ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries November 1989 / 915 search work started well in tim e can produce a b etter end product than one started at the last minute. Students are able to understand the tu rn ­ around tim e o f obtaining materials th at are not readily available. In addition, students wall be able to devote the end o f th e sem ester to reviewing their materials for final examinations, rath er than com­ bining the pressure o f turning in a p ap er with the tedious process o f getting ready for examinations. T erm p ap er counseling sessions are very useful to the students we deal with. However, unless these sessions are started early enough in and continued throughout the semester, the laudable intentions o f librarians can be thw arted as a result o f congestion at the reference desk during the last days o f the semester. O ur sem ester-long term, paper counsel­ ing sessions have brought peace and quiet to the reference desk at th e en d o f the semester. How­ ever, as one could have guessed, th ere are still many students who will never subscribe to our concept o f early start on th eir papers. They still com e in at the last m inute, filled with anxiety, arm ed with im patience, and ready to negotiate for extended library hours to be able to finish their papers on schedule. Humor and creativity: MLS envy By J. C. Bennett Assistant Professor o f Library Science Eastern N ew Mexico University In any field, subordinates who feel th at they can capably perform the work o f th eir superiors may create difficulties. In libraries, paraprofessionals cause severe logical dilemmas for professional li­ brarians w hen they espouse this feeling, herein term ed “MLS envy.” MLS envy is a stage o f the paraprofessional’s developm ent into a loyal, h ard ­ working flunky. Avoiding it requires that parapro­ fessionals be made to feel m ore positive about their inability to rise above a trivial rank. Like all psycho­ logical phases, MLS envy m ust be resolved before paraprofessionals can be said to be fully mature. They must be willing to accept th e second-class status th eir position entails. MLS envy requires careful handling. It usually sets in betw een one and eight weeks after th e new paraprofessional begins work. T h e complex p ro ­ ceeds gradually. At first, subjects foolishly believe th a t they have intentionally b een given th eir d e ­ p artm en t’s most m onotonous tasks and th at they have little hope o f quickly moving on to more interesting assignments. Subjects may irrationally assume th at older, more experienced paraprofes­ sionals m ustperform tasks only slightly less tedious than th eir own. MLS envy is well on its way w hen subjects feel th at they are being treated unjustly by being paid half or less o f the starting professional’s salary, even though th e professionals in question may be younger than th e nonprofessionals, hold few er degrees, and have less em ploym ent experi­ ence. T he complex is full blown w hen subjects becom e convinced that they could com petently perform professional work w ithout the benefit of an MLS degree. T he symptoms are generally easy to detect. In the early stages subjects are restless and uneasy, doubt th e wisdom o f superiors, and may feel disen­ chanted with th eir work. Such feelings become stronger as tim e passes, until the complex is truly visited on th e m . At th a t point, deep problem s arise. Subjects may becom e bitter, insolent, lazy, and unmanageable; they may harbor thoughts o f quit­ ting w ithout notice; they may be habitually absent or unbearably late with only poor excuses. Through all this they deserve sympathy and mercy, and a strong han d to guide and lead them along a p ath of reason and sense. To move forward, resolution o f th e internal conflict is necessary. I f subjects are to live happy, co ntented lives as paraprofessionals, they must believe in th eir supervisors and trust them to do w hat is best, no m atter how painful it may be. If, after a grace period o f several weeks after the onset o f erroneous thoughts, subjects are unwilling or unable to subm it completely, they are unlikely to progress very far, and will stay fixated at an irra­ tional stage for th e rest o f th eir paraprofessional careers. T heir superiors will th en be wise to seri­ ously consider term inating them with th e merciful hope th at they will prostrate themselves more read­ ily in another field. I f th e superiors decide not to do so, they m ust be willing to work closely with sub- 916 / C&RL News jects to resolve irrational feelings. A male paraprofessional trying to move beyond MLS envy may b e especially uneasy aro u n d a fem ale professional librarian. A fter all, he does no t have one, w hile she d o es. D esp ite th e ir in ten tio n to accept inferiority, subjects m ay reg ard profession­ als as a th re a t to th e ir intelligence an d critical thought. I f th e ir supervisors are sensitive, they may h asten th e resolution o f th e situation w ith well- chosen w ords an d instructions. T hey m ust h elp th e subjects to u n d erstan d , accept, an d b e h ap p y in th e ir place in th e library world. T hey m u st patiently explain as o ften as n ecessary th a t th e MLS d eg ree is absolutely essential for professional work, and th a t th e subjects, co m p ete n t as they may b e at th e ir own tasks, are unfit to assum e such positions. I f at any tim e subjects question th em , citing studies w hich show th a t som e paraprofessionals can a d e ­ quately perform professional d u tie s,1 th e ir protests 1D eb o rah Kirk, “M ission Possible: E lem en tary L ibrary/M edia C en ters w ithout Professionals,” Colorado Libraries, D e c e m b e r 1986; John S. Goodell, A Case S tu d y o f Catalogers in Three University Libraries (Ann Arbor, M ich,: University M icrofilms, 1971); Charles A. Bunge, Professional E ducation a n d Reference E fficiency (Springfield, 111.: Illinois State Library, 1967); John A. M cC ros­ san, L ib ra ry Science E ducation a n d Its Relation- Standards for university libraries document available T he 1989 revision o f th e “Standards for U ni­ versity Libraries: Evaluation o f P erfo rm an ce,” w hich ap p e ared in th e S ep te m b er 1989 issue o f C ò -R L N ew s, p p. 6 79-91, is now available from th e A CR L Office. This stan d ard replaces th e previous version dating from 1979. T h e standards w ere p re p a re d by th e U niver­ sity Libraries Section’s Standards R eview C om - m ittee, ch aired by K en t H endrickson. T hey are in te n d e d to h elp m em b ers o f th e library and university adm inistration responsible for d e te r­ m ining priorities an d evaluating p erform ance to optim ize th e role o f th e library in th e mission o f th e university. Basic to this d o cu m en t is th e proposition th a t each university library system is u n iq u e and th e re fo re should d eterm in e its own criteria for p erfo rm an ce and evaluation. Single copies o f th e d o cu m en t are available free o f charge (additional copies are $1.00 each) from ACRL/ALA, 50 E. H u ro n St., C h i­ cago, IL 60611. Call (800) 545-2433; in Illinois, (800) 545-2444; in C anada, (800) 545-2455. Perm ission is g ran te d to m ake copies o f th e standards for noncom m ercial purposes. m u st b e m e t w ith sym pathetic b u t firm disap­ proval. T h ey m u st b e to ld to face up to th e ir problem s; supervisors m u st n o t d eb a te th em , for o n e m u st no t “answ er a fool according to his folly lest one b e like him .”2 Properly m anaged, th e resolution o f M LS envy should take no m ore th an six to eight weeks, al­ th o u g h a longer p erio d should be allow ed for m ore ed u c ated subjects. O n ce satisfactorily resolved, behaviors characteristic o f MLS envy will be aban­ doned. Subjects will th e n live confidently an d qu i­ etly in th e ir subservient roles. G uilt will disappear quickly w h en supervisors are u n derstanding, and subjects will soon display th e loyalty o f a prodigal son, providing an exemplary, n e ’er-say-negative atm o sp h ere am ong th e su p p o rt staff. In excep­ tional cases they will b e in stru m en tal in helping o th ers to pass th ro u g h M LS envy w ith a m inim um o f discomfort. T h ere is a n o th er m a n n er w h ereb y MLS envy may b e resolved, b u t it is difficult an d usually u ndesirable. It involves a transsocial operation in an A m eric an L ib ra ry A sso c iatio n -a p p ro v e d “clinic.” W h e n one carefully com pares th e m eth o d o f resolution w here subjects em erg e as w ell-ad­ ju ste d paraprofessionals w ith this clinical altern a­ tive, one can scarcely choose th e latter. Subjects m u st them selves earn th e MLS, an d bachelors’ d eg rees if th ey do no t already hold th e m . W hile th e resolution to rem ain a paraprofessional takes only a few w eeks, th e M LS req u ires one to tw o years o f in ten se therapy. In m ost cases subjects m u st travel far from h om e to com plete th e degree; th e re are only ab o u t sixty ap proved “clinics” in w hich tre a t­ m e n t may take p la c e . All this costs a g reat deal, and little financial assistance o th e r th an loans is avail­ able. It m u st b e co n ced ed th a t th e prognosis for those MLS envy sufferers who take th e MLS ro u te is good. O nce subjects have u n d erg o n e this o p era­ tion, they are unlikely to believe th a t p arap ro fes­ sionals should co m p ete for professional positions. H ow ever th e sam e effect can be m ore easily and m ore quickly achieved by e ith e r 1) req u irin g p a ra ­ professionals to resolve th e ir M LS envy o r 2) dis­ missing th e m to p u t th e m o u t o f th e ir misery. O ne should n o t call this “censorship” o r “discrim ina­ tio n ” b u t “so u n d p erso n n el policy.” To allow p e r­ sons w ith o u t MLS d egrees to beco m e professional librarians w ould co n stitu te censorship o f library school professors w ho, w ith o u t a large n u m b e r o f stu d en ts, w ould b e d en ied an ivory to w er from w hich to p raise th e library profession. Also librari­ ans have an im age to maintain; to discount th e M LS ship to Com petence in A d u lt Book Selection in Public Libraries (Springfield, 111.: Illinois State Library, 1967). 2Proverbs 26:4. November 1989 / 917 w ould b e to invite public disrespect. MLS envy and th e dangers surrounding it can ­ n o t be given too m uch attention. Successful resolu­ tion o f this com plex is th e key to good relations with paraprofessionals, harm onious operations every­ w h ere in th e library, and th e eradication o f igno­ rance. T he last o f th ese is, o f course, th e tru e mission o f librarians. By dispelling MLS envy, li­ brarians are educating and strengthening A m eri­ can society. Staff training for a multi-database system By Ramona J. Steffey Autom ation Project Librarian Vanderbilt University In January 25, 1989, a new service was im ple­ m e n ted for library users at V anderbilt University. O n th a t day a subset o f th e N ational Library o f M edicine’s M E D L IN E database was first m ade available on public catalog term inals in th e M edical C e n te r Library and certain o th e r branch libraries. This new service was th e result o f over two years o f planning an d d evelopm ent th ro u g h an autom ation effort known as V anderbilt’s E n h an ced Inform a­ tion Access Project, partially funded by a $750,000 grant from th e Pew C haritable Trusts. A prim ary goal o f th e E n h an ced Inform ation Access (EIÁ) P ro ject was to provide access to article level databases through th e developing cam pus-w ide bro ad b an d network. Inquiries w ere m ade to several m ajor com panies in th e field o f autom ation and an ag reem en t was m ade with N O TIS Systems, Inc., to participate in this e n ­ deavor. V anderbilt had already b ee n successful in im plem enting N O T IS ’s L ibrary M anagem ent Sys­ tem , having m ade th e online catalog available in S ep tem b er 1985 and o th e r m odules (e.g. circula­ tion, serials control, acquisitions) soon th ereafter. V anderbilt’s objective in th e E IA Project fit into N O T IS ’s long-range plan o f adding m ultiple d ata­ base access to its in teg rated online system. Following a m eeting with key N O TIS an d Van­ d erb ilt staff in January 1987, work began on w hat cam e to be known as Vandy 1. T h e results ofV andy 1 are access to M E D L IN E using N O TIS search com m ands and th e capability o f database selection and effortless switching from one database to an­ other. This p ortion o f th e p ro ject was considered com plete w hen th e system becam e available to th e public on January 25. T he second phase o f the N O TIS project, known as Vandy 2, will m ake th ree o f th e H. W. W ilson databases available in th e same environm ent and is scheduled to be com plete this spring. W e have subscribed to th e tapes for General Science Index, H um anities Index, and Social Sci­ ences Index. N O TIS is expanding on th e developm ent work do n e w ith V anderbilt an d is m arketing its “M ultiple D atabase Access” p ro d u ct to o th e r N O TIS cus­ tom ers. T h e finished p roduct, w hich will b e avail­ able this sum m er, provides th e conversion p ro ­ grams for M E D L IN E and H . W. W ilson and adds a g rea ter flexibility to th e system ’s in h e re n t design, making it possible for a n o n -program m er to add new databases and m odify screens. W e at V ander­ bilt have already started planning for loading tapes from th e C e n te r for R esearch Libraries as another option on o u r system. W e will continue to work w ith N O TIS on fu rth e r en h an cem en ts to th e m ul­ tiple database product. Planning for staff training began long before the database b ecam e available to th e public. As with th e public catalog, online help screens w ere p re ­ d icted to b e th e m ost im p o rtan t tools for training, b o th for staff and library patrons. V anderbilt staff uséd as a base th e LU IS screens provided by NO TIS. M odifications w ere m ade to highlight th e unique features and fields o f M E D L IN E . Since we anticipated th a t many users w ould eventually be using th e database from rem o te sites, w e w anted th e h elp screens to convey as m uch inform ation as possible. In addition to h elp screens, we p rep a re d a b rie f bro ch u re, o r Q uick R eference G uide, w hich could be given to patrons an d m ade available at te rm i­ nals. This guide covered th e basic search com ­ m ands, Boolean and positional operators, and tips for searching. Field qualifiers for keyword search­ ing, th e stopw ord list, language codes, and journal subset codes w ere fisted. Also fisted w ere the M eSH Check Tags an d abbreviations for M eSH subheadings along w ith tips for searching these. T raining sessions began im m ediately after the