ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


October 1991 / 587

NASIG’S 6th conference explores changes in scholarly 
publishing and strategies for libraries

The North American Serials Interest Group 
(NASIG) held its 6th Annual Conference June 14— 
17,1991, at Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas. 
The theme of the conference was “A Changing 
World.” A record 463 attendees represented all 
aspects of the serials community: librarians, sub­
scription agents, publishers, educators, binders, 
and bibliographic utilities.

The first plenary session, “Changing Technolo­
gies,” explored the future of electronic publishing. 
Timothy B. King (John Wiley) discussed the antici­
pated change in the delivery and retrieval of schol­
arly information by the year2000. Anne B . Pitemick 
(University of British Columbia) questioned the 
affects of human, social, and economic factors on 
electronic vs. print formats. Charles W. Bailey Jr. 
(University of Houston) described network-based 
electronic serials as an alternative method of pub­
lishing scholarly information. The conclusion was 
that although scholarly research will be affected by 
emerging electronic technologies, electronic jour­
nals will not fully replace paper formats in scientific 
and scholarly publishing in the next decade.

The second plenary session expanded the con­
ference theme by focusing on “Changing Informa­
tion Worldwide.” Francis Narin (CHI Research 
Inc.) discussed the correlation between scientific 
publishing and the issuing ofpatents. John F. Riddick 
(Central Michigan University) explored the impact 
of the European Economic Community on schol­
arly publishing and the distribution and cost of 
material. Edward Kasinec (New York Public Li­
brary) described the changes occurring in the So­
viet Union and Eastern Bloc countries that affect 
publishing and libraries. Margarita Almada de 
Asencio (Centro de Informacion Cientifica Y 
Humanistica, Mexico City) presented the problems 
of rising costs and procurement of material in Latin 
America. Concluding statements demonstrated that: 
the proliferation of scientific publishing is linked 
directly to the economics of a country; the forma­
tion of a single European economic market could 
cause more competition among traditional markets 
(i.e., European vendors); higher costs for Eastern 
European material can be expected; and the future 
of publishing in Latin America is dependent upon 
economic and political stability.

In the final plenary session, three librarians pre­
sented three specific “Strategies and Responses.” 
Carol Pitts Hawks (Ohio State University) gave an 
analysis of key features currently lacking in auto­
mated library systems, especially serials control

systems, although there should be many enhance­
ments to these systems in the future. Gail McMillan 
(Virginia Polytechnic Institute) discussed the re­
sults of a task force that studied the use and impli­
cations of electronic journals at her research library. 
The task force recommended a test study for the 
receipt, processing, storage, and access for these 
journals. The third speaker, Charles B. Lowry (Uni­
versity of Texas at Arlington), described how the 
effect of technological changes in publishing di­
rectly affects the role of the library in providing 
information. Dan Tonkery (Readmore, Inc.) gave 
an in-depth summary of the plenary sessions.

Eighteen workshops were offered at the confer­
ence on such diverse topics as starting a new medi­
cal journal, conversion to automated serials control 
systems, how vendors assess service charges, mul­
tiple version cataloging, interfacing automated en­
vironments, journal contents online, serial claims, 
and an introduction to ANSI X12. The full confer­
ence proceedings will be published in a future issue 
of Señals Librarian.

NASIG is an independent organization promot­
ing communication and sharing of ideas among 
persons working with or concerned about serial 
publications. The 7th Annual NASIG Conference 
will be held June 18-21,1992, at the University of 
Illinois at Chicago. The conference will include a 
one-day joint session with the Society for Scholarly 
Publishing (SSP). For membership or general in­
formation contact: Lisa Peterson, NASIG Secre­
tary, Head, Acquisitions/Serials Dept., Library, 
University of California, P.O. Box 5900, Riverside, 
CA 02517-5900; 714-787-4381; fax: 714-787-3285. 
Bitnet: peterson@ucrvms.—Jean Callaghan, Seri­
als Librarian, Wheaton College (MA) and editor-in- 
chief; NASIG Newsletter ■  ■

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