ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 547 More reports from ACRL’s 9th National Conference T his is the se c o n d half o f th e rep o rt from th e ACRL N ational C onference in D e­ troit. Part o n e appeared in the Ju n e issue. C News thanks the many volunteers w ho provided reports on the sessions. R eclaim ing w h at w e own Michael Rosenzweig, a professor o f ecology and evolutionary biology at th e University o f Ari­ zona, gave a plenary address entitled “Reclaim­ ing W hat W e O wn: Expanding C om pe­ tition in Scholarly P u b lis h in g .” T h is th o u g h t-provoking address traced th e sp eak er’s o w n evo­ lu tio n from ed ito r o f a scholarly jour­ nal to publisher, edi­ tor, a n d m ailroom staff of Evolutionary M ichael Rosenzweig E co lo g y R e se a rc h (EER). This bold publishing enterprise, entered into collaboratively w ith the Scholarly Publish­ ing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), is novel for th e fact that it is in ten d ed to com ­ p ete directly w ith th e journal that Rosenzweig h ad formerly edited. Rosenzweig outlined the selective pressures that led to his transform ation. Relentless su b ­ scription price increases, serious questions re­ garding the ow nership of intellectual property, an d restricted o r uncertain access to scientific information have forced a reexam ination o f the scholarly publishing process from all parties in­ volved, particularly faculty, libraries, an d un i­ versities. H e n o te d th e irony, if n o t inherent contradiction, in universities paying their fac­ ulty to teach and conduct research, thereby con­ &R tributing to th e b o d y o f scientific know ledge, w hich th e n beco m es th e pro p erty o f publish­ L ers. T hese publishers turn a ro u n d an d sell the intellectual content, at a h u g e profit, back the institutions from w hich it originates. W ith th e publication o f EER a n d the su p ­ p o rt o f SPARC, R osenzw eig suggests a new , m ore rational m odel o f scholarly publishing: o n e w here academ ics and their institutions ac­ tively en g ag e in th e creation o f journals that expand competition and provide clearer bound­ aries defining ow nership of and access to scien­ tific know ledge. H e called u p o n libraries an d librarians to support efforts like these using our expertise in th e selection, acquisition, an d m aintenance of research collections. Finally, h e thanked us for o u r s u p p o rt over the generations.—Ja m es W. Beattie, NYU School o f M edicine We meet, greet, and excel in library design! Representing over 120 years.of experience in li­ braries, panelists presented the challenges of de­ veloping a library building program in the era of constant change in “Collaboration in Designing Libraries to Meet the C hanging Priorities o f Academic Institutions in the 21st Century.” The tw o core concepts o f any library building p ro ­ gram are the “library as place” and technology. Gary B. T h o m p so n (Siena College) sp o k e to th e objectives o f a learning college. Librar­ ians must b e proactive to provide facilities, o p ­ portunities, an d services to facilitate research. Librarians m ust recognize that their contri­ b utions will b e assessed b y th e resources that they m ake available, an d the facilities a n d ser­ vices offered. Librarians, architects, a n d co n ­ sultants m ust com m unicate and w ork together to create a co h eren t facility. CONFERENCE CIRCUIT Racing toward tomorrow, Part 2 548 / C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 Jay Lucker (Sim m ons College), a p ro p o ­ n e n t o f th e “if y o u build it, they will c o m e ” p h e n o m e n o n , offered 12 issues that h e has culled from years o f library service a n d co n ­ sulting. O n e issue th at m inds rep eatin g is “C reate n e w p artnerships o n cam p u s.” By in­ viting o th e r d ep artm en ts (academ ic co m p u t­ ing, m edia services, etc.) into th e building, w e n o t only share the space, b u t can also integrate functionalities. From th e architect’s perspective, W endell E. W ickerham (Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson, a n d A bbott) sp o k e o f th e n e e d to un d erstan d yo u r library’s vision. “T he design o f th e library should b e generated from the inside out as well as the outside in.” H e p ro p o sed “six essentials” to give to y o u r architect. T he forem ost being “Tim e en o u g h to b e c o m e im m ersed into the program com ponents an d their m eaning.” H aving experienced all stages o f the build­ ing process, Tina Fu (Eastern Connecticut State University) sp o k e from th e library d irecto r’s perspective. She recounted the need for honest com m unication a n d participation am o n g all p arties involved. T h e “v a lu e sy ste m ” th a t w o rk e d at ECSU in clu d ed “perso n aliz ed ser­ vice, flexibility, expandability, aesthetics, and functionality.” It seem s th at w e are trying to hit a m oving target, yet w e have a n intuitive sen se a n d a deadly aim.— Kris Jacobi, Eastern C onnecticut State University Teaching lib rarian s and in form ation literacy: A new in itiative The terms information literacy and bibliographic instruction cam e close to taking o n a synony­ m ous m eaning as ACRL’s Advisory B oard dis­ c u ssed th e Institute for Inform ation Literacy (IIL) Program . B ibliographic instruction cov­ ers academ ic research, w hile inform ation lit­ eracy encom passes lifelong learning. Chair Cerise O berm an, w h o first p ro p o se d th e idea for an institute at th e LOEX C onfer­ ence tw o years ago, explained the genesis, mis­ sion, an d goals o f IIL, while o th er panelists de­ scribed IIL’s program initiatives. P rogram initiatives will pro v id e teaching librarians opportunities for training an d devel­ op in g strategies. T eaching librarians will also d evelop a n d im plem ent literacy program s for their institutions. T his su m m er’s Im m ersion Program , d e ­ scribed b y lead faculty m em b er Mary Jan e Petrowski, will b e com prised of tw o tracks. The first track (designed for n ew librarians o r librar­ ians n e w to teaching) will cover foundation, leadership, learning theory, praxis (the connec­ tion betw een theory and practice), assessment, an d pro g ram m anagem ent. T he se c o n d (for m ore ex p erien ced teachers) will utilize a case study ap p ro ach . O f th e 250 applications, 90 w ere a ccep ted for this first IIL to b e h e ld at S U N Y /P lattsburgh. F urther initiatives will include a Best Prac­ tices outcom es assessment, w hich uses a broad- b a se d consulting process to h elp IIL identify the strengths an d w eaknesses o f program s (as described by T hom as Kirk) an d a coordinated effort fo r creating dialogue a m o n g academ ic, school, a n d public librarians a b o u t h o w they are m eeting th e n e e d s o f th eir users in their com m unities (discussed by Julie Todaro). It is anticipated that because o f overw helm ­ ing interest, further Im m ersion Pro­ gram s will b e p la n n e d a n d m ore li­ brarians b ro u g h t into the cam paign to e x p a n d inform ation literacy ef­ forts.— Eric W. Johnson, Southeast­ e rn L ouisiana University, a n d Ola C arter Riley, L ouisia n a State Univer­ sity D iv e rsify in g the student body M uch like th e distribution o f w ealth in th e U nited States, th e enrollm ent o f m inority students in U.S. library schools is heavily co n cen trated in a small num ber o f institutions. A recent ALISE study revealed th at ap p ro x i­ Conference attendees g e t a first-hand look a t new products. C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 549 Sheila A. Delacroix (University o f Tennessee) leads a g ro u p discussion. m ately 80% of all African American, Native American, an d Alaskan Native students in li­ brary schools are enrolled in only 11 o r 12 (about 20%) o f th e institutions. After presenting these sobering statistics in “Recruiting More Minorities to th e Library Profession: Responding to the Need for Diver­ sity,” Ron Edwards (Bowling G reen State Uni­ versity) delivered a severe critique o f U.S. li­ brary schools’ efforts to recruit minority stu­ dents to the profession. He outlined four reasons why, in his opin­ ion, minority representation rem ains low, d e­ spite decades of committee activity and frequent expressions of concern from leaders in the pro­ fession. Those reasons include: • too m uch reliance o n international stu­ dents (w ho pay full tuition) as a m eans of di­ versifying the student body; • complacency about recruiting in general, due to the steady flow o f white, female applicants; • less concern w ith racism than with other issues view ed as intrinsic to librarianship, such as intellectual freedom; • perceived competition from high-prestige fields such as law, medicine, business, and engi­ neering. Mentoring and financial aid, Edwards said, are the tactics library schools should focus on to aid m inority recruitment. At least one member o f the audience reacted angrily to Edwards’s assertions, stating that sug­ gestions on how to improve recruitment w ould b e m uch m ore valuable to library school ad­ ministrators than por­ traying them as com ­ p la c e n t a n d ineffec­ tive. S ev eral o th e r s shared strategies that they had found useful, w hich included seek­ ing grants to support minority scholarships, ask in g practicin g li­ brarians in the com ­ m unity to advise on recru itm en t, an d re ­ cruiting am ong the un­ dergraduates w orking at th e ir in s titu tio n ’s u n iv e rsity lib rary .— R u th A n n J o n e s , M ic h ig a n State U ni­ versity How do they help? In “T he D evelopm ent Teaching Portfolio for Librarians,” Dicksy H owe-N oyes (Southwest State University) discussed her research on the use o f teaching portfolios an d her w ork w ith a gro u p o f instruction librarians in d e­ veloping their ow n portfolios during after­ w o rk se s sio n s o v e r a p e rio d o f sev e ra l m onths. Ann Lally an d Ninfa Trejo (University of Arizona) ad d ed their experiences as mem bers o f this w orking group, reflecting on w hat they learned and how it helped their teaching. Long a tool for evaluation an d professional grow th for teachers, portfolios have com m on param ­ eters of purpose, format, individuality, and gro u p process. They generally include a cur­ riculum vitae, a statem ent of teaching philoso­ phy and responsibilities, docum ents pertaining to teaching, reflection on teaching, and a table o f contents. It takes time, reflective thought, and action to make a teaching portfolio. There is a vulner­ ability, a learning of new skills, and a trem en­ dous opportunity for self-growth in this devel­ opm ent. For all of the instruction librarians involved in the developm ent of a teaching port­ folio, it w as an extrem ely positive experience that helped them grow professionally, enhanced their teaching, and fostered a culture of teach­ ing among them.—N ancy Schater McAuliffe, Old D om inion University 550 I C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 help libraries “Tune-up for Optim um Reference Performance” since 1983. Michael H avener (University o f Rhode Is­ land) an d Carolyn Radcliff (Kent State Univer­ sity) provided an overview of the use o f this pro­ gram, exam ples o f its use in central an d branch libraries, an d led program attendees in an exer­ cise evaluating data provided by the WOREP. The WOREP asks both librarians and library users to evaluate individual reference encounters. The survey data on patron and staff perceptions of library services can b e used for benchmarking a library’s perform ance against its ow n perfor­ m ance in previous years, or against the average or top-scoring library o f its size an d type. Radcliff suggested that libraries ask “W hat does that top-scoring library do that’s different from us?” w h en interpreting their WOREP re­ sults. T he Kent State Library significantly im­ proved its scores for patron satisfaction betw een 1991 an d 1993 after making changes in service based on the WOREP data. As Havener said in responding to questions, “No o n e m easure is going to answ er all of the questions w e have about service.” But this pro­ gram provided evidence of the usefulness of evalu­ ating service th ro u g h th e WOREP.— Sara Memmott, University o f Michigan-Dearborn ” United we stand—divided w e fail? Integrated service points at MIT” MIT Libraries’ circulation staff an d librarians shared the pros and cons o f their experiences with a pilot project for an Integrated Service Point (ISP), consisting of circulation, information, and reference services in a central location. The ISP is easily accessible to library custom­ ers, provides “one-stop shopping,” and there is less confusion about w hether a library customer is talking with a student, staff person, or a librar­ ian. O n the flip slide, customers w ere confused w ith the change in service structure an d library space needed to be redesigned to accommodate the ISP. The creation of this service point came about as a result of a redefinition process of public ser­ vices at MIT. The central goal of the redefinition process w as to organize to provide outstanding customer services and to define service priorities. Michael Finigan, circulation supervisor, and Vir­ ginia Steel, associate director for Public Services, said they w ere trying to “p u t ourselves in the c u s to m e rs ’ s h o e s ” w h e n th e y d e s ig n e d th e ISP. The session was entertaining, interactive, and informative. Audience mem bers w ere asked to participate in the discussion and complete a pre­ and post-session survey on w hether they w ere in favor o f an ISP. They responded to questions such as, W ho uses the term custom er to refer to your library users? a n d W hy d o you use that term? Further information about the ISP and the results o f audience survey can b e found at: h tt p :/ / l i b r a r i e s .m i t .e d u / b a r k e r / d h e l m a n / UnitedWeStand.html.— Cheryl Middleton, Or­ egon State University Redesigning instructional services In “Getting it Right: O utcom e-oriented Rede­ sign o f a Service Program in a Team-based Man­ agem ent Environment,” Catherine Palmer (Uni­ versity o f California, Irvine) an d Shirley Leung (H ong Kong Baptist University) described the redesign of the UCI program, w hich incorpo­ rated subject specialists into instructional services teams, where their subject strengths could be used especially to provide instruction to upper-level, graduate students, and faculty. This changed the focus from ad hoc instruction to course-integrated instruction, w here librarians w o rk ed w ith fac­ ulty to design library assignments and m eet with classes. This redesign was the result of a campus-wide program o f problem-based learning, which gen­ erated grassroots activity to assess the structural problem s o f similar services (with different per­ sonnel resources) being provided at different li­ braries across the campus. A concom itant redesign of the instructional services administrative structure resulted in a “Fast Track Instruction T eam ,” w hich could readily assess instruction needs and establish pri­ orities for instruction. The tw o-year pilot pro­ gram (1996-98) generated new enthusiasm among librarians an d provided cam pus-w ide visibility for instructional services.— Karen Morgan, Uni­ versity o f Michigan-Dearborn ” Partnering fo r outreach: Developing program s fo r K-12 schools” Lisa Yesson (University of California, Berkeley) discussed the California Heritage Project, a col­ laboration o f the library an d th e San Francisco an d O akland Unified School Districts. The ob­ jective of the project was to expose students and families in disadvantaged urban communities to prim ary source materials from th e Bancroft Library’s California H eritage C ollection, an http://libraries.mit.edu/barker/dhelman/ C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 557 Exhibits give attendees th e o p p o rtu n ity to u p d ate th e ir k n o w le d g e o f products and services. an d O akland Unified School Districts. The o b ­ jective o f the project was to expose students and families in disadvantaged urban communities to prim ary source m aterials from th e Bancroft Library’s California H eritage C ollection, an online archive docum enting California’s his­ tory an d culture. O ne o f the com ponents of the project w as field trips, w ith th e families serving as chaperones. As a result o f the project, m any students op en ed savings accounts to attend college, and additional funding w as obtained for the next phase o f th e project. Technology is still a chal­ lenge in K-12 schools, said Yesson. Things to consider in a project such as this, she said, in­ clude th e dow nload time for images, the avail­ ability o f teachers, the need for teacher com pen­ sation for their efforts (like credit to professional developm ent or release time), an d the n eed for “top dow n” and grassroots commitment. She also said project m anagem ent time is also critical and universities need to w ork o n their listening skills to effectively partner w ith K-12. Janet Nichols (W ayne State University) dis­ cussed partnering w ith area public schools and suggested that the “2 Rs” in such a project are recruitment and retention. Initial staffing for their partnering project cam e from th e library b u d ­ get, although $20,000 w as later received from a local foundation grant and a developm ent officer is n o w w orking on additional funding. As a re­ sult of the grant, teachers w ere paid for their pro­ fessional time. According to Nichols, perceptions from the K-12 schools are im portant, an d there is m uch to be learned by participants on both sides. Ad­ ministrative su p p o rt is critical, release time or c u rr ic u lu m p a y is necessary, and teams should consist o f an a d m i n is tr a t o r , a teacher, a library m e­ dia specialist, an d a university librarian. D a v id F e rr ie ro (D u k e U n iv ersity ) e c h o e d N ichols by saying that the role o f th e university is n o t to te ll K -1 2 schools w hat to do, bu t to tailor a pro­ gram responsive to their needs. In the case of D uke University, a m iddle school w as targeted. Teachers n e e d e d to learn h o w to use technology; therefore, 30 univer­ sity librarians served as technology mentors. By pairing a university librarian w ith a teacher, within the middle-school setting, teachers w ere able to p ro ceed at their ow n pace, in a n o n ­ threatening environm ent, an d the credibility o f the university library w as raised.— R a m o n a Niffenegger, Louisiana State University Science librarians and the Web: Prom oting student literacy “T he W eb as a T eaching T ool to D evelop In­ form ation Literacy” w as sp o n so red by ACRL’s Science an d Technology Section. Alison Scott Ricker (O berlin College), a chem istry librarian, collaborates w ith tw o pro­ fessors to teach introductory chemistry classes. H er goal w as to inform students o f h o w to search an d evaluate W eb resources. Ricker outlined h er preparation strategy for an inside look at how students are learning new inform ation literacy concepts. Ricker engaged th e au d ien c e w ith funny stories a n d real ex­ am ples o f h o w to get started at y o u r library. J u lia A nn K elly (U n iv ersity o f M in n e­ so ta ) a h e a lth sc ie n c e lib rarian , w o rk s w ith m e d ic a l a n d n u rs in g s tu d e n ts to e v a lu a te W eb resources o n evid en c e-b ased m edicine. K elly a p p r o a c h e d th is to p ic u sin g a b ro a d o v e rv ie w o f w h a t h e a lth s c ie n c e lib ra ria n s h a v e d o n e to e n g a g e th e ir stu d e n ts o n this n e w in n o v ativ e topic. H ugh B lackm er (W ashington & Lee Uni­ versity), a science librarian, sh o w e d h o w he slowly developed a partnership w ith a science 552 I C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 interactive W eb-page product.— Elaina Norlin, U niversity o f A r iz o n a ” A n in te g ra te d a p p ro a ch to s u p p o rtin g d ista n ce e d u c a tio n ” W e b ste r U niversity lib rarian s h a v e b rid g e d th e distance in service for over 5,700 students at 65 sites w orldw ide. They have successfully p a rtn e re d te c h n o lo g y w ith tra d itio n a l li­ b ra ry serv ice th r o u g h an in te n siv e re s tru c ­ tu rin g a n d re d istrib u tio n o f staff d u tie s an d the developm ent o f “Passports,” a W eb-based m o d u le o f access, service, a n d instruction. Library D irecto r Laura Rein e m p h a s iz e d th a t te c h n o lo g y a lo n e is n o t sufficient, it m u s t b e effectively in te g ra te d w ith tra d i­ tional services. “P assp o rts” pro v id es stu d en ts a n d faculty w ith access to o n lin e full-text datab a ses, in ­ structional tutorials, co n n ectio n s to o th e r in­ tern atio n al libraries, a n d basic “h o w to ’s ” o f search in g th e Internet. In a d a p tin g lib rary s u p p o r t serv ices to m eet th e n e e d s o f the rem o te u se r reference lib rarian , E llen Eliceiri s tre ss e d th e im p o r­ tan ce o f traditional reference basics: instruc­ tio n a l v id e o s , o n site visits, h a n d o u ts , a n d on e-o n -o n e service. A cco rd in g to all th e lib rarian s, th e crux o f in teg ratin g trad itio n al w ith te ch n o lo g ical serv ices is carefu l e v a lu a tio n o f n e e d s (o f b o th students an d faculty), setting goals, an d c re a tin g a R eq u est fo r P ro p o sa l (RFP) to clearly define w h at is n e e d e d from a v e n d o r a n d th e pro d u ct. O n e o f th e m ost interesting aspects o f the p re s e n ta tio n w as th e n o n -lib ra ry r e p r e s e n ­ tatio n . T h e d ire c to r o f W e b ste r U niversity d is c u sse d his su ccessfu l e x p e rie n c e s u sin g “P a s s p o rts ” to o rie n t his s tu d e n ts a n d m a r­ k e t th e u n iv e rsity to p ro s p e c tiv e stu d e n ts. H e to u te d “P a s s p o rts ” as an “e x e m p la r o f serv ices av ailab le to s tu d e n ts .”— E liza b e th Orgeron, Southeastern L ouisia n a University G e ttin g p u b lis h e d —a d v ice fro m th e e x p e rts In “T h e F u tu re o f Library R e se a rc h ,” e d i­ to rs from fo u r library journals d iscu ssed th e p resen t state o f library research, gave advice for u p co m in g researchers, an d m ade reco m ­ m e n d a tio n s fo r th e su b m iss io n o f su c c e s s­ fully a c c e p te d m anuscripts. N egative tren d s n o te d in current research include overusing surveys as instrum entation so u rc e ; th e p re v a le n c e o f q u a n tita tiv e , n o t qualitative, research ; u sin g lo w -e n d a n d in ­ ap p ro p riate statistics; n o t building studies on p rev io u s research; exclu d in g literature from o th e r d isc ip lin e s; a n d u sin g th e W eb as an u n ed ited vehicle for the dissem ination o f cur­ re n t research. T he tim e is rip e for g o o d library research o b s e rv e d D o n a ld Riggs e d ito r o f College & R esearch Libraries, “R esearch in library sci­ e n c e is like k n o c k in g d o w n an o p e n d o o r.” T h e ed ito rs p ro v id e d th e fo llo w in g g u id in g principles: th e re se a rc h s h o u ld co n tain u n i­ v ersality o f p ro b le m , b e re a d ily re p lic a b le , a n d u se a p p ro p ria te m e a s u re m e n t m ethod; and, th e research p ro b le m sh o u ld b e clearly a n d concisely stated at th e outset. A dvice re g a rd in g th e su b m iss io n o f re ­ search m anuscripts w as also noted: research to p ic s h o u ld m a tc h th e jo u rn a l p u rp o s e ; to p ic s h o u ld c o n tr ib u te to a re a s o f b o th th e o ry a n d p ra c tic e ; m a n u s c rip t s h o u ld b e g ram m atically a n d m e c h a n ic a lly co rrect, in c lu d in g c o m p le te cita tio n s a n d c o n c ise w riting style; a n d style com pliance an d elec­ tro n ic c o r r e s p o n d e n c e e n a b le q u ic k e r re ­ sp o n s e tim e from th e editor. T h e e d ito rs e stim a te d th e a v e ra g e tu r n ­ a ro u n d tim e b e tw e e n su b m itted m an u scrip t a n d re s p o n s e d ecisio n is four-to-six w eek s, w ith n o tific a tio n p o ss ib ly b e in g e v e n 18 m onths. A nd th ey rem in d ed th e au d ien c e o f th e in ev itab le: E very m a n u s c rip t a c c e p te d for p u b licatio n g o es th ro u g h at least o n e re­ vision! Select so u rces m e n tio n e d b y participants include: • Ronald R. Pow ell. B asic Research M eth­ ods f o r L ib ra ria n s (A blex P ublishing C orpo­ ration, 1997). • M ichael S eadle. “R esearch as C o n v er­ satio n : O b se rv a tio n , T h eo ry , a n d th e Li­ b rary P ro fessio n ” h ttp ://w w w .lib .m s u .e d u / s e a d l e / A C R L _talk.htm l. • P eter H ern o n . “R esearch in Library an d In f o rm a tio n S cience: R e fle c tio n s o n th e J o u r n a l L iteratu re (E d ito ria l)” J o u r n a l o f A c a d e m ic Librarianship, 25 (July 1999). • R ichard D. J o h n s o n . W ritin g th e J o u r ­ n a l A rtic le a n d G etting I t P ublished. (A sso­ cia tio n o f C o lleg e a n d R esearch L ibraries, 1985).—J a n a Reeg-Steidinger, U niversity o f W isconsin, Stout http://www.lib.msu.edu/ C&RL News ■ July/A ugust 1999 / 553 Student Learning in an Inform ation Age: The Conference- within-a-Conference T h e C o n fe re n c e -w ith in -a -C o n fe re n c e (CWC) re p re s e n te d ACRL’s first attem p t to allow its m em bers to d ev o te tim e to a single im portant issue w ithin th e N ational C onfer­ ence. From the outset, planners lo o k ed up o n th e CWC as an o p p o rtu n ity to hav e class­ ro o m faculty, adm inistrators, a n d librarians a tten d as m em b ers o f institutional team s, thereby facilitating interaction betw een them. Panel d iscu ssio n s T h e CWC featu red tw o p a n e l sessions. T he first o f th e s e featu red lead e rs w ithin h ig h er education w h o share a strong interest in stu­ d en t learning. Following w elcom ing rem arks from Presi­ d e n t Irvin Reid o f W ayne State U niversity, m o derator Patricia Senn Breivik o p e n e d dis­ cussions b y p o sin g q u estio n s o f panelists E. G o rd o n G ee, p resid en t. B row n University; L one Roth, se n io r directo r o f acad em ic ser­ vices a n d p ro fessio n al d ev e lo p m e n t, the C hancellor’s Office, California State U niver­ sity, Althea Jenkins, executive director o f the ACRL; a n d O sw ald Rattery, assistant direc­ to r for co n stitu en t services a n d special p ro ­ grams, M iddle States C om m ission o n H igher Education. T he thoughtful, som etim es controversial a n d certainly interesting, co m m en ts offered p ro v id ed a philosophical fram ew ork for the rest o f th e CWC. T h e se c o n d p an el shifted em phasis from the philosophical to the practical. T he p an el­ ists w ere a mix o f librarians an d faculty m em ­ bters engaged in the process of enhancing stu­ d e n t learn in g th ro u g h inform ation literacy initiatives. T h o se w h o a tte n d e d this p o rtio n o f the CWC w e re tre a te d to so m e ex cellen t ex ­ am ples o f how faculty an d librarians can col­ laborate to bring ab o u t ch an g e an d en h an ce stu d en t learning. B reak-ou t se ssio n s T h e CWC called u p o n its p articip an ts to be active learners in several break-out sessions. Small g ro u p interaction allow ed participants to explore challenges associated with librarian/ faculty collaboration, the successes that som e institutions have enjoyed as the result o f such interaction, a n d potential next steps to foster collaboration to en h an ce stu d en t learning. T hese sessions resulted in the discussion o f a w ide range o f challenges and opportunities as­ sociated w ith inform ation literacy. CWC p articip an ts o ffered m any g o o d ideas to facilitate further success o f inform a­ tion literacy’ program m ing o n cam pus includ­ ing: • if information literacy has b eco m e a part o f the institutional philosophy, there are b et­ ter op p o rtu n ities for collaboration w ith fac­ ulty, and • if faculty realize that o u tco m es are im­ p ro v ed for their specific course o r discipline, th ere is better success. Success follow s w h e n faculty understand th at inform ation literacy is a tim e-saver for students. T h e final p iece o f th e CWC w as a w rap - u p that included all 160 o r m ore participants inv o lv ed w ith th e b re a k -o u t g ro u p s. Many goo d ideas w ere shared for jump-starting fac­ u lty/librarian collaboration. Librarians w ere encouraged to get out and talk w ith th e faculty, to offer facility to u rs for n e w faculty, to h av e faculty serve o n li­ brary search com m ittees, a n d to h o ld sem i­ nars o n e v id en c e-b ased p rogram s a n d criti­ cal thinking. A c a ta ly st fo r fu tu re action T ak en in concert w ith o th e r ACRL program ­ m ing th at encourages an understanding an d application o f inform ation literacy, the CWC re p re se n ts an im p o rtan t effort b y ACRL to focus attention an d discussion o n th e librar- ian /facu lty ro le in th e e n h a n c e m e n t o f stu­ d en t learning. If th e CWC se rv e d as a catalyst th at re ­ sults in positive outcom es at participants’ in­ stitutions, th e n it can b e fairly te rm e d a suc­ cessful pro g ram o n b e h a lf o f th e stu d en ts served by academ ic libraries.— B arton Lessin, W ayne State University 554 / C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 ”True stories o f library funding: Horror stories and happiness” Funding scenarios w ere dem onstrated, w ith a generous am ount of hilarity, by panel partici­ pants in a live “Sally Jesse” show, set in the year 2009- Participants w ere Peter (a.k.a. Paul) Pau­ per, We Need Help University Library (Eric Childress, OCLC); Heda Havenot, We Make It H appen College Library (Mary Jane Scherdin, E dgew ood College); Brenda Bimbo, We Have No Imagination Library (Sue Stroyan, Illinois W esleyan U niversity); a n d Dr. W innifred Wealthy, W e’ve Got it Made University Library (Jennifer Morris, William Smith College). Each librarian represented an extreme, pok­ ing gently at the sometimes ridiculous outcomes o f p o o r planning an d funding that is mis­ m atched w ith needs. O pening statements were followed by questions from Sally Jesse and au­ dience participants, and Dr. Sigmund Dewey, funding strategy expert, resp o n d ed w ith the help o f audience volunteers. V olunteers w ere ask ed to play Twister (showing that “in order to have a very success­ ful financial future, you m ust dem onstrate a high level o f agility”); jum p ro p e (“It’s a dog- eat-dog com petitive environm ent; only those w ho can jum p three or m ore times are going to m ake it”); play musical chairs (“Y ou’ve got to be in the right place at the right time—too much strategic planning, not enough strategic think­ ing!”); an d “te le p h o n e ” (to illustrate the need to com m unicate clearly, b ecause you never know how it will “come out at the other end!”). Dr. D ew ey (James Neal, Jo h n s H opkins University Libraries) closed the session o n a more serious note, with additional strategies for ensuring financial security. He stressed the need for coherent restructuring plans, creating new m arketing opportunities, an d im posing a level o f fiscal discipline that integrates library an d institutional planning. Innovation requires a new approach to econom ics, recognizing that w e are in a competitive environment. The stra­ tegic, collaborative, an d entrepreneurial re­ sponses are th e ones w e should a d o p t for fu­ ture financial success. “Sally Jesse” w as played b y Liz Bishoff of The Bishoff G roup.—A lison Ricker, Oberlin College Su rvivin g the research paper: Students speak H ow d o students in college an d university classes cope w ith research pap er assignments? In “Students vs. T he Research P aper,” Barbara Valentine (Linfield College) investigated this question through focus groups an d interviews w ith 59 students an d 9 faculty from small col­ leges an d large universities. H er research w as conducted in 1993, followed by a second study in 1998. Valentine found students pressed for time, w orried about grades, and concerned w ith fig­ uring out w hat th e professor w anted in the re­ search paper. Familiar topics w ere often cho­ sen by students for their research. W hen help w as needed, students turned no t to professors o r librarians, b u t to friends an d classmates. Valentine com pared students’ information gath­ ering to a trip to the store, w here students found m aterials n o t through a search strategy, but largely by happenstance. To assist students w ith their research, Val­ entine concluded that librarians n e e d to co n ­ nect w ith students on their ow n terms, through their peers, an d in a setting outside the library. Improving collaboration w ith faculty is also key to understanding the research paper assignment. Since most students had no idea w hat databases they had used, and registered high levels of frus­ tration w ith using the library, Valentine also concluded that library systems n e e d to be sim­ plified. By understanding the research p a p e r from th e stu d en t’s experience, librarians can learn h o w to b est connect w ith students and develop programs to meet their needs.— Vanette M. Schwartz, Illinois State University E-Reserves fo r breakfast Shane N ackerud gave a lively presentation of his paper, “Im plem enting E-Reserves: H om e­ grow n vs. Turnkey,” comparing his experiences setting u p a hom egrown electronic reserve sys­ tem (Free Reserves) at Southern Illinois Uni­ versity, C arbondale (SIUC), w ith launching a turnkey system (ERes) at the University of Minnesota. While electronic reserve reduces the demand for service at busy reserve counters, establish­ ing an e-reserve service is neither cheap nor easy. Creating individual HTML pages for each class and each reading assignment is too labor inten­ sive, so an automated system is usually required. Creating an in-house system gives the library total flexibility for customizing, b u t requires s u p p o r t from e x p e rie n c e d p ro g ram m e rs. (continued on page557) In exactly 1 5 seconds, you’ll make OCLC W orldCat BIGGER AND BETTER THAN IT WAS BEFORE Thanks to OCLC members like you, a new record is added to WorldCat every 15 seconds, providing your end users with faster access to a greater range of information resources. Since 1971, academic libraries, public libraries, school libraries—all types of libraries—have contributed over 40 million records and 680 million location holdings to WorldCat, making it the world’s largest online union catalog and the most consulted database in higher education. In the same collaborative spirit that pioneered shared cooperative cataloging for traditional media, we are now working with our library members on a research project to improve access to the new digital resources on the World Wide Web. And we invite you to participate. To learn more about this cooperative initiative, and the quality services that have resulted from the efforts of our member libraries, contact: 8 0 0 - 8 4 8 - 5 8 7 8 E x t e n s i o n 6 2 5 1 http ://purl. org/oclc/crl F u r t h e r i n g A c c e s s t o t h e W o r l d ’s I n f o r m a t i o n OCLC is a nonprofit, membership organization that promotes cooperation among libraries throughout the world. C&RL News ■ July/August 1999 / 557 The lib rary is a four-year course (at the very least). T he sites I p ick ed w ere hardly obtuse; th e vocabulary w as not too difficult, the layout w as uncluttered, th e inform ation w as p resen ted in a logical flow. Yet, to o m any stu d en ts could not “read” it. T he assignm ent w ould have been a complete failure if I had not w orked w ith each struggling group to make sure the students com ­ p reh en d ed the basic m essage p resen ted in the text. What w ere th ey m issin g ? In the w ell-known “Feline Reactions to Bearded M en,”’ a g ro u p did n o t pick u p o n th e hu m o r o f th e findings, o r th e to n g u e-in -ch eek tone, m uch less the suspicious items in the bibliogra­ phy. In a site rep o rtin g a m o v em en t to curb smoking in restaurants”, som e groups could not tell if th e m ovem ent w as for o r against sm ok­ ing; they h a d difficulty determ ining the se p a ­ rate entities o f th e reporter an d th e anti-sm ok­ ing group; an d finding ou t that the site author w as pro-sm oking confused them even further. T here are plenty o f mistakes to b e m ade in teaching. Forgetting w hat it is like to b e a young college student should b e one that w e conquer. R em em ber w h e n y o u r professors, experts in a field, ask ed y o u to critique a n article o r book? Just barely introduced to the major them es of a topic, brand new to the nam es o f favorite schol­ ars qu o ted throughout th e literature, an d strug­ gling to co m p re h e n d th e m essage itself, w e som ehow w ere expected to sum m on the confi­ d en ce to yea o r naysay so m e o n e ’s h a rd w ork (p resen ted a p p aren tly eruditely, a n d ev en in p ro p e r publication format). R em em ber think­ ing, “Well, it got published, it m ust b e w orthy”? O u r students today, looking at W eb pages, are n o different. In th e first year o f college, stu­ dents are at the beginning o f a long road to in­ form ation literacy. W e c a n ’t skip to th e a d ­ v anced skills before they’ve grasp ed th e basic content. To teach successfully, w e begin w here they are. O nly th e n will th e lesson have a chance. Notes 1. h ttp ://w w w .im p r o b .c o m /a ir c h iv e s / cat.htm l 2. h ttp ://w w w .sp eak u p .o rg /p lan .h tm l ■ ( “Racing to w a rd … cont. fr o m p a g e 554) Buying a turnkey system requires an investment o f tim e an d m oney a n d special requests, such as rem oving o r reducing the prom inence o f the system’s logo, m ay w ell receive a response “on th e lines o f N o,” Shane said. An additional option now available is “Free R eserves.” This in-house system d e v elo p e d at SIUC, m ay n o w be dow nloaded free o f charge. Written in Perl, it is custom izable by individual libraries. Im provem ents m u st b e sen t back to SIUC so they can be shared by others using the Free Reserves system. As Shane said, “T ake it, change it, eat it for breakfast.” For m ore inform ation visit the W eb site at http://w w w .lib.um n.edu/san/freereserves/.— Jo h n Tombarge, W ashington &Lee University G e ttin g dow n to ” brass ta ck s” at ACR L S ession m o d e ra to r D an e W ard an d his co l­ leag u e s from W ayne State U niversity (WSU) p re s e n te d a n interesting a n d inform ative re ­ v iew o f th e ir efforts to in co rp o rate th e “Big 6 ” m o d e l o f inform ation literacy instruction into the undergraduate curriculum in their ses­ sion, “T h e Brass T acks o f Inform ation Lit­ eracy.” T h e p a n e l d e sc rib e d a fam iliar problem : H ow d o w e define “inform ation literacy” in a w ay m eaningful to librarians a n d classroom faculty? a n d H o w d o w e p ro m o te th e in co r­ p o ra tio n o f inform ation literacy skills across th e u n d erg rad u ate curriculum? By th e e n d o f th e session, a tte n d e e s h ad b e e n in tro d u c e d to th e in structional m odel c h o se n by WSU, h a d co m p leted a n engaging small- group exercise that asked them to brain­ storm co m m o n activities in reference a n d in ­ struction th a t m ight b e “m a p p e d ” to th e “Big 6” skills, an d h a d sh ared exem plary practices w ith th e entire session. Session attendees left the presentation w ith a n overview o f th e “Big 6” m odel o f instruc­ tion, som e go o d ideas ab o u t h o w their every­ day activities m ight relate to th e instructional m odel, an d several helpful handouts— includ­ ing a sam ple research assignm ent from a n u n ­ d erg ra d u a te sem in ar th at d em o n strated h o w “Big 6” skills an d information literacy concerns w e re b e in g successfully im p le m e n te d in the academ ic curriculum at WSU.— Scott Walter, University o f M issouri-Kansas City ■ http://www.improb.com/airchives/ http://www.speakup.org/plan.html http://www.lib.umn.edu/san/freereserves/.%e2%80%94