ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 165 m en t strategies a n d tools th a t w ill best assure sys­ tem access an d p erfo rm a n c e to su p p o rt faculty, students an d researchers. T h e academ ic lib ra ry has a vested in terest in m a n a g in g its cam pus c o m p u t­ in g c e n te r effectively. ■ ■ Building a strategy for academic library exhibits By Lucy S. Caswell C urator, L ib ra ry fo r C o m m u n ic a tio n an d G raphic Art. O hio State U niversity Education as a primary goal fo r library exhibition programs. D e s p i t e th e fact th a t exhibitions are la b o r in te n ­ sive a n d thus m ake heavy d em an d s on th e m ost ex­ pensive re so u rce, m ost a c a d e m ic lib ra rie s h av e som e ty p e of exhibit facility, ra n g in g from b u lletin b o ard s used to display th e jackets of new books to custom -designed cases for ra re books. W h ile few w o u ld d isp u te th e effectiveness of b u lletin boards in boosting c irc u la tio n , such efforts are no t u n d e r co n sid eratio n here. T h e term exhibition as used in this article refers to displays of a significant n u m b e r of item s org an ized in such a w a y as to convey in fo r­ m a tio n to th e view er. T h e purposes of academ ic li­ b ra ry exhibitions w ill be briefly review ed p rio r to suggesting uses of exhibitions as lib ra ry in stru ctio n tools a n d exam ining th e c o n trib u tio n of such exhi­ b itio n p ro g ra m s to th e acad em ic co m m u n ity . T h e tra d itio n a l reasons for exhibits in college an d university lib raries a re often tak en for g ra n te d . S a n d ra P ow ers suggests th a t th e m ajo r goals of an exhibition p ro g ra m are ed u c atio n , increased use a n d p u b lic re la tio n s .1 W ith in th e acad em ic lib ra ry S a n d r a Pow ers, “W h y E xhibit? T h e Risks V er­ sus th e B e n e f its ,” A m e r ic a n A r c h iv is t 41 (July 1978) :302. ce rtain ly ed u c atio n should be th e p rim a ry aim . Ex­ hibits m ay be re la te d d irectly to classroom projects (a d a g u e rreo ty p e exhibit for th e history of p h o to g ­ ra p h y class) or to c o n tin u in g e d u c atio n p rogram s (m edieval m an u scrip ts displayed for a conference on p o p u la r religious c u ltu re in th e M iddle Ages). In stru c tio n a l goals m ay also be m o re general (to il­ lu stra te th e dev elo p m en t of film ad vertising from 1910 to 1930), b u t exhibit p lan n ers should alw ays be able to re la te th e ir show to th e academ ic e n te r­ prise. As m en tio n ed previously, increasing circu latio n by calling a tte n tio n to exhibited m aterials has long been accep ted as an a p p ro p ria te ra tio n a le for exhi­ bition. W ith in an ongoing exhibit p ro g ra m in a col­ lege or university lib ra ry , it is im p o rta n t to re m e m ­ b e r t h a t e s s e n tia lly th e e n t i r e u n d e r g r a d u a t e p o p u la tio n changes over a fo u r y ear p eriod. Be­ cause of this, re p e a t exhibitions m ay be a p p ro p ri­ ate, especially displays of special m aterials w hich m ay n o t com e to th e a tte n tio n of p o te n tia l users in o th e r w ays. U n d erg rad u a te s are som etim es hesi­ ta n t to e n te r w h a t ap p ears to be an in n er sanctum called “special collections” or “ra re books ro o m .” If selected m aterials from these areas are exhibited in 166 Cr: Lloyd Lemmerman Festival o f C artoon A r t exhibit at Ohio S ta te ’s M ain L ib ra ry, 1983. a generally accessible locale, some u n d erg rad u ates m ay be curious enough to seek ad d itio n al in fo rm a­ tion in th e repository. T he use of exhibitions m ainly for public relations should be ap p ro ach ed cautiously. Kohn and Tep- p er devote a ch a p te r of You Can Do I t to displays, exhibits an d b u lletin boards. T he six uses of exhibits suggested by th e authors range from telling th e “li­ b ra ry ’s story for th e purpose of creatin g u n d e r­ stan d in g and good w ill’’ to re la tin g to “things the people in th e com m unity are d o in g .’’2 W hile these m ay be valid goals, they should not overshadow th e general d idactic mission of th e exhibit in th e ac a­ dem ic lib ra ry setting. M ounting a special show of item s from th e college or university archives for hom ecom ing m ight be a p p ro p ria te and w ould p ro ­ vide an o p p o rtu n ity to em phasize th e availability of such m aterials to p o ten tial users. A fo u rth possible aim for an exhibition pro g ram m ig h t be collection developm ent. A collector o w n ­ ing item s w hich b o th relate to th e instructional p ro g ra m of th e in stitu tio n an d fall w ith in th e ac­ quisition policy of th e lib rary m ay be invited to ex­ h ib it selected items. T he exhibit lib ra ria n can use this o p p o rtu n ity to build th e d o n o r’s confidence in th e in stitu tio n an d to d em o n strate how his or her c o lle c tio n w o u ld e n ric h th e l i b r a r y ’s h o ld in g s. Such an exhibit indicates interest in th e collection an d makes its existence know n w ith in th e cam pus co m m u n ity , a factor w hich can fu rth e r enhance 2R ita K ohn and K rysta T ep p er, You C an Do It (M etuchen, N .J.: Scarecrow , 1981), p.71. th e p ro b a b ility of the lib ra ry ’s eventually a c q u ir­ ing th e m aterials in question. Assum ing th a t education is the p rim a ry goal of th e academ ic lib ra ry exhibit, how can such p ro ­ gram s be a d a p te d to lib ra ry instruction? Several m ethods are possible: • Exhibits m ay be used as consciousness-raising devices: A c o n s e rv a tio n /p re s e rv a tio n p ro g ra m m ight be highlighted by an exhibit of books in v a ri­ ous states of distress due to misuse. • Exhibits m ay be used to highlight new or u n u ­ sual holdings: B o tan ical p rin ts p u rc h a se d w ith funds from a lib ra ry friends group m ight be exhib­ ited to ann o u n ce th eir arriv al on cam pus. • Exhibits m ay be designed to stim u late a new ap p ro ach to m aterials: th e bindings and illu stra­ tions in a fiction collection m ight be em phasized ra th e r th a n the texts of th e novels. • Exhibits m ay provide an overview of a com ­ plex process in a subject-specific area an d suggest sources for a d d itio n a l in fo rm a tio n . F o u r-co lo r p rin tin g m ight be show n th ro u g h paste-ups and color separations au g m en ted by books and p erio d i­ cals from th e lib ra ry ’s holdings. These m ethods are a d a p ta b le to exhibitions re ­ lated to alm ost any academ ic discipline. In o rder to take ad v an tag e of p u b licity oppo rtu n ities, exhibi­ tions should be scheduled w ell in advance of th eir in stallation. P lan n in g th e en tire academ ic y ea r’s exhibit schedule w ill provide an overview of activi­ ties an d can ensure a v ariety of shows. C are should be tak en th a t th e type of exhibit p lan n ed is suitable for th e p o ten tial audience. Serbian m anuscripts Ordering books shouldn’t be a maddening experience. Dealing with an inflexible book supplier is no tea are state of the art. All have been developed with the party. help of professional libranans who understand the That’s why so many librarians prefer to deal with needs of today’s libraries. 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Olive Road, Commerce, GA 30599 (404) 33 5 -5 0 0 0 Western Division, 380 Edison Way, Reno, NV 89564 (702) 7 8 6-6700 168 m ight be more appropriately shown in a special collections area than the lobby of an undergradu­ ate library. Most library exhibit program s w ould benefit from broader participation by library faculty and staff in their planning and execution. Although special skills are involved in exhibit preparation, an experienced installer or a committee appointed to oversee exhibitions could assist w ith technical ques­ tions. Library exhibits offer a fine opportunity to bring patrons and inform ation together under en­ joyable circumstances. W hile exhibitions are a secondary function of ac­ ademic libraries, they may make a substantial con­ tribution to the academic community. An exhibit c a ta lo g p u b lish ed in-house can c o rre la te and present inform ation which is otherwise unavail­ able. This is especially true for collections of local and regional m aterials. Because libraries generally approach exhibitions from a contextual perspec­ tive, skillfully w ritten captions and commentaries may encourage viewers to relate m aterials in new ways. Occasionally campus libraries m ay provide alternative exhibition space for shows deemed in­ appropriate for the art gallery or museum. And on occasion library exhibit planners should take their shows “on the road” to the student union or adm in­ istration building. The services offered by aca­ demic libraries and the astonishing variety of m ate­ rials they house deserve w ider recognition. The conception of an exhibit idea, the research needed to choose items to be included and the orga­ nization of these m aterials into a m eaningful pre­ sentation are a challenge for the exhibit planner. At its best, the academic library exhibit is a scholarly effort subject to review by a large audience. Al­ though few libraries can m ount exhibits on the scale of the New York P ublic L ib ra ry ’s recent show, “Censorship: 500 Years of C onflict,” such ef­ forts should serve to inspire the library com m unity to use exhibitions more purposefully. ■ ■ ACRL and higher education By JoAn S. Segal and Sharon Rogers The ACRL executive director and president visit the higher education community in Washington, D.C. S i n c e the ALA M idw inter Meeting was held in W ashington, D .C ., w here m any higher education associations have their headquarters, Sharon Rog­ ers and JoAn Segal decided the visit m ight afford an opportunity to meet w ith leaders in those associa­ tions to establish some links between the profes­ sional association for academic librarians and the associations dealing w ith the academy in its other aspects. On January 11 we visited the American As­ sociation for Higher Education (AAHE), the Asso­ ciation of American Colleges (AAC), the Chronicle o f Higher Education, and the American Council on Education (ACE). At AAHE, we had an excellent visit. The Associ­ ation, like ACRL, is one of individual members. Most of the members are adm inistrators in institu­ tions of higher education. An im portant activity of this association is th e N atio n al C onference on Higher Education (N CH E), which will be held this year in Chicago. AAHE seeks a broad base of m em ­ bership, and offers through its National Confer­ ence the opportunity for networks of educators to meet together and to establish relationships w ithin their own groups and betw een the groups. W e