ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 3 7 6 / C & R L N e w s Conference Circuit Spring and diversity in the air at ACRL conference A C R L’s Sixth C on feren ce receives highest ra tin g ever Sunny skies and beautiful spring w eathergreeted the over 2,000 librarians and ven­ dors representing every state and seven eign countries attending ACRL’s Sixth National Conference, “Academic Libraries: Achieving Ex­ cellence in Higher Education,” in Salt Lake City, April 12-14, 1992. Conference-goers enjoyed the intimacy and convenience o f ACRL’s Na­ tional Conference and gave high marks to the them e speakers, the presented papers, and the quality o f the exhibits (see “Sixth conference a success” sidebar). Diversity w as the w atchw ord of the confer­ ence as keynote speakers addressed civil rights, w om en’s studies, and the information explo­ sion. Cooperation also played an important part in ACRL’s 6th National Conference as ACRL conference planners w orked w ith the Utah Li­ Left to right: Three o f ACRL’s theme speakers: Linda Crismond with Paul Saffo; Althea Jenkins with Catharine Stimpson; an d W. D avid Penniman fo brary Association (ULA) to hold the first ALA division national conference in conjunction with an ALA chapter meeting. Those attending the conference w ere also fa s c in a te d by th e lib ra ry facilities at th e M orm on’s renow ned Family History Library. O ver 300 librarians jam m ed the auditorium for an introduction to and tour of the facility late rin­ the afternoon on the last day of the confer­ ence. O f particular interest was FamilySearchO, the user-friendly com puterized system o f ge­ nealogical information available in the library. Banks of compact-disk w orkstations await the visitors w ho line up before the doors op en at 7:30 a.m. to have first crack at the equipment. The center receives over 800,000 visitors each year. Keynote speaker Julian Bond indicted re­ cen t R epublican adm inistrations as h e gave conference-goers a history of civil rights in the U.S. He highlighted the successes o f the 1960s and the failures of the 1980s. “And for those Americans w hose skins are black or brow n, the poverty rate w en t up while m edian family incom e w ent dow n. . . . In 1969, three-fourths o f all black m en w ere working; by the 80’s end, only 57% had a job. For these families, it w as never morning in America. The only shin­ P h o to c re di t: R ic ha rd R om an J u n e 1 9 9 2 / 3 7 7 ing points o f light they see are daylight through the cracks in their w alls.” In his elo q u en t w ay B ond described h o w an o th er g en eratio n ’s dream s o f equality h a d b e e n “set aside in favor o f defense sp en d in g , b alanced budgets, an d corporate dom ination of the eco n o m y ” an d th e n listed som e o f o u r problem s: “W e’ve let o u r infrastructure, o u r streets an d roads an d bridges, fall apart. For m any in the m iddle class, only m o m ’s paycheck k eep s them out o f th e p o o rh o u se. Most A m ericans c a n ’t afford to be sick, c a n ’t p ay th e doctor w h e n th ey are. Yet w e seem to find m ore th an en o u g h to feed th e military m achine. In just three years in tire 1980s w e spent more than $1 trillion dollars on military expenditures.” "C o n a n th e L ib ra ria n " “C onan the Librarian type o f access— lots o f rules an d sh o w n o m ercy” is som ething that Paul Saffo, research fellow at th e Institute for the Future, predicts will change as technology continues to evolve. Rather th an m yriad search protocols that m ust b e m astered, Saffo h o p es for a sm o o th er, frien d lier interface. H e e x ­ p la in e d th a t te c h n o lo g y w ill e n a b le th e s e changes b u t will not cause change. Q uoting Mark T w ain’s “I’m all for progress; it’s change I’d rath er avoid,” Saffo exam ined change an d explained that change is slow— “most ideas take ab o u t 20 years to b e an overnight success.” He cited th e invention o f th e m ouse (the co m p u ter p o in tin g device) a n d w in d o w s (a co m p u te r display feature) in th e early 1960s w hich did n o t b eco m e overnight successes until th e a d ­ v en t o f d esk to p publishing in the 1980s. He said th at w e are currently o n th e cusp o f tw o revolutions— the print revolution which occurred over four centuries, and the electronic revolution which has happened in the last 20 years. A s s o m e o n e w h o h a s n e v e r w o n a n y th in g , I w a s a m a z e d a t m y g o o d fo r t u n e , a n d to o k p le a s u r e in ev ery a s p e c t o f th e trip. —Deborah C. Masters George W ashington University Winner of an all-expenses-paid trip to ACRL’s 6th National Conference Saffo offered these predictions for the fu­ ture: in th e sh o rt run w e will u se m ore p a p e r th an ever w ith th e advent o f the fax m achine an d th e photocopier; the dom inant form o f stor­ age will b e electronic; the com m unications la­ ser will b e the m edium o f th e 1990s; stand­ alone personal com puters (PCs) will n o t play a long-term role a n d will likely n o t last o u t th e decade; PCs will b e replaced w ith co n n ected w orkstations a n d a n u m b er o f inform ation a p ­ pliances that are cheap, special pu rp o se, an d pow erful will b e developed; libraries will be everyw here b u t n o w h ere ( “th ey will b e less of a place a n d m ore o f a sp ace”). Saffo described librarians as sw im m ing in the sea o f a n infor­ m ation revolution a n d u rg ed th em to take a step back an d look at th e revolution an d its im plications from a distance. na m o R drahci R :ti derc ot o h P na m o R drahci R :tiderc ot o h P 3 7 8 / C&RL N e w s A "co ok's to u r" Sporting a “N ever Again: Safe an d Legal Abor­ tion for All W om en” button, feminist Catharine Stimpson, dean o f the G raduate School-New Brunswick and vice provost for graduate e d u ­ cation at Rutgers, acknow ledged the contro­ versy surrounding the selection of Salt Lake City as a conference site an d pledged to place a tithe o n her honorarium an d donate it to the N OW le g a l d e fe n s e a n d e d u c a tio n fu n d . Stim pson gave a “co o k ’s to u r o f w o m en in higher e d u catio n ” w ondering if w om en and m en “did not have different relations to intel­ lectual freedom an d inform ation.” Stim pson stated that “contem porary feminism structured itself as an educational reform m ovem ent w ith five goals: 1) im proving child-rearing an d so­ cialization practices; 2) organizing small ‘co n ­ scio u sn ess-raisin g ’ groups; 3) attacking th e media; 4) creating cultural alternatives; an d 5) transform ing th e sites o f formal education from child-care to research centers.” Sixth conference a success ACRL’s Sixth National C onference in Salt Lake City received the highest-ever evalua­ tion for an ACRL N ational C onference and w as attended by 1,660 librarians an d 581 exhibitors. “The attendees rated the confer­ ence 3.85 on a 5-point scale w ith 5 being excellent,” said conference chair Joseph A. Boissé, University o f California, Santa Bar­ bara. G eneral session speakers, exhibits, and the Salt Palace facilities received the high­ est marks. W hen asked if they p lan n ed to attend the next ACRL National Conference, March 29-April 1, 1995, in Pittsburgh, 77% of the Salt Lake attendees said yes. As o n e partici­ pant w rote, “This w as a great conference. Attending ACRL National Conferences will b e a priority for m e from now o n .” Although the financial report for the con­ feren ce w ill n o t b e available fo r a few months, conference planners are projecting a financial success. ACRL’s last National Conference in the w estern U.S. w as in Seattle in 1984. A total o f 1,754 attended the conference. The 5th ACRL National Conference in Cincinnati in 1989 attracted 2,735 people. Stimpson reported progress in a num ber of areas citing the disappearance o f overt discrimi­ nation, aw areness o f sex discrimination, anti- discrimination laws, institutional policies against discrimination, an increase in the num bers of w om en entering colleges an d universities, and m ore equitable hiring. Stimpson said that it is not surprising that w o m en ’s studies has opposition an d that this opposition keep s it o n its toes. She felt that w o m en ’s studies “offers the information soci­ ety several goods: a moral vision o f a just and equitable educational com m unity” and a “rich, gutsy, cross-disciplinary m enu of ideas about sex and gender.” M o re on change Also addressing change, W. David Pennim an, president o f the Council o n Library Resources, stressed that libraries m ust adapt to survive. Pennim an called u p o n librarians to change the w ay they m easure success an d to focus o n d e ­ livery of information rather than w arehousing o f information. H e said that libraries m ust be held accountable for the benefits and costs of services they provide and identified four areas in academ ic librarianship that need research: human resources, economics o f information ser­ vices, infrastructure, and access and processing. The full text o f the rem arks of the them e speakers will b e published in the conference pro ceed in g s, A c a d e m ic Libraries: A ch ievin g Excellence in H igher E ducation, available from ACRL in August 1992. Full conference attend­ ees will be m ailed a copy. T he following session sum m aries (arranged by topic) are the first of a tw o-part report; the second part will ap p ear in the July/A ugust is­ sue. Summaries are provided thanks to a le­ gion o f C&RL News reporters. E d note: The editor thanks the m a n y librar­ ians w ho pro vid ed conference reports a n d re­ grets th a t d u e to space lim itations w e were u n ­ able to use them all. Academ ic lib rariansh ip N ancy Deyoe, Margaret Fast, and Sue Weiland, all o f Wichita State University, described the “collegial system ” that has replaced th e tradi­ tional organizational system during “Collegial Leadership and Management: An Example in a C ataloging D e p a rtm e n t.” All catalogers an d paraprofessional em ployees participate an d the catalogers share collective responsibility for all departm ental activities. Catalogers take turns Ju n e 1 9 9 2 / 3 7 9 serving as departm ent coordinator and overseeing the day-to-day w ork. Effec­ tive com m unication am ong staff m em ­ bers at all levels w ith inform ation flow­ ing vertically an d horizontally is the key to effective collegial leadership and m an­ agem ent. P araprofessionals ap preciate being informed. An initial analysis o f the collegial m anagem ent system conducted in 1991 fo u n d that “catalogers are m ore responsive an d operate m ore as a u n it.” Morale im proved significantly an d “the team spirit im proved the overall w o rk ­ ing en v iro n m e n t.”— L a u rie S. Linsley, Sem inole C o m m u n ity College, Sanford, Florida A dm in istratio n “B eyond the Survey: Using M arket Research T echniques to Im prove Library Services an d Collections” exam ined Xavier University Librar­ ies’ (O hio) use o f focus groups, m arket survey techniques, an d th e principals o f TQM (Total Q uality M anagem ent) to continuously im prove library services. P ro m p ted by the com m ents from the online “suggestion-box” o f the n ew OP AC an d a strong com m itm ent to service, the public services staff did research o n custom er service w hich lead to m any references to TQM, a m anagem ent co n cep t applied in industry. In o rd er to determ ine custom er satisfaction, an im portant factor in TQM, 17 stratified focus g ro u p s w e re c o n d u c te d a n d a cam p u sw id e survey questionnaire w as form ulated. Faculty m em ber Bob Ahuja served as a technical con­ sultant in constructing th e focus groups, train­ ing the leaders, developing an d adm inistering the survey. A lthough this w as a m uch greater undertaking than first envisioned, th e inform a­ tion an d excellent PR w as w ell w o rth the ef­ fort. The library learned w h at the “custom er” wanted, made several “quick fixes,” and obtained valuable data for long-range strategic planning, not to mention a solid collection of books on TQM.— Adeane Bregman, Boston College Patricia Larsen, University o f N orthern Iowa, beg an her discussion o f “T he Age of Re- … Re-thinking, Re-defining, R e-designing Library Structures” by stating that libraries are still hi­ erarchical an d slow to change as a result o f o u r fear o f change, uncertainty ab o u t w h at change will bring, and com placency. She p ro p o sed one systematic ap p ro ach to change an d suggested that “jobs sho u ld b e designed as w ell as pos- na mo R drahci R :tiderc ot o h P C onference chair J o se p h B oissé and ACRL P resident A nne Beaubien cut th e rib bon to o p e n the exh ib its sible to m eet the n eed s o f individuals as w ell as th e organization.” She sum m arized C am pion an d Thayer’s approaches to job design and sub­ m itte d a d iffe re n t jo b ch a ra c te ristic s-b a se d m odel in w hich the organization recognizes and builds o n w h at th e individual brings to the job.—J e a n Parker, St. O la f College B ibliographic instruction Lynne Fox a n d Jeffrey B auer, U niversity of N orthern C olorado, described the application o f instructional design tech n iq u es to biblio­ g ra p h ic in s tru c tio n in “Be a O n e -sh o t B.I. H otshot.” T hey discussed th e four stages o f in­ structional design: 1) front-end analysis to as­ c e rta in th e c u r r e n t s ta tu s o f th e le a rn in g au d ien c e’s skills an d interests; 2) the setting of instructional goals an d objectives describing learn ers a n d th e d esired o u tco m e b e h av io r u n d e r specified conditions an d degrees; 3) d e ­ signing the instructional package, w ith consid­ eration to learning styles (aural, visual, and kin­ e s th e tic ) a n d le a r n e r c h a ra c te ristic s (e .g ., traditional vs. nontraditional), and the concrete steps involved (e.g., gain the attention of the audience, inform the learners o f th e objectives, stim ulate recall o f prior learning, etc.); an d 4) evaluating an d revising the instruction. B auer u rg ed BI librarians to focus o n o n e o f th e four co m ponents at a time to im prove their instruc­ tional sessions.— Awn,? M a y B erw ind, A u stin P eay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee In “A ssessing the N eed for B ibliographic In struction in H onors Sections o f Freshm an C o m p o s i t i o n , ” M a r jo rie W a r m k e s s e l o f Millersville University rep o rted that at the be- J u n e 1 9 9 2 / 3 8 1 ginning o f the sem ester students w ere frustrated by n o t b ein g able to m aster th e com plexities o f th e library after th eir first visit. She identi­ fied fo u r m ajor stum bling blocks: th e size of th e library b uilding itself, th e library’s confus­ ing system o f organization, a negative im pres­ sion o f th e library often based o n a “b a d e x p e rie n c e ,” an d a n unw illingness to ask for help. As o n e stu d e n t n o ted , “Som etim es I g e t a little bit intim idated b e c a u se I d o n ’t k n o w w h e re e v e ry th in g is a n d I d o n ’t like to ask an d s o u n d li k e a n i d i o t . ’’ W a r m k e s s e l’s s t u d y c o n ­ firm ed ea rlie r findings th at “students in h o n o rs program s d o n o t necessarily k n o w any m o r e a b o u t lib ra rie s th a n o th e r college stu d e n ts.” Af­ ter BI sessions, h o w ev er, at­ titu d es to w a rd a n d com fort w ith the library ch a n g e d d ra ­ m a tic a lly . O n e ty p ic a l r e ­ sp o n se n o te d that th e presen ­ ta tio n h a d “in creaseld ] m y k n o w le d g e o f w h e re to g o a n d w h a t to look for. . . . At least I am n o lo n g er h esitan t to ask for h e lp w h e n I n e e d it!” In “F irst T h in g s F irst,” M ary G e o rg e o f Princeton, using exam ples from th e Persian Gulf W ar, d e m o n stra te d h e r a p p ro a c h to teaching stu d en ts th e differences b e tw e e n prim ary an d se co n d ary sources. She first d efin ed a source as “th e tangible co n tain er o f a p h e n o m e n o n .” She th e n identified n in e “an g les” th a t co u ld be u s e d to evaluate sources: h o w close a source is to th e p h e n o m e n o n it contains, th e u n iq u e p e r­ spective o f ea c h p e rs o n w h o eith er reco rd s or ex p lo re s it, th e p u rp o s e o f th o se em ploying th e s o u r c e , th e r e s e a r c h e r ’s a u d ie n c e , th e so u rc e ’s actual content, th e tim e e la p se d since the so u rc e ’s creation, h o w th e so u rce has b e e n tran sm itted , th e s o u r c e ’s reliability, a n d the availability o f th e source. Using th e se tools, G eo rg e has th e stu d en ts ex am in e a w id e range o f categories— su c h as diaries, m em os, in ter­ v iew s, a u to b io g ra p h ie s , h isto ries, ed ito rials, o p in io n polls, a n d cartoons— to determ ine w h at k in d o f so u rc e th e y are.— N ich o la s B urckel, W ashington University B arbara Fister, G ustavus A do lp h u s College, d re w parallels b e tw e e n th e fields o f co m p o si­ tio n a n d bibliographic instruction d u rin g “C om ­ m o n G round: T he C om position/B ibliographic In s tr u c tio n .” C o m m o n a litie s in c lu d e d th e ir len g th y histories as topics o f inquiry, th eir simi­ lar n ich es in th e academ y, th eir em p h a se s o n transferable skills, a n d their u n iq u e ability to see academ ia from a student p ersp ectiv e. She th e n d e ­ scribed th ree ap p ro a c h e s to w r i t i n g i n s t r u c t i o n : th e w r i t e r / r e s e a r c h e r m o d e w hich focuses o n w riting as a form of discovery an d uses jo u rn alin g a n d freew riting as techniques; th e process m o d e w hich requires ex ten ­ sive prew riting a n d revision an d in w h ich th e p ro cess of siv writing is as im portant as the a D e n d product; a n d th e audi- E . M . e n c e /c o n te x t m o d e w hich :ti d involves collaborative learn­ erc ing, p e e r review , an d w rit­ ot o h ing across th e disciplines. P B o o k s a n d lib raries are c eleb rated o n th e streets o f Salt Lake City A pplying these sam e term s to the field o f bibliographic instruction, sh e th e n gave ex am p les o f cu rren t em p h ases in each area: th e em p h asis o n lifelong learning skills a n d in­ fo rm a tio n literacy p a ra lle ls th e free-w ritin g m ode; em p h asis o n search strategies a n d ex­ am ining th e affective side o f research parallels the p ro cess m ode; an d em p h asis o n collabora­ tive learning a n d discussing th e structure o f lit­ eratu re in various disciplines parallels th e au- d i e n c e / c o n t e x t m o d e . F is te r u r g e d m o re collaboration w ith colleagues w h o teac h w rit­ ing b y read in g journals in th e field o f com posi­ tio n a n d initiating discussion w ith colleagues.— K ris Huber, St. O la f College C ollection m a n a g e m e n t As collection b u d g ets shrivel in th e 1990s, in te re s t in c o lle c tio n e v a lu a tio n in ten sifies, w h ic h explains th e high tu rn o u t fo r this ses­ sion, o n “C o ntem porary S ources for Collection E valuation a n d P lanning.” B la c k w e ll N o r th A m e r ic a ’s R. C h a rle s W ittenberg d iscu ssed the increasing am o u n t o f lib rary -d em an d ed a n d v en d o r-p ro v id ed collec­ tio n data. H e said, “This data is sand, mountains o f sand. Collection policies are dream castles. How does one get m ade into the other? W e’re in an age w here w e need to be producing cunning shovels and clever buckets to deal with this.” 3 8 2 / C&RL N e w s seir ar bi L n a cir e m A ,leffin K . L :tiderc ot o h P ACRL leaders and staff (from left): vice-presi­ d en t Jacquelyn McCoy, president Anne Beaubien, con feren ce chair J o se p h Boissé, past-president Barbara Ford, deputy executive director Cathleen Bourdon, and executive director Althea Jenkins. American University’s Tricia Vierra Masson spoke ab o u t com bining the analyses o f collec­ tion content and use. The W ashington Research Libraries C onsortium uses th e N ational Shelflist C ount an d incorporates circulation data to fa­ cilitate c o m p ariso n s w ith in an d o u tsid e the consortium . She raised the possibility of a con­ sortium approval plan. Emory University’s Kathy Teszla discussed h er library’s developm ent o f a com prehensive collection d evelopm ent statem ent (w ith strong university adm inistration support) in response to faculty criticism o f the collection. Using the N ational Shelflist Count, data w as obtained to serve as a guide in b u d g et allocations. Also, a dollar figure w as determ ined for moving each subject from its current collection level to the desired level. The library experienced increased bu d g et allocations an d im proved relations. M iddlebury C ollege’s J o a n n e Hill h a d to quickly o rder materials to m eet th e needs o f a grow ing H ispanic student population. She g en ­ erated order lists an d bibliographies b y search­ ing a variety o f Internet-accessible OPACS.— O rlando Archibeque, A u ra ria Library “C oordinated Collection D evelopm ent: The C urrent Im petus” described coordinated collec­ tion d evelopm ent program s involving m ulti­ type (public, academ ic, school, an d special) li­ brary systems. Barbara Allen o f the Illinois State Library described h o w th e state o f Illinois has su p p o rted an d fu nded cooperative assessm ent an d acquisitions o f library collections since the early 1980s. Administration is pro v id ed by a standing committee, and funding is through the state’s B oard of Education. T he program at­ tem pts to respond to individual collection needs, w ith the underlying concept being the devel­ o p m en t of a truly statew ide collection. B arbara D oyle of A ugustana College d e ­ scribed th e Quad-LINC system in River Bend, Illinois. Quad-LINC shares a cooperative data­ base u se d for acquisitions decisions by all par­ ticipating libraries. Attempts are m ade not to duplicate materials. Collection developm ent has becom e user-driven as well as cooperative. Ad­ m inistration is also cooperative, w ith all library directors m eeting m onthly for shared decision­ making. Plans call for linking all local systems w ith the statew ide system. T he N ew York METRO system described by A nth o n y F erg u so n o f C olum bia U niversity, serves as an ILL clearinghouse, provides w o rk ­ shops an d training sessions, distributes auto­ m ation funding, and sponsors cooperative ac­ tion program s. Some attem pts at cooperative collection developm ent have m et w ith only lim­ ited success. The m ain barriers to cooperation am ong m em bers are com petitiveness, th e d e ­ sire to retain autonom y, and valuing ow ner­ ship over sharing. Tw o countyw ide cooperative collection d e ­ velopm ent projects in W ashington described by Dal Symes o f W estern W ashington Univer­ sity, resulted in successful LSCA grant applica­ tions. O ne involved developm ent o f video col­ lections, th e o th e r stre n g th e n in g local law collections. T he latter also involved adding holdings to a WLN database, an d both involved the creation o f un io n lists. There w as a consensus am ong the panelists that m utual trust is an essential elem ent for cooperative collection developm ent. “Small is better” seem s to b e the operating principle for esta b lish in g c o o p e ra tio n .— W en d y K n icker­ bocker, R hode Isla n d College ACRL’s African American Studies Librarians Section exam ined the role o f “African-Ameri­ can Studies in Libraries.” H ow ard D odson, chief o f the Schom burg C enter for Research in Black Culture, arg u ed for replacing the vindicationist m odel (w here th e p u rp o se is to defend people o f African descent against charges o f racial in­ feriority an d historical an d cultural insignifi­ cance) w ith a m odel prom oting the role o f Af­ ricans and African-Americans in this hemisphere. D odson suggested expanding th e scope o f the collections and thinking to becom e m ore in­ clusive o f re s o u rc e s re la te d to th e A frican diaspora (the dispersion of p eo p le of African J u n e 1 9 9 2 / 3 8 3 d escen t from their h om eland). H e also co n ­ te n d e d th at African-Am erican Studies librarians m ust establish collaborative efforts to share re­ sources a n d that it is im portant to take full ad ­ vantage o f co m p u terized a n d o th er electroni­ cally form atted technologies to m ake individual collections accessible a n d available to those w h o have n e e d to u se them .— M ichael Walker, Virginia C om m onw ealth University C o m m u n ity colleges Jim m ie A nne N ourse a n d Rudy W idm an, (In­ dian River C om m unity C ollege), recipients o f th e 1991 ACRL C om m unity an d Ju n io r College Libraries Section A ch ievem ent A w ard, ad v o ­ cate d “A ggressive T eaching for Inform ation Lit­ eracy in H igh-tech Tim es.” N ourse defines in­ fo rm atio n literacy as “k n o w in g h o w to find inform ation, evaluate it, a n d use it effectively.” She characterized th e 50-m inute bibliographic instruction p re s e n ta tio n as passive teaching. Credit courses, such as the o n e s offered at In­ dian River C om m unity College (IRCC), re p re ­ se n t proactive, aggressive teaching. T he IRCC Learning R esources C enter devel­ o p e d three, one-credit-hour, high-technology library instruction courses an d p ack ag ed th em as co m p u ter science courses. T he courses w ere d e v e lo p e d to h e lp stu d en ts k e e p ab re a st o f c h a n g e s, to p r e p a r e stu d e n ts fo r u n iv ersity w ork, an d to en h a n c e necessary lifelong learn­ ing skills. N ourse a n d W idm an stressed that librarians n e e d to b e v iew ed as educators. T he co m m u n ity college lib rary /learn in g reso u rce center is fertile g ro u n d for credit library p ro ­ gram s because com m unity college librarians are teaching faculty, rath er th an research faculty. T o c o m p le m e n t th e co u rse d e v e lo p e d at IRCC N ourse an d W idm an h av e w ritten a text­ b o o k called E lectronic A ccess to In fo rm a tio n . (D u b u q u e, Iowa: K endall/H unt, 1991; $18.95), that m ay also b e u se d as a stand-alone refer­ ence.— L aurie S. Linsley, S em inole C o m m u n ity College, Sanford, Florida In te rn a tio n a l lib ra ria n s h ip Five lib ra ria n s a n d lib ra ry e d u c a to rs fro m a ro u n d th e w o rld sp o k e during “R esearch an d th e A cadem ic Librarian: A G lobal V iew .” Colin Taylor o f Australia said th at m u ch o f th e re­ search by university librarians in Australia a n d N ew Z ealand is o f the dev elo p m en tal “try it a n d s e e ” type. Librarians need to better document and promulgate their achievements to gain recog­ nition as a legitimate area for research funding. Ludmilla Kozlova o f Russia reviewed the history o f research in her ow n country. During the 1990s, the research emphasis is on the “social role of li­ braries in conditions o f renovation of the society, book an d inform ation cultures o f th e p o p u la ­ tion, library services fo r th e s u p p o rt o f th e so­ cial rehabilitation, autom ation o f library tech­ nologies, an d th e d ev elo p m en t o f librarianship tow ards the 21st century.” She mentioned that inadequate budget allocation for libraries—includ­ ing poor salaries for librarians— keep many talented people away from the profession. P. B. M angla o f India sp o k e a b o u t the re­ search capabilities o f South Asian librarians. H e d e scrib ed th e role o f th e late S. R. R anganathan u n d er w hose guidance th e libraries an d research m ad e p rogress in India. Mangla asserted that th e quality o f research n eed s to b e im proved, m ore dynam ic librarians b e hired, an d m ore funds b e allocated to academ ic libraries for re­ search purposes. Jam es M. N g’a n g ’a o f K enya traced th e his­ tory o f academ ic institutions an d the central ro le o f university libraries in Africa. H e said librarians are e x p e c te d to u n d ertak e research d u e to th e natu re o f their academ ic ap p o in t­ m ent. Financial s u p p o rt a n d en co u rag em en t is given to all librarians by universities to u n d e r­ tak e research a n d publish. Still the n u m b e r of librarians en g ag ed in research is very small an d the use o f technology in research has b een mini­ mal. Som e o f the reasons for this include inad­ e q u ate staff, p o o r facilities, lack o f resources a n d cu rren t research material, a n d n o t en o u g h funds for academ ic librarians. S tephen W. Massill o f E ngland told the a u ­ d ien ce a b o u t research in E urope w ith em p h a ­ sis o n the U nited K ingdom . In his view , re­ search a n d publishing by academ ic librarians in E urope is volum inous. “T rends in academ ic librarianship have altered the w ay in w hich staff siva D . E . M :tiderc ot o h P C on feren ce-goers chat at o n e o f th e o v e r 250 e x h ib it b o o th s at th e 6 th N ational C on feren ce. 3 8 4 / C&RL N e w s carry o u t th eir academ ic ro le ,” he said. Schol­ arly w o rk is re s p e c te d an d h o n o re d by fac­ ulty b u t still n o t w ell rew ard ed by the em ­ ployers. It w as clear from all presentations that aca­ dem ic librarians w orldw ide are still not fully en g ag ed in research d u e to various reasons in c lu d in g lack o f in terest, e n c o u ra g e m e n t, funds, an d rew ards— just like their counterparts in the U nited States.— R. N. Sharm a, University o f Evansville, In d ia n a R ead er services In “Scholarly Use of Academic Reference Services,” William G. Jones, University o f Illinois at Chicago, claimed that scholars are not heavy users of general reference services. Humanities scholars in particular rely on research skills learned in their graduate prepa­ ration and are loathe to look upon librarians as usefùl for their research, except in the case of interlibrary loan. Scholars value literature sources recommended by colleagues, citation in books and journals, and sources such as newsletters, boo k reviews, publisher’s ads, and specialized bibliographies. Gaps occur in their knowledge of the existence Program participants attend­ ed a recep tion at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City. of databases, their use o f com­ prehensive indexes, and their use of librarians’ knowledge beyond deciphering citations. T he H umanities Institute o f th e University o f Illinois at Chicago dem onstration project in­ cluded a project librarian w ho provided su p ­ p o rt to visiting scholars by perform ing explor­ atory a n d exhaustive searches in print sources an d databases. O ther services included identi­ fying libraries w ith desired special collections, photocopying, document delivery, citation verifi­ cation, and expediting interlibrary loan requests. T he project’s success is attributed to 1) the introduction o f th e librarian and h is/h er role to the institute’s fellows; 2) th e librarian’s atten­ dance at institute functions such as lectures and receptions w hich led to m any informal con­ tacts; 3) w ord-of-m outh en d o rsem en t by the fellows; an d 4) the librarian’s provision o f m ore inform ation than w as requested, tho u g h still w ithin the limits of w hat is useful. G eneral recom m endations are that librarians m ust understand the w ay scholars conduct their research; that librarians m ust go to scholars di­ rectly rather th an expecting them to q u eu e up at reference desks; an d that librarians m ust con­ ceive o f service to scholars as a w ay o f contrib­ u tin g to a c o m m u n ity o f le a r n in g .—J o h n Schmitt, Colorado State University “W hat H ap p en s W hen You Eliminate the Reference Desk?” by Virginia Massay-Burzio ex­ am ined the consequences o f elim inating the “age-old tradition” o f the reference desk in the m ain library at Brandeis University. She referred to the reference desk as “an im pedim entor not a facilitator” an d stated that it is “based o n the fantasy that w e can serve all of th e p eo p le all o f th e t i m e . ” W e h a v e overstressed the “sacred co w ” o f user access to librarians to the detrim ent of user needs. At Brandeis the reference desk has b e e n replaced by an in­ seir a fo rm a tio n d e s k s ta ffe d by r bi L graduate students w ho offer n a directional and “brief answ er” cir e (2-3 m inute limit) assistance m A , a n d refer o n m ore difficult leffi questions (ab o u t 40% o f the n K . total). The referred questions L :ti go to a Research Consultation derc Office, o p e n 52.5 hours p e r ot o w eek, w ith each librarian hav­ h P ing office hours 2 hours p er day. Librarians an d students alike have positive feedback on the new system: 1) patrons feel they are getting a special and valuable ser­ vice an d enjoy the individual attention; 2) li­ brarians have a greater job satisfaction rating; an d 3) a high quality o f service is provided w ith the m ost judicial use o f staff.—Jacqueline Borin, California State University, Sa n Marcos “Serving the D isabled Patron” offered h an d ­ outs an d practical tips about the Americans with Disabilities Act an d discussed how o u r librar­ ies should offer services to disabled patrons. Katy Lenn, University o f O regon, stated that “the real im pact m ay be o n public libraries,” b u t o n college cam puses, “disabled students an d faculty will becom e m uch m ore vocal.” T he program em phasized that libraries n eed to m ake reasonable accom m odations an d that they m ust provide truly integrated program s an d services for disabled patrons. Some sug­ gestions given were: establish a liaison posi- J u n e 1 9 9 2 / 3 8 5 tion; organize th e d o cu m en tatio n g e n e ra te d by this law an d its interpretation; d ev elo p a m as­ ter plan; establish g o o d relations w ith o th e r cam p u s offices an d o th e r resource p eo p le; join m ailing lists; w rite policy statem ents; se e k staff d e v e lo p m e n t program s; a n d establish e m e r­ gen cy procedures. Each library sh o u ld try to survey th e cam ­ p u s p o p u latio n to d eterm ine the num b ers o f disabled. T hen m eet w ith th ese students and offer a to u r o f y o u r facility. Review the a d a p ­ tive aids that y o u o w n an d y o u r p lan s for fu­ tu re purchases. F in al tip s in c lu d e d c h e c k in g fu r n itu r e , signage, an d th e types o f alarm system s that y o u r library has— th ey m ay n o t b e adequate. Also, collection d e v elo p m en t plans sh o u ld in­ clude th e purchase o f m aterials for th e disabled. “Be p re p a re d a n d k n o w le d g e a b le ,” w as the lesson o f th e program .— K a th y Sanders, Uni­ versity o f A rkansas, Little R ock Technology “IRIS: T h e Intelligent R eference In form ation System — E v alu atio n o f a CD-ROM N etw o rk w ith an A ssociated E xpert System,” p resen ted b y K im berley Spyers-D uran a n d K athleen G u n ­ ning, ex am in ed w ays o f dealing w ith th e p ro ­ liferation o f inform ation. M ooer’s Law predicts th at the n u m b e r o f inform ation sources will d o u b le every 2 V2 years, an d reference librar­ ians have fo u n d CD-ROM databases as b o th an ex am p le o f this p h e n o m e n o n a n d a to o l to control access to this ab u n d an ce o f inform a­ tion. T he University o f H ouston Libraries has ex p lo ited th e technology b y providing sim ul­ tan eo u s access for m ultiple users to 19 d ata­ b ases via a local area netw o rk an d CD-ROM servers. In addition, a locally d e v e lo p e d e x ­ p ert system— R eference Expert— provides front- e n d assistance to th e u ser in determ ining w hich reference sources (b o th print an d CD-ROM) are available an d germ ane to th e topic o f th e search req u est in term s o f co n ten t type, form at, and subject. Use o f th e te n w orkstation CD-ROM LAN a n d R eference E xpert in th e Electronic P ubli­ cations C enter (EPC) (located in proxim ity to th e R eference D esk) in c re a se d from 25,000 during th e first year o f im plem entation to 77,000 in the seco n d year. U ser reactions w ere assessed b y u se statistics a n d u se r p ercep tio n surveys w h ich sh o w e d users reacted positively to CD- ROM o v er print indexing sources, b u t fo u n d inconsistent co m m and structures b e tw e e n d a ­ tabases problem atic. A bout half o f the re sp o n ­ d en ts re p o rte d that they discovered inform a­ tio n sources n e w to th em b y using R eference Expert. G unning n o te d that increased d em an d for terminal use m ade 30-minute reserved search session scheduling necessary, a n d planning is u n d erw ay for a tw o -p h ase e x p an sio n o f the n u m b e r o f term inals an d databases to b e m ade available. Space planning, staffing patterns, and v e n d o r lease arrangem ents for m ultiple access use o f CD-ROMs are related concerns stem m ing fro m th e g ro w th o f th is n e tw o rk . T ru e to M o o er’s Law, th e library an ticip ates sixfold g ro w th th r e e y e a rs in to th e p ro g ra m , a n d projects th e n e e d for 200 stations in th e next d ecad e.— Victoria M. Peters, University o f A ri­ z o n a G ra d u a te Library School E. Paige W eston, in h e r program “An OPAC for Every Public,” stated that recen t efforts to personalize datafiles stem from attem pts to con­ trol th e w orkplace. “W hat d o online users w ish th ey co u ld control?” T hem e items: th e telecom ­ m unications environm ent; th e types o f search strategies n eed ed ; the vocabulary th ey enter; th e data in a system; th e display o f inform ation in a prescribed, d em a n d e d style; finally, the data e x p o rt options. W eston called for a great deal m ore research into h o w libraries can custom ize their OPACS to create m ore flexible tools. “The public is going to com e to ex p ect this [custom izing o f th e OPAC],” she stated.— K athy Sanders, Uni­ versity o f A rkansas, Little Rock ■ ACRL th an k s colleagues ACRL thanks all o f th e co m p an ies an d cor­ p orations th at co n trib u ted to the success of its 6th N ational C onference in Salt Lake City. Special th an k s to ACRL C olleagues: S u m m a c u m laude: B aker & T aylor Books; EBSCO M agna c u m laude: Blackwell; D ynix; Faxon; IBM C um laude: A cadem ic B ook C enter; B allen B ooks; H arrassowitz; Inform ation Access; Mid­ w e st Library Service; UMI; VTLS, Inc.; Y ankee B ook P eddler