ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


388

ager, com m ented, “T hrough th e success of its 
Second National Conference ACRL has shown 
once again that ALA divisional membership can 
meet in a non-business forum to discuss in detail 
the pressing professional issues of the day. By 
meeting in Minneapolis, ACRL has continued to 
provide its m em bers around th e country with 
quality programming and an opportunity for pro­
fessional socialization and development.”

Looking to w ard s th e  T h ird  N ational C o n ­
ference on April 4– 7, 1984, in Seattle, ACRL 
will bring to the country’s western regions what 
it already has to members in the midwest and 
east. We hope you will join us as we anticipate 
1984.

CE COURSE REPORT

“A very stimulating presentation and an excel­
lent example of teaching. ”

“Very good, brilliant and conscientious instruc­
tors. ”

“A most informative and extremely timely ex­
perience for m e.”

“4 stars! Superior+ .”
T he p re c e d in g  rem arks, taken from course 

evaluations, are typical of the overwhelmingly 
positive response to the eight continuing educa­
tion courses offered by ACRL on S ep te m b er 
29-October 1, prior to the National Conference 
in Minneapolis. Approximately 114 academic and 
public librarians enrolled in the courses, which 
ranged in length from one to three days. Many of
the participants took advantage of the scheduling 
opportunities, enrolling in two courses.

“Effective Supervisory Skills” taught by H er­
b ert S. White, of Indiana University, provided an 
introduction to techniques for effective supervi­
sion such as evaluating progress, determining and 
scheduling completion dates, and maintaining an 
interim report system. W hite’s lively presentation 
was enthusiastically received by course partici­
pants.

Suzanne H. Mahmoodi of the Office of Public 
L ibraries and In terlib rary  Cooperation for the 
State of M innesota p rese n ted  a general back­
ground in basic principles and research findings 
in group behavior in “Working Effectively with 
Groups.” The course was structured around ac­
tive group work, allowing participants firsthand 
experience in group dynamics.

A d m in istrato rs of sm all an d  m ed iu m -sized  
academic libraries received information regarding 
managerial considerations essential in establishing 
the successful bibliographic instruction program. 
Taught by Dennis E. Robinson, University of Rich­
mond, “Establishing the College Bibliographic In ­
struction Program: The Director’s Role” examined 
political aspects as well as th e staff, budgetary, 
faculty, and administrative support necessary for 
establishing a workable BI program.

 

“An Introduction to Maps in Libraries: Maps as 
Information Tools” provided for the nonspecialist 
an explanation of th e  inform ation p o tential of 
maps in the library environment. Charles Seavey 
(U niversity of New Mexico) and D avid Cobb 
(University of Illinois) used a num ber of effective 
instructional approaches to illustrate the role of 
maps in acquisitions, collection development, ref­
erence, and instruction, as well as the space and 
equipm ent requirem ents of maps.

The most popular of the courses was “Teaching 
Methods for the Bibliographic Instruction Librar­
ian.” Manila Svinicki of the University of Texas at 
Austin’s C en ter for Teaching Effectiveness in ­
volved the 34 participants in a num ber of creative 
exercises illustrating a basic review and practice 
in learning theory and instructional methods par­
ticularly effective in the bibliographic instruction 
situation.

Richard W. Boss, Senior Consultant for Infor­
m ation System s C o n su ltan ts, In c ., B ethesda, 
Maryland, supplied participants in his course, 
“Management Issues in Automation and Informa­
tion Technology, ” with an overview of library and 
information technology. He emphasized adminis­
trative, economic, political, and other nontechni­
cal aspects of selecting, procuring and using these 
technologies.

Participants in “W riting the Journal Article and 
G etting it P ublished” received an overview of 
the publishing process. In stru cto r Richard D. 
Johnson of SUNY-Oneonta covered such topics as 
selection of a publishing medium, preparation of 
the manuscript, submission of the manuscript, 
and pre- and post-publication matters and helped 
participants devise an effective strategy for pu b ­
lishing their work.

K eith W. Russell, Council on L ibrary R e­
sources, led  an e n th u sia stic group th ro u g h  a 
n u m b e r of p ractical self-assessm ent and job- 
hunting techniques relevant to career develop­
ment and growth in the academic library envi­
ronm ent in his course, “Career Advancement in 
Academic Librarianship: Techniques for Upward 
M obility.” Small-group activities and creative 
ex ercises h ig h lig h te d  this carefu lly  p la n n e d  
course.

T hree ACRL-owned CE courses made th e ir 
d e b u t in M inneapolis. M aterials can be p u r ­
chased from ACRL H eadquarters for “Establish­
ing th e College Bibliographic Instruction Pro­
gram: The Director’s Role,” “Teaching Methods 
for the Bibliographic Instruction Librarian,” and 
“W riting the Journal Article and Getting it Pub­
lis h e d ” ($15 for m em bers, $20 for no n -m em ­
bers).

In addition to course content, participants were 
pleased by the size of the courses, which were 
small enough to allow for maximum interaction 
betw een instructors and students. Participants 
were given the opportunity to suggest ideas for 
future ACRL courses.— C . B rigid Welch.