ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


166

MALC IN ILLINOIS
The twelfth annual Midwest Academic Li­

brarian’s Conference, held at the University 
of Illinois Chicago Circle on May 5-6, was 
attended by more than three hundred librarians 
representing states from Ohio to Kansas.

The program began Friday afternoon with 
a talk by Robert Asleson, general manager of 
University Microfilms on “The Future Inter­
relationship Between the Photocopying Industry 
and College and University Libraries.” Richard 
Chapin, director of the Michigan State Uni­
versity library and William Buddington, li­
brarian of the John Crerar library served as 
commentators on Mr. Asleson’s talk. In his 
remarks Mr. Asleson observed that the Xerox 
Corporation, his parent firm, was a “communi­
cation industry” interested in branching out 
into the field of education. University Micro­
films, the first educational organization acquired 
by Xerox, is an “on demand” industry which 
pioneered the use of 35mm microfilm for the 
preservation and duplication of library ma­
terials.

In reviewing the current activities of Uni­
versity Microfilms, Mr. Asleson mentioned the 
following:
1. “Periodicals on microfilm” is one of the 

firm’s fastest growing programs.
2. The DATRIX project—an acronym for Di­

rect Access to Research Information—will 
provide libraries with information relating 
to specific research topics covered in the 
eighteen to twenty thousand dissertations 
now being produced in the United States 
each year. The title and subject matter of 
all dissertations in the files of University 
Microfilms are now on a computer and an­
swers to inquiries about the identity of par­
ticular dissertations are being accepted.

3. University Microfilms now has a team in 
Europe microfilming manuscripts in Bene­
dictine monasteries.

4. University Microfilms has several reprint 
projects underway.
University Microfilms explored the potential 

uses of all types of microreproduction but con­
siders that 35mm microfilm still seems to offer 
the best technology available. They are now 
investigating materials in cartridge form. Look­
ing ahead, Mr. Asleson saw a need to provide 
copies of books now being published, twenty to 
thirty years hence. As a result University Micro­
films is now arranging with several publishers 
to copy books as they are published. In the 
future, out-of-print books will be less of a 
problem. Another project being investigated by 
University Microfilms is the possibility of print­
ing out professors’ reserve lists.

In speaking of new equipment Asleson men­
tioned that better microfilm readers and printers 
were being designed particularly for libraries

by University Microfilms and the Xerox Corpo­
ation. University Microfilms started with their 
100 reader—now other companies have seen 
he need and will also be bringing out im­
roved, low-cost equipment. Xerox has an im­
roved reader-printer which will soon be ready 
or the market. In his remarks Mr. Buddington 
oted the importance of maximizing the avail­
bility of library materials. He observed that 
everal problems were involved: ( 1) Copy­
ight; (2) Varying formats—microcard, micro­
rint, microfiche, microfilm; (3) The impact 
f federal funds; (4) The need for better 
ibliographic control of materials.

Mr. Chapin wondered why libraries couldn’t 
ooperate at considerably less cost to do the 
ork University Microfilms is doing for profit, 
nd suggested that the library profession should 
o into competition with Xerox. In a short 
ebuttal Mr. Asleson reminded his audience that 
t was industry that put dollars into microfilm 
rojects and that librarians were not noted 
or their success in undertaking cooperative 
rojects. He believed University Microfilms 
ould do the job cheaper and better than the 
ibrary profession. In answer to questions from 
he floor he reported that DATRIX costs $5 
er inquiry, for which ten titles are reported.
Walter Netsch Jr., discussed the “Transition 

n Library Design Since World War II and Its 
mplications for the Future” at the Friday 
vening banquet. Rather than discuss the “nuts 
nd bolts” aspects of library design, Mr. Netsch 
hose to discuss more theoretical considerations. 
n summary, Mr. Netsch observed that the tra­
itional concept of an individual study carrel 
s adequate for the library needs of students 
as no longer valid. Libraries must be designed 

o provide ready access to all types of infor­
ation in a variety of media—the printed page, 

he cathode ray tube, motion pictures, micro­
eproductions—and other media yet to be de­
eloped.

In dicussing project INTREX Mr. Netsch 
tated that this was—as the acronym implies— 
till experimental. INTREX, which takes ad­
antage of the multiple access computer, is not 
 model library but what Mr. Netsch termed 
 mixed media laboratory in which users will 
btain information from several media sources. 
urprising to some perhaps was Mr. Netsch’s 
tatement that one-fifth the area of the re­
odeled engineering library at Massachusetts 

nstitute of Technology was required for ma­
hine access equipment.
Another unusual feature of Intrex develop­
ent is the fact that the entire library has 

ontrolled lighting, i.e., the lighting level can 
e changed by means of a rheostat to any de­
ired intensity. This is not a new idea and is 
eing used more and more frequently for 
icroform reading areas in libraries. What is 

ew is its extension to the entire library.

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167

One of the objectives of the INTREX ex­
periment, Mr. Nesch pointed out, is to develop 
equipment that can be decentralized around 
the campus so that each academic department 
can have more convenient access to the infor­
mation its faculty and students require.

Finally, Mr. Netsch observed that libraries 
need similar mixed media facilities—he used 
the word laboratories—in the library of the 
future. He suggested that we need spaces in 
the library that will enable students in the 
humanities to assemble data or information in 
the same way and from the same variety of 
sources as does the student in the physical 
sciences.

Of special interest to many in the audience 
was the Saturday morning program in which 
Mrs. Henriette Avram discussed “The Library 
of Congress and the MARC Project” and 
Hillis Griffin of the Argonne national library 
responded by reporting on his library and its 
experience as a user of MARC materials.

Mrs. Avram was introduced by Allen Hogden, 
head of cataloging at University of Illinois, 
Chicago Circle. In his introduction, Mr. Hogden 
pointed out that we can no longer afford the 
luxury of cataloging the same book in hundreds 
of different libraries with all the waste of time 
and money that such duplication of effort 
implies. The alternative is to depend upon 
centralized services for cataloging data, such as 
those of the Library of Congress.

Mrs. Avram noted that MARC started with 
1965 Conference on Machine Readable Catalog 
Copy. By June 1965, the Library of Congress’ 
Information Systems Office had prepared a 
memo discussing the problems of converting 
bibliographic data to machine readable form. 
The basic requirement was recognition of the 
need for a standardized format that would 
serve library needs with the greatest degree 
of flexibility. In December 1965, LC received 
a grant from the Council on Library Resources 
for systems planning, the preparation of com­
puter programs, and systems evaluation. LC’s 
own funds were to be used for operation of 
the system. LC decided to use its own 
equipment and to operate the project on site 
at LC. Materials for the experiment were all 
English language monographs.

From a list of thirty-seven libraries sixteen, 
representing a cross section of the various types 
of libraries, were chosen as participants in the 
project. Implementing the MARC project re­
quired a set of procedures and computer pro­
grams. By preparing basic computer problems, 
LC helped to stimulate the participants to 
further experimentation.

Some forty-three programs containing thirty- 
three thousand instructions were written to 
implement the program. Because of equipment 
and programing, the project was not started 
until the week of November 24, 1966. To date,

LC has distributed twenty-seven weekly tapes 
containing about eleven thousand MARC rec­
ords, eleven thousand author/title records, two 
hundred and forty-five subject cross reference 
tracing records, and seven hundred and forty- 
eight descriptive cross reference tracing rec­
ords.

MARC is still in pilot stage. The idea of 
regional libraries has been developed and shar­
ing of tapes has been encouraged. As a re­
sult, MARC now has twenty-three secondary 
participants. Originally, LC planned to con­
tinue MARC through June 1967. Now, because 
of wide interest, it is planned to continue and 
expand the project.

Hillis Griffin of the Argonne national li­
brary discussed the user’s reactions to the 
MARC project. His organization received first 
program from LC in November 1966, he said. 
Although the computer program was prepared 
by LC, it was necessary to modify it to get 
a suitable printout on the Argonne computer. 
They wrote other experimental programs as 
LC had hoped would be the case. Mr. Griffin 
emphasized that MARC is still experimental. 
Given proper equipment, the tapes have the 
possibility of printing out with upper and 
lower case and diacritical marks. Manipulation 
of bibliographic data still poses some difficult 
problems, and cannot be done overnight. He 
cautioned libraries not to think they could do 
this easily. Mr. Griffin observed that the use 
of automation for cataloging will probably 
not be feasible for all libraries for many years. 
He suggested the use of a cataloging sign-up 
system whereby a library could request cata­
loging data for a particular title from a central 
computer store.

For the MARC project to be successful Mr. 
Griffin stated that libraries should become 
active partners with LC in this effort, rather 
than passive customers. In summary Mr. Grif­
fin was enthusiastic about the potential effec­
tiveness and usefulness of the project.

Maurice Boatman, librarian, Millikin Uni­
versity, Decatur, Ill., will be next year’s MALC 
chairman. Place and dates have not yet been 
determined.—Frazer Foole.

ACRL Conference Highlights 
will appear in the July-August issue 
of the ALA Bulletin.