced librarians was the topic o f Crit Stuart (G eorgia T ech Library). Stuart, using an outline prepared by Sheila Creth, dis­ cussed a num ber o f generations but focused on boomers and GenXers, as they contain the largest n u m ber in the w o rk p lace today. He noted differences betw een the groups, includ­ ing boom ers’ need for a stable workplace and friendly w orker relations com pared to G enX workers w ho crave variety and w ork well on projects but value their lifestyle away from the workplace. Stuart stressed that to manage generational differences, libraries should ensure that train­ ing/development is not on e size fits all, that work assignments are varied and challenging, and that managers should limit meetings and provide clear expectations and feedback. A panel joined the speakers to respond to questions from the aud ience. O ne com m on theme— while acknowledging generational dif­ ferences, we should not stereotype based on age but should w elcom e and integrate individual differences in the workplace. Speaker notes and a list o f pan elists are available at http:// www.ala. org/acrl/uls/uls_conf02. html.— B o b F o x , C la y to n C o lle g e & S ta te U n iv ersity , bobfax@)mail.clayton.edu Mapping the future of historical scholarship about Europe This Western European Studies Section (WESS) program, cosponsored by ALA’s Map and G e­ ography Round Table (MAGERT), focused on exploring and supporting new directions in in­ terdisciplinary historical research on Europe based on electronic geographical resources. Karl Longstreth (University o f M ichigan) discussed the value o f online geographic infor­ mation in interdisciplinary research and teach­ ing. Innovative projects, many collaborating in the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative, explore combined issues o f space and time, using tech­ nologies such as TimeMap software. Intercon­ necting text, maps, and images as part o f a re­ lational database can develop a compelling nar­ rative o f a place. Longstreth said that dynamic online maps “m ake historical change visually meaningful,” while spatial analysis may identify significant relationships. Hum phrey Southall (U niversity o f Ports­ m outh and the G reat B ritain H istorical GIS Project) outlined the expan sion o f the Great Britain H istorical GIS P roject for British his­ torical geography (including a statistical data­ base, atlas, gazetteer, and travel accounts) from a specialized academic research project into an extensive collaborative program funded to cre­ ate a national public resource providing a vi­ sion o f Britain over time. To support multiple functionalities and large numbers o f simulta­ neous users, an Oracle spatially enabled relational database—with spatial cataloguing following open metadata standard—and new visualization tech­ nologies are planned. Moderator Richard Hacken (Brigham Young University) tied together the speakers’ themes (theoretical and pragmatic) and encouraged dis- http://www.ualberta.ca/ http://www.library.uiuc http://www.ala 562 / C&RL N ew s ■ S e p te m b e r 2002 News from the University Libraries Section Ed. note: F o r a report o n th e ULS p rog ram , p le a s e se e “M inding th e g e ineration g a p ”on p a g e 561. C h a ir's m essa g e As academic libraries becom e active partners in o u r in stitu tio n s’ e ffo rts to e ffe ctiv ely evaluate what w e do, assessm ent is increas­ ingly an important top ic o n our cam puses, in our libraries, and at professional meetings. This past ALA A nnual C o n feren ce w as n o exception to this trend. T h e U niversity Libraries S ectio n (ULS) Standards and G u id elin es C om m ittee has b e e n addressing this m ost serious o f topics o n o u r b e h a lf for som e tim e. Acting u p on our recom m endation, the ACRL B oard has c rea ted a jo in t com m ittee to integrate the various types o f library standards into on e docum ent that could b e used by every a ca­ demic library. This is a significant m ove in the right di­ rection and should result in a document that will b e meaningful to each o f us as w e look at o u r ow n s erv ic es, p rogram s, staff, and space, as well as provide us with appropriate measurem ents that will be significant to our parent institutions. Follow ing up on this effort, the ULS Ex­ ecutive Com m ittee approved a joint forum w ith C olleg e Libraries S ectio n (CLS) to b e held at the ACRL 11th National C onference in Charlotte, North Carolina. T h e pu rpose o f this forum is to discuss the developm ent o f a “tool kit” in support o f the o u tco m es- orien ted standards b ein g d ev elo p ed that could b e adapted for every academic library, regardless o f size, user population, and em ­ phasis. A big task for sure, but o n e that will ben efit all o f us. I invite all ULS m em bers to p articipate in th is fo ru m in C h arlotte. I f you are n o t planning to attend, please share your ideas for ap prop riate to o ls that w ou ld m easure w hat w e do and its im pact o n students and faculty with m e or the Chair o f the ULS Stan­ dards a n d G u id elin es C om m ittee, Lori G o e ts c h (U niversity o f M aryland) e-m ail: lgoetsch@deans.umd.edu. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this topic as w e all begin developing ef­ fective assessm ent tools. Let us know w hat you have d o n e in your libraries, w hether it w as successful or not, so that w e can share our experiences and learn from each other. As the national accrediting bodies revise their standards and focus o n outcom es, aca­ demic libraries have to b e active partners in showing our com munities that w e, too, ful­ fill a role that is unique on campus, and that w e are part o f our campus learning com m u­ nities.— L o u is e S. S h erb y , H u n te r C o lle g e / CUNY, louise.sherby@ hunter.cuny.edu Executive Com m ittee T h e ULS E x ecu tiv e C o m m ittee m et tw ice during die ALA Annual Conference and con­ tinued its discussion o f several m ajor ong o­ ing policy issues, as w ell as addressing sev­ eral n ew items o f business. T h e E xecu tive Com m ittee w elco m ed its new liaison from the ACRL B o a rd o f D ire cto rs, Rita Jo n e s (City College o f San Francisco). N otable am ong th e ong oing issues w as the activity o f the ULS Standards and Guide­ lines Committee and its evolving w ork with Community and Junior College Libraries Sec­ tion (CJCLS) and CLS to develop a com bined set o f standards for academ ic libraries. T he c o m m itte e h ad a sk ed th e ULS E x ecu tiv e Com m ittee to endorse an approach similar to the more output-oriented and assessment- based “Standards for College Libraries.” T he approach has now evolved into an effort to d evelop an overall set o f acad em ic library standards bridging the different academic li­ brary types. Lori G o estch reported to th e Execu tive Com m ittee that the ACRL Board had taken significant steps towards establishing a uni­ tary set o f standards. She reported that the ACRL B o a rd h ad c h a rg ed a task fo rc e to adapt the “Standards for College Libraries” for use across all types o f academic libraries, m ove the revised standards through the ap­ propriate approval process, and make recom­ mendations o n implementation and support for these new standards. mailto:lgoetsch@deans.umd.edu C&RL N ew s ■ S e p te m b e r 2002 / 563 (continied from previouspage) T he ULS Executive Committee then ad­ dressed the issue o f standards for branch li­ braries and undergraduate libraries. The com­ m ittee endorsed the possibility o f folding these separate sets o f standards into the new overall standards and suggested that such an approach be fully considered. Previous discu ssions by th e E xecu tive Committee about the creation o f a member­ ship committee culminated in formal action to establish this new committee. The Execu­ tive Com m ittee received a report o n how other ACRL sections organized this function. T h e ULS C om m u n ication s C om m ittee, which had previously b een responsible for membership activities, also endorsed the es­ tablishment o f the new committee to address membership issues. An important new issue addressed by the Execu tive Com m ittee w as the d ecision to sponsor a new discussion group. The Execu­ tive Committee voted unanimously to sup­ port a n ew Urban University Libraries Dis­ cussion Group under the auspices o f ULS. Information about the new group’s electronic d iscu ssio n list c an b e foun d at http:// www.library.gsu.edu/urbanlibs/. Heads of public services T he ULS Public Service D irectors o f Large Research Libraries Discussion Group, con ­ vened by Diane Strauss (University o f North Carolina, Chapel Hill), addressed several di­ v erse to p ics in th eir d iscu ssion. Ed Van Gemert (University o f Wisconsin, Madison) in itiated the co n v ersa tio n o n secu rity in branch libraries. UW-Madison has 44 librar­ ies on the campus. Especially pressing con­ cerns are com m unication betw een the nu­ m erous bran ches and relian ce on student staffing. O ther participants v o iced sim ilar c o n ­ cerns about minimal staffing on evenings and weekends and concerns about ensuring suf­ ficient training for student assistants left in charge o f smaller branches. Van Gemert re­ ported that having the UW police department as advisors has established a proactive, col­ laborative approach that has been very help­ ful in addressing security concerns. Other concerns included clearly establishing with employees that even public institutions are not obligated to provide unrestricted access to troublesome or potentially dangerous patrons. T h e p u blic services d irectors also dis­ cussed new approaches to gathering statis­ tics. Isabel Sterling (University o f California, B erkeley) led the discussion and noted the need to balance simplicity in statistics gath­ ering with the need for meaningful data. The University o f California at Los Angeles was mentioned as being engaged in completely revising its statistics for public services and developing new categories for describing in­ teractions with users. T he discussion also noted that although some institutions seemed to b e experiencing a decline in som e tradi­ tional reference questions, there has b een an increase in the num ber o f questions about hardware and software. Sally Kalin (Pennsylvania State LJniversity) and Tom Wall (D uke University) initiated a discussion about course managem ent soft­ ware. It was suggested that course manage­ ment software will dramatically shape the ref­ erence environment because it is seen as be­ ing a major vehicle for delivery o f resources at the point o f need and it permits users to be much more self-sufficient. As various institutions m ake decisions about cou rse managem ent software, Kalin emphasized the importance o f librarians par­ ticipating in the p rocess o f evaluating and selecting this software. Concerns w ere also raised about the multiplicity o f course man­ agement software applications at some insti­ tutions and that university information tech­ nology departments sometimes see selection o f software as their territory. The public services heads concluded the discussion by reviewing possible topics for upcoming meetings: how jobs have changed in public services and issues o f recruitment and reten tio n . Ja n ic e Sim m ons-W elbu rn (University o f Iow a) will b e the discussion group’s new convenor.—Jo h n Lebneer, U niver­ sity o f H ouston, j lebner@uh.edu http://www.library.gsu.edu/urbanlibs/ mailto:jkbiKr@uh.edu 564 / C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2002 cussion on electronic geographical resources, such as evaluating authoritativeness and facili­ tating interdisciplinary study.—R ebecca R M alek- Wiley, Tulane University, malek@tulane.edu Women and technology Joan Korenman, director of the Center for Women and Information Technology at the Uni­ versity of Maryland, Baltimore County, and fea­ tured panelist for the Women’s Studies Section (WSS) program “Women, Technology and Li­ braries,” reported that although women now make up more than half of online users, they “are still seriously underrepresented as develop­ ers of information technology.” In 1998, Korenman started the center with two mutually reinforcing goals: to encourage Then ACRL President Mary Reichel and Baker & Taylor/ YBP's Gary Shirk help this year's Academic Librarian of the Year, Shelley Phipps, show off her award at the ALA Annual Conference. more women to become information profes­ sionals and to be sure that information tech­ nology meets women’s needs. She highlighted the CWIT Web site (http://www.umbc.edu/ cwit/), which collates news, information, and resources for women in IT. The other three panelists discussed the ways technology impacts women in the library pro­ fession. Kelly Hovendick (Syracuse University) aigued that because technology is accorded such high status and cultural cachet, it has the abil­ ity to elevate die status and image of library professionals, but only if the female majority of librarians are assertive about the tech roles they are assuming. Reporting on female library staffers’ atti­ tudes toward technological training, Dolores Fidishun (Pennsylvania State Great Valley) re­ vealed that they learned best in one-on-one situ­ ations with immediate application and handouts for further reference. The need for technology mentors was highlighted. Kristin Gerhard (Iowa State University) wrapped up the session by looking at barriers women experience when they approach IT, and strategies for overcoming them. She urged: “Our goal is to be technically competent, not comfortable. Notice your zone of discomfort and then push yourself into it.”—Jen n ifer Gilley, Penn State New Kensington Library,jrgl5@psu.edu Librarians in the big leagues Alliances between teaching faculty and academic librarians were highlighted before a crowd of 75 at the Law and Political Science Section (LPSS) program “Librarians and the Teaching Academy: Are You Ready for the Big Leagues?” Sallie Ives, director of the Fac­ ulty Center for Teaching and e- Learning at the University of N orth C a r o lin a -C h a rlo tte (UNCC), provided an overview of the challenges faced by teaching faculty, including diverse student populations, changes in content area, the demand for information literacy as a liberal art, changes in technology, changes in the cogni­ tive sciences, the need for account­ ability, and strategies to meet these challenges. She also discussed the advantages of having die Faculty Center for Teaching and e-Leam- ing in the university library and collaborative efforts with librarians at UNCC, and she pro­ vided a brief bibliography on the teaching acad­ emy. Linda C. Smith, Susan E. Searing, and Jeni E. Weidenbenner of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana (UIUC), discussed the UIUC Alliance for Teaching Excellence and UIUC campuswide initiatives, including the Teaching Alliance, a partnership of the Gradu­ ate School of Library and Information Science and the University of Illinois libraries. Partici­ pants in the alliance choose the topics that will be investigated. In the first year of the pro­ gram, they held a retreat to discuss learning styles, brainstorming, and peer evaluations. During the academic year they held sessions on technology, the electronic classroom, exemplary mailto:malek@tulane.edu http://www.umbc.edu/ mailto:jrgl5@lxu.edu C&RL News ■ Septem ber 2002 / 565 teachers, HTML, and effective lecturing. These sessions were held during lunch hours and in­ cluded peer evaluations. During the next aca­ demic year they plan to focus on undergradu­ ate education. The audience asked several questions about the benefits o f having a teaching center in the library, examples o f collaboration with librar­ ians, the need to broaden the definition of the scholarship of teaching, and how the teaching center fits into university organization. Other questions involved the marketing of the UIUC Teaching Alliance and the effect of the Teach­ ing Alliance on changing the attitudes of those who attended.—-Jean ie Welch, University o f North Carolina-Charlotte,j m uelch@eniail.umcc.edu E-research companies This year’s panelists for the ACRL Distance Learning Section program, offered in conjunc­ tion with the Community and Junior College Libraries Section, brought insight to the topic, "E-Research Companies: Value Added or Vir­ tually Redundant?” Keynote speaker James Neal (Columbia Uni­ versity) called for die development of electronic research tools with wide-ranging functionality and digital collections with interactive capability to meet today’s library users’ expectations. Neal asserted that e-research companies’ ament products lack the sophisticated query language and richness of content required to meet students’ research needs. The academic library community, according to Neal, is better suited to develop high-quality inte­ grated research services and collections. Yet Neal challenged librarians to create internal and exter­ nal partnerships with other information leaders and adopt more entrepreneurial business initiatives to achieve their goals. Troy Williams (founder and CEO of Questia Media) maintained that he was motivated by his own blue-collar upbringing to provide students in resource-poor community colleges, rural ar­ eas, and global markets with a high-quality li­ brary collection. Williams noted that students value most the functionality, not the content of his product. He markets directly to students (continιιedo n page 574) mailto:jiiHvelch@eniail.Lmcc.edu 574 / C&RL News ■ Sep tem b er 2002 priate administrative personnel are kept abreast o f the progress that is being made on preser­ vation projects. The PA must also have strong leadership skills and be self-motivated. This means accept­ ing the responsibility for providing the neces­ sary energy and leadership to get preservation programs started. It also means having the dis­ cipline and determination to see projects through, despite distractions that may arise in the libraries where the services are being of­ fered. Because many preservation activities are im­ portant, but not urgent, it is often tempting for library staff to allow preservation-related du­ ties to get moved to a back burner and never get picked up again. It is the PA’s job to pro­ vide the leadership and motivation necessary to keep this from happening. He or she must clearly demonstrate, by example, how to com­ plete tasks on time and follow up regularly with preservation team members to ensure they are meeting their obligations. Despite all this, the PA must be flexible and adaptive. Procedures that work in one library may not work in another. The PA should have the experience necessary to recognize what will and will not work and be dynamic enough to adjust an agenda to meet the specific needs o f individual libraries. Few people naturally have the skill sets nec­ essary to effectively administer preservation programs at more than one institution at a time. However, these skills can be learned just as other management skills are learned. Final thoughts T h e idea o f libraries acq u irin g part-tim e ( “ACRLin Atlanta” continued from page 565) willing to pay $20 a month for Questia. Will­ iams is pursuing global markets where he envi­ sions the Questia product bundled with required textbooks. Morris Shephard (chief marketing officer of Knowledge Ventures) described his develop­ ment strategy: to produce nonfrustrating re­ search tools that keep students interested at teachable moments and that enable teachers to retrieve sources quickly, thus attaining credibil­ ity with their students. Shephard promoted emerging partnerships between libraries and preservation expertise is certainly not new. Ser­ vice bureaus around the country offer such ser­ vices to libraries on a regular basis.4 While these programs are excellent, a consortial agreement between libraries allows participating institu­ tions to have access to preservation expertise on a more regular and consistent basis. In many research libraries, PAs have ac­ cepted additional job duties as needed by their institution. Instead of capturing time from the PA to accomplish other library du­ ties, institutions should consider opportuni­ ties to offer preservation services to neigh­ boring libraries unable to support these needs for themselves. The KU-KSU model is just one example of how this can work well. Establishing consortial preservation manage­ ment agreements has great potential that should be investigated in earnest by more research libraries. Notes 1. Julia Blixrud, “Preservation Expenditures Level; Microfilming, Staffing D ec lin e,” B i­ m onthly Newsletter o f R esearch Library Issues a n d A ction s, Issue 201 (Decem ber 1998). See the ARL Web site at http://www.arl.org/newsltr/ 20 l/stats%2Dpres. html. 2. Mary Jo Lynch, “What we Now Know about Librarians,” A m erican L ib raries 31 (Feb­ ruary 2000): 9. 3. See the University o f Kansas Libraries’ Preservation Department Web page for more information about this service at http:// w w w 2. lib . k u . edu/preservation/. 4. For exam ple, see the Regional Alli­ ance for Preservation Web page at http:// w w w .rap-arcc.org. ■ knowledge industries and blasted textbook pub­ lishers as wrong-headed old losers. Susan Swords Steffen (Elmhurst College) reported on a pilot project with Questia at her library. Students who used Questia were disap­ pointed with their search results, but they were unaware o f the superior database products available to them via proxy campuswide. Steffen implored librarians to market their services more effectively and take a proactive role with vendors to make library database products more accessible and convenient to use.— C la u d ia Shon; Gwinnett University CenterL ibrary, csborr® guc..usg.edu ■ http://www.arl.org/newsltr/ http://www.rap-arcc.org